We keep hearing how games instead of graphics sell consoles, that the increase and rise of iOS gaming and success of the Wii proves this, that customers are after innovation and convenience instead of horsepower and spectacle, but graphics, , being a huge portion of most games, don’t they still have a task to play Can they still amaze the loads and sell a console or an otherwise ‘by the numbers’ videogame While a game can certainly be sold on its gameplay alone, isn’t sheer graphical grunt still enough to shift units After 8 years of a similar tech, I’m inclined to mention yes.
I crave innovative gameplay and new ideas as much because the next guy, but come on, who isn’t excited to peer just how pretty games are going to be running at the new hardware from Sony and Microsoft. Sure, iOS is convenient and yes, the present gen still looks pretty great, but there’s still something to be said for a brand new product that may, on a purely visual level, blow your bloody socks off. Needless to say, balance is fundamental, and visuals alone aren’t going to sell a console ultimately, but as an introduction to its capabilities, I’d say that they are going to remain a giant a part of the experience and a prime aspect of every consoles marketing push.
Take Motorstorm for example. By the second one and third iterations, visual polish wasn’t enough to shift units as players got savvy to the truth that the gameplay was actual somewhat, well, for lack of a higher term, ‘meh’. But return to the PlayStation 3’s launch and Mototrstorm was hot shit. Why Since it looked great and a was a super way for both PlayStation to indicate off its new tech and players to indicate off their (outrageously) expensive new purchase.
Will the leap in visual fidelity be so dramatic this time around Not likely, but that doesn’t change the truth that improved visuals will still play a big role is selling the next-gen to the masses.they are the easiest way to show the jump in power and above all else, good graphics look great in adverts…..why do you think so many adds go to such great lengths to tell you that what you are seeing is “in game footage”.
In fact, given the popularity of the current-gen and the fact that we are likely to see extended support for both the 360 and PS3 and an array of cross-generational titles on both of Sony’s and Microsoft’s consoles, it will most likely remain the improved visuals above all else that will set, for example, the subsequent Call of Duty on 720 apart from the simultaneously released 360 version.
Again, I’d like to stress that innovation is paramount to the potential success of both the 720 (NextBox, SexBox…whatever) and the PS4 (Orbis thing), especially in the long term, but in the more immediate future, will graphics matter Can they still be relied upon to determinel the following-gen You bet your ass they are going to.
- To Grind or To not Grind, That’s the Question.
- Brashcast: Episode 21 – 720 NextBox SexBox
- No Second Hand Games Really Really
- Original Crysis available for download now on XBL and PSN
- Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to make use of an all-new engine
- FIFA Sales Top 100 million
- PES 2011 Downloadable Content Now Available
- Medal of Honor Sells 1.5 Million in Days
- SEGA’S Vanquish in Stores Today
- Song Packs from Alternative Rock Bands Announced!
We keep hearing how games instead of graphics sell consoles, that the upward push and rise of iOS gaming and success of the Wii proves this, that customers are after innovation and convenience in place of horsepower and spectacle, but graphics, , being a huge component to most games, don’t they still have a job to play Can they still amaze the hundreds and sell a console or an otherwise ‘by the numbers’ videogame While a game can certainly be sold on its gameplay alone, isn’t sheer graphical grunt still enough to shift units After 8 years of the identical tech, I’m inclined to assert yes.
This is certainly not the bleak wilderness of Ubisoft’s last epic free-roam, Assassin’s Creed 3, but a setting as lively as it is large. Joining smaller and more incidental creatures like crabs, snakes, bugs and birds of paradise are over 30 animal species – sharks, crocodiles, komodo dragons, cassowary, bears, monkeys, big cats, dingos, manta rays, buffalo, boars, turtles – all co-existing in a thriving food chain and a boon to resourceful adventurers. You can put a tapir’s hide towards a larger inventory, carve up to four gun holsters from deer, or make an arrow quiver using shark skin. Stabbing a pig just to add an extra fold to your wallet may tip into tastlessness for some, but beware, you may become dead meat just as easily.
As well as the roaring, biting and snarling additions to the setting, it’s less overt improvements that make Far Cry 3 all the fun Far Cry 2 should have been. Weapon degradation’s gone, as are the invasive effects of malaria, self-applied surgical procedures are quicker (though it’s still odd to see a bullet wound remedied by popping a dislocated thumb back in), enemies won’t magically spot you a mile off, checkpoints don’t respawn, and given conquering and camps and radio towers is a running goal, your presence at the island makes an encouraging visual impact.