Tqaulity
Member
At the eve of the next gen console launches we have the typical amount of warring, negativity, and complaining. But I think that as gamers and fans of technology in general we really should take a minute and appreciate what both Microsoft and Sony are accomplishing with their next gen consoles. When you really pay attention and see how well they are delivering on their vision and promises it truly is unprecedented.
First, both console were actually designed to deliver a spec that matches the highest end experience you can get in gaming today (on PC). In other words, both deliver powerful state of the art hardware in a greatly engineered console form factor at a remarkable price. Zen2 CPU, RDNA2 GPU, cutting edge SSD, pioneering controller tech, and more all for <$500 is quite remarkable. But now that we are seeing more and more games, we can truly appreciate the achievements that are now realized with this technology. We've been promised the world before (N64 and PS3 come to mind first and foremost) but the reality typically involves many more compromises than we were led to believe.
A quick trip back to the beginning of the Xbox360/PS3 launches where the state of the art was 1080p graphics and both machines were presented initially as being able to deliver a "full HD" experience. Yet even at launch, we saw 720p be the max most games could achieve with many games going below that. PS4/XB1 generation was the 2nd attempt (7 years later) to deliver on the 1080p dream and even then at launch we saw many games struggle to achieve that (particularly on Xbox One). By that time, the state of the art on PC was at least 1440p/60 with 4K and 60+ fps becoming a reality soon after. Those console were still pretty far from that level of quality at launch and beyond.
Fast forward to now and the "holy grail" for gaming today is 4K/60fps which remains extremely rare and demanding for even high even PCs costing many times more than a console. Yet, we are seeing a number of games at launch deliver on all the promises of this generation including native 4K visuals, 60-120fps, and near instant loading. Some highlights worth mentioning:
Even though it hasn't even officially begun, this generation is looking to be an absolutely stellar one with both Microsoft and Sony making some remarkable achievements that we really need to appreciated more. There is true innovation and technical achievements that can be appreciated by the full spectrum of gamers from the casual to the most hardcore. Guys, think about the value we are getting to have full 8 core Zen2 CPUs, cutting edge RDNA2 GPUs w/ray tracing, cutting edge SSDs (which alone are almost the price of the consoles), HDMI 2.1 (still no other source devices support this), and services like Gamepass for the same price as a Xbox One at launch (and less than a PS3 at launch). Nobody thought the next gen consoles could even include an SSD at all due to the cost. Several years ago, many people argued that they would be limited to a Vega 64 level GPU at best (even the Radeon VII was considered out of reach). Honestly, all of our initial expectations have been exceeded!
Sony and Microsoft: I salute you! I know how difficult it is to build a new console and juggle all of the various factors and limitations such as cost, heat, noise, technology, services, and software. It's it very rare when we see 1 console actual deliver on most of the promises for a new generation....never mind 2. Truly an amazing time to be a gamer
First, both console were actually designed to deliver a spec that matches the highest end experience you can get in gaming today (on PC). In other words, both deliver powerful state of the art hardware in a greatly engineered console form factor at a remarkable price. Zen2 CPU, RDNA2 GPU, cutting edge SSD, pioneering controller tech, and more all for <$500 is quite remarkable. But now that we are seeing more and more games, we can truly appreciate the achievements that are now realized with this technology. We've been promised the world before (N64 and PS3 come to mind first and foremost) but the reality typically involves many more compromises than we were led to believe.
A quick trip back to the beginning of the Xbox360/PS3 launches where the state of the art was 1080p graphics and both machines were presented initially as being able to deliver a "full HD" experience. Yet even at launch, we saw 720p be the max most games could achieve with many games going below that. PS4/XB1 generation was the 2nd attempt (7 years later) to deliver on the 1080p dream and even then at launch we saw many games struggle to achieve that (particularly on Xbox One). By that time, the state of the art on PC was at least 1440p/60 with 4K and 60+ fps becoming a reality soon after. Those console were still pretty far from that level of quality at launch and beyond.
Fast forward to now and the "holy grail" for gaming today is 4K/60fps which remains extremely rare and demanding for even high even PCs costing many times more than a console. Yet, we are seeing a number of games at launch deliver on all the promises of this generation including native 4K visuals, 60-120fps, and near instant loading. Some highlights worth mentioning:
- Spider Man Miles Morales is delivering a AAA open world game that remains one of the best technical achievements on current gen at a full native 4K, locked 30fps with w/ real time ray-tracing. Think about this for a minute, it was only within the last 2 years or so that real time ray tracing was even something thought of to be used for current games and even then it is extremely expensive on ultra high end PCs. Can you guys appreciate that at launch we have a full AAA open world in a bustling city with real time ray traced reflections throughout all while running at native 4K, unwavering performance, and graphical fidelity much higher than the current gen game? This is freaking amazing! Even the performance mode runs at a higher resolution than the PS4 pro version of 2018 Spiderman while keeping a locked 60fps with added graphical detail (sans ray-tracing)
- Gears 5 is delivering greater than PC ultra settings at 4K with a locked 60fps and 120fps mode in multiplayer. We're talking about one of the generation's best looking games pushed beyond the best of what we've seen to date on PC and delivering a smooth 120fps performance again right at launch! Just really shows how much more horsepower these consoles possess over current gen
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla is delivering a full 4K/60fps experience right at launch! Again, Assassin's creed games are some of the largest open worlds you will find in gaming. Let's not recall how ACIV: Black Flag ran at only 30fps on then "next gen" consoles despite the game being a cross gen title (and let's not even discuss the state of AC Unity at launch). The real kicker: across more than 25 games released there has NEVER been an Assassin's creed game released on console running at 60fps! That includes the remasters of the early AC games from X360/PS3/Vita running on the current "enhanced consoles". As many with powerful PCs can attest to, it is not easy to get most AC games running at 60fps and high settings even on PC. Valhalla is the first AC game to run at 60fps right out of the box on console. This is such a great milestone that doesn't get enough attention!
- Ori and Will of the Wisps is one of the best looking games on the market pushing a full native 4K and 120fps on Series X. Sure it's not the most demanding title, but to have that much excess horsepower to push the game to those levels at launch is indeed impressive (~RTX 2080ti level of performance)
Even though it hasn't even officially begun, this generation is looking to be an absolutely stellar one with both Microsoft and Sony making some remarkable achievements that we really need to appreciated more. There is true innovation and technical achievements that can be appreciated by the full spectrum of gamers from the casual to the most hardcore. Guys, think about the value we are getting to have full 8 core Zen2 CPUs, cutting edge RDNA2 GPUs w/ray tracing, cutting edge SSDs (which alone are almost the price of the consoles), HDMI 2.1 (still no other source devices support this), and services like Gamepass for the same price as a Xbox One at launch (and less than a PS3 at launch). Nobody thought the next gen consoles could even include an SSD at all due to the cost. Several years ago, many people argued that they would be limited to a Vega 64 level GPU at best (even the Radeon VII was considered out of reach). Honestly, all of our initial expectations have been exceeded!
Sony and Microsoft: I salute you! I know how difficult it is to build a new console and juggle all of the various factors and limitations such as cost, heat, noise, technology, services, and software. It's it very rare when we see 1 console actual deliver on most of the promises for a new generation....never mind 2. Truly an amazing time to be a gamer