Traditionally, when we began to move into the next generation of consoles, the shift would be preceded by promises of jaw dropping visual enhancements. More polygons! More detail! More content! Bigger! BETTER! For all intents and purposes, manufacturers and developers alike have made good on this promise. However, coming off the back of current technology, the 9th generation of consoles are promising something different. Something far more valuable than a few extra polygons; something consumers should start taking notice of.
The PS5 and Series X are going to be pretty beefy hardware upgrades from their predecessors, we can get that point of the way right here. Naturally, this leads the average consumer to assume that the biggest and most marketed improvements are going to come from the graphical department; and rightfully so! The leaps in visual fidelity from the 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit eras and beyond have seen vast improvements in eye candy and the overall scope of games. We’ve been groomed to expect this as the focal point of each generational leap, despite advancements in sound design, network architecture, and gameplay complexity.
What makes the upcoming 9th Gen of consoles veer off the historically beaten path is that the major upgrades are actually coming in the form(s) of performance, ease of production for developers, and uniquely designed feature sets that will only be possible on next gen hardware. When questioned whether The Medium will support Smart Delivery between the Xbox One and Series X, the game’s main Twitter account responded with:
Here we have a developer confirming right out of the gate that there are experiences coming that will not be functionally possible on current hardware. Chorus developer FishLabs have also expressed their excitement in working with the newer tech. Head of Core Technologies, Johannes Kuhlmann goes on to say:
“I’ve got to say, the transition from coming from Xbox One to Xbox Series X was straightforward,” Kuhlmann said. “We felt right at home on the new devkit. There weren’t any particular challenges.
“You have way more freedom. You don’t have to worry about the framerate as much. You can instead crank it up to a higher framerate. In the end it’s easier to develop for Xbox Series X than any other console.”
Similar sentiments have been shared regarding the Playstation 5 as well, further bolstering these claims. What does this really all mean for us though, the gamers? Based on what I know and have learned about the tech we will soon be indulging in, it’s this: Uncompromising Gaming Experiences. We are at a point in video game design where developers no longer have to ‘cut corners’ or scale back on some of their most ambitious concepts to stay within the constraints of the hardware. “But Seph, all this ‘new’ tech is already available on PC and we’re barely seeing a difference now!” You’re right. With a hefty budget, one can purchase the necessary components for a dedicated 4K, 120fps+, Ultra Ray Tracing enhanced, detailed experience today. However, the number of users that own a PC meeting such specs is far below the average.
In fact, according to Steam’s April Hardware and Software Survey, over 12% of users run on Nvidia’s GTX 1060, with the remaining average spreading mostly across lower end GPUs. 10-20% utilize processors that score above 3.69 Ghz. You can dive into the details here if you’re interested. So, what was the point of saying all this? Well, the reason consoles remain so popular between consumers and developers alike, is because of the controlled environment and overall cost. It’s easier and faster to develop for a piece of hardware with consistent and predictable architecture than it is for one with dozens of optimization ceilings and baselines.
I am genuinely excited for what’s coming starting this holiday season. When a studio is able to bring most, if not all of its ideas and concepts to life we get some of the most memorable experiences in any form of entertainment. A blank canvas has unlimited possibilities, as they say. No matter what your preferred platform may be, we all have a lot to look forward to!