[mocoworm]

Update:

Actual quote: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/05/ff_unreal4/all/1

“We’re much more in sync with the console makers than any other developer is,” he says. “That means we can give detailed recommendations with a complete understanding of what is going to be commercially possible.” In other words, Epic has seen the specs of proposed new consoles and is actively lobbying for them to be more powerful.

Original:

I thought this was worth talking about in itself.

Taken from this article,

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...n-game-screens

TIM SWEENEY: "There is a huge responsibility on the shoulders of our engine team and our studio to drag this industry into the next generation," said Gears of War design director Cliff Bleszinski. "It is up to Epic, and Tim Sweeney in particular, to motivate Sony and Microsoft not to phone in what these next consoles are going to be. It needs to be a quantum leap. They need to damn near render Avatar in real time, because I want it and gamers want it - even if they don't know they want it."

Sweeney added: "We're much more in sync with the console makers than any other developer is. That means we can give detailed recommendations with a complete understanding of what is going to be commercially possible."

Apparently Epic has seen the specs of the PS4 and next Xbox and is "actively lobbying" for them to be more powerful.

Is this the first actual confirmation that we are to not be TOO excited about next-gen ? Very worrying if true.

[stilgar]

You've just been Wii'd.

[Krev]

They want to drive specs up so the higher end game releases look better so the market's expectations for visuals are raised so less rich developers are forced to buy a new engine license to compete rather than just relying on UE3 so they turn to the successor to the engine they're familiar with, and therefore help Epic make loads of money.

Same reason Crytek want ridiculously powerful consoles.

[shinobi602]

Not a good sign. Sounds like they're underpowered right now.

[Grecco]

Pretty sure they did this last gen too. They got Microsoft to raise the ram.

[bgassassin]

Yeah but there is "powerful" and then there is "Epic powerful". The former is going to be more financially responsible hardware-wise.

[east of eastside]

No thanks, Epic.

[Xater]

That can mean anything. Same thing happened with the 360. It might just be the RAM it might be more. Who knows? Silly to panic over it.

[SolidSnakex]

Is this the first actual confirmation that we are to not be TOO excited about next-gen ? Very worrying if true.

Like I said in the other thread, some developers have crazy expectations for what next gen needs to be. Crytek wants 8 gigs when 2-3 gigs would be more than enough for us to see substantial upgrades over current gen games.

[SuperEpicMan]

Its easy to say that they should be more powerful, but they need to be at a price the consumer is comfortable spending.

[Gravijah]

devs wouldn't be devs if they weren't lobbying for more powerful systems.

[LevelNth]

They better not be, or the industry is toast, no question about it. Well, unless all you want to play is FPS's and EA Sports games.

Wait a minute...

[SmokyDave]

This puts Sony & MS in something of a dilemma. If one of them capitulates and the other doesn't, will that affect the level of support that Epic provides? Will it make one of them look 'cool' and the other look 'stingy'?

[massoluk]

How else are they going to sell a new engine.

[Effect]

When they are priced $400+ people know now who to direct the hate toward. :( This is why I'm glad I'm just going with the Wii U regardless of what happens. If they listen to Epic and give them what they want these systems would easily be priced right out of my budget.

[mocoworm]

It took EPIC last gen to make MS put the RAM in the 360 that they did. Imagine if they hadn't !

I don't see how the tech guys at MS and SONY would not know that their machines are underpowered. Why would it take EPIC to lobby them to make them realise?

It Makes no sense.

[S1kkZ]

it took epic and the gears of war tech-demo to convince ms that its better to give the 360 512mb ram instead of 256mb.

damn mocoworm! ;)

[Visualante2]

So Epic prematurely developed tools for PC hardware hoping that the consoles would support all this fancy shit. And now the hardware can't run it all they're lobbying hardware companies to improve the specs.

Epic should just suck it up and accept they overstretched and focus on whatever the manufacturers are doing I think. Not that I blame them. But I think they overstate their influence in the console market.

It took EPIC last gen to make MS put the RAM in the 360 that they did. Imagine if they hadn't ! I don't see how the tech guys at MS and SONY would not know that their machines are underpowered. Why would it take EPIC to lobby them to make them realise? It Makes no sense.

But that was for Gears of War right? Is Epic working with MGS for a close relationship? Either way kind of voids my argument that they have no power.

[Oddduck]

lol at people wanting console processors to be like PC's.

Lower the expectations.

[Orayn]

Who's ready for $700 consoles with higher failure rates than the first generation of Xbox 360? Aren't you guys excited? Doesn't it feel great to be a hardcore gamer?

[stilgar]

It took EPIC last gen to make MS put the RAM in the 360 that they did. Imagine if they hadn't ! I don't see how the tech guys at MS and SONY would not know that their machines are underpowered. Why would it take EPIC to lobby them to make them realise? It Makes no sense.

I don't get what you don't get. A console is always a compromise between cost and horsepower. Consumers want the lowest price. Developers want more RAM to show their graphical prowesses. All is fine in the world.

[pseudocaesar]

Well.. with what they managed to make Gears look like on the 360, im sure they will do fine with whatever MS and Sony bring out.

[codhand]

They're doing God's work.

[HigherLevel]

Of course they do. Then everyone will buy their new engine.

[Emitan]

Who's ready for $700 consoles with higher failure rates than the first generation of Xbox 360? Aren't you guys excited? Doesn't it feel great to be a hardcore gamer?

