While the idea of iterative consoles is great in theory, the fact of the matter is that Microsoft and Sony have both hamstrung the potential of these new machines by tying them inextricably to their respective base systems. The Xbox One X especially, which represents a larger leap over the Xbox One, being tied to the base Xbox One will lead to its full potential not being realized- at least, that’s what Don Williamson, the founder of Celtoys, and an ex-Lionhead developer who has worked on Fable previously, thinks.
Speaking to GamingBolt in an exclusive interview, Williamson said, “If you spend engineering time on two platforms rather than one then there will always be compromises. This has been the same since the dawn of computer games.”
Willamson also confirmed that the Xbox One X should be able to render native 4K in at least some cases- though he also professed that he would rather that power go towards HDR implementation instead. “For certain classes of renderer, most definitely. I would much rather see a focus on HDR with higher quality pixels.”
Additionally, according to him, the Xbox One X doesn’t match up to gaming PCs- though, on the other hand, he does note that with it being a console with fixed hardware, it has a benefit in terms of optimization that PC games do not enjoy.
“Desktop PCs have always come out ahead of consoles by an observable margin,” he said. “However, a console’s fixed hardware with custom modifications and matched APIs makes it easier to get predictable performance from. PC engines are a mess of compatibilities that make focusing on performance much harder. The attribution of “yet another sloppy PC port” from some gaming circles is a visible reflection of this.”
All of which sounds fairly reasonable and sensible. Nothing that he has said is particularly controversial. In the future, maybe a couple of years from now, I hope Microsoft rescinds the diktat that all Xbox games need to target the base system in addition to the One X.
