Whats so "Next Gen" About the ps4?

[DrRipley]

People need to stop thinking that 'next-gen' is a power thing.

It's not.

A generation is simply a measure of time. As in, each subsequent console is a generation ahead of the previous. It's a pretty flaky term at the best of times anyway, since there's no reason that one company couldn't release a consoles at a faster rate than the competition, meaning that there is no such thing as a unified generation. If, for example, Nintendo released a console every 3-4 years, they'd be generations ahead of Sony and Microsoft, but that doesn't mean that they would be more powerful.

As for comparing PS2 to PS3, of course the jump seems bigger. The PS3 was HD, and the PS2 wasn't. Factor in that games are looking so good these days, there's very little that can be done to create a massive leap like between the PS2 and PS3 (short of creating a console that costs upwards of £1000). Imagine we had a console that could make games that looked real. There's no way to make them look better, since they're as perfect as we could perceive. So, it makes sense that as we get closer to that theoretical perfection, it'll get harder and harder to provide any meaningful improvements.

At the end of the day, if you want the best graphics, get a gaming PC. If you want to play exclusives, get consoles. The PS4 is better than the PS3, even if it doesn't blow it out of the water graphically. But a new console will be inevitable every few years in order to both take advantage of technological advancements, and to take advantage of the fact that people will always buy a new console.

Agreed completely. It's just next gen because it is technically next gen, not "next gen" as in advanced, although it still is. I think graphics nowadays have reached some sort of peak, and we'd probably have to wait another few years to really be wowed again.

 

[DPatel304]

Youre pretty much spot on. The PS3 had a built in PS2, which had a built in PS1. THey took this out to save space and money and those without the PS2 hardware are not backwards compatible. Also, iirc the PS2 slims didnt have the PS1 hardware and are also not backwards compatible

I thought all PS2s had PS1 BC. It was just the PS3s that lost PS2 BC after a year and a half, or something.

I think Sony's response to this is Gakai. I really want to see how that service ends up working, because it could give all PS4 owners the ability to stream PS1, PS2, and PS3 games without needing any hardware emulation. Once they get a decent library this thing could be pretty good, and a smart strategy for future consoles because now they don't have to worry about emulating previous consoles with each new Playstation. All they have to do is be able to run Gakai. I'd love to see the service on other platforms and maybe even incorporated into their other products like their TVs and stuff. I know their TV division has been hurting, but this could be a cool way to set their TVs apart a bit.

 

[Vengeance801]

I djsagree about the leap between the consoles. The leap from ps3 to ps4 is massive graphically I feel. For example BF4 looks like a ps2 gsme compared to how it looks on tne ps4. Remember too this is the very beginng of the ps4 give it 2-3 years for devs to harness its power. Look how much better 360 and ps3 games got over time. I for one am excited about the hardware advantage and ease of development the ps4 has over its competition. Over time I feel we will see a graphical difference between the X1 and ps4. Not to mention the cool features you can implement with the uniqueness of the dual shock 4 controller.

 

[BlackSolaris]

PS1 had 3d graphics, PS2 had better graphics and more capacity for bigger worlds and a bit of online (sometimes i still forget about it), PS3 was all about the online and the whole social thing. The PS4 has... even more social stuff and more capacity. The thing that you need to remember is that like all previous consoles, it takes some time for developers to know how to take use of the hardware potential. Wait a few more years and you will get your "Citizen Kane of gaming" again.

Also, if you like japanese games, get a vita, if not, don't bother, you will just get mad that it doesn't have games.

 

[stuart1234]

I djsagree about the leap between the consoles. The leap from ps3 to ps4 is massive graphically I feel. For example BF4 looks like a ps2 gsme compared to how it looks on tne ps4. Remember too this is the very beginng of the ps4 give it 2-3 years for devs to harness its power. Look how much better 360 and ps3 games got over time. I for one am excited about the hardware advantage and ease of development the ps4 has over its competition. Over time I feel we will see a graphical difference between the X1 and ps4. Not to mention the cool features you can implement with the uniqueness of the dual shock 4 controller.

mhm. I do plan on getting it. But not right away. Im quite happy with my ps3 for now. The Last Of Us and GTA 5 will hold me off for awhile. I just don't think that the ps4 is that "Next Gen" ATM. Im sure it will be. But not yet

 

[stuart1234]

Well, as has been mentioned in the thread already, it's difficult to emulate previous consoles, and usually very power-intensive. It's not as simple as putting a little bit of code into the OS that enables you to load older games - the hardware has to be designed in such a way that the games can actually run on it.

It's also down to architecture. I'm pretty bad when it comes to the hardware side of consoles, but I've learned enough to know what's happening here. With the PS3, early models were backwards compatible, but this was removed after a few months (don't know the exact timescale, but it was about a year IIRC). The reason Sony did this was to cut down on price, and make manufacturing easier. See, to make the PS3 backwards compatible, they essentially had two sets of hardware in place, one for new games and one for emulation purposes. The two consoles had very different architectures, so it was impossible to run PS2 games on the PS3 without having the extra hardware. This is the same reason that the Wii U can run Wii games - they both have very similar architectures.

