Over the years, console gamers have enjoyed long hardware cycles without having to worry about opening up their rig, plopping in a new video card and god forbid mucking something up inside their PC case. Games on consoles (for the most part) are a smooth experience. Software is optimized for the hardware, and when you pop a disc (or boot a game), you know you’re going to get a pretty darn decent experience. That’s not to say PC gamers don’t get some lovely gameplay and visuals (they very much do), but we also know that PC games sometimes rely on raw horsepower instead of optimization.
But over the last few years, we’ve seen how developers have had eyes that are just a little too big for their tummies. The best example of this is Mass Effect, which featured pop up, long load times and odd textures. On PC, the game ran great, and that’s why we hope the Mass Effect remaster comes out. Console games have been holding onto their life cycles for far too long. That’s why we now have the PS4 Neo and Xbox Scorpio coming to our homes, with upgraded hardware for those who want 4K visuals and the smoothest experience. Imagine having this when Mass Effect launched?
We think it’s a good idea, and so does EA executive vice president Patrick Soderlund, who Game Informer spoke to in an interesting interview on the subject of the new hardware:
“I believe that it’s an interesting approach,” he said. “We haven’t seen this whole idea of upgrading since the Mega CD in 1991 or something. At the time, that might not have worked, but this is different. I can only comment to what’s been announced by Microsoft, the whole idea of keeping the ecosystem intact and scaleable is right. If you get in later in the cycle, you can get a Scorpio or you can upgrade to it.”
He reiterated that current consoles were basically PCs, which is why we see, GTA V, for example, run so well alongside its Windows brethren.
“It’s an engine that today supports substantially all known PC platforms and DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12. Given that these machines are almost PC architecture inside of them, they are not that difficult for us to develop for,” he explained. “Scaling up and down is something we’re in a good position for. If you’re a developer, when you make games, you always want more capacity. You always want to bring more to the players. We’re truly excited about this.”
Now, will the buying public be down for these upgrades as long as they don’t break the bank?
(Via Game Informer)