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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Epic: 'If next-gen consoles aren't bleeding edge, Apple will beat them'

Icyedge on 11 March 2012

Mainstream tech will always beat the video game segment, they already do.



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sethnintendo on 11 March 2012
greenmedic88 said:
sethnintendo said:

Imagine if you bought every single iteration of the ipad. You would blow through about 1.5k in less than 3 years. With that kind of money you could build a super PC and preform upgrades on it. I understand that most people are too stupid to even pop the case off a computer and install memory or a graphics card even though these tasks are about as easy as can be.  Almost everyone is talking about these amazing ipad specs but they are about the same as my refurbished computer or worse (refurbished cost me 500 after tax).  I also can easily upgrade my memory from 8 to 16 gig when needed or my graphics card.  Have fun playing on your ipad.  Like I give a shit that I can't take my desktop PC outside to play on.  That is why I have a 3DS...

I can't imagine buying every single iteration of the iPad. I can't even imagine that many consumers who would beyond the Super Apple Fan who feels compelled to keep buying Apple's latest or a 1% er who has enough disposable income to buy as many iPads as they want as quickly as Apple can release them. 

Anyone in the later category wouldn't care about the cost. I can only assume anyone in the former who wasn't also coincidentally in the later as well probably trades in each Apple device towards the cost of their next. Unlike PCs, Apple products actually have a significant resell value. I myself received $900 cash for a refurbished MBP I originally spent $1200 on almost 2 years prior and that was from an Apple reseller, not an individual buyer. 

The current market price of a used 16GB WiFi iPad 2 in excellent condition is $357.25 after the iPad 3 was announced. A new one from Apple currently costs $399. 

That 3DS I bought when it came out lost $80 off the new price of $250 after 4 months by comparison. I'd be lucky to get $150 for it on Ebay less than a year later even with all the games that are installed on it. 

The PC I built with about $1800 worth of components in it wouldn't even fetch $1000 assuming I could even find the perfect individual buyer who was looking for almost exactly the same build. 

See the problem is I don't sell my electronics so I don't give a shit about resale value or holding value.  This isn't a fucking car we are talking about.  I keep my electronics till they die.  I don't upgrade every year to new hardware.  My point is that a desktop PC can be upgraded.  An ipad can't be upgraded unless you buy the a new ipad iteration.



Play4Fun on 11 March 2012
happydolphin said:
RolStoppable said:
happydolphin said:

If that's the case though, couldn't they just suit UE4 to regular cutting-edge and continue to be relevant? Why the bleeding edge? There must be more going on here.

Bleeding edge and cutting edge is the same thing. I had already typed the below two paragraphs, so I just leave them there. It's mostly a repeat of what I said before though.

The business model of selling an engine like the UE to other developers is built around the fact that creating an own engine would be too costly, couldn't be done in time or both. Since the AAA PC game market is diminishing with more and more developers opting for home consoles, Epic consequently becomes more dependent on the console business as well. Epic spends years on their engines, based on what they expect the next standard in graphics to be.

Now if all three console manufacturers opt for marginal improvements over the current HD consoles, then where does this leave Epic? Hardly anyone will need their bleeding edge Unreal Engine 4, because they can simply optimize their existing game engines and all the money that Epic spent in the last six or so years on their engine will hardly pay off.

Rol, bleeding edge is above cutting edge so much so that you bleed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_edge_technology

Anyways, for the rest, the only reason I can think of is as someone mentioned before: overshooting (so lost investment), but that devs would not pay for the next version of UE by customizing UE3 is going a little far and borderline illegal.


WTF does this mean?...

=/



happydolphin on 11 March 2012
Play4Fun said:

happy said:

Rol, bleeding edge is above cutting edge so much so that you bleed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_edge_technology

Anyways, for the rest, the only reason I can think of is as someone mentioned before: overshooting (so lost investment), but that devs would not pay for the next version of UE by customizing UE3 is going a little far and borderline illegal.


WTF does this mean?...

=/

Look, I don't know the intricacies of tool usage, but to simply beef up a current engine seems borderline illegal to me, given that it's Epic's tool. I'm not sure though. And even so, cutting-edge would be enough to call for a legitimate upgrade in engine purchase.

But WTF does all of what we're saying mean anyways, WTH do we know? Really.

I mean, let's not kid ourselves either. Few of us have worked on the upwards customization of an integrated EU engine, in all honesty.



happydolphin on 11 March 2012
zero129 said:
happydolphin said:
Play4Fun said:

happy said:

Rol, bleeding edge is above cutting edge so much so that you bleed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_edge_technology

Anyways, for the rest, the only reason I can think of is as someone mentioned before: overshooting (so lost investment), but that devs would not pay for the next version of UE by customizing UE3 is going a little far and borderline illegal.


WTF does this mean?...

=/

Look, I don't know the intricacies of tool usage, but to simply beef up a current engine seems borderline illegal to me, given that it's Epic's tool. I'm not sure though. And even so, cutting-edge would be enough to call for a legitimate upgrade in engine purchase.

But WTF does all of what we're saying mean anyways, WTH do we know? Really.

I mean, let's not kid ourselves either. Few of us have worked on the upwards customization of an integrated EU engine, in all honesty.

Splinter Cell Convection is running on a beefed up UE 2.5 engine. And to look at that game you would think it was running on UE3 imo. So it is perfectly legal thing to do.

Good to know! So if it happened mid-to-late Gen7, why would they be more worried now? I don't see anything different in the pattern between UE2 to 3 and UE3 to 4. Bleeding edge features in UE3, UE2 could still be beefed up to compete, yet devs still bought UE3. If patterns are of any help, you'd think the same would be the case for UE4.