New technology is exciting, as well as sometimes scary- but even then in an exciting way. With each new console generation (and PC upgrade) we get improved graphics. Considering the level some games reach now, it can sometimes be hard to imagine them getting any better. But Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says you’re going to get to the point where you’ll have to squint to see the difference between games and real life.
In an interview with CNBC, Zelnick said that the technology we’ll be seeing in the next generation consoles is really something big. It’s bringing us that much closer to “photorealism,” the concept of computer graphics so advantaged they’re basically like real life. While he states that not all games will be suited to that, many, such as their sports titles, are going to wow people.
“We have a new console generation coming, and that’s going to allow us to do some things that we haven’t been able to do before creatively, and that’s exciting,” said Zelnick. “But as I’ve said before, we’re going to reach a point where you won’t be able to tell the difference between what’s created in the computer and what’s real.”
“That doesn’t mean we’ll do it for all of our games,” he continued. “Borderlands, for example, is an animated universe, it’s always going to be an animated universe.
“But this promise of taking certain titles like basketball and making it truly look like live-action – it’s pretty close now, squint a little bit, it looks like live-action – that’s really exciting, and that gives our creative folks a new canvas on which to paint.”
Of course, we always get this kind of talk when new generations start. Part of it is the hype, which ultimately generates more sales. But we are getting to a pretty advanced point with graphics. We now have CG recreations that look and act startlingly like deceased actors and singers, for instance. While gaming has a ways to go until we get to that point, it’s definitely on its way.
