Xbox - Series S/X: Thread 01

[fishbowlhead]

Either the nextbox will do about same as xbone due to old customers and game pass.

Or.

It will fail so miserably that it will basically kill their console hardware side as we know it now.

Either way the xbox brand is being positioned as “you can play this game on anything xbox branded” which is fine, but its a strategy that doesn’t put consoles under tvs.

[Leon Retro]

I am excited to see next gen though. Forza horizon looks pretty real now, you throw more polygons and Ray Tracing at it and it should look absolutely staggering.

FH4 also runs at 60fps on the X if you select that option. The game loses a lot of finesse at 30fps.

I really think that a lot of gamers would have taken notice of people talking about how the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X offer a 60fps option in some games, and that hype might have created the impression that '60fps' means better and more cutting edge. Well, I really hope that's the case, so lots of console gamers now have an expectation for 60fps, even if they have been playing lots of 30fps games for years.

Maybe it's like all the hype around 4K gaming -- people(even casual gamers) will have higher expectations for resolution and frame-rate. I hope that a big percentage of gamers are expecting next gen console games to be 4K 60fps.

At the very least, I hope all games have an option for a smooth 60fps, even if it's at the expense of resolution or detail. I like how the Pro and X allow people to choose improved frame-rate or resolution, so hopefully that choice will continue with the next gen. Ideally 4K 60fps will be common, but I know that some devs will opt for 30fps and fancier visuals. I just hope that most devs at least give gamers an option for 60fps.

I can only imagine how incredible FH5 will be in all departments. Knowing that the Series X is vastly superior in all departments has me very excited about FH5's potential to be absolutely amazing. I'm sure it will convince me to buy the system, seeing how much I like FH4.

[Cassius_Smoke]

An article from eurogamer basically saying what I was:

'The critical question is this: could Titanfall or Rise of the Tomb Raider be as impressive as they were on Xbox One if Respawn and Crystal Dynamics had to factor in Xbox 360 in the initial design phase? Similarly, while Dead Rising 3 had its issues on Xbox One, it's clear that the developers had a vision that out-stripped the capabilities of Xbox 360. Meanwhile, Ryse: Son of Rome may have started out as an Xbox 360 Kinect title, but it evolved into something very different - a technically brilliant release that set the bar in several respects for the rendering technologies that would come to dominate the current generation. Would any of these titles have been anything like the same experience if the developers had one eye towards accommodating Xbox 360?'

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2020-can-microsoft-deliver-next-gen-experiences-while-still-supporting-xbox-one

[vanpeebles]

The hardware was completely different. This time round, it's just like having two pcs of differing spec.

[Team Andromeda]

The hardware was completely different. This time round, it's just like having two pcs of differing spec.

Yes and it's not like Hellblade 2 rendering is being held back. Still I remember saying Streets Of Rage 2 couldn't be done on the SNES, only for it to come out on the Master system. Never mind having ports like Ridge Racer to the PlayStation

[endo]

Yeah, but that's not quite the same, is it? I mean, Out Run appeared on the Spectrum, but it was a chopped-down port released later. It's not like Sega had to develop the coin-op with one eye on fitting it into a Speccy, is it? Porting something afterwards isn't the same as simultaneous development on different platforms of differing power.

[Neon Ignition]

Depends on approach. Run GTA5 on PS5 and it would likely run amazeballs at maxed out frames, beyond ultra settings and knocking 8K resolution. Run GTA6 on PS3 and it would look and run like ass. If GTA6 was made for PS5 then broken down and bent over backwards to downport to PS3 roughly that's one thing, but to make GTA6 from the start with the GPU and CPU limitations of the PS3 in mind would make GTA6 a lot less of an experience than it could be on PS5.

I know that's two gens of a jump but the principal is the same with PS4-PS5 or XBO-XSX given how weak the CPUs etc are with those older systems. Given how rough FH3/4 are on base XBO I absolutely don't want FH5 to be designed as XBO friendly games that run amazing on XSX as opposed to it being XSX designed from the ground up and to hell with XBO.