That's kind of dumbed down, and I may be a little wrong on a few points, but I think that's the general idea behind it.

Thanks for explaining. I just would have found it quite nice if they added BC. But ATM im going to hold out on the ps4. maybe wait a year and then get it. and by that time they will have more games and more things to do on it. im quite happy with my PS3 atm. The Last Of Us multiplayer and GTA 5 should hold me off until then

 

[themarting]

Thanks for explaining. I just would have found it quite nice if they added BC. But ATM im going to hold out on the ps4. maybe wait a year and then get it. and by that time they will have more games and more things to do on it. im quite happy with my PS3 atm. The Last Of Us multiplayer and GTA 5 should hold me off until then

Im right there with you on that one. I'll be waiting until the price drops a bit. Maybe NEXT black friday...

 

[Vengeance801]

My reasoning for purchasing a next gen console was because games the magitude of gta v just felt sluggish and like the current consoles didnt have the power to run them smoothly and draw distance was terrible. On BF4 I can see people hundreds of simulated yards away on 360 they wont load in til they were much closer. Plus games like far cry 3 were beautiful but it ran like 20 frames no joke haha it was nearly unplayable. I am ready for high resolution and 60 frames which current consoles just cant do.

 

[mareebaybay]

I agree, that the PS4 is new gen because of the hard ware specifics. It has been upgraded in so many ways. Although I am also one of those people who don't see the use of the next gen in the PS4.

 

[Legendoflore]

True it's really more about the power, giving games the ability to add far more to make their worlds realistic then anything else. The graphics won't blow us away anymore for a while I think. It's really more about the hardware, what we're looking forward to is the ability of games to give their worlds a population which a lot of them couldn't do. Things will just look a little better but if you're expecting the 90s innovation then that's a long way off.

 

[stuart1234]

Im right there with you on that one. I'll be waiting until the price drops a bit. Maybe NEXT black friday...

Yeah. Ill prob get it when its down to $300. mayyybe 250

 

[onison]

I don't understand how people can say they can't tell that the graphics look any better on the ps4 compared to the ps3. Are you guys blind. Look at NBA2k14. Pause during gameplay and zoom in. Look at the environment in COD. I see a great improvement and look forward to them getting even better.

 

[Blu3n0va]

Well, noone sells PS3 games intended for a PS4 either. They sell PS3 games intended for a PS3. If you want PS4 games go buy a PS4, If you want to play your PS3 games im sure you either have a PS3 or are buying games for consoles you dont own.

The playstation 2 actually had a PS1 built in, so it wasnt emulating PS1 games, it was actually loading them into PS1 hardware. Same for PS3, it initially had a built in PS2, which in turn had PS1 hardware. the last PS3s sold at retail were not capable of backwards compatibility.

Emulating consoles is DIFFICULT and power intensive. Its said you need an exponential amount of power to properly and fully emulate a console. Check this out for example.
http://www.tested.com/tech/gaming/2712-why-perfect-hardware-snes-emulation-requires-a-3ghz-cpu/

Also, as others said, its next gen because:
1), its a totally new console. One could say the PS3 is the father of the PS4. Thats a generation, the next generation, next gen. You are your parents child, youre the next generation. Are you better? No, you might even be worse, but youre still next-gen
2) It actually IS VERY different than the PS3. the PS3 had 256mb of system ram (1/4 gb) and 256 mb of video ram. The PS4 has 8 gigs of GDDR5 ram which is not only 16 times as much as the PS3, its also a much faster type of RAM. On top of that, where the PS3 ran a single 3.2GHz processor, the PS4 runs DUAL QUAD core processors.


Everything about it is next gen.

Well, its true that emulating takes alot of power (more than the orignal console/device)...but that link...honeslty 3ghz cpu for snes emulator...ya not really.. you can get a cheap china android phone and emulate it... heck even ps1 games can be emulated on android and my galaxy s2 sure doesnt have 3ghz processor lol

 

[Blu3n0va]

Well... its not all about graphics... The new share, controller, interface, psn, console design, stream ...there´s alot...

The ps4 is next gen, no talk about it... and also... the pc can play old games because...well its still a pc running windows so all games are made for windows...ps3 had some wierd cell thing they though would be good, turned out to be hard to develope for... anyhows the ps4 is worth getting it
Take a look att elder scrolls oblivion and Skyrim and you get the idea of what the ps4 games could look like in 4-5 years... also remember, we now have 1080 on most games and 60fps... also more ram, so more enemies, particels well alot more that will make the game feel more real and good

I will be getting my ps4 tomorrow, sold out all over sweden but I finally got one so I will pick it up tomorrow

 

[DrRipley]

I don't understand how people can say they can't tell that the graphics look any better on the ps4 compared to the ps3. Are you guys blind. Look at NBA2k14. Pause during gameplay and zoom in. Look at the environment in COD. I see a great improvement and look forward to them getting even better.

