PS3 News: BioWare: Not Much More To Find In Current Consoles - PS3 News

Members Login: Register | Why sign up? | Forgot Password?

BioWare: Not Much More To Find In Current Consoles

As the years drag on, everyone wants to know if the current consoles have been maxed out in terms of power.

More developers are saying they've tapped into most of what the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 has to offer, and that now includes BioWare. In speaking to NowGamer, BioWare Edmonton GM Aaryn Flynn said:

"In terms of actual horsepower, I think we’re pretty maxed out. I don’t think there’s much more to find."

The good news is that designers no longer have to concern themselves with finding more power, and they can work on the stuff that really matters (gameplay, narrative, etc.). So when it comes to an epic production like Mass Effect 3, BioWare is able to work on platforms with which they're familiar and focus on expanding the franchise in artistic directions. Added Flynn:

"That said though, I think what is nice is what that gives you is an incredibly stable platform that lets you iterate on things like gameplay and iterate on things like story and things you can do that way now because you’re not worrying about the underlying technology changing from under you. That’s been one of the nice things for us in Mass Effect 3. Relying on that stable hardware that you know and have learned very well for the past five or seven years."

Yeah, it has been that long. The next generation of consoles is on the way, folks. Count on it.

Tags: bioware, me3, mass effect 3, ps3, xbox 360

10/27/2011 8:55:43 PM Ben Dutka

Put this on your webpage or blog:
Email this to a friend
Follow PSX Extreme on Twitter

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Google Share on MySpace Share on Delicious Share on Digg Share on Google Buzz Share via E-Mail Share via Tumblr Share via Posterous

Comments (26 posts)

Teddie9
Thursday, October 27, 2011 @ 9:42:25 PM
Reply

ME3 will be fantastic. Right now with Dark souls and soon Skyrim. The rpg party should continue smoothly into early 2012.

Agree with this comment 5 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

TheIllusiveMan
Thursday, October 27, 2011 @ 10:05:17 PM

I can't wait for Skyrim and ME3... but I want a good modern turn based RPG. I miss that.

Agree with this comment 5 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

FM23
Thursday, October 27, 2011 @ 11:20:38 PM

Man I wish I could just finish Dark Souls and move on with my life...I want to quit this unfair mess but I cant stop...lol. SKYRIM amd ME3 are hopefully going to be amazing

Agree with this comment 2 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

kevinater321
Thursday, October 27, 2011 @ 10:05:17 PM
Reply

You can only say that when your game looks like uncharted 3.

Agree with this comment 6 up, 7 down Disagree with this comment

TheIllusiveMan
Thursday, October 27, 2011 @ 10:08:36 PM

Apparently you haven't played Mass Effect sir. It's an amazing game. It may not look like the top game right now, but considering that it's a very large, very open, multiplatform RPG, I'd say it's doing a damn good job.

Agree with this comment 8 up, 1 down Disagree with this comment

FM23
Thursday, October 27, 2011 @ 11:18:12 PM

So you expect a game thats about 30+ hrs longer than UC3 to look like UC3 not even taking into account the expansive world and characters. ME2 imo was much more enjoyable and satisfying than UC2 and I loved UC2. Also your comparing an RPG to a linear single player game....hmmmmm. I know what your saying, but come on man

Agree with this comment 5 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Excelsior1
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 1:41:30 AM

right on fm23. i would argue me2 is a far more ambitious game as well. after playing a game like me2 you start to appreciate just how "small" other games feel in comparison. me2 is an epic game that features some of best writing and story telling i have seen this gen. the universe is just so lively and fleshed out in that game...i was pretty blown away by the sheer scope of the game. great stuff.

Agree with this comment 5 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

luisliu
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 2:07:00 AM

I wonder where that very large and open RPG game is. Is it on the other side of the disc?

Agree with this comment 1 up, 6 down Disagree with this comment

Excelsior1
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 8:13:54 AM

no need to flip the disc. it's all on one blu ray...just hook up any usb keyboard to your ps3 and hit Ctrl:FU and you should be able at access it :).

Agree with this comment 7 up, 1 down Disagree with this comment

Underdog15
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 8:42:29 AM

I'm agreeing with luisliu.

I never played the original ME, but I hear it was much more RPG in nature than ME2.

I hope that's true, because I have no idea why people think ME2 is such a great RPG. I've played board games from Stag Shop with more role playing elements than ME2...

When will people realize that "choice" doesn't magically give a game depth? Not a single rpg with "choice" has ever been able to keep up with my imagination. These games constantly limit the freedom they advertise being able to give me.

I'd rather have set characters with an engaging story, any day. At least then there's actual character development.

My goodness, folks... story is NEVER as important as the characters... and the limited "choices" you do have in these games, also limits the potential your character will -EVER- have.

Until they create an AI that can actually react to everything I do and say as a human, these games will never engage me. I should like to hope the rest of you are too complex for the game to keep up with, too.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 10/28/2011 8:42:49 AM

Agree with this comment 0 up, 3 down Disagree with this comment

kevinater321
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 9:09:05 AM

I'm not saying that mass effect isn't a good game, just that it doesn't have the best graphics in the bussiness. I love me some mass effect...Some people...

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Excelsior1
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 9:13:01 AM

great rpg? maybe not, but i read a pretty convincing argument from ben once where he defended it as a rpg. it does have a lot of traits that i like about rpgs. for example i spent countless hours exploring and doing interesting things off the main mission. there really is not a large selection of games that i make that claim about this gen. rpg lite? how about we call it that? all i know is i loved it, and i think it is a great game. it's certaintly a lot more of an in depth game than the majority of 8 hr drivel we get these days. not exactly a lot of quality rpg material out there these days so i'll even settle for tps with rpg elements tacked on. plus i love sci fi. maybe that's why i can look past the watered down rpg elements.

i am curious. did you like fallout3 underdog? what do think of it as a rpg?

