EA: Next-Gen Will Lead To A "Huge Growth Spurt" In Gaming

It seems most major developers and publishers already have projects on tap for the next generation. EA has obviously already seen both the PS4 and Xbox 720, too.

EA Labels president Frank Gibeau elaborated a little on what he has seen of the next generation. In speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, he called the new machines "spectacular" and he can't wait, because some "fatigue" has set in during the current generation (which is the longest yet in industry history). Said Gibeau:

"This is the longest cycle that any of us have ever seen, and we're at the point where a little bit of fatigue has set in, and people are wondering what they can possibly do next. I've seen the machines that we're building games for, and they're spectacular. Gen 4 hardware is a huge opportunity, and it's going to lead to a huge growth spurt for the industry."

He added that the only stumbling block could come in the form of "really high-end tablets and IPTV," but the latter is a ways off and besides, Gibeau says EA plans to "publish across all of them." And I'm sorry, but with the always-smaller tablet screen and no controller (you can only do so much by touching a screen), I will never put tablet gaming and real console/PC gaming in the same league. But that's just me.

Tags: ps4, xbox 720, next generation, next gen, next gen consoles, ea

9/4/2012 9:25:37 AM Ben Dutka

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Comments (47 posts)

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WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 10:13:30 AM
Reply

I certainly hope Gibeau is right about the next generation being a big opportunity but I'm skeptical that it will help bridge the gap between gamers and mainstream entertainment people much more than PS3 and 360 did.

The new systems have to defeat barriers like high prices, systems going kaput, stereotypes, stagnating franchises, cost of development, and the shrinking availability of differing genres.

8 up, 1 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 10:17:44 AM
Reply

I'll include tablet gaming in the category for "real" gaming for the games and genres that are traditionally best played with a mouse, in particular strategy games (where there typically is a lot of point-and-click type interaction).
I am currently playing "Great Big War Game" on my Sony Arc, and I'd say that game is a "real", full blooded gaming experience.

I've experienced that a touch interface is an excellent replacement for a mouse in those kind of games.

Last edited by Beamboom on 9/4/2012 10:18:59 AM

4 up, 1 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 10:53:58 AM

If you can only properly deal with a few genres, you're not a legitimate gaming platform in my opinion.

7 up, 5 down

TheAgingHipster
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 12:24:11 PM

I dunno, Ben. I'm currently playing The World Ends With You on my iPad, alongside Final Fantasy Dimensions, and a darned fine FPS in the form of Dead Trigger. And Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition will be hitting the iOS as well. I find it harder and harder to resist the tablets as legitimate gaming platforms. (Heck, my iPad gets more play than my Vita nowadays. Thanks, Sony.)

4 up, 0 down

TheAgingHipster
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 12:26:12 PM

Now that I think about it, I can't think of a single genre that hasn't been well represented on the tablet platform.

3 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 12:28:05 PM

I dream of a day where we have put the platform wars behind us and acknowledge the various platforms for what they do offer and each their individual advantages.

Last edited by Beamboom on 9/4/2012 12:33:10 PM

4 up, 0 down

TheAgingHipster
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 12:52:41 PM

I have a dream that one day the gaming community will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "Nothing is true, everything is permitted!"

I have a dream that one day, on the hills of Japan, the sons of former PS3 fanboys, and the sons of former XBox fanboys, will be able to sit down together on the co-op couch of gaming!

I have a dream that one day every developer shall be exalted, and every programming hurdle shall be made low, the rough edges will be aliased, the crooked publishers will be made straight; "and the glory of the Gamer shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

And when this happens, when we allow gaming to reign, when we let it reign from every basement and every living room, from every console and every tablet, we will be able to speed up that day when all of Gaming's children, men and women, hand-wavers and controller-clutchers, PSXers and XBots, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last, free at last, thank Miyamoto almighty, we are free at last!!!"

9 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:00:19 PM

How about FPS? You can't play those on a tablet and maintain sanity. Side scrollers don't have the reaction time a button can provide. Basically anything with action in it is significantly delayed with touch controls unless it is a point and click interface you can do with one finger.

3 up, 4 down

TheAgingHipster
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:06:32 PM

I disagree, World. iOS has some good FPS titles. I've been playing Dead Trigger, and it's smooth as can be. N.O.V.A. 3 is really tightly designed and plays a lot like Halo. Dead Space on iOS also had good, comfortable controls, and Mass Effect Infiltrator took an interesting approach to overcoming the FPS hurdle.

3 up, 0 down

chilker
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:10:01 PM

Aginghipster, that speech was awesome.

6 up, 0 down

TheAgingHipster
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:10:17 PM

And the X-Men Arcade iOS port, Infinity Blade 2, and the new title Horn are all great action titles (one of which is a side-scroller) that control well and are quite responsive. I think developers just had to get used to creating UIs for these styles of games, and now, they're every bit as good as many PSN/LiveArcade titles.

