Sony's E3 Footage Proves The PS3 Has Plenty Of Power Left
See Full ImageHey, I love the idea of fancy new hardware. I'm a gamer, after all.
But at the same time, I think it's important to acknowledge the reality of the situation, and in viewing the current generation, I come to the following conclusion: Microsoft and Nintendo desperately need new consoles. Sony does not.
Now, as excited as I was about the PlayStation 3, even then I didn't think it was entirely necessary, primarily because I believed the PS2 had a lot more power locked away inside. For those who scoff at this ("hidden power" became a running joke last generation that pissed me off something fierce, as it was true), perform a simple compare and contrast: Compare the likes of God of War II, Final Fantasy XII, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater to the PS2 launch titles. Go right ahead. When you're done, admit that it was like looking at two completely different machines.
I really thought the PS2 had more in it, and most developers would be inclined to agree. Now, many developers are saying the same thing about the PS3, and the upcoming software is verifying those claims. The reason I say Sony easily "won" E3 this year is simply due to the stunning gameplay they showed; games, above all else, are what matter. In an industry that expands and adopts new tech and new features with every passing day, where our consoles are essentially PCs, it's easy to forget that. And in looking at Beyond: Two Souls, The Last Of Us, and God of War: Ascension, I realized that really, we don't need the PS4 right now.
In fact, I dare say we don't need it for another three or four years. We still haven't seen Killzone 4 and Gran Turismo 6 yet, either, and what if Naughty Dog is making Uncharted 4 for the PS3 rather than the PS4? If all three are coming to the current console, and the first-party developers continue to push the PS3 more and more, why do we need new hardware? What for? Show consumers the current software out there, show them a cheaper price (in comparison to the new Xbox 720, for example, whatever that price may be), and things should be just fine. Besides, Sony wants to be profitable with the PS3 for as long as possible, right?
That footage was head-and-shoulders above the competition in my eyes, with the possible exception of Ubisoft's Watch Dogs. The PS3 isn't done yet, obviously. Just let it be.
Tags: ps3, playstation 3, e3, e3 2012, ps4, playstation 4, next gen
6/5/2012 8:49:13 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (41 posts)
jimmyhandsome
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 9:56:06 PM
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I don't think the 360 desperately needs a new console either though. Halo 4 looked damn good to me.
5 up, 0 down
Kevin555
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 10:13:52 PM
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I will be the first to admit that when this machine first launched in my country i was disappointed. Their were hardly any standout launch games & the visuals didn't blow me away like a thought they would, not to mention that there were PSN problems all around & the loss of big exclusives really made justifying spending $1000 AU difficult to swallow.
But from early 2008 & beyond. I'd have to say that the PS3 has become a fantastic long term investment that just keeps on delivering, & it's been worth every dollar I've spent on it. When i buy a system all i want is great looking games to play it on & PS3 is sh!tting out the quality like it's on laxatives.
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Jawknee
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 10:17:19 PM
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6 up, 1 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 10:43:44 PM
2 up, 2 down
Jawknee
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 10:45:12 PM
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Fane1024
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 1:30:05 AM
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Qubex
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 10:18:37 PM
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If this is the case we talking one powerful console that is only now showing it's true colours. I come back to this important point. Highlander and myself have both mentioned this a number of times, and so have a few other Extremers here; and that is the question of RAM.
If we had 2GB sitting on the PS3 motherboard today, I think we would see even greater feats because so much information could be parsed and streamed to the Cell for processing. Bottlenecks to the system are Blu Ray drive speed and limited Ram... I quiver to think of what the PS3 could do without these bottlenecks...
Anyway, we can't change the configuration, but from what we are seeing this year, it is beyond belief... Next year we will be smacked hard again across the face when we see decent footage of Last Guardian... this could set the bar higher again.
If Killzone 4, Uncharted 4 and GT6 are released consequently, we will be smacked silly a few times more...
