What Does "Next Gen" Mean These Days?

[marlowe221]

I think we can mostly agree that "next gen" largely referred to the jump from standard resolution graphics to HD resolution graphics when we are talking about the leap from Xbox to Xbox 360 and PS2 to PS3.

But what does it mean now? The next screen resolution upgrade of any significance is years away from being commonplace enough to build a gaming console around its existence. And even if it were just around the corner we will, at some point, be approaching differences in resolution that the human eye will be physically unable to detect - a graphical plateau, as some have called it.

So what is "next gen" at this point?

Nintendo seems to believe it is control schemes.

Microsoft seems to believe it is becoming an all-in-one media hub.

Sony seems to believe it is.... tablet games for kids and slightly-fancier-than-we-have-now cell phone games... or something?

I have seen some saying that the WiiU is not "next gen." Maybe they're right, maybe not. But what is the yard stick now that HD graphics are as common as shoelaces? Will an incremental hardware upgrade make the next Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft console any more "next gen" than they already are? Is it Quake 4 implementation? Is there such a thing as "next gen" any more?

What does "next gen" mean to you and how will it manifest itself in the next round of consoles?

[Jmustang1968]

The difference in current high end pc gaming textures to consoles is significant. Computing and processing capabilities. Console games are heavily compressed and limited with current hardware. They will start releasing the newest game engines. There is so much they can do to improve AI.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

The difference in current high end pc gaming textures to consoles is significant. Computing and processing capabilities. Console games are heavily compressed and limited with current hardware. They will start releasing the newest game engines. There is so much they can do to improve AI.

This.

A resolution jump isn't too far off either I'd imagine.

Next gen means next gen. Wii U and whatever else is coming out.

There will be a day where the gens will blur much in the way PC gaming has.

[isiolia]

The PS3 and 360 are "HD", but nearly all of the software renders natively at 720p or lower resolutions.

Many of the games standardize 30fps or lower, not the 60fps+ that is more ideal. Graphics tech is understandably behind the state-of-the-art.

Not to harp on graphics, or say they're the only thing...just that it's far from plateau'ed. Just being able to run current games at the level PCs tend to run them would be a noticeable improvement to many. Standardize a few more shaders/effects, and you have a jump akin to the PS2-PS3.

There is likely a sweet spot for production vs budget, but I think it's a moving target as well. Each generation sees improved developer tools to go along with it. So super detailed models and textures for the next level of graphics might be costly - but they'll also be relatively easier to make as time goes on.

When I think next-gen, I think something that is above and beyond the capabilities of the current hardware. Usually that's most evident in graphics and processing, since many other aspects of the system can be added to as time goes on.

Someone saying the Wii U is not next gen is looking at the graphics, and observing that they look like they could be done on a 360 (which, from what I've seen, is the case).


It's sort of a two-level thing here. On the one, there's the hardware itself. On the other, the infrastructure and services that tie it together. The ecosystems that MS and Sony are cultivating around the XBox and Playstation brands are representative of modern (or upcoming) trends in consumer electronics and home entertainment...but are perhaps distinct from the actual hardware they're utilizing at the moment.

MS isn't touting the 360 itself as the central hub of the living room. They're building up the XBox platform to have the strategic partnerships and capabilities to make that work. When the next XBox hits, it'll take over doing all that and more.

Personally, I see the paradigms set in the services, and the actual capabilities of the hardware as mostly separate. To parallel, what Apple offers via iTunes and the App store has evolved over time. Not all of it is directly tied to the capabilities of the devices they sell that utilize them.

[marlowe221]

The PS3 and 360 are "HD", but nearly all of the software renders natively at 720p or lower resolutions.

Many of the games standardize 30fps or lower, not the 60fps+ that is more ideal. Graphics tech is understandably behind the state-of-the-art.

Not to harp on graphics, or say they're the only thing...just that it's far from plateau'ed. Just being able to run current games at the level PCs tend to run them would be a noticeable improvement to many. Standardize a few more shaders/effects, and you have a jump akin to the PS2-PS3.

There is likely a sweet spot for production vs budget, but I think it's a moving target as well. Each generation sees improved developer tools to go along with it. So super detailed models and textures for the next level of graphics might be costly - but they'll also be relatively easier to make as time goes on.

When I think next-gen, I think something that is above and beyond the capabilities of the current hardware. Usually that's most evident in graphics and processing, since many other aspects of the system can be added to as time goes on.

Someone saying the Wii U is not next gen is looking at the graphics, and observing that they look like they could be done on a 360 (which, from what I've seen, is the case).


It's sort of a two-level thing here. On the one, there's the hardware itself. On the other, the infrastructure and services that tie it together. The ecosystems that MS and Sony are cultivating around the XBox and Playstation brands are representative of modern (or upcoming) trends in consumer electronics and home entertainment...but are perhaps distinct from the actual hardware they're utilizing at the moment.

MS isn't touting the 360 itself as the central hub of the living room. They're building up the XBox platform to have the strategic partnerships and capabilities to make that work. When the next XBox hits, it'll take over doing all that and more.

Personally, I see the paradigms set in the services, and the actual capabilities of the hardware as mostly separate. To parallel, what Apple offers via iTunes and the App store has evolved over time. Not all of it is directly tied to the capabilities of the devices they sell that utilize them.

I can't say that I necessarily disagree with anything you have said. And I certainly don't think we have reached a graphics plateau yet - although if we reach it in the next 10 years or so I would not be surprised, at least on PC.

What I will be a little surprised by is if we see any of the big 3 consoles give us all 1080p all the time and 60fps to boot this up-coming generation. It's interesting to me that all three hardware companies seem to be focused in directions other than bleeding edge graphics tech. Maybe MS or Sony will prove me wrong at the next E3 though...

[isiolia]

Sorta related

http://www.agnisphilosophy.com/en/index.html

Real Time Tech Demo - maybe this is the kind of thing we'll see from the next generation, though it's probably a stretch considering the kind of hardware the Samaritan demo took to run. Reportedly that takes 2.5 teraflops next to the .25 teraflops that the 360 can push.
Still, when they originally showed it last year, Epic was running the demo on 3xGTX580. This year they showed it running on a single Kepler based card (I assume a GTX690). Couple more rounds of GPU tech, and maybe it'll be something a midrange card can do.

[Curlypaul]

Next gen means next gen. Wii U and whatever else is coming out.

This. It doesn't matter to me how large the jump is, its whatever hardware is coming out next.

I couldn't give a tit about graphics or control schemes, I'm just here to have fun.

[Phades]

This is next gen.

[AppleQueso]

This is next gen.

already posted

[Phades]

This is next gen.

already posted

This is what happens when I skim instead of reading....