Specs for next gen hardware have been partially revealed by both Sony and Microsoft, and both are boasting of pretty impressive (and similar) stuff, with multiple developers expressing their excitement about getting to work with the new consoles. But it goes without saying that we won’t be seeing the full potential of the PS5 and the Xbox Scarlett right off the bat.
Every generation sees more powerful hardware making newer things possible, but we don’t really see developers tapping into its full potential until a few years have passed. Sebastien Le Touze, CEO of eXiin – developer of the indie adventure title Ary and the Secret of Seasons – opines that that’s very much going to be true for the PS5 and the Xbox Scarlett as well, and owing to the fact the we don’t know everything about these new consoles yet, it’ll be a while before we find out how the new hardware will affect development.
“It is hard to say how the next generation will affect the development of future titles as not enough is known about this new hardware,” said Le Touze while speaking with GamingBolt about next gen consoles. “At one point, consumers thought the leap from the Xbox 360 / PS3 to the Xbox One / PS4 was revolutionary, yet these consoles launch titles don’t nearly push the limits of the hardware the way that Xbox One / PS4 titles do today. It may be awhile before we as developers discover how far we can really push the limits of hardware present in the next generation of consoles.”
Le Touze’s assessment is, of course, backed by plenty of precedence. Early games on the PS4 and the Xbox One were far from the best looking games of this generation, and it’s only with late-gen titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War and the like that developers have managed to squeeze all the juice out of the hardware. The PS5 and the Scarlett will, similarly, not be revealing the full extent of their capabilities for a while yet.
eXiin’s Ary and the Secret of Seasons is out next year for the PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. Our full interview with Le Touze will be going live soon, so stay tuned for the whole thing.