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
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Helghast
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 11:41:28 PM
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Helghast
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 11:52:56 PM
Last edited by Helghast on 6/5/2012 11:55:23 PM
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Qubex
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 12:23:41 AM
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
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WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 10:42:02 PM
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On the other hand a healthy, long-lived and profitable PS3 is a very good thing and Quantic Dream is proving that hidden power yet exists within the console.
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Marckon
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 11:07:29 PM
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UHYUL_gA7pw
and also look at this...
(real time from square enix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVX0OUO9ptU
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sirbob6
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 11:22:34 PM
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BikerSaint
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 11:33:21 PM
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And with all of these superior graphical exclusive games coming out for it, I feel that both of my Phat & Slim PS3's will still feel as new another 3 years from now, as they were when I originally bought each of them.
BTW Ben,
I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment that the PS2 had much more horsepower to spare when developers decidedly switched over to the PS3.
Unfortunately, now we can only imagine how much better PS2 games would've become.
And that's the 2nd main reason(the other is money) I'm glad to see a much longer life-cycle this gen with the PS3.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 6/5/2012 11:40:51 PM
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Qubex
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 12:26:35 AM
We will know it is finally the end when we only see 2 games a year being release for her - those being FIFA16 and MADDEN16... We know then it is final!
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Last edited by Qubex on 6/6/2012 12:27:07 AM
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Fane1024
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 1:40:49 AM
More horsepower will produce noticeable improvements, greater than any that can be achieved on PS3 (which might well be significant).
Personally, I'd happily pay $400 just to have a browser that isn't f***ing broken.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 6/6/2012 1:42:32 AM
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daus26
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 1:10:58 AM
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Competition is good, but sometimes it just unnecessarily rushes you.
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Fane1024
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 1:27:18 AM
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I think your basic argument is reasonable, though I disagree.
But I definitely need a new console before Polyphony finishes GT6. I'm 41. I don't have that many years left in me. ;D
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Beamboom
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 3:44:28 AM
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From an *artistic* and conceptual perspective the games will continue to improve regardless of hardware specs. But that's how it always is, so in that sense you could say that the PS3, just like any other computer, has power left in them for an *eternal* life.
Let me use an example: The Amiga. That was my first real gaming platform. There is a scene still cranking on that machine, and many of them has done so ever since the Amiga were launched.
Now, if I check out some of the current day demos that are made for that machine, I can *guarantee* you that they look and sound better than the demos written 20 years ago. So following that reasoning you can then say that there's plenty power left in the Amiga. But we all know that the world has moved on leaps and bounds since then.
And likewise, If Sony never launched the PS3 but kept going with the PS2 up until today, I can *guarantee* you that the current day PS2 games would look and play better than the ones released right before the PS3 were launched. It simply is how things works in the programming world: There's *always* room for improvements, *always* possible to come up with new tricks.
In order to consider the power of a platform we need to compare it to the alternatives, and not itself. And if we use the PC as a benchmark of current state of gaming the PS3 is lagging far behind now. That's just how it is.
That said, I do not mind if I have to wait an extra year before we get the PS4 (I'm still hoping for 2013), simply cause there are so many great, great games nowadays. But boy would it be fat if I could enjoy those games on the next generation instead.
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/6/2012 5:01:23 AM
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Ludicrous_Liam
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 5:49:08 AM
And honestly, the developers on the PS3 platform are geniuses. Take Naughty Dog for (an obvious) example: In Uncharted 2 they made it so that the SPU's were never 'idle' - effectively allowing more polygons to be on screen (contary to what you just said xD); in Uncharted 3 used a combination of offline & online physics to simulate water gushing into a hole in a ship, sand running down a dune in a viscous way i.e REALISTICALLY - these are all methods which are definately significant.
For another example, look at the skin texture in Beyond (on the article picture); it looks REAL, with pore detail and an almost 'moist' quality to it. This is obviously the two companies sharing methods - in this case the 'offline & online physics' method, because there's no way that was all being rendered natively - to bring their games to another level.
