is EA trying to downplay the next-gen or are they right on?

[Megadrive1988]

when they said this (or something along these lines):

With regards to the development side of things EA are suggesting that with the next generation platforms they are targeting 10x the performance in terms of geometry levels, fill-rates and individual
objects in a scene.

http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=282591#282591

I guess DaveB wrote this, but I am not sure, maybe it was a direct transcript of what EA said at E3.

anyway, do you guys feel that EA is downplaying the capabilities of the nextgen consoles, or are they right on target, or are they building/planning their nextgen games around the assumption that nextgen consoles will deliver around 10x the performance of current consoles?

 

[maosee]

i think it's about right. 10x is enough that the public will accept it as being next gen.

 

[MfA]

With improvements in lighting a 10 times increase in geometry complexity can result in a lot more than 10 times the tris drawn.

 

[Megadrive1988]

interesting stuff.

 

[pc999]

Acording to X800 an 6800 it will be at least that

 

[Tuttle]

I wouldn't put any importance to his statements. Unless he went in to detail as to where his number was coming from. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the people at EA didn't even know he was talking or what he said.

 

[borntosoul]

i heard 20 x, dont have a link for that sorry. it should be atleast 20-25 times faster. x-box vs xbox2. cant wait to see the specs though

 

[OryoN]

I think it's a pretty straight-forward statement, suggesting the kind of detail EA is aiming for with their next-gen title(I believe it was made in reference to a Need for Speed game).

Regardless to how powerful the next consoles are, this is what EA is currently targeting in terms of detail. What it does suggest, is that 10X detail is well within the capability of next-gen, and due to the nature of consoles and how their power is barely tapped until later in their life-cycle, you should expect far more than 10X(even IF they were suggesting that 10X was the general power of next-gen consoles... and I don't think that's what was said).

Speaking of 10X, in terms of geometry, that's nothing to scoff at. In a racing game from EA, that's suggestive of models ranging anywhere form 70,000 to 100,000 polygons. Then add next-gen shading capabilities on top of that number, and you are talking about very impressive CG-like, in-game models.

 

[wco81]

Don't NTSC games imply say 640x240 because of the interlace?

So if they produce 720p games, which would be 1280x720, then that's 6X resolution.

If they pull off 1080p...

As far as the next gen, I think Bing Gordon said earlier this year:

He suggested that tomorrow's killer apps will come from "100x physics, where everything on the screen is modeled." They will reach a standard that Gordon calls "Pixar quality." He also said the future's best game would feature living worlds where NPCs are "inspired by The Sims and have complex emotions." ("GTA on steroids" is how Gordon put it.) Gordon also touched on something he called "win-win & make-make," which is a theory that implores the gamer to "beat the world together," as well as one that sees open-ended ways of winning. He also saw the day when everything in a game would be customizable, a la The Sims, and gamers would have persistent online identities--or what Gordon calls "fully baked avatars."

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/03/05/news_6090755.html

They also seem very bullish on mobile gaming. Not PSP or Gameboy, but cell phones. Prices are low but the installed base is huge. So venture capitalists are pouring money into startups and the bigger publishers like EA and Activision are starting to notice.

 

[GwymWeepa]

Well, I think of it this way, let's say someone borrowed 10 dollars from you, and he gave you back 100 in return for your kindness, that's a huge increase.