GT7 went from static time of day and just a few tracks with static weather to full dynamic time and weather. It doesn't look all that much better

And of course it also still runs on PS4... So full dynamic time and weather was already possible on ps4 despite PD claiming it had to wait for the next generation. (Plus GT5 already had dynamic time and weather so err). The difference is so minor when you start racing that I played a lot of GT7 on PS4 pro while my kid used the PS5 for Rust (which runs terrible on PS4, but that's programming rather than complexity of the game). Loading times are of course no comparison yet while racing I hardly notice the differences. Actually the only big difference is getting blinded by reflected sunlight of car side mirrors in GT7. That effect is absent on the PS4 version.

Anyway the generational leap times 1.5 is in PSVR. PSVR2 almost feels like skipping a generation, quadruple the pixels, eye tracking, new controllers, much brighter HDR OLED display. And when used to its full advantage like in Red Matter 2 it looks 2 generations ahead of early PSVR games.

Yeah I just feel like that wow factor isn't there with these new consoles.

Back in the 6th gen, Rogue Squadron II blew my mind, it looked like a movie compared to the N64 I had at home.

In the 7th gen, games like Gears of War, Crysis, and Uncharted 2 looked breathtaking, so far beyond PS2, Gamecube or Xbox it was insane.

Even in the 8th gen which for me was a somewhat smaller leap, something like Ryse Son of Rome or Killzone Shadowfall left the best of PS3/360 in the dust, and if you put say Red Dead 1 up against 2, or TLOU 1 against 2, the gap was very substantial.

I'm still waiting to feel anything like that looking at PS5/Xbox Series games so far. Not sure if it's because devs have yet to really unlock the power of these new machines, or if diminishing returns have simply kicked in in a big way, but to date I'm quite underwhelmed.

A big part of it is how long it takes for games with top notch visuals to get made nowadays. Big games that intend to take full advantage of the increased power of the new consoles will have largely tarted development 3-4 years ago so we're only gonna see those games start to come out in bigger numbers within the next few months. GTA 6 which will hopefully release next year should give that wow factor.

The diminishing return and your experience  will make the impression less and less as gen passes.

FF16 hits 720p, in 2023. Fucking yikes. Maybe the OP was right.

I don't think they did. Well, they did marketing and that promises sometimes too much. But mostly it was fine. I think the disappointment stems from something else: all we see is more of the same, bigger, more beautiful. But I fail to see really new innovative games. I mean look at the new IPs: Forspoken, Redfall. They were disappointing, only copying stuff that was already done more or less. Remember when there was Last of Us new? Or Halo? They cannot ride the same ideas for a long time now, the industry needs some new ideas.

I'm hoping that we'll soon be at a time where gamers will just let good games be good and don't try to make stupid comparisons when it comes to technical parts of games, such as 720p 30fps and below Zelda, but that ain't gonna happen lol. As long as the game is solid and completely playable, that's enough for me.

Because so far with current-gen only games that have a performance mode, it's been pretty disappointing. It's become more fake 60fps and more 40-45fps modes.