1 up, 0 down

TheAgingHipster
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:13:27 PM

And have you played Sword & Sworcery? Holy schnikes was that game awesome.

2 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:17:58 PM

I really don't care. You will not have the same experience as you would with a bigger screen. You will not have the same experience touching a freakin' screen as you would using a wheel in Gran Turismo. There's no chance in hell you have the same depth found in a Bayonetta action mechanic with endless combos.

A controller has multiple inputs that, when mathematically figured, has millions of potential combinations. Your finger touching a screen can only do so much. In fact, it can do next to nothing in comparison. All they're doing with tablet gaming is finding a way around the limitations.

And that's not what a legitimate gaming platform should be about. It should be about pressing the boundaries with the best stuff we have, from technology to interactive mechanics. If all we ever do with a tablet is touch a little screen, it will never, not ever, offer the same level of robustness in terms of the full gaming dynamic.

That's a fact, and one most developers with very high ambition would agree with. A tablet LIMITS a designer's vision. They have to COMPENSATE for the mechanical lacking. So no, I'm not impressed in the slightest.

Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 9/4/2012 1:19:28 PM

9 up, 7 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:19:59 PM

Yeah dude, I think you are overstating the usefulness of the input. Reminds me of people saying a keyboard is better than a controller. It's okay it's not.

3 up, 7 down

TheAgingHipster
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:42:52 PM

I recognize the limitations of the tablet input. But that limitation doesn't relegate the platform to sub-par status. Sure, controllers give you more combinations, and gripping a wheel peripheral is its own unique experience. But when you don't have that freedom to fall back on, you're forced to come up with new ways to configure the gaming experience. If you ask me, trying to find way around those restrictions, if anything, promotes ingenuity on the part of creative developers. If pressing the boundaries of the best hardware available is our standard for gaming legitimacy, then why is PopCap's use of the touch mechanic for Plants vs. Zombies, Firemint's use of the accelerometer to control the car in Real Racing 2, EA's splitting the screen into two sides for controlling movement and aiming in Dead Space iOS, or Somethin' Else's no-visual approach to iOS horror gaming in Papa Sangre, any less legitimate? All that kind of thinking does is prohibit gamers from experiencing new and exciting titles by relegating the tablet to something "real" gamers don't use, and I don't buy it.

Last edited by TheAgingHipster on 9/4/2012 1:45:12 PM

3 up, 1 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:54:36 PM

The piece of hardware that doesn't limit a designers vision is not yet invented, Ben. It has always been a question of doing the best within the limits there are.

I loved that speech of yours up there, AgingHipster. Good to see I'm not the only one dreaming that dream.

Last edited by Beamboom on 9/4/2012 2:00:43 PM

4 up, 1 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 3:18:57 PM

Actually, that's exactly what it makes it: Sub-par. Getting around things because what you're working with is so extremely limited can create ingenuity. But so what? Doesn't mean ingenuity can't be found elsewhere.

Beamboom: Not the point. I don't have time to spend my life gaming, nor would I even want to. What time I do have, I want to spend with the best. I want to play something someone like Kojima or Cage had in their heads, a product that required the best we had to offer, on a platform that would best support their shooting-for-the stars vision.

There is no shooting for the stars when absolutely everything about a platform is restrictive and limiting. The grandest visions is all I have time for, and I will not ever find them on a tablet. Of that, I am certain.

Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 9/4/2012 3:19:51 PM

6 up, 3 down

Temjin001
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 4:43:21 PM

A tablet without a peripherial with buttons sucks for several console centric genres, like fighters and brawlers or action sports, like football. While FPS is manageable on tablets its also not nearly the equivalent to other popular interfaces. Slower games, like turn based stuff works okay, but it gets annoying real quick in a game like Final Fantasy having to finger point every input for very mundane tasks. RTS i could picture working better, given the point and click nature of their design. Racers are sometimes good(real racing 2) but usually crummy. Air Play or like HDtv coonectivity does help bring the console big screen feel to the TV but even those implementations have certain limitations so far. Tablet gaming is serviceable and low cost(app wise) but it's just not nearly the same as consoles in terms of software production and versatility for meeting dedicated gamers needs.

Even Nintendo knew they couldn't market their next Wii without buttons and analogues and they have a corner market for the mindless casuals. That says a lot.

2 up, 0 down

TheAgingHipster
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 5:01:46 PM

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that tablet gaming is better than console gaming. My PS3 is still my favorite gaming platform, followed by my PC. But I worry that many gamers write off the iOS platform because of the touch input, because there are some really great games available for tablets. It's not a lesser gaming experience for having the touch screen--it's just a different one, and it's one that people can get behind without worrying about controllers that can be intimidating to gaming novices. Questioning the legitimacy of tablet gaming based on the input style or UI strikes me as no different than questioning the efficacy of the Kinect, or the Move, just because developers haven't found the sweet spot for game production for it. Just seems kind of silly to me.

