The Evolution Of PlayStation's Graphics From PS1, PS2, PS3, To PS4

"In a day and age where every next generation developer is throwing the words 1080p, 60 frames per second around like a badge of honor. We take a look back . . . way back in time at the evolution of PlayStations graphics from PS1 right up to PS4 to find out what has really changed over the years." PS4.sx

[ArronNelson]

I was already very satisfied by last gens graphics, so the current PS4 is nothing to me, except for more processing power and hardware.

I'd wager a lot of people would agree with me.

[Qrphe]

I honestly never thought graphics would get much better beyond PS2, then the 360/PS3 mildly surprised me. This generation has been mildly surprising as well so far.

[ape007]

ps3/360 mildly surprised????

"looks at san andrease vs GTA V"

[Qrphe]

@above

Relatively speaking, PS2->PS3 jump wasn't nowhere near as big as the 4th->5th nor 5th->6th generational jumps. We only really got more shaders and more enemies on screen. It may seem like a huge jump only because the budget of 7th gen games skyrocketed.

[ape007]

^^^^

dunno man but seeing hd in the first time was a huge wow factor

[Zerotino]

@ape007 - I have to agree with the HD thing.
I remember on christmas morning I was given a PS3 and Skyrim so i was happy. I didn't have an HD TV at the time but was still blown away by the graphics. An hour later the rest of the family came over and I was given my first HD TV, I played through the opening sequence again this time in HD and the change was stunning.

[3-4-5]

* As we progress, it becomes more difficult to notice the flaws and how they are corrected.

It's easy to literally count pixels and see the upgrade, or see the jaggies smoothed, but from this point on, seeing the flaws will become more difficult.

^ This leads to improvements not having as big of an impact for a few generations.

This being one of them.

[Thatguy-310]

Character models are far more detailed now with the introduction of the new consoles. But I agree with you. Little by little graphics won't really seen that different. For what seems to stand out are the minor details. The way a coat or jacket moves because of the wind and movement or simple particle effects. I never get tired of watching wet floors or different lighting angles.

[smoothdude]

Its not just the graphics, but animations have also come along way along with in-game dialogue and sounds. Also look at the storage upgrades like CD, DVD, and Blu Ray. Over the generations we also have online multiplayer and cloud storage for games saves.

While it is cool to compare graphics over the years, really graphics only represents a small piece of the improvements over the years. I am guessing that this new "Shared Play" will also become a feature that will enhance gaming for PS4 owners.

[mogwaii]

Lol, wrong place to be wagering something like that!

[PinkEye]

Graphics on this newest gen are not that much of a leap, but I wonder if 2k resolution may be the needed boost to see a larger difference. I seen bf4 at max settings, 60 fps with 2k res at a computer store on pc and was blown away (and no i'm not a pc gamer). Next gen will definately need a higher resolution or it won't look noticeably better to the naked eye.

[Qrphe]

2K is pretty much almost 1080p. You must mean either 3K or 4K

[patelsanjeed]

For me my best experience was with the PS2. So many awesome games too many to mention. I feel like its gone downhill since then, though a few recent announcements like Destiny, The Order 1886 and The Division may just renew my faith in the PS4.

[charliewong980]

What are you talking about downhill. Did you play The Last Of Us, God Of War or GTAV, On PS3?

[spacedelete]

those two games were the minority. god of war is repetitive rubbish so no point bringing that up. the amount of good PS2 games were unbelievable. on PS3 most games like Residentt Evil got worse and worse.

[Golden_Mud]

We're still in the HD generation , PS1 was the start it up generation and 2D games and a little 3D games , PS2 was the generation of mostly 3D games and the big bang of games , PS3 was the bomb of HD , PS4 continues the trend of the PS3 , we can hope PS5 takes it to the uncanny valley and achieves the realistic viewing.

[henrythomas284]

I agree, I think by the PS5 we may have project morpheus up and running the way Sony envisions it. I can see it going as detailed as most of these pixar movies in future.

[TWB]

No ? (directed towards the PS1 part) PS1 was literally the "3D bomb" with much weaker console before PS1 strugling to make 3D games that made sense/were fun (with few exceptions), PS1 provided everything that was needed to make enjoyable 3D games.

I cant recall how many PS1 games I have but for the sake of the comparision lets say, 14.

Only 2 out of those 14 games are 2D which are Megaman X5 and Heart of Darkness (and even then HoD uses beautifully 3D prerendered and animated background scenery)

Maybe the very early PS1 games were 2D or a mix of 2D sprites and 3D geometry but great majority of PS1 games were 3D.

Jump to PS2 meant smoother surfaces, z-buffering, higher framerate, severly increased draw distance and more advanced rendering.

[EdnaJones97]

its so true, every article i read is all about 1080 this and 6 frames per second that. But as good as all that sounds the gameplay like watchdogs just ends up being pooh.

[MRMagoo123]

Yeh but watch dogs wasn't full hd either so it's not the best example, watch dogs to me is just bland graphics style and game play.

[danniellelewis]

When Tom Clancy's The Divisions next generation only engine drops, i think thats when we will see the power of what the PS4 can really do.

[typittt69]

Even at full HD it would have looked bland. Resolution is only a small part of graphics. It's just not that good looking of a game. Infamous would have still looked miles better than watch dogs even at 720p

[alvinmiller92]

Nothing Beats the PS1.

[Frankskint]

Just looking at Crashing Bandicoot on PS1 and i think it actually looks better than the PS2 version.

[LightDiego]

Interesting, and it's good to remember all the classics from PlayStation. :)

[GeofferyPeterson]

It won't be long before video games become movies, movies become V.R., actors are replaced with C.G. actors, and then machines will replace humans. I see a Surrogate future in less then 20 years from now.

[PinkEye]

Looks like someone skipped sleep last night. And his meds.

[johny5]

The biggest leap in graphics was from 2d to 32/64 bit-3D graphics! Second biggest was from the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era.

Compare Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past "My favorite BTW" to Zelda Ocarina of time and you'll see how big the difference was! Then compare Tenchu to Ninja Gaiden Black!

But one thing is for certain! Every generational leap has had a 10x power increase, so there's bound to be a big to mild difference!

[Qrphe]

3D was definitely the most apparent leap in gaming history. Although we consoles may jump around the same relative amount of hardware power every gen, we're bound to normalize in the way graphics look due to diminishing returns.

[mediate-this]

Ratchet n clank future tools of destruction looks better than knack

[HappyWithOneBubble]

Thanks Sony for the great consoles. Not one have disappointed me. I hope the PlayStation train never stops.

[Gardenia]

Still I had the best time with the PS1 and PS2

[newflesh]

I remember playing Dreamcast games and thinking how much better the graphics are than on PS2, which came much later