Some developers can't seem to get through a morning without boasting of how they've "maxed out" a console. I've lost track, for instance, of how many times Guerrilla Games has "maxed out" the PlayStation 3, only to discover a few extra specks of un-maxed potential down the back of the sofa a few months later.
Cooler heads prevail at EA Games. Label boss Frank Gibeau has told Gamasutra that there's plenty more oomph in the present generation of console hardware.
Gibeau thinks Xbox 360 and PS3 have had little difficulty keeping step with advances in display technology. "What's interesting is the displays are maxed out already," he said. "Once you get to 1080p, it's not about increasing resolution.
"Obviously, more computing horsepower is nice, but to be honest, the Xbox 360 and PS3 still have a lot of horsepower that hasn't been tapped.
Timely words indeed, given the recent revelation that Microsoft is hiring staff to develop a next-generation Xbox.
Gibeau feels that controllers and online services must improve before any host hardware change-over takes place.
"I really think the next innovation is in the input device, but even more importantly, what will the online experience be like?"
Let us know your thoughts.
7 comments so far...
Jensonjet on 10 Mar '11 said:
"Xbox 360 has a lot of untapped horsepower"
...so has my brain!
modern_epic on 10 Mar '11 said:
hahahahahaha, genius reply
TinnoUnited on 10 Mar '11 said:
BarmyArmy on 10 Mar '11 said:
Coming from the guy who reckons the PC will be EA's main platform soon. Unbelievable.
vind4loo on 10 Mar '11 said:
Look at todays PC exclusives and then tell me that again, I think we're due an update.
STE MO on 11 Mar '11 said:
Rubbish
BarmyArmy on 11 Mar '11 said:
I don't doubt the quality of the games, and I would say that it aint just the exlusives, games like Skyrim and Battlefield 3 (both huge console games), will be alot better on the PC. But I think piracy is still a huge problem for them, I think the majority have become entrenched in console gaming. And really, the "main platform" is dictated by sales, nothing else, and I think that holds a bit more validity considering where discussing EA here.
But I agree, I have had the 360 for five, nearly six years. It's time for news of a next generation, and I cannot not support the claims in that article. I think when you have one of your best developers coming out claiming they pushed the Xbox too to max (Bungie with Halo Reach), it does raise questions.