Every time I think about next gen specs I just hope they don't listen to GAF!

[Zigzz14]

For the sake of the video game industry as a whole I hope Microsoft and Sony tell Epic to go pound sand

[Durante]

I want consoles to be powerful enough to be able to support games at 720p with shitty IQ and framerate that will at least tax my PC with great IQ at 1080p and trying to render 120 FPS.

For the sake of the video game industry as a whole I hope Microsoft and Sony tell Epic to go pound sand

Better hardware doesn't hurt game companies in the least. Many small developers flourish on the platform with the most powerful hardware.

[Angry Fork]

Do it. I want beast consoles, new generations should have new top of the line tech with games to take advantage of it. I want my jaw to drop if I wanted cheap last-gen tech I could stick with what I already have.

[entrement]

Epic wants the industry to burn it seems.

[sTeLioSco]

wait,are those ue4 screens??

[FyreWulff]

Yes, drive the costs up for AAA games so developers have to pay millions of dollars to license your SDK to make use of the hardware.

[mocoworm]

I don't get what you don't get. A console is always a compromise between cost and horsepower. Consumers want the lowest price. Developers want more RAM to show their graphical prowesses. All is fine in the world.

For me it is more the fact that when these consoles hit they have to be good for 6 - 10 years. They can't be obsolete after 12 months. If EPIC are turning out UnrealEngine4 quality in 2012 what is 2022 going to look like ?

MS and SONY have to put things in place now to stop them needing a PS5 in 2015.

If MS hadn't listened to EPIC when the 360 was launched think of the dire situation they would have been in against the PS3 in the last 2-3 years.

[BurntPork]

For those wondering, yes, I'm eating crow right now. Sorry for being so adamant in that other thread.

[ColdBlooder]

Do it. I want beast consoles, new generations should have new top of the line tech with games to take advantage of it. I want my jaw to drop if I wanted cheap last-gen tech I could stick with what I already have.

Get a PC

Seriusly, a console is not for you, if you think this way.

[SomeDude]

I'd rather this gen last a couple more years and get the type of tech that cliffyb is talking about.

[Father_Brain]

Epic wants the industry to burn it seems.

Pretty much. I don't believe for a second the claims that the new lighting techniques will actually drive costs down.

[mugurumakensei]

For me it is more the fact that when these consoles hit they have to be good for 6 - 10 years. They can't be obsolete after 12 months. If EPIC are turning out UnrealEngine4 quality in 2012 what is 2022 going to look like ? MS and SONY have to put things in place now to stop them needing a PS5 in 2015. If MS hadn't listened to EPIC when the 360 was launched think of the dire situation they would have been in against the PS3 in the last 2-3 years.

Consoles are always obsolete within 12 months. There's a thing called the PC.

[mocoworm]

For those wondering, yes, I'm eating crow right now. Sorry for being so adamant in that other thread.

What did you say ? :D

[hammster]

I think, on balance, I would prefer an industry that actually exists rather than one that destroyed itself so dramatically.

[fly high ~ayunite~]

It's nice to want things.

[Lyphen]

I hope it falls on deaf ears. The last thing I want is Ubisoft's 6 studios working on one safe yearly release future.

[CrunchinJelly]

What does this mean for WiiU?

Already powerful enough or have Epic given up trying to convince Nintendo?

[polyh3dron]

If graphics don't get a huge improvement in the next gen consoles, then what the fuck is the point of making them? We may as well stay with our current gen until Sony and MS find it economically viable to make consoles with vastly improved graphics.

Why are there people in this thread actively rooting for a new gen with marginal graphical improvement?

[Durante]

Pretty much. I don't believe for a second the claims that the new lighting techniques will actually drive costs down.

Yeah, better development tools reducing costs. What a ridiculous notion!

[Alx]

It took EPIC last gen to make MS put the RAM in the 360 that they did. Imagine if they hadn't ! I don't see how the tech guys at MS and SONY would not know that their machines are underpowered. Why would it take EPIC to lobby them to make them realise? It Makes no sense.

To be more exact, they did not simply get more RAM because they asked for it : MS asked them if they'd rather have 512M or a HDD in each console, and they chose the RAM.
Of course MS knows that more RAM/power is important, but they have to find a good compromise between costs and performance, in order not to have to sell a $599 console.

[evilromero]

Games look good enough this gen. I don't really care how much better they can get as long as they're fun.

[mocoworm]

If graphics don't get a huge improvement in the next gen consoles, then what the fuck is the point of making them? We may as well stay with our current gen until Sony and MS find it economically viable to make consoles with vastly improved graphics.

It's all about the PHYSICS

[Cheesemeister]

Who's ready for $90 games with $30 of on-disc DLC and online passes or used game blocking?

[Solid07]

Go epic Go epic GO

[Kosmo]

They want to drive specs up so the higher end game releases look better so the market's expectations for visuals are raised so less rich developers are forced to buy a new engine license to compete rather than just relying on UE3 so they turn to the successor to the engine they're familiar with, and therefore help Epic make loads of money. Same reason Crytek want ridiculously powerful consoles.

This.

The level of graphics being put out in something like Uncharted is perfectly fine - just give people the ability to put more bodies on screen and some more interaction with the environment and we're good.

I do not need 'Avatar in real-time'.