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Gearbox: Developers Are Happy With Current Consoles

It seems most gamers aren't interested in a new generation of consoles just yet, and most developers (save a few big-name publishers) agree.

Gearbox president Randy Pitchford says the current round of consoles are at the sweet spot, where it's all about "game making." In speaking to VideoGamer, Pitchford says designers are past that awkward stage where they were still coming to grips with new hardware. These days, things are moving along smoothly:

"I'm actually excited by the fact that we're at a point now with this generation where it's not a technical problem. We're in the craft of game-making now. We understand the hardware, and now we're focusing on gameplay, focusing on leveraging that hardware towards the purposes of entertainment, instead of wrestling with the technical issues of how to just exist on it. As a game-maker, that's the best possible place to be."

Pitchford adds that they're "starting to anticipate" the next step, which may involve "HD2" and new systems for the sake of that new resolution, but that's off in the future. In general, the gaming community seems plenty satisfied with the PS3 and Xbox 360, although it's plain the Wii has sort of run its course. But then again, most designers don't put the Wii in the same category of gaming, and for good reason.

For our part, we're good with the systems we have for at least a few more years.

Tags: gaming industry, game consoles, video games

5/13/2011 11:54:52 AM Ben Dutka

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Comments (34 posts)

Darwin1967
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 12:07:08 PM
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I'll be interested to see what the new Wii brings to the table. Nintendo really needs to find it's ground again, but I tend to think they keep coming up short and still rely on gimmicks instead of solid, hi-tech platforms.

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Killa Tequilla
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 12:11:20 PM
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Yup, I'm happy with my Ps3 for the most part. Don't wan't to see any new generation of consoles in the next few years.

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Temjin001
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 12:11:34 PM
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Well that's fine if Gearbox is but I don't see how 360 gamers can be content with their ailing support and lack of exciting developments outside of KINECT.
Everytime I play a hot new Ps3 exclusive, like Motorstorm, I'm reminded of the widening performance gap between te two systems. Sony may be good flexing the PS3s muscles for the next few years, but MS didn't seem to have a plan for their dedicated after the first 5 yearsfor 360. I say, bring on a new platform MS. and don't get any retarded ideas about putting screens on your controllers. I don't wantto pay extra for that.

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LittleBigMidget
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 5:08:55 PM

Didn't you say you loved your 360 in another article?
Last edited by LittleBigMidget on 5/13/2011 5:09:06 PM

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HigherSenses
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 12:25:57 PM
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"I say, bring on a new platform MS. and don't get any retarded ideas about putting screens on your controllers".

haha, you know they will do all they can to annoy you.

On a diffrent note, i really hope nintendo offers something good this time, i was one of the few that didnt buy a wii because it felt to much like going back to my childhood

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BIGRED15
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 12:31:35 PM
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Well then what the deuce is up with developers claiming that they're already pushing the PS3 and X360 limits? Imo those devs are only limiting themselves by saying that. PS3 still has a ways to go before its maxed out. Uncharted 3 is still finding new ways to make their game better tecnologically. (did anyone see those screen comparisons... wow)

I think crytek was guilty of this claim. Does that mean PC devs are the only one that dont no how to work a console?

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Underdog15
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 12:44:19 PM

I don't think it's that they don't know how to push a console, but that PC dev's aren't bound by hardware.

In other words, they don't have much experience being efficient with the hardware. For example, I have games on my PC that "require" a GTX460 or better to run a game... technically, a GTX460 is powerful enough to produce definition at the molecular level... it's overkill. PC dev's just freely use whatever they want instead of trying to be efficient with the tech. They aren't doing anything of higher quality. They just make it easier on themselves by allowing the GPU to do all the work for them.

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johnld
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 4:16:56 PM

they keep saying they're maxing out the ps3 but judging from their games, ps3 exclusive game devs aside, they havent heard of the word "optimize". somewhat like in cars, they reach the top speed in a straight line and max it out but put it in a track with turns and its can be a piece of crap.

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Sancho
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 4:46:04 PM

I think the 360 started showing its age a little over a year ago to be honest. Lots of games on PS3 could have been better if they were exclusive instead of also needing to make the games between the two systems look similar. Not just graphics, but length of games as well from being scrunched to fit into the 360's little dvd drive.

Thats just my opinion though.

