Epic's graphics guru Tim Sweeney feels that Xbox 360's longevity is a "mixed blessing", as it becomes "harder to generate excitement from the same hardware", but reckons new hardware generations are justified only when "you can make a dramatic leap in quality".
Speaking to VentureBeat, Sweeney claimed that Microsoft's decision to expand Xbox 360's memory at Epic's suggestion was instrumental to the console's success. "They put in extra memory and that is one of the reasons we were able to make Gears of War look so compelling. Without that extra memory, we would have far less space for details.
Sweeney and his cohorts want similar bumps in fidelity from the Xbox 360's successor. Epic famously set a benchmark for what it expects of next generation consoles at the Game Developer Conference last year, wowing audiences with its "Samaritan" tech demo.
That's not to say that working with what you know doesn't have its advantages, however. "The longevity of this console generation has been a mixed blessing," Sweeney went on. "On the game side, it's been really great for our business."
"We have been able to ship three Gears of War games on the same generation of hardware, each one with dramatic improvements over the last and a two to three-year development cycle. So it's been a very good thing for a game business today. With each new title, there is a bigger and bigger Xbox 360 installed base of users, so the games can sell more.
"On the other hand, it gets harder to generate the same excitement from the same hardware. That is when the new hardware is justified. But then you reset the installed base to zero and it's a lot harder to sell a lot of games again. So you should only replace the hardware when you can make a dramatic leap in quality, not just 2X or 3X. It has to be huge and fundamentally new."
Epic's focus remains on console, despite increasing success in the mobile game field. "With every console transition, people ask if there will be another console transition or another successful console platform. We are betting big that there will be. If you look at games like Call of Duty and Gears of War, it's clear that console is the pinnacle of the gaming experience.
"So we are investing heavily with our engine and game development efforts for the next generation of console technology and games. But at the same time, we actually see this wonderful thing happening where the mobile platform and web platforms are getting to the point where they can run an AAA game.
"One consistent game engine technology can run across console, PC, mobile and web games. We're really happy with that position. It lets game developers target lots of different platforms. We have shipped Infinity Blade of iOS. We have announced a new game Fortnite for an entirely different audience, more casual.
"It appeals to a wider audience than a hardcore game like Gears of War. We are branching out, but we tie it all together with AAA production values."
For more on what Epic wants from next generation consoles, check out our interview with senior tech artist Alan Willard and the inimitable Cliff Bleszinski.
24 comments so far...
Bezza89 on 30 Jan '12 said:
All these Xbox Gertrude articles are making me think there is an imminent announcement regarding it. Honestly, it's either that or there is bugger all going on in the industry, someone poke Rockstar North, see what happens... they might drop a date!
CunningSmile on 30 Jan '12 said:
I think more people would buy it if it were called Gertrude
Bezza89 on 30 Jan '12 said:
There's a rumour it's called Xbox Cunning Smile. There's a rumour it also makes bacon... there's a rumour that it's actually a piece of eden. There's a rumour my sense of humour is deteriorating in parallel with xbox rumours about mustard. I CAN'T TAKE IT!
Clanger67 on 30 Jan '12 said:
Mine hasn't actually got a name but gertrude is as good as any i suppose,lol.
Bezza89 on 30 Jan '12 said:
My 360 is called Betty. Or Vera. I forget.
Decent_Jam on 30 Jan '12 said:
You're making me want to name mine now. You can't have Vera though, the Firefly fans will become enraged as it's taken
I agree the amount of speculation about the console does make me long for an announcement, but they'd be morons to do it before E3, and that's months away still.
terry cheyne on 30 Jan '12 said:
i call my xbox a f***ing b*****d as it takes half an hour to load anything and i can't get a new one as i pre orderd the star wars one . although i hit to make it work now my husky smashes it with his paws and chews it . i hope the new xbox gets delayed untill micrsoft can make a console that works or a life time guarante
Captain_Chao5 on 31 Jan '12 said:
"So you should only replace the hardware when you can make a dramatic leap in quality, not just 2X or 3X. It has to be huge and fundamentally new"
Finally someone talking some sense!
