There's One Big Issue That's Slowly Killing The Xbox One And PS4

Business Insider - When most people think of "next-generation" gaming graphics, they envision crisper textures, added realism, detailed environments, and a sharper resolution.

Resolution plays a huge role in the overall gameplay experience, and it's fast becoming a low-hanging ceiling that effectively limits the "next-generation" Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles.

Here's an example.

"Titanfall," the parkour shooter with large mechs thrown into the mix, is arguably the biggest debut yet for Microsoft's Xbox One. But did you know that when it debuted, there were regular old Xbox 360 games running at a higher 1080p resolution? Keep in mind, the Xbox 360 launched back in 2005 — some eight years before the Xbox One.

"Titanfall" ran at only 792p when it shipped, which is a significant drop compared to the 1080p HD quality most people are accustomed to by now.

In an age where we're beginning to see a push for 4K "Ultra HD" displays, which promise four times the resolution of 1080p HD TVs, it's tough to call anything "next-generation" when it's pumping out games at a lower resolution than the mobile games in people's pockets.

It's not just the Xbox One that's hampered by too little horsepower. While Sony's PlayStation 4 does have beefier hardware, it's still running into similar issues, just less frequently.

One of the biggest games at this year's gaming expo, E3, was the medieval roleplaying game, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt." The game will be released in 2015, but even a full year and some change after the Xbox One's release, the development team still can't promise 1080p HD graphics.

"We will hit 900p no problem," executive producer John Mamais said in an interview with Cinameblend. "We'd like to get it up to 1080p on Xbox One. That's our goal. Whether we can do it or not I don't know. We've got to squeeze everything we can out of the hardware."

The graphics bottleneck stems from the graphics cards nestled within the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The graphics card inside the PlayStation 4 is more powerful than the graphics card inside the Xbox One, but they're both vastly underpowered when compared to even mid-grade gaming PCs of the last couple of years.     Read More

Why Gamers (And Developers) Will Love the PlayStation 4

 

Wired - TOKYO — A gaming console is only as good as the games you can play on it, and Sony went all-out to ensure the PlayStation 4 gets the best. In this video, lead system architect Mark Cerny joins Sony Computer Entertainment execs Andrew House and Shuhei Yoshida to explain how the PS4 will make it easier for developers to create amazing games and leave gamers drooling over the graphics and gameplay.

“We’d reached the point in games overall that it was appropriate to bring the software creators into the room when the hardware was being designed,” explains Cerny. “Ultimately, it’s all about having the best games on the platform.”

Read More about the Playstation 4:

See What’s Inside the PlayStation 4 With These Exclusive Photos.

Exclusive: The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony.

 

Watch Our Exclusive Teardown of the PlayStation 4.

Call of Duty: Ghosts - PS4 Multiplayer Gameplay

PS4 Release Date, Vita Price Drop, and GAMES!

PS4 Gamers Can Play All Their Digital Games From Any System

Thanks to the PS4′s ability to play games that are being downloaded in the background, you can play your digital titles on any machine.

Forbes - Thanks to the PlayStation 4′s Play As You Download feature, PS4 gamers will be able to play any of their digital games from any system without having to wait hours for a game to download.

“You can visit your friends house you can log into your account and play any game from your digital library, which is good,” said Neil Brown, Sony’s R&D senior team leader, speaking at Develop. “But how useful is that if it takes half a day to download the game you want to play? With Play As You Download you get much quicker access to at least the first section of the game so you can start playing quicker. So this makes a digital library a practical option in the real world.”   More

Making sense of the PS4 game lineup

Sony's PS4 event left us asking plenty of questions. Which games are PS4 exclusives? Which are PS3 games? And which are both?

 

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) 

 

CNET - NEW YORK--So the world didn't exactly get what it wanted out of Sony's PlayStation 4 debut tonight. There was no sight of the actual console itself and details about its specific release date and price were also nowhere to be seen.

Sony's team-up with Gaikai is sure to net some interesting ideas and implementations with cloud streaming, the sharing of game screens, remote play, and other concoctions, but the games themselves were what made the biggest impact.

Those pondering the PS4's gaming prowess were served an interesting dish. Ten or so major developers were represented in some capacity and onhand to discuss their progress with the new hardware, which consisted of all sorts of fresh media. Some announced new exclusive titles, while others merely showcased proof-of-concept videos. 

More