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archbrix on 12 September 2024
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PotentHerbs said:
archbrix said:

Games will always get better on the hardware with time, but next-gen console owners are not wrong to expect exclusives that set the new hardware apart. A certain amount of cross-gen is to be expected, what with the time/budget issues as you mentioned, especially today. But there is a reason there are countless videos/articles/opinions out there that this gen has been, by far,  the slowest to get started regarding delivering an experience that couldn't be done well on the older console.

Ratchet is a great example, actually. I'm sure Insomniac could do even better with a sequel, but the first game was a next-gen exclusive that took advantage of the PS5 hardware and delivered something that could be truly appreciated on a new, more powerful system. Perhaps @Curl worded it a bit poorly by saying he was "annoyed", but I get his point. It's not about trying to keep games away from last-gen gamers at all; it's about wanting developers to take advantage of the new hardware so that we can have the next level we deserve on our new console. It's perfectly natural to want your PS5 to feel like a PS5, not a PS4 Pro 2.

But next gen console owners have gotten next gen exclusives.

Even discounting better load times, 60 FPS option, and the Dualsense controller that make the PS5 version the definitive experience, stuff like Astro's Playroom, Returnal, R&C Rift Apart, SpiderMan 2, Helldivers 2, Rise of the Ronin, Astro Bot, and with upcoming titles like Death Stranding 2 and Wolverine, we've been getting software exclusive to the PS5 since its launch. That's not even including third party games like College Football 25 and Final Fantasy 16. Whether you believe they feel next gen is one thing, but if you think Ratchet and Clank delivered that feeling, than those next generation experiences have been stacking since 2021. They don't disappear when a new game comes out lol. 

Also, the majority of PS4 owners will be upgrading from the base PS4 to a PS5. The developers are eventually going to tap into the potential of current console hardware. But we aren't going to get those showstoppers until 2025/2026. Stopping development of last generation ports is not going to speed up that creative/ technological process. 

The interesting thing though is that a large portion of those games (you can add Stellar Blade and Wukong to the list) arrived only this year or haven't arrived yet.  I think we all can expect some growing into the new console gen from the last, particularly the first year or so, but we are half-way through already. 

The longer development times for many AA and AAA games obviously plays a big part but so does the screwed up way the PS5/Series' lives began, I think.  PS4 owners couldn't upgrade to a PS5 even if they wanted to, so developers continued to support the PS4, which had effects that lasted going forward.  So when PS5s became readily available, people didn't upgrade like they would have otherwise because they could still play so many of the current games on the older system and it just became a catch 22 for too long.

OT:  In any case, I don't think launching a $700 console is a solution to anything.