I guess my point is, don't forgo tablet gaming just because you don't like tapping the screen. Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 (soon to be released), TWEWY, Ascension, Dead Space, Final Fantasy (various entries, including Tactics), Waking Mars, Sword & Sworcery, Drawn: the Painted Tower, Papa Sangre, Bastion, Civilization Revolution, Chaos Rings, Infinity Blade, Horn, Plants vs. Zombies, GTA: Chinatown Wars, The Walking Dead... Speaking as a hardcore gamer, there's an awful lot to like about iOS gaming.

3 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 6:11:44 PM

Admit it. We were both branded at birth with console or tablet icons on our rumps.

You hate your consoles and are seen regularly prancing downtown holding your tablet high above your head yelling, "SUPERIOR ... SUPERIOR"

And I go around knocking tablets out of people's hands in public yelling "PLAY A CONSOLE you geek!"

It's a black and white world. Deal with it =p

4 up, 0 down

TheAgingHipster
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 8:16:40 PM

No way. If anything, I'm slapping both away and giving people a d20. "Why don't you play a REAL role playing game!!" :)

0 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 8:43:01 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17PKGHLppMI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Mmmh 20 sided dice are sweet

YouTube is my friend =p

0 up, 0 down

___________
Wednesday, September 05, 2012 @ 4:44:23 AM

shooters on mobile work BETTER than consoles IF the controls are done properly!
everything movable, stick for movement, motion controls for aiming, aiming sensitivity adjustments.
amazes me how many games STILL dont have gyroscope support!
i mean think about it, how awkward and uncomfortable and slow is it to use one hand for moving, the other for aiming wheres the third hand for shooting?
you have to adjust to it, not it adjust to you thats not how controls are suppose to be!

1 up, 1 down

Ignitus
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 10:18:11 AM
Reply

That's comforting. I remember not too long ago about the posibility of underpowered PS4/720 systems.

I will wait a year or probably more after launch to get on the next gen train. My backlog keeps getting bigger and I will probably wait for a hardware revision or game bundles to sweet the deal.

I'm wondering how the games are going to look on PS4. Sony better keeps PSN free though.

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 10:46:34 AM

I too think it would be a mistake to rely on brand new hardware from either side one day 1. The more complex the hardware the more that can go wrong. Though I can't say whether or not my enthusiasm will get the best of me or not. Depends on the price I guess.

4 up, 2 down

Ignitus
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 10:48:37 AM

Yeah, I will take a wait and see aproach next gen.

4 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 12:39:31 PM

"I remember not too long ago about the posibility of underpowered PS4/720 systems." Yeah me too, But I never really bought that.
I still hope the architectural change is true though. But who knows...

Anyways; I am so pumped for a new machine right now that I'd even join a midnight launch to get the damn thing. I can't be more ready for an upgrade!

Last edited by Beamboom on 9/4/2012 12:45:14 PM

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:21:15 PM

Just don't expect too many vast differences in the launch lineups.

1 up, 1 down

AcHiLLiA
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 10:31:45 AM
Reply

Also wonder if u can still keep ur current PSN ID, probably have to make another one for the PS4, will just wait.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 10:47:11 AM

It would be the same I imagine since there's no change for PSP or Vita.

3 up, 1 down

Highlander
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 11:45:21 AM

I think PSN will remain core and consistent. Your PSN ID is your PSN ID regardless of platform. The same will be true on PS4. I honestly really hope that they retain compatibility with PS3 titles so that PS Plus subscribers can carry their services and content over on to their new home console. If not it's going to put something of a strain on the service terms when you can no longer buy a PS3.

3 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 12:42:53 PM

Yeah it's guaranteed that the PSN ID remains. Anything else would be crazy.

But it will be really, really interesting to see if there is any backward compatibility. If this machine is *that* large a step forward in performance it's not totally out of the question to at least *dream* of some sort of software emulated virtual PS3 machine.
Oh boy that'd be sweet.

Last edited by Beamboom on 9/4/2012 12:43:30 PM

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:01:15 PM

I tell ya one thing Beam, I aint' selling my PS3 to get a PS4. That is no longer a viable way to move through generations.

4 up, 1 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 2:13:21 PM

Sure! I'll keep my PS3 too.

