Shu Yoshida: Games Like The Last of Us Will be More Impactful on PS4; Will Cross the Uncanny Valley

Sony Computer Entertainmeent Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida is is never afraid to show his enthusiasm and passion for gaming, and he talked about some of the gaming trends that most excite him.

[ZodTheRipper]

Uncanny valley is a good word to describe the current situation in gaming. We will probably reach true photo realism in 3-5 years and I'm sure these consoles will be able to display that. Of course, PC's are able to do it already but gaming always evolved by the pace of consoles so the true "next gen" experiences will be primarily available on these consoles. First Party content will again play a huge role this generation.

[MysticStrummer]

I don't see these consoles ever achieving true photo realism unless the environment is extremely limited. Most PCs aren't able to do it now.

As for TLoU, I get why Sony is doing it but I'd rather see older games upgraded than one I played just last year.

[ZodTheRipper]

Well then you're in for a surprise, here's a few examples
http://a.pomf.se/jjmyjx.web...
http://a.pomf.se/eitjxp.web...
http://a.pomf.se/vcvggp.web...
That's pretty close to "photo-realistic" and it's at the start of the generation. As the consoles mature, the memory pool increases and devs get accustomed to the hardware you can bet your boots that this will be improved even further.

[JP1369]

zod -
That's not even close to photo real and the amount of power it takes to get "real" lighting to run in real time is an order of magnitude more than the best graphics cards on PC put out today. True photo realism is a hell of a lot more than 3-5 years away.
You really sound like you don't have a clue what you're talking about when you mention the consoles even threatening to cross the uncanny valley this gen. Optimization won't ever push them beyond their sub 2 TF capabilities.

[PrinceOfAllSaiyans]

Dude some PlayStation exclusives look better and some as good as PC games. Uncharted 3,TLOU, InFamous SS, and from what we seen of The Order 1886 look better than anything I've seen on PC. And games like Shadow Fall and Ryse look as good as some PC games. I doubt we'll reach photo realism tho.

[MysticStrummer]

@Prince - "Dude some PlayStation exclusives look better and some as good as PC games. Uncharted 3,TLOU, InFamous SS, and from what we seen of The Order 1886 look better than anything I've seen on PC. And games like Shadow Fall and Ryse look as good as some PC games."

I was replying to what zod said : "PC's are able to do it (photorealism) already". I think his definition of photorealism differs from mine, and after reading various interviews from last year and this year that say photorealistic gaming might be possible in a decade or so, I don't think many in the industry would agree that we're already seeing it either.

Looking as good as a PC game is one thing. Photorealism is another.

Edit - Crossing the Uncanny Valley doesn't necessarily mean photorealism either.

[Themba76]

I didn't play it last year. I was on 360.

[tbone567]

Sony please. Less talk more action.

[Vegamyster]

@zod18

That's a baseball game, it does look good but its not a demanding environment.

http://img836.imageshack.us...

@PrinceOfAllSaiyans

We haven't really seen much of The Order 1886 other then screenshots and gameplay of a small fire fight in an alley.

"The Order 1886 look better than anything I've seen on PC"

Metro Last Light https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Crysis 3 - https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Star Citizen https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Theantidote619]

It's genius on their part. Think of all the GOTY games that come out like Legendary Skyrim edition, borderlands GOTY, etc. people bought playstation 3's just for this game. Now those xbox users who jumped ship also have a chance to play it as well. Not saying I wouldn't mind seeing some older games redone like Resident Evil 2, Final fantasy 7-8-9, Chrono Cross, Breathe Of Fire, Dino Crisis, and so many others but The Last Of Us is a must play for any gamer.

[incredibleMULK]

yeah i can see it now ps4 version god of war saga
uncharted trilogy,
jack and jester,
sly cooper.
ratchet and frank,
resistance triology,
killzone 1-3
all other exclusives,

ps5 is born, repeat cycle, yay.

Im still gonna buy them though, well not the cartoony shit. I hope they remake infamous 1 and 2 with the new engine. But most of all.....i want mafia 3 and on as long as they can if they can make FIFTY.....I am sooo there! love that series. Same with crysis, I love that series too.3 platinums, infamous... platinums. mafia 2 platinum.

[Ozmoses]

I'll get it eventually. But, I would honestly rather ND create a whole new IP that could be just as good or better than TLOU.

I think that could be why some of the ND people have left recently.. They don't like the idea of pushing all the re-hashs on PS4, they want to make new ideas and new games.

I'll probably get it day 1 regardless, because that's the gamer inside of me. But, a new game would be 10 times better.

[TitanUp]

yeah, the systems arent that powerful maybe 2018 or 2019 we will have new systems that really pushes and competes with high end hardware.

