PS4 and Xbox One a Year Later: Gameplay Still Key, Not Graphics

At the time of last year’s New York Comic Con, Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One were about a month away from entering the living rooms of eager gamers. Now that the new consoles have been on shelves for a year, gaming journalists Greg Miller, Colin Moriarty and Marty Sliva of IGN and Alexa Ray Corriea of Polygon discussed how well each system delivered on its powerful potential.

[Artista]

Gameplay will always be 'key' it's what holds your attention once you get over the graphics.

Do you enjoying playing the game?

The feedback, that sense of satisfaction.

[Ninver]

My thoughts exactly. Gameplay will always be key, it's the first thing game devs need to focus on. Very essential for any game BUT we can have both that and great graphics. Also story is very important.

[Ultra]

Maybe audio/music, length/content, and close to bug-free are essential too.

[donthate]

Technically, another element can make up for game play and draw you in, namely story line and story telling.

Some games has generic game mechanic, but man I just want to know more!

It is about a packaged experience, and that can draw from multiple places, but graphics is very low on that list. It is like a blip on the radar, otherwise playing the same game on a high end PC as opposed to a console would automatically make the game better.

I enjoyed Last of Us on PS3 as much as I did on PS4, but no more.

[bouzebbal]

gameplay? that's a very vague word cause it's highly subjective.
i think GTA plays like crap, another person doesn't.
tbh i haven't played very much on my PS4 the past year or so because last gen consoles are still kicking. I loved Knack, Transistor, inFamous: SS and First Light..

[Eonjay]

Bull. Lets all pretend that 90% of the AAA lineup isn't identical. The only thing that sets them apart is performance because most of the games and the gameplay is the same.

They really have people fooled into thinking we are playing different games. SMH

[donthate]

eonjay:

"Bull. Lets all pretend that 90% of the AAA lineup isn't identical. The only thing that sets them apart is performance because most of the games and the gameplay is the same."

I'm confused, are you saying if the game runs at 4k and 120fps that itself separates itself from a game that runs 1080p at 60fps?

Because you can put a number to something that makes it easier for you to comprehend, doesn't mean game play is the "same".

In fact, subtle differences in game play mechanics makes a huge impact on player retention and not if it is 1080p at 60fps, or if it is 720p at 30fps.

If it was, we would all be gaming on high end PCs a long time ago instead of the rise of consoles.

"They really have people fooled into thinking we are playing different games. SMH "

I certainly have more fun with some games than others despite them being rather similar if you take away the story, the artwork, sound and essentially jsut leave it as blocky boxes.

Game play does matter, and so does many other things. Graphics and performance is minimal part of that.

[Eonjay]

@donthate

Except in cases where performance retards gameplay (such as SE3) the gameplay experience on both consoles can be considered identical.
And to the same extent on PCs where keyboard and mouse use drastically effects gameplay, the only objective difference is graphics.

Contrary to the notions being set forth, gameplay does not improve the more you reduce resolution. This ignorant narrative should be put down like a rabid dog.

[Ares84HU]

Yes, Gameplay is #1 but back in the early PS3 and Xbox 360 days these same journalists kept talking about how much better games are on the 360 because of minor graphical improvements over the PS3.

Now that the tables have turned all you hear is ohhh graphics don't matter anymore.

It's about time you xbox owner realized what's important in games. It's unfortunate that this is the way it had to happend but I'm glad it did so maybe next gen if the tables turn in your favour you will be much more humble about it. Maybe....

[Pogmathoin]

Ares, PS3 versions of games simply had issues, not always graphics. Many devs simply did not do PS3 justice, Bethesda maybe the biggest culprit. People who say graphics make the game much better are full of it. Who honestly stops and takes in the scenery in Skyrim or Fallout for more than a second? Or gets out of car in a Forza or GT, and snaps a photo?

[SilentNegotiator]

Graphics have neither a direct or inverse relationship with the quality of gameplay. I'll take great gameplay AND nice graphics, which is why I got a Ps4, where ~90% of games are 1080p30fps or higher and I have enjoyed the gameplay.

[Gaming247allday]

GAMEPLAY IS NOT KEY
resolution is and if it aint hitting 1080pizzle i aint down with it ya digg homeboi?

i need that 60frames per sizzle and nuthin less boi

Sony taught me that in one of their advertizements

no let me swag on outta here and hit up my PS4izzle peace to all my doggz up in hurr G

[Spartacus10]

Yeah because they knew that all the xbots who chose the 360 because of the higher res would come running over to the PS4.

Dont forget that 80m+ people still bought PS3's despite having worse resolution on a lot of multiplatform games because PS3 had the most diverse range of gameplay experiences of all the three consoles, and I can bet that PS4 will too.

Unless xbox is actually looking like it has games with better gameplay than the PS4, your argument is irrelevant because at the moment it looks as if Sony have got more diversity.

Good gameplay + better graphics >>>> good gameplay + worse graphics.

[lelo2play]

Unfortunately a lot of so called gamers care more about resolution/fps then gameplay or story. These so called gamers even care more about resolution/fps then graphics. As long as the game is 1080p, it doesn't matter that developers had to decrease graphics quality to obtain 1080p. This is the gaming world we live in nowadays...