I agree. I think they are way better from the footage of the new games I've seen so far. I think people are mainly pertaining to how similar they still look because obviously the jumps in technological advances get shorter and shorter as we reach further and further into true realism, but still, like I said, I agree that it does look significantly better albeit still not by too much in the meantime.

 

[dean290000]

Alrighty. well I really want the ps4. But then I thought to my self. Whats so Next Gen about the ps4? All it really is is just a slightly Upgraded ps3. Like. the ps3 was Next Gen because it just was. look at the ps2. it didn't have a interface. you couldn't look online with it. and the graphics for the ps3 are AWESOME compared to the ps2. But the ps4 just has slightly better graphics. AND theres no backwards compatibility! Why the hell not? My god damn PC can play games that are 12 years old and are on a disc. I don't want to pay for my games again to be able to play on the ps4. its almost 2014. there is really no excuse for having no backwards compatibility. Im not a Xbox person if you guys are wondering. I will never get anything to do with xbox. don't like them. I'll eventually need to get the ps4 since they wont make ps3 games.

What do you guys think on the subject?
and. is the ps vita worth it? :I

There is nothing next gen feeling about the PS4 right now. I assume you don't mean Next Generation in the sense that it is simply the successor to the PS3. I think you are wanting to see next generation graphics that WOW you!

It just is not going to happen yet. It is going to take time to program for the PS4 and Xbone. The good news is that it will be easier to program for than the cell processors used in the PS3 and now that PCs, PS4, and Xbone use very similar graphic chips and architecture, it should be easy to port a lot of PC Games to the PS4 +Xbone which is a win win for gamers.

I disagree with the advice of get a good gaming PC if you want next gen now. It is a pain in the butt to get some games to work with the Nvidia chipset and a pain to get other games to work with the Radeon Chipset. Some games are optimized for AMD while other games seem to crash and only be stable under Intel chipsets. The cost of the computer is much higher than the cost of a console. The great thing about consoles is that everyone is using the same hardware, same specs, same firmware, etc. It is much easier to optimize games for a system when you know the exact specs whereas the pc gaming market is much harder to program for the seemingly endless number of graphic cards, CPUs, etc. Also, it sure is much easier to hook a PS4 up to your TV and then have 9it turn on right in game mode. Yes you can hook a PC up to TV via HDMI but then you generally need custom software and 0other adaptors, etc.

 

[baracksyndel]

That's true. We won't really notice how next-gen the performance and graphical (and I hate emphazing graphics) capabilities of the PS4 until some true next-gen games are released. And true the PC, at least a true gaming PC, is superior to the consoles but they are less expensive and frankly the consoles are just more convenient.

 

[dean290000]

That's true. We won't really notice how next-gen the performance and graphical (and I hate emphazing graphics) capabilities of the PS4 until some true next-gen games are released. And true the PC, at least a true gaming PC, is superior to the consoles but they are less expensive and frankly the consoles are just more convenient.

I think you have the majority view here. I know PC diehards love to tout their great gaming system and then are fighting with DRM and graphic card glitches only to find in on year that the new PC is obsolete and that $400 graphic card upgrade is the cost of the console.

Don't get me wrong. I say more power to people who want to game on their PC and keep building a new system every year and overclocking while using water cooling to keep their CPUs from frying. I am just] saying that the consoles are true "Plug N Play" or "pay n play" device. Buy the game and stick it in the BD player or download and it is compatible with your console.

 

[Nackles]

The PS4 is next gen, to say it's not is ridiculous. To say it is not better than PS3 is okay (but way wrong!).

The PS2 spoiled us with backwards compatibility, but it was an anomaly if you look at consoles of past. How many consoles have had this feature? For every person that says "I would pay more to have backwards compatibility" there are many more that would not.

 

[SpaceTiger]

I don't understand how people can say they can't tell that the graphics look any better on the ps4 compared to the ps3. Are you guys blind. Look at NBA2k14. Pause during gameplay and zoom in. Look at the environment in COD. I see a great improvement and look forward to them getting even better.

Sports titles are really one of the worst genres to look at to demonstrate graphical advancement from the last game since...they're pretty much the identical game (which is something else I'm not gonna jump into). I say wait until 2-3 years into the PS4 to actually notice the huge leap.

"Next gen" is just a buzzword that got waaay way from what it actually is (as themarting's first definition stated) everyone (gamers, companies, sites, magazines) ran with.

Well... its not all about graphics... The new share, controller, interface, psn, console design, stream ...there´s alot...

It's not all about graphics, but that's the first most identifiable thing that screams "next gen" never mind the console has a different number behind it or has a different name. "LOOK AT THE GRAPHICS!!! My heart is bursting and my eyes are melting OUT OF THEIR SOCKETS!!!" It should be the entire package, but the controller, sharing, UI, and streaming usually bring up the rear compared to graphics.

The first thing you normally near is "There is a huge graphical leap", "The graphics are improved", "This is in 1080p", "That's just 720p", "The graphics will be impressive", "Dated graphics", "Next-gen graphics", etc. and so on.