LOL at calling it Gertrude. With all the other 'rumours' going around, I'm surprised this hasn't taken off too.
CunningSmile on 31 Jan '12 said:
I think I can see why you are having problems.
Bezza89 on 31 Jan '12 said:
Give it time, all we need are a few seeds planted on other sites and we'll get an article on CVG, they'll print* anything.
*I say print....
CunningSmile on 31 Jan '12 said:
Maybe we should put the Gertrude rumour on Wikipedia? Follow that up with a few twitters and CVG should pick it up in about a week.
Bezza89 on 31 Jan '12 said:
We could say official xbox magazine insiders (forum) including top forensic experts (ie me) heard the rumour.
In all seriousness my name prediction will be around 'four'. As in - fortune, formby, fork, foray, forbes, fornicate, ford etc. So it can go up against PS'4' as 'three' sixty did against PS'3'. So there you have it. Actual, scientific evidence.
terry cheyne on 31 Jan '12 said:
it was doing that before . i think my husky thinks i'm attacking it and wants to join the fun
it would'nt be so bad but it started dying when they annouced the starwars console so i thought it would last then
microsoft banned it saying there system is 100 percent i phoned up they said i was a lying as i must have done something
3 weeks later i got a email saying tthey messed up and gave me 800ms points and 3 months gold ( which i never got )
a bit off topic but thats why i call my xbox a f****** b******
CunningSmile on 31 Jan '12 said:
Cool, can I be quoted as a 'top financial analyst'?
Bezza89 on 31 Jan '12 said:
Definitely, just guess a year and month and we've got a date to boot based on excessive fiscal analyses.
CunningSmile on 31 Jan '12 said:
How about a surprise launch like the Dreamcast? They announce it for summer but then release 6 months early to get the jump on their competitors, and as a result sell zero because no one has had a chance to save up? In financial analyst speak:
"Top financial analyst Mr Smile of Cunning Investments Inc. believes that the Gertrude will have a surprise launch in January 2013 following an initial announcement of September 2013. He says this will improve the quarter one cash flow, whilst not harming the Holiday season sales of the still strong Xbox 360. Any loss of revenue as a result of misleading consumers as to the real release window can be countered by Microsoft investing heavily in Sony and Nintendo shares."
Lets see how long that takes to go viral
Clanger67 on 31 Jan '12 said:
I think you ought to get the patent application bezza for THE GERTRUDE you never know microsoft might nick it,lol.
Bezza89 on 31 Jan '12 said:
They've already taken it, suspiciously.
hellhound on 31 Jan '12 said:
do any of you think that the xbox 720 will be better than xbox 360
CunningSmile on 1 Feb '12 said:
I think the 720 will be crap, but the Gertrude really has me intrigued and excited. It comes with a built in sandwich toaster!
Bezza89 on 1 Feb '12 said:
I heard they are putting a PS1 chip into the 720 so it wont be better at all. I'd heed Mr Smiles advice.
Clanger67 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Bloody hell more powerful than i thought.Iheard the next one is going to be wind up and runs out every hour,to save on electricity.And to avoid the overheating red ring of death issue of the first 360,lol.
terry cheyne on 1 Feb '12 said:
hmm i heard it was hamster powerd and you have to feed it with special food only microsoft sell for 10£ a day but it still
has the red lights of death but it means the hamster overheated and needs a rest
vooodoobean on 4 Feb '12 said:
Latest rumours are that the next Xbox will be six times more power than the original , well I'm sorry but that is just not good enough.The old Xbox is now over 6 years old and by the time the new Xbox is out it will be 8 years old tech , so in real terms the new Xbox will be old tech when it hit the shop. I can understand keeping cost down but not to have the best graphics or processors to date in the new Xbox is just crazy. By the time the new Xbox is released the graphics chips and processors will already be 3 years older than the latest chips sets out there , So the graphical leap from Xbox to the 360 will be a small step up rather than the leap we have seen in the past. It would be interesting to hear what the guys at epic have to say about the new Xbox specs , If it's true that the graphics will be the same as a radion 6600 hd which is now over a year old released graphics card, then by the time of the new Xbox release, it will be a poor mans graphics card to what is even out now which is the 7000 series .....