[Revolver_X_]

Your not qualified to tell someone whether they are a gamer or not. The truth of the matter is consumers need to push developers to reach these old standards. 1080p/60fps is years old on my PC. Im sorry your console of choice cant consistently reach that benchmark. That doesn't give anyone the right to move the goal posts. In AC Unity's case they claim to have improved on AI. This fact remains to be seen. Although given AC's track record, I highly doubt this to be true. Its funny how PC players can unite under one standard, but console gamers cant. PS4 and X1 should be pushing out these standards consistently. Otherwise, why buy the new consoles? There's really no great excuse you can throw at me, that's not complete BS.

[Spotie]

Unfortunately a lot of blind people like you are either intentionally or ignorantly trying to simplify the issue(I'm betting it's the former), as if wanting better graphics means wanting worse gameplay.

Two versions of the same game on different consoles will have the same gameplay. Then what's the difference between the two?

What kills me is how determined you guys are to paint a certain picture of things, no matter how wrong that picture is.

[SilentNegotiator]

Except people discussing graphics in articles about graphics isn't "caring more" like you always whine about.

[Spenok]

Yeah seriously. Graphics have NEVER been key. If graphics are what mattered most, and what made games fun. The suddenly EVERY game from before whatever the current generation is now sucks. And that's just simply not the case.

[geddesmond]

Out of all the beautiful looking games that set graphical standards through out all generations. How many of them had crap gameplay??

See thats why this whole debate of gameplay is better than graphics fails because the best games always have both. Hell 2 of my most favorite games last gen were GOW3 and UC2 and those 2 games set graphical standards for consoles at their releases, they both had killer storylines and good gameplay.

Why fool yourselves about graphics not being important when we all spent a lot of money on HDTV's and the constant jump from generation to generation.

[Paprika]

Graphics are great talking points sure, but gameplay keeps us coming back. You don't play games from 15 years ago for the graphics "well, you kinda can, for nostalgia and appreciation", games with better gameplay will always live longer than graphics. Graphics are literally yesterdays news and bettered almost every few months, gameplay is absolutely core importance to all games!

[HighResHero]

Exactly. The (literally) hundreds of thousands of people that continue to play Counter Strike every day are enjoying the gameplay.

[Ristul]

Gameplay, Graphics, Story etc - we should not have to choose one over the other in this day and age. Consoles have gone a long way since it's birth and while developers had to compromise back then, the situation is quite different today. We as gamers should expect a certain standard on key aspects of what makes up a game.

[starchild]

I don't agree. I don't think there should be any arbitrary forced standards. Our consoles have fixed hardware, it should be up to devs to decide how they want to most effectively use that hardware. If they want to use more memory and CPU resources for AI or some other cool new gameplay feature, or use more graphics resources to improve the core graphics instead of forsaking those things in favor of some kind of blind adherence to a certain resolution or framerate, I want them to be free to do it.

[Ristul]

What I'm saying is that the technical limitations of current hardware in the consoles does not limit what can be produced in the form of graphics, gameplay and story to a degree. We should expect the game to look good, be entertaining and for me personally, I value a great narrative experience.

[starchild]

There are always going to have to be trade-offs in some area or another.

But I understand and agree with you that all of those areas have value and ideally the developers of each game should make good decisions about how to balance those things.

I don't like the idea of certain standards because we all have different tastes and expectations. Some people would say narrative isn't that important and gameplay is all that really matters. Others would make resolution a top priority. Still others would say graphics don't matter and gameplay is what it's all about.

For me personally, there's not only one right way to make a game. Some games put a heavy emphasis on narrative and exploration, while others might emphasize atmosphere and presentation, and others focus almost entirely on gameplay and settle for simplistic graphics and a bare-bones narrative.

And this is as it should be. There is room for many different approaches and different kinds of games in this hobby.

[generalthadeape]

I agree that we should be able to have it ALL.

When one machine is strong enough to do this while the other one comes up short 99% of the time, it clearly shows that Microsoft fucked up somewhere along the line.

We all know that the screw up was in the hardware they chose for the Xbox One and now we're stuck with it having to play on this "weak" system for the next 6 years or so.

This, coming from an Xbox One owner, just makes me sad.

[qwerty676]

@Ristul

"we should not have to choose one over the other in this day and age"

but with the ps4 and xb1 console specs you're going to have to.

and people dont care about graphics as much as you guys think, no one realizes this because those people are not spending time on comment sections making their point known.

its why games like league of legends is the most played pc game and nintendo first party games continue to thrive. gameplay by far thrumps all.

[Kayant]

That title... Anyways it's more about better balancing between graphics and gameplay then anything because both are equalling as important as each other. Graphic advances can help improve gameplay and bring something new to the table. Recent examples compare FH2 on X360 to X1. The addition of weather, dynamic day/night cycle improves gameplay that was not possible on X360. At the end of the day it's a balance of resources game programmers, art designs are not going to be taking resources from the level designers, game designers. They each specialise in one field and need to work together in order to achieve a role.

It's about better balancing between the core aspects of a game.

