There has been a late of talk lately whether the rendering technology on mobile and tablets could surpass than what is possible on consoles. In fact there was a report not too long ago that claimed mobile graphics will overtake PS4 and Xbox One in the next couple of years.
GamingBolt recently caught up with Andy Nealen who specializes in computer graphics and is a consultant at Hemisphere Games. Andy also handles his day to day responsibilities as a professor of Game Engineering and Design at NYU Poly.
Speaking to GamingBolt, Andy believes that mobile and tablet platforms are destined for a different kind of gaming experience.
“I think the platform is destined for a different kind of game- like I don’t think, if we’re talking touch enabled devices, which, that’s what phones are – they went from being keypad devices to being touch enabled, and I don’t think we’re going back to keys, and I think touchscreens are here to stay. And if anyone has seen a child with an iPad, they know the reason why- they just gravitate towards them so naturally, because it’s so tactile, and they just understand how to use it immediately.”
He also explains that despite the touch screen functionality of modern mobile phones there is no way they can replace the controller.
“But the thing these touch screen devices can’t do is, they can’t replace a controller. There’s just no universe where anyone will ever play something like Street Fighter on an iPad (laughs). That’s just not gonna happen. ”
However Andy think that it’s possible the rendering tech can catch up with consoles although visuals will always be better on the PC.
“Now in terms of rendering capability, I have to say it blows my mind how high performance the current generation tablets are. It’s just absolutely mind boggling when I look at any of these demos we see from Epic or Nvidia or Apple, that just showing off what Unreal looks like on a tablet. I look at that, and I’m like, ‘this is insane!’ If you’d told me this is what mobile games would look like when I was a teenager, I’d have told you you’re a big fat liar. So in terms of rendering, I think it’s possible that mobile devices catch up. Obviously, it always depends on- I mean, the reason consoles aren’t as high end and high performance at rendering as PCs is because there’s a money, a financial constraint. They need to be marketable to a large group of people, so obviously, they’re never gonna cost- I mean, there are graphics cards that cost more than consoles! So, that will always exist, and because of that, graphics will always be better on high end PCs.”
What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you think mobile and tablet graphics will eventually catch up with consoles?
Let us know in the comments section below and stay tuned for more news and updates.