[Prime157]

Sony had hinted at crossing this hurtle... it was obviously important to them as their first party studios have been silent.

Research: ICE team.

@incrediblemulk

I'll just refer you to http://community.us.playsta...

And how does tbone have 3 agrees and 10 disagrees on his troll statement that has well said? Oh right, psn4g did that. /s

(Btw, I've been on a campaign that this sight has a decent balance of fanaticism with the bubbles compared to other sites) I can name an off-site fanboy for each fanboy anyone names...

Sigh...

[Lord_Sloth]

It's ignorant to say they will never get photo realism without a limited environment. PC will hit it 1st to be sure but consoles will hit it as well and as tech rises so too so consoles get stronger.

I remember XBox Magazine talking about how Splinter Cell would never be on the PS2 due to how weak it was.

I remember TES fans saying that consoles would never be able to run a TES game yet I had Morrowind for my XB.
I remember PC fans harping about how consoles would never be able to handle Crysis.

Never say never. A quality programmer can make anything happen.

[masterfox]

PS3 already achieving photo-realism in some games, I definitely agree in Shu on this one, also check the images the user post on this comments. ;)

[ZodTheRipper]

And some more examples of photo realistic graphics, now from a Neogaf User with Skyrim
https://farm4.staticflickr....
https://farm4.staticflickr....
https://farm3.staticflickr....
https://farm8.staticflickr....

So please don't tell me it's not possible, I was talking about 3-5 years from now.

[sonarus]

@zod can you point me to any photo realistic games on pc. I thought crysis was graphics king on pc and as good as it looked still not photo realistic to me maybe i missed something you can point out.

Last of us is a very good game that some are yet to play. However, Last of us 2 on ps4 in my opinion isn't necessary. The PS3 version already looked and played great. The game was designed to max ps3 strengths and it does that very well. Simply making the game 1080p and 60fps isn't good enough to me. Sure the 1080p is nice but i am not too sure this is a game that will benefit from 60fps. I could be proven wrong though

[I_am_Batman]

We won't reach true photo realism anywhere soon. It's very possible that we won't reach it at all. The problem with photo realism is that it take a much bigger step in hardware to make an equally big step towards photo realism.

So if it needs ten times more powerful hardware to get from seventy to eighty percent photo realism it'll take a hundred times more powerful hardware to get from eighty to ninety percent next time (Those numbers are completely made up but you get the idea).

The reason for that is that with better graphics we start noticing more details an when something is not right it's immediately apparent. That makes it almost impossiblle to ever reach true photo realism.

[CryofSilence]

I guess it all depends on your definition of photo realism. Personally, I don't think even big budget films have reached photorealism with their CG, and they have farms of rendering machines. You can almost always pick out CG from real footage.

[Tontus]

We are not even close to photo realism in games, maybe in 20 years the PS7 will be able to achieve such fidelity.

[ZodTheRipper]

So this is "not even close to photo realism"?
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
And that's done on a 6 year old game. If you disagree, please show me your definition of photo realism. Of course we're not there yet but we are definately close.

[lesrima88]

consoles and photo realism??lmao thanks for the laugh...

[randomass171]

That's interesting. I never really got uncanny valley from TLOU. They stylized it in a way that looks real without looking too real. Kind of like a maturely drawn anime. The updated visuals can only help, I think.

[serratos27]

Definitely. Sometimes facial animation throws me off in video games, but in TLOU everything just felt right. Honestly I can't imagine a better looking game, so I'm stoked to see what they got in store for us graphically.

[randomass171]

I don't think they used any facial motion capture either. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't the bodies mocapped by the voice actors and then the faces were animated by hand later?

[CrossingEden]

Naughty Dog only uses hand keyed facial animation. Imo it makes some of the scenes look off, go back and watch the scene where Ellie saves Joel and watch her face as she says "I shot the hell out of that guy huh." It's really off.

[DeletedAcc]

first ps4 games (U4, Order86 for example) will reach cgi-level
last ps4 games (TLOU2 for example) will reach photo-realism

[Tontus]

PS4 games can reach early 2000 CGI, maybe, but it will not reach photo-realism.

Look at Monsters Inc from 2001 https://www.youtube.com/wat... I haven't seen anything on PS4 look as good yet, maybe later games will be at a comparable level.

[TheFallenAngel]

I was hoping for more weapons and gameplay but it already is a masterpiece.

[randomass171]

Free DLC can't be beat either. It may as well be a GOTY edition with better visuals. :)

[The_Truth_24_7]

Good thing I held off on getting it when it came out.

[Pancit_Canton]

The like TLOU and all but what about The Last Guardian. I'm sure that game would have more impact on the PS4 than the PS3. At least some info would reassured the fans atleast regarding to it's developement progress.