1 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 12:30:55 PM
Reply

I have to say I'm getting pretty excited for seeing the power of the next-gen. I can't remember multiple 3rd parties speaking out like this prior to the hardware providers speaking out as to how their next gen system will power combat simulators, toasters, robots etc., all interconnected as a hive mind super structure.
But yet, devs later reveal a different perspective. Heh, I remember reading an article some time ago when Naughty Dog first got firm specs of the PS3, having started early development on Uncharted already, and their response was, "this is it?" they were way underwhelmed by it(not that they didn't put amazing looking stuff regardless).

This time though, we have Remedy and EA speaking candidly as to how quantum and massive of change this hardware is well before anything has been officially announced or leaked by the parent provider. Exciting!

I'm starting to think my next-gen ready PC may not be so next-gen ready ;)

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 1:02:17 PM

ND must have had a change of heart somewhere along the way.

3 up, 1 down

Lawless SXE
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 2:18:20 PM
Reply

More interesting to me is the idea of fatigue? Maybe if they'd keep coming out with interesting new IPs than delivering iteration after iteration we wouldn't be fatigued and seeing sales slow. I just hope that the new games in the next gen actually feel fresh... and have fewer guns. Don't know why, but I'm getting tired of guns in my games :/

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 2:35:26 PM

Agreed. Enough with the guns already.

0 up, 0 down

telly
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 4:51:18 PM

I love tons of games with gunplay as the central mechanic, but definitely it's time to branch out. Ultra-violent war simulators are fine, I'd just like to see a little less focus on them.

1 up, 0 down

telly
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 2:41:11 PM
Reply

I fully expect the next gen to knock our socks off. Maybe I shouldn't get my hopes up so high before I see something, but I like what I've been reading in the tea leaves very much. If we can assume Star Wars 1313, Watchdogs and several others are our first look at what we can expect next gen games to look like, we can be confident we are in for some extraordinary gains in visuals. As for cost, I strongly suspect Sony and Microsoft will take a page from apple to help make those costs more palatable. What if a two-year subscription to cable, using your PS4 as the cable box, keeps the price for the new console at $199? I think we'll see a lot of options like this to keep the cost barrier of entry quite low.

Can't wait for more info.

0 up, 0 down

tes37
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 4:25:54 PM
Reply

I plan on waiting a little while before buying a next gen console, but I can't wait to see what they're capable of doing. I hope they make the consoles excuse proof.

2 up, 0 down

UbiEaActisuck
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 4:49:31 PM
Reply

Just because a company like EA is unwilling to utilize the potential of a system doesn't mean every other company feels the same. Polyphony, Santa Monica, Insomniac and Naughty Dog are just a few studios that produce beautiful games with amazing gameplay and story. Bring the next generation on because you won't see my dollars until I am ready. Furthermore, I would like to see Sony get a few more profitable years from the PS3 and bring even more diverse IPs to the table.

0 up, 1 down

playstation usa
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 5:10:35 PM
Reply

Hello ... i have a question for the highlander...... comments on other topics and you seem to know alot about hardware and software... my question is what do you think the next playstation will have???? will they keep the cell or or not....

1 up, 2 down

playstation usa
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 5:13:14 PM
Reply

sorry ill finish what was missed.. { I HAVE READSOME OF YOUR }

1 up, 1 down

___________
Wednesday, September 05, 2012 @ 4:56:39 AM
Reply

i sure hope so!
we need WAY less mindless shooters and WAY more unique interesting games like heavy rain, enslaved, mirrors edge, beyond good and evil, slender, SCP series, super meat boy.
things were not drowning in this gen!

0 up, 0 down

Amnesiac
Wednesday, September 05, 2012 @ 8:30:57 AM
Reply

okay EA President...

Their money clamoring agenda is getting more and more attention these days.
Its not as if their industry is suffering all that much -no no - Madden XYU will always go for top dollar, so why this boom and insistence about NEXT GEN gaming?
oh yeah thats right more and more money, which has nothing to do with gamers or quality of said games.
I don't care at all about what the Next-Gen consoles graphic output is because there IS a threshold we simply can not pass at this point.

So what this guy is suggesting is "I'm all bent out of shape because my company would make a gizzilion dollars more profit if there was a new system released with better graphics!
Call the WAAAmbulance.
I'm sorry Frank whatever your last name is ( I won't bother to re-read it again.
We are fine with where the console industry is heading besides---- what will the next gen systems really support really really really good graphics? When I see an upcoming game like the The Last of Us, that looks pretty darn good graphically I can't imagine any better and if it is, so what.
This guy's argument is out of touch, a blatant money influenced profit hogging industry stifling agenda which I am satisfied to have reduced to ZERO and above all people like this should really go suck an egg.

0 up, 0 down

Ather
Thursday, September 06, 2012 @ 4:34:25 PM
Reply

The longest ever? So what? Sales are great, aren't they? RARE did wonders for the SNES. Selling new machines at set intervals just to make money is stupid. Especially in a time of a lousy economy.

0 up, 0 down

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