I do get MS wanting to protect that Game Pass audience number but from a software development side it's still having its studios pull their punches as their opponent has its studios going all out.

I hope that they surprise but to me it feels like it just means games like Forza Horizon 5 are going to be very restrained iterations.

[vanpeebles]

It's a PC in a box, it will be just like pc games. It's not magic or rocket science.

[wakka]

Yeah, it is - and PCs are held back by low spec old consoles just as XSX will be. That's not a great situation. I'd like to see the new gen setting a new baseline - for both consoles and PCs - rather than providing a luxury version of the old one.

I don't really think we can compare to how Megadrive games were ported down to the Master System. Those games were completely remade for the MS, weren't they? It wasn't like they just turned a few effects off and lowered the framerate.

[vanpeebles]

Lol no for example:

Red Dead Redemption 2 minimum PC specifications:
OS: Windows 7 - Service Pack 1 (6.1.7601)
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K / AMD FX-6300
Memory: 8GB
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 2GB / AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB HDD
Space: 150GB
Sound Card: DirectX compatible


Red Dead Redemption 2 recommended PC specifications:
OS: Windows 10 - April 2018 Update (v1803)
Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
Memory: 12GB
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB / AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB HDD Space: 150GB
Sound Card: DirectX compatible

The scope is huge. A One X will be more than comfortable.

[Neon Ignition]

But that's because RDR2, impressive though it is, started development in the PS3 era targeting the PS4 era that itself launched with old tech in it. High end PC's today are knocking PS5 era tech, running a PS4 era game that was initially conceptualised and designed in the PS3 era which is a huge factor in why PC's scale games so well - no one maxes the systems out with current day baselines anymore. MS has two mindsets to go with:

1-Always maintain downscaling which is like eventually making RDR3 and still keeping tech created in the noughties in mind
2-Draw a line under XBO at some point and fully utilise the XSX's advantages.

I hope it's the latter as even waiting 2-3 years to do that gives their rival a big advantage. Still, if the games are all pushing forward in design and of a high standard then that will wahs away the concern though it will compound MS's struggle to shift hardware as it means many/most XBO owners have little reason to prioritise an XSX over a PS5.

Edit - Much simpler way, I can run RDR2 on a GTX760 if I want to. But no-way would I want RDR3 developed with the card in mind. And the GTX760 is the same age as the XBO.

[vanpeebles]

I also think people are imaging some kind of golden age of next gen games, that break new boundaries. The games will still be the same as games now, I have a mega spec pc, and it spends more time playing games made to look retro or pixelated, than it does being pushed to the limit. The only different is the same game at 1080p versus 4k. I doubt either console will be doing 4k 60fps with ultra gfx settings. How many games are there that actually push a system to their limits. Not many.

[Team Andromeda]

Yeah, but that's not quite the same, is it? I mean, Out Run appeared on the Spectrum, but it was a chopped-down port released later. It's not like Sega had to develop the coin-op with one eye on fitting it into a Speccy, is it? Porting something afterwards isn't the same as simultaneous development on different platforms of differing power.

Sega consumer divisions were expected to handle Master system ports of SEGA's lastest Arcade games and in the Saturn era the AM teams their self's were expected to handle Model 2 to Saturn ports.

Crysis Needed Direct X 11 GFX cards and insane specs but somehow we had it on the 360. In just the same way we had Doom 3, Half Life 2 , Farcry on the OG Xbox.

[endo]

Yeah, but they're all ports. Cut-down versions of existing games. Not the same thing. You can't take the Master System version of Streets of Rage, for example, stick it in a Megadrive and have it magically look and sound better. It's a separate game, developed specifically for one machine.

[Neon Ignition]

Honestly, Xbox One X owners should definitely seriously consider holding on to their systems for a few years rather than rushing out on day one. It's hard to imagine the difference between it and XSX in those first two years will be that big by which time you'll save money on the XSX (or they'll have already lined up a replacement for XSX)