The wait continues for Sony and Microsoft high-end consoles

There have been countless demands by developers, publishers, gamers and analysts for the key industry players, namely Sony and Microsoft, to step into the next-generation space already.

Both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 made their way into the market at the end of 2005 and 2006 respectively and have been there since then, offering gamers a quality experience through a long list of outstanding games with excellent presentation, detailed graphics and addictive gameplay.

However, little did anyone think at that time that the console that they have gotten so fond of will become somewhat of an obsession for the two companies that made them.

Already living longer than any other console in the past, neither Xbox 360 nor PlayStation 3 seems to be going anywhere, which is beginning to become a serious problem for the industry and market.

With the developer stuck with what is being commonly referred to as primitive technology now, a lot of compromises are being made. There are many things that they want to see implemented in a game, but the limitations of the hardware prevents them from doing so and therefore forces them to leave it out.

An example of such a case comes from the art director of Hitman: Absolution Roberto Marchesi, who conceded while speaking to Trusted Reviews that there were so many things that he wished to get implanted in the fifth title in the steal third-person shooter franchise, but was unable to do so because of the limitations of the console.

“It’s always a give and take,” he said. “You also have to balance it with the gameplay; is it really a loss to the game or not? Sometimes you have an idea and you think it’s really good but when it gets removed from the game and no-one notices maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to begin with.”

There is no doubt that the developers are getting frustrated because of finding themselves in a handicap.

With PC allowing them to freely express their ideas and converting them in a more fulfilling gaming experience, the short-comings of current-generation consoles is becoming even more prominent and unsettling.

While many readers would probably have started to get an impression that working on games for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is becoming an increasingly unpopular line of work for the developers, that is not exactly how things here.

Things are not completely doom and gloom in studios working with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles.

As the hardware as been there for years, the developers have gotten pretty familiar with it and therefore managing to unleash its true potential, something that they were unable to do during the infancy years of the console.

“Working with a proven platform is not necessarily a bad thing,” the Hitman Absolution Art Director said. “We have learned so much compared to when the consoles first came out, we can push so much more.”

While the graphics of games coming out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 has improved significantly over the last few years, they are still nowhere close to what the PC is able to deliver.

It appears that it would not be easy for Sony and Microsoft to keeping ignoring the demands for a high-end console to be introduced into the market for much longer and will eventually have to let go for the current-generation console, regardless of how successful they have proven to be.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect wishfree.com’s official editorial policy.

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Posted by Muhammad Qasim Hassan on Nov 27 2012. Filed under Entertainment, Gaming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.