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Claire C
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 1:03:35 PM
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And the Wii 2 is gonna f**k it all up by forcing Sony and Microsoft to speed up their next consoles. Thanks Nintendo, thanks a lot.. =^.^=
Last edited by Claire C on 5/13/2011 1:04:09 PM

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Scarecrow
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 1:08:48 PM

Sadly I see this as being the case too.

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johnld
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 4:23:51 PM

nah, like most others i'll buy my multiplatform games on ps3 and 360. nintendo online isnt really a big thing plus it might just be filled with kids. nintendo doesnt really scream hardcore/competitive gaming. nintendo's image to me is soft which may populate their online community. of course i'm disregarding those smash bros crowd since they'll probably in the minority against old people and children.

The only real draw to me is their first party exclusives most of which are single player experiences. If they put multiplayer on their console zelda games i'll fly to japan and burn their headquarters down. The cream of the crop on nintendos exclusive first party games have always been those amazing single player games. i'd rather play zelda alone. same with metroid, kirby, donkey kong. i dont mind mario with 2 players but 4 like in that new one was just too hectic.

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Scarecrow
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 9:34:49 PM

johnld

You must remember that we are talking about SNES and N64 Nintendo.

These guys know how to make some of the most inspiring consoles AND games to have ever been made in the history of gaming.

I would never underestimate Nintendo.

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Highlander
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 10:41:55 PM

No, I don't see this at all. Because the Wii2 can at best offer HD graphics, no multi-platform games are going to do much more than they can on the 360/PS3. Only first party titles will take advantage of any additional performance, and for the first year or two they have a long way to go to catch up to the PS3 as it is. Broadly speaking, the Wii2 is all about Nintendo playing catchup.

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Lord carlos
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 1:05:27 PM
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Yeah i'm fine untill 2016.
Whatever happened to gearbox's Aliens colonial marines??
Maybe they'll show it off at E3
Last edited by Lord carlos on 5/13/2011 1:06:42 PM

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Scarecrow
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 1:09:57 PM
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3 more years is the perfect spot for new consoles.

Nintendo is kinda messing things up though..wonder how that'll go.

And the famous line "it will look identical on ps3, 360, and Wii2"
Yeah right?
Last edited by Scarecrow on 5/13/2011 1:10:08 PM

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Clamedeus
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 6:31:52 PM

I've heard that before and look what happened. lol

They might be able to pull it off, but we will have to wait and see I'm not taking anyone's word for it though.

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CrusaderForever
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 1:25:48 PM
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Man, I love Gearbox! Borderlands was fantastic! It's great to hear developers say they are happy with the current gen. I am too, and can do without a PS4 for a long time.

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Excelsior1
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 1:54:19 PM
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i know many are happy with what they have and don't want to make an investment in a new system yet.

i'm ready for a next gen system now. one that can run silky smooth hd resolutions. 1080p 60 fps would be great. give the system a ton of video ram so we can get great textures...etc.

i love the jump we have going into next gen. it's just fun when you here of a new system and think of the possibiles. how close are we to photo realism? can't wait to here the specs on the new sysstems.

the jump to the ps2 was awesome. our local wal mart got 23 ps2's to sale at midnight. i waited for hours and was number 13. i was thrilled when i got mt ps2. i bought 2 games. madden and smugglers run.

anyways, the police were there and they actually walked me out to my car once i had my system. the police were guarding the new ps2 owners. it was pretty crazy actually.

a lot of people showed up at midnight demanding a ps2. there were no more ps2s to give out so the crowd got kind of angry towards wal mart. it was pretty tense. it made me feel speacial to actually get my hands on the ps2. it was a thrilling experience to see the hype and demand for the ps2.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 5/13/2011 1:56:41 PM

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Riku994
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 2:26:10 PM
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We needs some more Borderlands up in this Gen.

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Naztycuts
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 3:23:31 PM
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Glad to hear it, I would actually be pissed if they dropped new systems as early as next year. For the same reason as what Pitchford's said. They're just now hitting the sweet spot in developing the games. I want to see what these Developers are capable of during the second part of the generation. A few names came into the spotlight for masterfully developing for the ps3 in it's infancy, and a few names started drifting towards the ol' S list with shoddy ports of decent games.

I want to see Naughty Dog truly max out the ps3 with Uncharted 4 or something, and I'd like to see Bethesda release a ps3 game that doesn't have retarded bugs. I mean Oblivion was fun, but I didn't like the fact that I couldn't cure my vampirism though I clearly met the criteria. Fallout 3 wasn't bad from what I remember bug wise, but New Vegas had a few from what my friends have said. Now I never pre order Bethesda games, and wait until I hear some feedback about the quality, and seriously now a days there is no reason those issues should go unpatched.

