Playstation 5 Pro Shows the Futility of the Video-Game Graphics Race
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Re: Playstation 5 Pro Shows the Futility of the Video-Game Graphics Race
#2Say what you will, but this is why Cloud Gaming will make sense eventually. Upgrade cycles have to make you want new games - you can't advertise the same experiences with a "now in 4K/8K" label on it. On top of that, console gamers already pay for online service access and many subscribe to PlayStation+/Xbox Game Pass. They're effectively getting the worst of both worlds - paying SaaS prices for an experience they don't control.
So... get rid of the console, and the equation balances again. Gamers just sign up for the service they like and play things from the devices they prefer. Console upgrades happen server-side, and the cost is amortized against subscription revenue for everyone involved.
I personally prefer playing games locally, on my PC. But I can't guarantee the majority of console owners feel the same way. For all of Microsoft's short-sightedness, hopping on the Cloud Gaming bandwagon seems more justified with each passing day.
Re: Playstation 5 Pro Shows the Futility of the Video-Game Graphics Race
#3A few things:
- It seems like Sony chose to showcase "improvements" in games that already look pretty good, but there are other games for whom the improvement will be pretty dramatic (I've heard FFVII Remake cited as one). There may be an element there of Sony not wanting to put the worst offenders on blast by showing side-by-side of how shitty the game currently looks versus how nice it'll look on the Pro, which is interesting.
- Fully agree that unless you own a 4k TV, you probably won't give a damn. I don't and don't.
- I somewhat disagree about graphics plateauing, but I do agree that progression isn't 1:1 with hardware. I recently finished Alien: Isolation, which is an excellent game but showed its age in some areas (crappy smoke effects, uncanny facial movement even in pre-rendered cutscenes, etc). On the other hand, Metal Gear Solid V still looks amazing to me despite being just as old—and both were games that came out simultaneously on PS3 and PS4, so they're equal in that regard too. But PS5 games blow me away in areas that even the best PS4 games didn't: Horizon Forbidden West has mind-blowing water effects, parts of The Quarry (granted, many of them pre-rendered cutscenes) legitimately looked like a real movie, and Returnal is just all-around gorgeous (plus smooth as butter, to boot). Little things like non-shitty textures, objects interacting correctly, and halfway realistic hair really add up.
Re: Playstation 5 Pro Shows the Futility of the Video-Game Graphics Race
#4Say what you will, but this is why Cloud Gaming will make sense eventually. Upgrade cycles have to make you want new games - you can't advertise the same experiences with a "now in 4K/8K" label on it. On top of that, console gamers already pay for online service access and many subscribe to PlayStation+/Xbox Game Pass. They're effectively getting the worst of both worlds - paying SaaS prices for an experience they do…
All the Stadia users who I spoke with were generally happy with the service while it lasted. Their main concern - latency - turned out to be a non-issue.
To me there's a great niche for it to be explored: cheat prevention in e-sports. Of course aimhacks will always be a thing, but the top players were always indistinguishable from cheaters in this regard.
Re: Playstation 5 Pro Shows the Futility of the Video-Game Graphics Race
#5Say what you will, but this is why Cloud Gaming will make sense eventually. Upgrade cycles have to make you want new games - you can't advertise the same experiences with a "now in 4K/8K" label on it. On top of that, console gamers already pay for online service access and many subscribe to PlayStation+/Xbox Game Pass. They're effectively getting the worst of both worlds - paying SaaS prices for an experience they do…
If by “eventually” you mean in a few decades then maybe I’m with you. The state of internet connections worldwide is still way behind what you need in order to make that kind of streaming an option. And for some players the input lag will always be an issue.
I don’t see hardware to game getting away anytime soon. Especially because with the current setup Sony gets to earn twice so I don’t see why they’d stop doing that.
Re: Playstation 5 Pro Shows the Futility of the Video-Game Graphics Race
#6The thing I loved about the PS5, above all else, is that basically every game has a “performance mode” aka 60fps. I appreciate there are lots of people out there who don’t care about 30fps, but the ps5 generation gave us the choice.
Furthermore, almost all the games I played on PS5 were PS4 games that now ran butter smooth.
Re: Playstation 5 Pro Shows the Futility of the Video-Game Graphics Race
#7A few things: - It seems like Sony chose to showcase "improvements" in games that already look pretty good, but there are other games for whom the improvement will be pretty dramatic (I've heard FFVII Remake cited as one). There may be an element there of Sony not wanting to put the worst offenders on blast by showing side-by-side of how shitty the game currently looks versus how nice it'll look on the Pro, which is…
MGSV is just a good looking game. It's one of those Yoshi's Island titles that will look good whether it's the day of release or 50 years into the future. Characters are well-designed, setpieces are pulpy and full of cold war personality, and the cinematics are all handled with that loving Kojima madness players have craved since MGS1. It really feels like a game that cost 80 million dollars to make, even though the version we all played is technically not even finished!
The real question (to me, at least) is how willing the games industry is to support total direction. I don't usually encourage one-man-band style development, but amidst all the paint-by-numbers Ubisoft titles I genuinely fear the design-by-committee releases. For games to be interesting again, we need to branch out from the current homogeneous identity of quicktime events and cinematics the length of a four course dinner. People gotta make games, again.
Re: Playstation 5 Pro Shows the Futility of the Video-Game Graphics Race
#8I really wish developers on consoles would just accept what kind of performance consoles really offer. There isn't a single reason a game should be 30fps these days if that game tests your motor skills in any way. If you can't hit a locked 60fps target, you need to reassess your visuals.
Hearing that 2/3 PS users are switching to 60fps, away from a default of 30fps is really interesting. You can have the best screenshots in the world, but if your game doesn't run well people can tell.
Re: Playstation 5 Pro Shows the Futility of the Video-Game Graphics Race
#9or maybe innovation in gameplay has stopped. hence why the same franchises rule.
something to appreciate about Nintendo, they don't focus on graphics but gameplay through level design, game mechanics etc.
well written stories such as the last of us are good too.
Re: Playstation 5 Pro Shows the Futility of the Video-Game Graphics Race
#10- If you just run the previous generation of games on the newer graphics, it's only a tiny bit better. But games designed for this generation will have more of a difference. Ultimately, it's all about giving the creators more freedom in making the game. Amazing games have been made with much less capability than today.
- You're going to get another big jump in graphics and immersiveness once the current neural rendering techniques are productionized. (though PS5 Pro probably isn't going to be important for that.)