| Arkaign said: My thoughts, after seeing the PS4 Pro, and the probable reality of the Scorpio, are that these mid-gen consoles are counterproductive. There will be more time trying to balance games between the basic and enhanced game modes, problems have already emerged in weird and bizarre ways, marketing is strange, there are arbitrary elements kept in place design-wise that artificially limit what a real generation change could be, etc. Both Sony and Microsoft more than showed that GOOD developers could get adequate to outstanding results at 900p to 1080p on the 2013 models. IMHO, they should have ridden out the 8th gen until ~2018-2019, and then launch a full generation leap. By waiting, the power leap DEFINITELY could have allowed for reasonable 4K performance AND still be fully BC. In other words : PS5 and Xbox 9th gen games are for those systems only, and don't have to be hobbled to old/weak 8th gen base hardware in scale and settings. Hell, limiting MP to 30fps will be a hideous mark of this error moving forward, particularly with the Scorpio, just to maintain parity with hardware that will be 4 years old at that time. The slims, fine, yeah die-shrink, price cut, increase profits, and extend the gen. All fine. With extremely mature dev tools, they could have definitely squeezed out a couple-three more years out of base gen8 before leapfrogging in a big way. These half-gen consoles also potentially cripple a gen9 release as well, because people investing in gen8/gen8+ consoles in the latter years of this gen will be hesitant to turn right around and buy yet another console so soon. It's greedy, it's stupid, and it defies the simplicity and economic model of console generations. What say you? |
I don't get this point? Where is MP being limited to 30fps?
But overall I emphasis with you a bit. I think mid-gen upgrades shouldn't of happened until next generation where they would actually be built into the operations of each respective system ,like the rumoured SCD which Nintendo patented. A thing where you could just spend $150 on a new add-on that would slot into/onto your console and boost performance. It makes better sense for consumers, developers and arguably sony and MS (as they'd be able to sell more of them and at higher profit margins compared to $399 replacement box).
Where I disagree with you is that you're assuming the industry would otherwise move linearly without the Pro/Scorpio.
1. This generation was unlikely to end before 2020, half of sonys developers are yet to put out their first game and we're supposed to be expecting PS5 in a few years? Developers are struggling to put out games, when they do, they're falling short of initial techincal ambitions. It took Naughty Dog 3 years to put out their first title and likely another 3 to put out their next. The life of hardware is likely to reflect this, as the average developers will really want 3 generations of games to put out before moving onto the PS5. Instead of looking at PS4 Pro as some hindrance to the future gen, it could very well be compensation for the fact that this gen is infact going to be really long and full of games which aspire for more powerful hardware.
Just look at how many titles can't sustain a constant 1080p/stable framerate. We can blame the developers all we want but that ain't changing the reality, both in regards to their output and our expectation of visuals. Final Fantasy XV, BF1, Titanfall are great examples of how the Pro should be used, actually most games are. Don't let a few (Launch) hiccups sour the potential of games on the system. Remember the gulf between console and PC multiplat games at the end of last generation? This generation they'll likely be worse. Pro will enable console gamers to aleviate that somewhat and settle upon a really stable performance that they otherwise wouldn't be given the choice of.
2. You're assuming next generation would retain the simplicity of past console generations. The existence of 4k kind of puts this into question. 1080p is such a respectable resolution that there is no actual need for higher resolution values on the average TV, especially not ones which take up 4x more GPU power. I think its inevitable that in the generation to come there was always going be the introduction of scalable games. Gamers deciding whether they want 4k resolution or better graphics/performance. Just as Bluray never quite replaced DVDs the way we expected, I think the road to native 4k becoming "the thing" is more than just a generation away. Imagine the PS5 came out in 2018/19. Realistically it wouldn't have graphics much better than what we're seeing on PS4 if it had to render all games at Native 4k, yet 4k would definitely be a demand from some gamers.
The bottom line is that PS4 Pro is an option that as of yet doesn't harm anyone and offers consumers choice. Choice is something that is going to rear its head in the console market sooner or later.I haven't spent too much time talking about Scoprio because there are many unknowns, but from the minute it was announced I always said Microsoft should skip it and go straight to their next system (2018). Forget about native 4k for X2 games but sell a Supplementary computing device which helps it get close to that goal.