[mhunterjr]

I don't think consoles are anywhere near crossing the uncanny valley, considering cg films have yet to do so...

[WeAreLegion]

The Dark Sorcerer looks better than most CG films. I would question that QD could get a game to look that good if they hadn't already outperformed all their past tech demos.

[mhunterjr]

Dark sorcerer looks great, but it's far from making people feel like they are looking at an actual human being delivering a performance.

There are so many subtle details that we pick up when communicating with actual humans, that computer artists have a hard time replicating.

Then there's the whole issue of how our eyes perceive motion (and how cameras capture it), versus how moving objects are rendered. Games will always seem off..

[WeAreLegion]

I agree. I just think it's crazy how close video games are to the best CG out there right now. Who will cross that uncanny valley first? Ya know?

[candy_mafia]

@WeAreLegion

I'm just happy we can get realistic hair now.

If any current console can cross the 'uncanny valley' it's PS4, and if that can't do it, no other console can.

[Bennibop]

I think at points infamous can enter into uncanny valley especially early on when Delsin is talking to Betty, just the eyes I think give it away!

[isarai]

Can't wait to see how games improve over time on these new consoles. I mean just look at something like heavenly sword at the launch of PS3 compared to GoW Ascension near the end of the PS3 cycle, Or saints row 1 compared to GTA V. Gonna be weird looking back at Ryse and Infamous and thinking "Man those look outdated"

[sAVAge_bEaST]

Ps360 was a lull. We never got the Experiences, we should have. (not enough memory)(over saturation of shooters).

I see the next big jump, coming this Gen. Something we have been waiting for, for 8 years.

[Remy_S]

Tomb Raider Definitive edition set the bar pretty high for remasters, but knowing Naughty Dog, they should definitely deliver.

[Sadist3]

Huh, uncanny valley...really? Come on.. Let's get back to reality here, it's just the same game with better graphics

[DigitalRaptor]

Ladies and gents, take note.

This is what happens when you don't read the article and come only to troll.

[Kennytaur]

Not if you've played it before it won't.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Beyond: Two Souls .. look no further ..

[mysteryraz11]

infamous ss is a open world and is crazy detailed and the ps4 hasnt even been out a year yet, then look at order1886 that is the best graphics I have ever seen on ANY platform, when galahad opens the box with the weapon in it and holds it looks damn near photorealistic, the fact that the ps4 can do these level of graphics this early is crazy

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Pure marketing hyperbole. This guy is turning into the new Kutaragi.

[DigitalRaptor]

Something leads me to believe you don't like this guy, considering you think that his statements have something to reveal about his "true personality".

I don't doubt that what he's saying is exaggerated though as we've heard it all before. You never know though - this precise time, in this exact generation could be "the time".

[MultiConsoleGamer]

While its not doubt these games are visually impressive, they're is also no way they will "cross the uncanny valley." That's such a load of nonsense its laughable. Not even the newly released, high end PC graphics cards are capable of such a feat.

This guy is merely pushing the old "toy story graphics, 4D gaming, reality synthesizer, power of the cell" BS we have always heard from Sony marketing.

[candy_mafia]

@MultiConsoleGamer

Being that Yoshida is actually a big deal in the industry, maybe he's seen something you haven't?

You're calling BS, you accuse Sony of hyperbowl, like MS doesn't do it. MS practically invented lies, and...and! You can't wait until these games that claim it are released before you discredit him and Sony? Pfft please!

Beyond Two Souls is close to 'uncanny valley' and that's on PS3, so.....

#enjoyyourxbox

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Implying I'm an Xbox fan simply because I call someone out on their painfully obvious marketing bull s***. That clearly says something about your character.

They don't call me MCG for nothing.

Enjoy your single console brand loyalty.

[CertifiedGamer]

I really hope the ps4 version of last of us is an improvement like tomb raider definitive edition was than just a 1080p port. Remember the god of war HD collection for PS3, it didn't offer anything more than just an HD version of the same PS2 games. Please make this game a PS4 eye candy with current gen graphics.

[LightDiego]

The Last of Us is already perfect, now imagine on PS4.
And the best thing that's exclusive for Playstation, the Xbox and PC players can't play it!

[stavrami-mk2]

For some it will or other like me who are Sony fans won't buy it out of principle. When you tell us your not sure if it's coming to ps4 even though it's in development, just so ppl buy the ps3 version I look at you as deceitful we ain't all ceo's at sony and on 100k a year.every bullshit move you pull I will just avoid the game.

[Ggame]

i really want to play this game since my PS3 was broken almost 2 years ago and just bought PS4.

[okmrman]

you talk too much yo

[mochachino]

I really wish I didn't replay it for the 4th time recently and just bought the DLC.