I just think that there really is a lot of unseen potential left - potential that will no doubt be realised by developers like ND. With PC's you just throw problems at the monstrous CPU, without any real effeciency. There's a reason Crysis is unplayable on anything but a top of the line PC: it wasn't effeciently programmed.
So, with THAT said (I'll probably be negged by ye old faithful of the PC community for hating on Crysis), I really don't think the PS3 is "for all practical terms maxed out" at all. ;)
Last edited by Ludicrous_Liam on 6/6/2012 5:56:50 AM
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Beamboom
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 6:33:29 AM
However, are raytracing-capable chipsets a part of the next gen then I'd say that's a pretty darn significant leap in itself.
There are *always* ways to do things slightly better. Always. Had they kept cranking on the PS3 five years from now there would still be found small imrovements, good ideas and better ways to do stuff. But I call those steps insignificant compared to what *could* have been.
Cause really, what significance is there if the skin of the characters are a few notches more realistic. I file that under quite insignificant advance, cause in practical terms it's *nothing* compared to have the power to put *ten* lifelike characters like that on screen instead of just one (just to make up an example here).
And that is my point here: We can't decide a platforms lifespan based on when there are no tricks left to discover, cause to put it simple; if that were the determining factor we would still be sitting here with our 8 bit machines.
To squeeze out the very last drop is counter-productive. Get a new lemon instead.
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/6/2012 6:46:49 AM
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___________
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 6:41:26 AM
we had HD back then, and end of next year will have 4K to deal with!
worlds first 4K movie just released at 160GBs!
point though is that theres really not a market for it yet.
with games like listed above we really dont need to see next gen systems until we start seeing games not improving.
the last of us looks way better than uncharted 3!
beyond looks leaps and bounds better than heavy rain!
hell even crysis 3 made my jaw drop yesterday, its freaking gorgeous!
i still stand by that the cry engine 3 is THE MOST advanced engine out there!
freaking unbelievable!!!!!!!
and thats by crytek, wait till fans get a hold of it!
all the HD texture mods and stuff we see!
drool............
point is we dont need next gen systems till we start seeing the increase in graphics drop off.
and frankly were not seeing that yet!
thats not to say i dont want them!
i do i cant wait to see what next gen systems would do!
but we dont NEED them.
3 up, 2 down
Ludicrous_Liam
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 8:05:04 AM
But visually, was Uncharted 3 just a small improvement from Uncharted 2? I'm sorry, but the forest before the chateau in UC3 trumps the Boreno location from UC2 on every level. If you could get some screenshots from both games, in similar contexts, and put them both side-by-side, you'd see the massive improvements. I think, until ND release a game that doesn't astound the dev community - who are in complete awe & admiration for the things they do - then we should start discussing next gen.
...Plus, releasing a console sorta jugs things down a bit, because some developers like to wait for sales to pick up, or get used to the hardware themselves,. You disrupt the momentum you previously had and have to rebuild it.
"Cause really, what significance is there if the skin of the characters are a few notches more realistic. I file that under quite insignificant advance, cause in practical terms it's *nothing* compared to have the power to put *ten* lifelike characters like that on screen instead of just one (just to make up an example here)."
I guess you're right there - even the video seemed to have a few framerate drops with only two people. But the thing is we have NEVER seen something like that before, so it goes to show that there's more to unlock in the PS3. The developers themselves know whether that's true or not better than us, so we should really just wait until the majority are asking for the next gen.
@NoName: You should really name yourself and give your self an avatar; you've been on the site for ages with your anonymity. So long infact, that your no longer anonymous because we know you by your anonymity XD
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Beamboom
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 9:57:19 AM
We could at this stage in this discussion easily have gotten stuck in a discussion about the finer details of how significant this and that is. But that's beside the point, IMHO.
The main point here is that while a small handful first party developers with heavy backing by the hardware manufacturer could theoretically keep improving on their code and know-how for years to come (and I do mean that, they could) my claim is that it's simply non-productive to keep doing so.
Or to put it differently: Just *imagine* what ND could spend their time on creating now, had they been given a more capable hardware platform to work on. Why wait? Why squeeze those last drops? It's not worth it! The cost of amount of progression per working hour has become too high.