Agree with this comment 2 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

bigrailer19
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 11:33:29 AM

I'm curious where this open ME game is too. Aside from traveling the galaxy in a little ship on the screen (which isn't what it sounds like), the game is what most would call linear, with one way through. The gameplay that is. The only thing open about ME2 is the conversations, and those outcomes. But I'm not bashing on the game, I loved it. So much so I'm really looking forward to ME3.

Your right though it's a tps with rpg elements. And it looks to me like the 3rd will be even more of a TPS, with what looks like a new melee system and such. It looks to focus a lot more on the combat and action.

As for fallout 3, (I know you were asking underdog), Its obviously more open than ME. It was far more in depth, and there are many more choices you can make because of that. There's a lot of people with different opinions about what Is an RPG', and to me there's a big difference between an RPG and a game that is a first person shooter, or TPS first with RPG elements as a secondary. Fallout was a FPS but a lot of the RPG elements were the focal point. In ME2 the combat takes precedence. That's how I feel anyways. Again though there's so many differing opinions, it's a tough argument. I have a hard time saying Bioware is a great RPG developer. Action RPG they do better than most.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 10/28/2011 11:45:55 AM

Agree with this comment 1 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Underdog15
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 2:36:00 PM

As long as you thoroughly enjoy the game, that's all that matters to me.

I've played Fallout 3, so that's not really what I'm asking about.

But I've never played the first ME. I'd like to know how that compares to ME2. I can see redeeming quality in ME2, and I think it's a pretty decent game.

I just don't understand the hype. I don't see why it's heralded as a "great RPG". I'm not even trying to debate what is and isn't an RPG. I'm just saying I don't get the allure that makes some people say it's the best of all time... you know what I'm getting at? I guess I'm trying to say... I get why it's good and why people like it, but I don't get why people think it's as amazing as they say it is. To me it's just an alright experience... a good one... but not one that will define my gaming experience...


...

Does that make sense? I don't feel like I'm explaining myself properly.

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

LetoAtreides82
Monday, October 31, 2011 @ 9:23:42 AM

Of course ME2 doesn't look as good as UC3 but it'd be practically impossible for it to because it's a more expansive game.

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, October 27, 2011 @ 11:04:49 PM
Reply

Focus on the PS3 only, then you can say you tapped it. I'm totally freaked that the multiplayer is gonna handicap ME3 in some way.

Agree with this comment 5 up, 4 down Disagree with this comment

TheIllusiveMan
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 7:26:31 AM

GameInformer had a great article up yesterday about how the multiplayer in ME3 was absolutely perfect for the game and that it in no way, shape, or form caused any problems with single player. The made sure to include what it is, how it is, what affects it can have, and that most importantly, you can still get the best ending without it.

Agree with this comment 2 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Alienange
Thursday, October 27, 2011 @ 11:40:06 PM
Reply

This Flynn character is rather bright. I'm sure it's a VERY comfortable position to be in. Let's hope more devs focus on story and gameplay over trying to push fancier graphics as the be all end all.

Agree with this comment 5 up, 2 down Disagree with this comment

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Thursday, October 27, 2011 @ 11:54:10 PM

And let's hope the majority of gamers abandon certain elitist and naive ideals and admit that visuals will always play a significant role.

Agree with this comment 9 up, 2 down Disagree with this comment

T W O
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 8:14:04 AM

Really?
A thumbs down for these two comments?
I guess I should be happy because there could have been more than that.
Anyway, I couldn't agree more. Devs should expand themselves and give us stories and fleshed out characters we can care about.
I'm sure this trent will continue though. The current gen is in it's prime there's no reason to stop at graphics.

Agree with this comment 1 up, 1 down Disagree with this comment

Coffeya
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 6:11:45 PM

story, gameplay, and graphics all play a significant role, but just to a certain extent and some more than others especially depending on the game.

Can't completely agree with both of you, but can't completely disagree either.

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

PSN French
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 1:25:39 AM
Reply

This is a typical stunt from developers to sell more copies. THEY finally pushed the current consoles to the limit with the game they are getting ready to release... been hearing this for a while now. I can agree games like Mass Effect get close and definitely max out the 360, but I think there is more to push out of the PS3. Many supercomputers today are networked PS3s... are we really going to agree with EVERY developer that says this?

Agree with this comment 4 up, 1 down Disagree with this comment

LetoAtreides82
Monday, October 31, 2011 @ 9:26:39 AM

Networked PS3s play a different role, they provide increased CPU power, not GPU power.

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

___________
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 6:27:38 AM
Reply

ah theres plenty left son, you just have to know where to look!
;)

Agree with this comment 2 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

slugga_status
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 8:57:38 AM
Reply

I will never understand how a dev with a multiplat game can honestly say they've maxed out both systems. I'll look what the devs that work on exclusives to let me know when they've maxed it out.

Agree with this comment 1 up, 1 down Disagree with this comment

Wissam
Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 7:05:58 PM
Reply

I liked mass effect 2. but they are just full of .... what a more powerful hardware will do to them the same game with better graphics. we will just went fro 720p to 1080p. nothing more or less.

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Leave a Comment

Please login or register to leave a comment.

Popular Cheats

Recent Reviews

Recent Previews

Sponsor

Our Poll

Do you plan to buy a PlayStation Vita this year?
Yes, I'll definitely get one in 2013.
No, but I'll get one eventually.
No, I have no intention of buying the Vita.
No, I've already got one.

Previous Poll Results