One of the most common demands people have from the next generation of game consoles is that graphics should hit 4K and 60 frames per second. It’s a noble ask- but it is not likely to happen. For time immemorial, developers have chosen to prioritize increased visual fidelity over improved frame-rates (you can’t market frame-rates as well as better graphics).

Which is why it’s not clear if that will happen next generation, either- it’s far likelier that developers use the increased power of the PS5 and Xbox Scarlet (or whatever the next Xbox will be called) to deliver better graphics with shinier effects, rather than use those resources for frame-rate. This is something that Tancred Dyke-Wells and Neil Millstone – the co-founders of Solar Sail Games, who are developing Smoke and Sacrifice – believe as well.

“Well, arguably 4k and 60fps are already here with PS4 Pro and Xbox One X so sure, that should be the baseline, although not necessarily together,” they said, in an interview with GamingBolt. “In general, developers tend to choose to go with 30 frames per second in order to prioritize graphical quality over frame rate for most of the bigger titles, and I’m not sure that will change other than for multiplayer or fast action titles. But hopefully the next gen will offer something more than graphical fidelity, since with each new round of hardware the returns diminish – modern games already look amazing. I’m more interested in platforms that offer improved discoverability and which promote unique, interesting titles to players who might not otherwise find out about them!”

They definitely hit the nail on the head with diminishing returns as well. While graphics always can and will continue to look better and better, I think we are now officially past the point of diminishing returns for video games- it’s why Switch doesn’t look as hopelessly outdated next to PS4 and Xbox One as Wii did next to PS3 and Xbox 360, for example.

I do think that it would be better now for developers to emphasize performance- but I also don’t see that happening. History, at least, is indicative of the fact that it won’t.

There is a widespread expectation that consoles will eventually transition entirely to digital gaming in the coming years- whether via streaming, which more and more companies have begun to express interest in, or simply digital downloads. In fact, a recent study by an analyst concluded that games sales will be entirely digital in the next five years.

That may sound ambitious, but fully digital consoles are coming, according to Tancred Dyke-Wells and Neil Millstone – the co-founders of developer Solar Sail Games, the developers of Smoke and Sacrifice. Speaking to GamingBolt, Dyke-Wells and Millstone said that discs and physical games are antiquated technology, and that the popularization of streaming via services such as Netflix and Spotify has changed people’s expectations on how media is delivered or consumed.

“One question I have in mind is whether this will be the generation where the disc drive is lost and the machines become more of an entirely digital, aways-online, Steam-like service offering,” they said in an interview with GamingBolt. “If not, maybe the generation after… but it’s coming. physical discs are old technology. And I think streaming and subscription services like PlayStation Now are likely to become more central to how consumers buy and play – in the same way that Netflix and Spotify have come to define how we consume movies and music. On the other hand, consumer internet still isn’t ideal for delivering the tens of gigabytes that current-gen games consume, so if they’re even bigger next time round, it could mean games on disc stay relevant for a while longer.”

I really hope this isn’t true, to be honest. I’d even be fine with digital download only consoles (most of my game purchases at this point are digital anyway), but a shift to a streaming future for games does not interest me in the slightest. Games are data intensive, and the question of latency simply cannot be sidestepped, it’s a matter of the fundamental laws of physics. I don’t want my gaming experience to be made worse in pursuit of some ideal about the future of gaming- I hope that won’t happen in the future.

Stay tuned for our full interview on Smoke and Sacrifice in the coming days.