... And now we've not even touched the topic of 3rd party developers and multiplat releases, who represent more than 9/10 of all games released for the PS, and in my *personal* case of being not much of a fan of extremely linear gameplay represent practically all games I find interesting.
So, I vote for "Move On!". :)
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/6/2012 10:28:30 AM
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Ludicrous_Liam
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 10:51:45 AM
I think I , as a consumer, am similar to other consumers when I say I don't wanna buy another console, mostly because the standard of games at the moment is high, and getting better - be it small improvements or not.
Sony are first and foremost a business, so they are gunna think about people like me before anything else. I forked out £300 for the PS3 and I aren't about to think about buying another.
"... And now we've not even touched the topic of 3rd party developers and multiplat releases, who represent more than 9/10 of all games released for the PS, and in my *personal* case of being not much of a fan of extremely linear gameplay represent practically all games I find interesting."
Well...in my personal case I only play 1/10 of the games released for PS3, most of them being exclusives, so yeah xD I know Uncharted and Heavy Rain were probably the worst examples I could've used, considering you're stance, but they are the most technologically advanced.
...that's enough comments for one day for me I thinks. Let's just say I won and that'll be it, yeah? xD
oh noes
Last edited by Ludicrous_Liam on 6/6/2012 10:57:26 AM
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Beamboom
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 11:49:51 AM
So thanks for this little exchange of opinions and thoughts. :)
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/6/2012 11:56:00 AM
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Ludicrous_Liam
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 12:03:50 PM
Yeah, I'd like to talk about why you dislike uncharted and try and convert another (my last was 'ThatCanadianGuy'). Won't be easy, but I'll try. Just wait for the right article...
(What's that? A forumn? lolwut)
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CanadianGuy420
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 12:23:22 PM
oh and btw L it TheCanadianGuy on here xD/
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Beamboom
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 2:16:14 PM
Uncharted... Now that's a huge topic. I've almost got expelled from this very site for voicing my opinion on that franchise.
It *looks* good though. So it is an obvious example to use in these kind of discussions, from your side of the argument.
But yeah - to be continued when the right article pops up. I look forward to it. :)
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/6/2012 2:17:18 PM
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DemonNeno
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 4:52:34 AM
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OR!
Just keep utilizing what you have at a profit while satisfying your customers...
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___________
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 6:42:00 AM
as long as your paying.............
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___________
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 6:35:42 AM
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while beyond and others look freaking amazing, we could be playing so much better looking games!
hell look at ubisofts watch dogs that was running on a high end single GTX580!
you really telling me you dont want console graphics like that!?
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josiahlo
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 9:28:04 AM
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Matt78
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 10:00:27 AM
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wiley_kyotee
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 3:05:34 PM
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THEVERDIN
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 @ 8:18:50 PM
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PharaohJR
Thursday, June 07, 2012 @ 3:30:15 AM
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ya see.... i see some on here bringing up PC & thats koo untill u consider the amount of money u must invest to keep it updated to run on par with software released every 2 years. whereas with Ps3 launched in late 06 every year continued exclusive series has shown & delivered quality content overall on a set of technology thats built for durability.
i think xbox & PS will officially share details about next gen at next E3 or late 2013.
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Lazerbyte
Thursday, June 07, 2012 @ 10:18:13 AM
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Don Mattrik came out on stage saying that 360 is #1 worldwide and kept saying that! What they showed was not impressive and now you have to have a tablet as well as a controller to play their games and they want you to use it more as a computer by adding IE to it and to me it's just a hot mess box.
Quantic Dreams Beyond demo was awesome and Last of Us looks really good. I was surprised they didn't talk about Ni No Kuni the White Witch as that game looks fantastic.
Over all I was very happy with Sony as they made their press conference about the games for the gamers!
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Zemus101
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Tuesday, June 05, 2012 @ 9:34:26 PM
Last edited by Zemus101 on 6/5/2012 9:34:45 PM