Both, Sony and Microsoft, plan to release their next-generation gaming consoles in about one month. Gamers all around the world are exited as the last big console release dates back to 2013. The new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X come with several hardware and software improvements that, according to the producers, will result in a totally new gaming experience.
For example, Xbox says, their new console is four-times faster and more efficient than the top model of the previous generation. But does this mean that gaming is going to be four-times better on the next-gen consoles? How does the improved computing power translate into an improved gaming experience?
The key challenge for game developers is to utilize the enormous power of the next-gen consoles and make games look better, more realistic and load faster. Let’s walk through the most interesting new features and assess their potential to improve the actual gaming experience:
SSDs
PS5 and Xbox Series X will come with an SSD drive instead of the traditional HDD drive. Not only that this improves loading speed but it can also serve as additional GPU memory. This opens a door to enormous Open-Worlds with incredible detail without any loading screens or downscaled resolution. The SSD, in its new function to act as a pre-load memory for the GPU, is probably the most promising new feature as it offers game developers to realize larger gaming worlds with a higher texture resolution. On the Xbox, the new SSD will also enable gamers to pause up to 5 games and switch between them without any loading time.
Ray tracing
For several years, developers used rasterized rendering to recreate light effects in video games. The downside of this technology is that reflections have to be simulated manually using so called light bounces. Ray tracing enables developers to simulate the natural behavior of light without any tricks to make it look believable. After being exclusive to PC gamers, ray tracing does finally move to consoles as the GPUs are now powerful enough to support the technology. Currently, it is not foreseeable when developers will use ray tracing on a regular basis. But due to the enormous advantages of the technology, players will most likely see natural light effects in the majority of games in the future.
8K resolution
After the previous generation of consoles supported 4K gaming, the next-gen devices will now support 8K resolution (7680 × 4320 pixels). Because even 4K is not fully established, the update to 8K does not really affect the gaming experience in the first few years after the release. However, as it might take about 7 years again until we can expect another console update, we could see the first 8K games on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X already.
Other interesting improvements regarding audio and cloud support will not be handled in this post. If you have further interest in those advancements, please refer to the sources below. Overall, Sony and Microsoft are about to release to very powerful platforms with the possibility to take gaming experience to a new level. In the end, it will be up to the game studios and developers to use the platform and publish games that make use of the consoles’ full potential.
Sources and further readings:
Corden, J., 2020. Here’s What Game Devs Think About Xbox Series X. [online] Windows Central. Available at: <https://www.windowscentral.com/xbox-series-x-what-do-game-devs-think> [Accessed 7 October 2020].
Henderson, R., 2020. Xbox Series X Vs Xbox One X: What’s The Difference?. [online] Pocket-lint. Available at: <https://www.pocket-lint.com/games/buyers-guides/xbox/152022-xbox-series-x-vs-xbox-one-x-console-specs-compared-whats-the-difference> [Accessed 8 October 2020].
Kinghorn, J., 2019. What Is The PS5 Really Capable Of? Developers Discuss The Potential Of The Next Generation. [online] Gamesradar.com. Available at: <https://www.gamesradar.com/what-is-the-ps5-really-capable-of-developers-discuss-the-potential-of-the-next-generation/> [Accessed 7 October 2020].
West, J. and Avard, A., 2020. The Future Of Gaming: Developers Explore How The PS5 And Xbox Series X Could Change The Way That We Play In The Next Generation. [online] Gamesradar.com. Available at: <https://www.gamesradar.com/the-future-of-gaming-developers-explore-how-the-ps5-and-xbox-series-x-could-change-the-way-that-we-play-in-the-next-generation/> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
