With the upcoming arrival of Microsoft’s next generation Xbox One just a few days away, there has been a widespread debate raging on about the built-in specs of the console, and how they'll add to the power that will show its effect as soon as new dedicated titles start arriving. However, it seems like a number of developers believe that the console’s importance will not depend on its power, but how Microsoft decides to utilize it.
At a recent Xbox One preview event, a number of developers working on Xbox One launch titles told Eurogamer what they felt about the power related to the new console, and how the hardware has evolved.
P J Esteves, Design Director at Crytek, stated: “I guarantee you, if you take a high-end PC running a game and you look at the graphics comparison between that and Ryse, you're going to go, wow, they both look really good! It's about the art. It's a lot less to do with the actual specs and more to do with what you do with those specs.”
“I've been telling people, guys, this is just the first game. If we can do this on the first game, can you imagine the second generation, once we really start wrapping our head around what the cloud can do? I joke, dude, if I can do 10,000 AI, and I use the cloud to compute the processing power, then you bet your ass you're going to have a battle with 10,000 AI in it, because that's what we want to do,” Esteves added.
Also, on the topic of games running on 900p or 1080p on the Xbox One, Dan Greenawalt, Turn 10's Creative Director, stated: “You don't happen your way into 1080p, it doesn't matter how much power you have. You plan it from the beginning. And 60fps is even harder - it has to be in the culture of your team that every little aspect of content, the code, everything has to be developed that way. You start off with that plan and you build that plan.”
Joining into the conversation as well was Danny Isaac, Executive Producer at Rare, who said that people determine everything by the numbers associated.
“People will always look at numbers. Even today, the latest iPad has come out, and everyone's like, well, what's the resolution? Apple did that Retina display and moved it away from numbers because after a while they found you just can't compete there.”
“It's almost meaningless after a while. You get to a certain resolution where it doesn't make any difference if I add more pixels. The human eye can't pick it up. You start chasing something that - I wouldn't say it's not important - but it's only a piece. It's a slither of the story,” he added.
Microsoft's Xbox One is currently set for a Nov. 22, 2013 release, and will retail for $499.