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Beamboom
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 3:34:45 PM
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I definitely *not* want a new console now, we've only just started to enjoy the current gen as far as I'm concerned.
If this years game lineup is cause we've reached this sweet spot now, then omg... I can't wait to see what the comings years has in store!

Last edited by Beamboom on 5/13/2011 3:36:45 PM

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A2K78
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 5:02:09 PM
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Everybody happy is with the current generation of consoles and why? To simipily put it for the consumer the next set consoles will be very expensive and for developers many aren't ready to brave the cost of making games.

Overall for the PC(and arcades) this good because the current slow pace of console technology will once again mean that the PC will go unchallenged.

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LittleBigMidget
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 5:08:08 PM
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bring on teh PS4. 2013 please.

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Nas Is Like
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 5:30:06 PM

But...2013 is after 2012. :(

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Bloodysilence19
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 5:09:45 PM
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the only thing i don't want is ms/sony rushing their new console out if Nintendo console starts selling really well. ms learned rushing a console only leans to disaster (rrod). Nintendo mainly just needs HD console, keep motion controller thing but make it more of accessory like ps move and kintect is and don't make it the main controller to use. 2 other things no more rehashed hd games of Mario and give us a controller that is similar to how great the GameCube controller was. ms has a year maybe 2 left than it needs a new console Sony has 2-3 years left in it as long as the right dev take advantage of cell see it really is as powerful as most people say it is.

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Nas Is Like
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 5:29:21 PM
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I am extremely happy with my PS3. I really don't need a future generation console yet. I think everything I could possibly want or need from a console has been delivered by my PS3.

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CanadianGuy420
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 5:44:34 PM
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I'm Good For At The Very Least 4 Years. I've Only Had My PS3 3 Years (Bought It April 28 2008 Day Before GTA IV Came Out :) & I Still Kind'a Feel Like I've Got Alot Of Gaming To Do With It.

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StangMan80
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 6:41:10 PM
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Let me start off with this, The Wii is not a video game console!

The new Wii(which has been confirmed) is suppose to have much more power then the PS3 and 360. So it's going to skip this gen and jump into the next. The wii is like exactly like the game cube but smaller and has wireless "num-chucks"

This gen(minus the wii) will last 2014 easy. But I won't be surprised if Microsoft announces there new console next year.

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BigBoss4ever
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 9:13:18 PM
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i concur with the developer, i am not interested in a ps4 to the least currently or in the next years even, just pump out quality games, thats wut i care

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gray_eagle
Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 11:55:00 PM
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im happy with my ps3 for a couple of more years.
imo, the 360 is out dated and ms needs to bring out a new console now.
i feel that a coffin is being prepared for the 360.

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___________
Saturday, May 14, 2011 @ 8:26:30 AM
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we dont need new consoles.
id go into a detailed reason why but its 11:30, ive been out all day and im dead tired been up since 5am!
simply put every time theres new consoles theres a new format pushing new consoles, HD for example.
wheres the new format to push new consoles?
3D?
current consoles can already do that.

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Neghvar
Saturday, May 14, 2011 @ 8:48:12 AM
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Dont forget aswell even when the next gen of consoles release, most gamers wont be buying them for a year or 2 due to the price of a newely released system,they will probberly stick with the 360 & PS3 for a few more years. And because of the lack of quality games. Look at the PS3, it had maybe 2 or 3 decent games for the first few years but ultimatally the 360 was the better console at the time. IMO the PS3 was a god aweful console with no games, it was practically a blu ray player. It started to pick up well within the 2-3 years, if the next consoles suffer the same fate as the PS3 did, a crappy launch with no games youll still be playing the 7th gen consoles.
Last edited by Neghvar on 5/14/2011 8:49:50 AM

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Qubex
Saturday, May 14, 2011 @ 1:09:11 PM
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To be honest, the momentum for upgrading is not being spear headed by M$ and $ony... they would love to retain the current hardware for another 5 years... The problem is the speed at which the PC is progressing, especially GPU technology.

I honestly believe people who want to play true "next generation" games... the PC cannot be ignored anymore.

However, saying this, both the consoles and the PC can co-exist comfortably... for me personally, I realise I want both for gaming. So having a PC and console you get the best of both worlds... bring on Battlefield 3 :)

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

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