Electronic Arts seems to be satisfied with what the current generation of game consoles has to offer, claiming that consumers also share the same sentiment. EA executive Frank Gibeau has shared his opinion on why new hardware really isn’t needed any time soon, questioning what new ideas could be brought to the table in relation to the costs involved.
Speaking in regards to what the current consoles offer, Gibeau told CVG:
It’s hard for me to conceive what you would do on a PlayStation 4. The displays are already 1080p, you’re already connected to the internet… You could make it faster, you could have more polys and you could up the graphics a little bit… but at what cost? It’ll be interesting to see how [Sony and Microsoft] think about it in terms of the next generation but it seems to me that customers are happy, and we’re happy to build games on [360 and PS3] right now.
Gibeau then referenced DICE’s new Frostbite 2 engine, which powers Battlefield 3, as a prime example of how developers are still finding ways to push the PlayStation 3:
Frostbite 2 technology coming in can do some really interesting things that nobody is able to do, and you see some great stuff coming from our competitors too.
Developers may have to look for new ways to innovate that move beyond just the visual aspects. On the other hand, game publishers do stand to gain far more revenue through game sales with a larger active console install base.
