@Atzenkiller: The 360 didn't have "crappy hardware". The PS3 had hardware ill-fit for games. A convoluted "Cell" processor and a lesser GPU. It couldn't efficiently handle third party games. To this day, you may still see articles claiming "the Cell could do more computations/sec than an Intel Core i9-10900K!" LOL. Yeah, well, you couldn't tell by the output. Sony should have used it to search for extraterrestrials, and chose a CPU better suited for a console.
TLOU looked good at the time, for a console game. ND made all sorts of concessions to produce the end product. If you never play on any other platform, and a game is locked on a singular platform, then what are you going to compare it to? Sony's first, second, and third in-game goals have been to make games look "cinematic".
Gameplay can be cookie cutter, but the presentation should mirror all the most popular movies. That has been the case since The Getaway (low fidelity as it was). Sony knows the masses are simple, so shoot for the LCD popcorn stuff. Microsoft acted like Dad cancelled their credit cards for most of this gen. Though it seems they may have been a extended a line of credit recently.
@olddadgamer: Yeah, these guys are just farming money. I've played videogames as long as I can remember, but model gaming never really had much appeal to me. Gameboy came out when I was eleven, and the technical limitations are what always jumped out at me. As I grew older, driving, battery life, or being aware on the subway always trumped any mobile game.
There are millions of us who are invested enough to buy a dozen games a year, new consoles, or build PCs. We tend to disregard the other formats and people playing mobile games, whereas the developers see the billions of potential new customers. Microsoft seems to be doing something in between with XBox, offering multiple ways for to experience there software, vastly widening the audience.
@draziczach: PS5 running the game at 4K/60fps makes no sense in comparison. There was a video (either here or DF) that detailed the options for Series X video modes in Yakuza.
@robertbyronz: I am excited about the quality of life improvements, too.
One thing that I haven't seem explained by MS, DF or any other source -- if the Series S|X SSD is PCIe4.0, why is the raw throughput only 2.4 GB/s? NVMe drives get very hot, yes, and that can lead to throttling, but 2.4 GB/s is worse than 1/3 speed (spec is 2GB/s per lane) at 4 lanes.
Similarly, if you think about it, the PS5 SSD has a reported raw throughput of 5.5 GB/s on the PCIe4.0 standard. Sounds fast, but...it needs 12 lanes to hit 5.5 GB/s. PC PCIe4.0 NVMe drives are breaking 7 GB/s on 4 lanes.
My assumption is that these console manufacturers are going for consistent performance (mitigate throttling) and manageable cooling, and low, predictable power draw. I just like to see it all detailed as other design aspects and considerations have been shared.
@MigGui: You will notice -- unless you have poor eyesight and no corrective lenses.
A few years ago, I was playing through Half-Life at ~90-100+ fps. One day launch it and it looked and felt wrong. Checking the settings, the frame rate had somehow been set back to 60 fps. You'll notice.
@masonshoemocker: XBox and Microsoft have a strong commitment to their agenda now. The goal is a focused one, with Spencer and team building up over the last 5 years. First they honed the hardware design process, then services. Then they expanded the services, platform support, and added a several studios. Each of those studios is grinding away at new experiences. The result will be parallel streams pouring out new games through the coming years, after the initial big release.
@bgrosz: The show has fallen off, though there are still bright moments at times. The are still some core characters from the first 5 seasons that we care about. One problem is, that they have struggled to create interesting characters. The show had to kill 6+ weak characters at once to give the event weight, and still no one cared. The attempt was ruined by Syed's horrendous eulogy.
What always bothered me is the zombies' wildly fluctuating density and strength. Sometimes the are mush and as strong as toddlers, then last night the zombies ripped Beatrice's (?) leg off and rib cage apart.
At the cliff, Carol was going to commit suicide. That is one of the reasons she didn't allow the girl to lead them. Yes, it is kind convenient that they could fight the zombie current and get behind a rock.
theduckofdeath's comments