[scark92]

Why not both? :D Tearaway looks so good! :D

[thief]

You don't get to change the rules. If a few fps of different or a minor difference in resolution was so important last generation, when it came to bashing the ps3, then you can't just wish away a massive gap in power in favour of the ps4.

And why is it gameplay versus graphics? The best gameplay last generation was also from the ps3 exclusives that blew away the competition with graphics - uncharted, killzone 2 (most underrated multilayer, overshadowed by the phenomenal graphics), lbp, motorsports, heavy rain, god of war....

[slasaru01]

Lol, killzone was boring as hell. And PS3 GOW sold several times worse than on ps2, the last part even didn't sold a million.

Heavy rain had only beautiful character models, that's all. The environments, especially nature looked liked poop

[PrinterMan]

Completely disagree. Lots of stuff looked great in heavy rain but especially the characters.

I believe that the exact same game @900p and 30 fps is NOT as good as 1080p and 60 fps. The experience is completely different. Anyone denying that does not have hardware to validate it.

Destiny is great to play but would be even better @ 60 fps. Fact.

[Deadpool616]

Sooooooooooooo...Nintendo was right?

[deafdani]

Yup. The moment people stop worrying so much about pixel counts and frames per second and demand FUN games, they will start enjoying their console of choice a lot more, no matter which console it is.

[thief]

Soooooo..I should simply buy a second hand gamecube, because it has the same franchises (Mario, zelda, metroid), the same gameplay, just inferior graphics

[deafdani]

Oh, you think you're being witty, don't you?

Be sensible, man. No need to sarcastically go from one extreme to the other just to (fallaciously) prove a point.

[Silly gameAr]

Gameplay vs. graphics? Graphics have always played a key role in gaming, but last gen is when it got out of hand. Why weren't these articles around in the PS3/360 era? I saw more Lens of Truth comparison articles then I saw gameplay greater then graphics articles.

You barley see any Lens of Truth articles this gen. That's how it should have been in the first place.

[deafdani]

You need to pay more attention, then. You will see that most news regarding any PS4 and Xbox One game that says anything about framerate and resolution will easily reach top popularity on this site, regardless of the actual gameplay, which is almost always unquestioned or ignored.

It's quite sad, really.

[Silly gameAr]

Yep, just like last gen. I just notice more gameplay is greater then graphics articles this gen. I've paid attention, trust me.

[sin7279]

everything is key!, polygon discussed??? ha ha ha!

[kevnb]

Frame rate and graphics improve gameplay, why not get the better hardware?

[generalthadeape]

Exactly!

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

it improve the performance of the animation not gameplay.

[PrinterMan]

Wrong. It improves the immersion.

[hello12]

For me, gameplay, graphics and frame rate are the most important things. Resolution comes in last because your just enhancing the image quality and that can be fixed with upscale and using HDMI.

[DigitalRaptor]

"your just enhancing the image quality and that can be fixed with upscale and using HDMI."

Is this just your last ditch effort to downplay the resolution debate and attempt to reduce one of the PS4's key strengths to something unrecognisable? Because that was just a pathetic level of desperation.

[Roccetarius]

Why choose between gameplay and graphics, when it's possible to get both? Unfortunately, we're going to be held back this gen as well, just like the last one. That's another 10+ technological years down the drain.

OT: Just ignore Alexa Ray Corriea, since she's one of the untrustworthy GameJournos.

[Agent_hitman]

I remember when the PS3 version of multiplat games were inferior compared to 360, this kind of topic was always the excuses to cover or kill the issue surrounding the prowess between the 2 consoles.. History just repeat itself, now that the Ps4 is powerful no doubt.

[alb1899]

I choose gameplay and good online experience.......that's why from the beginning I bought an XONE.
I've been busy with TITANFALL and FORZA HORIZON 2 and I'm waiting for HALO and SUNSET OVERDRIVE, all in the same year!

[_LarZen_]

Gameplay and fun is always important. Just look at Crysis..extremely good looking. But as a game it's not fun at all...

But a great game that is fun and have good gameplay will be even better with great graphics.

[Zizi]

IMHO, Crysis 2 is good.

[_LarZen_]

Yeah it's a cool game. But I did not write Crysis 2 but Crysis. The first game has way more advanced graphics. But it's not especially fun to play.

[thecowsaysmoo]

22 KAJILLION KABILLION YEARS LATER. Gameplay is still more important.

[Zizi]

Couldn't agree more.

[gamer7804]

I'd argue that they are both equally as important. Graphics don't have to be photorealistic to create the sense of visual the dev is looking for. Even if its an 8-bit retro look that could be just as important to a game as a game looking photorealistic.

The visual feedback you get when creating an action is very important.

so graphics are just as important (imo) along with gameplay. It just doesn't have to have photorealistic graphics, but it does need to fit the game. Minecraft is a good example, its graphic style fits perfectly along side its gameplay, it wouldn't be the same game without it.

[lemoncake]

If a game is really really boring in terms of gameplay, story and setting with really poor voice acting and music, that game is going to be crap even if it offers photorealistic graphics. Balance really is the key here.

[lefty]

Ahhhh yes super Mario 3d world.....flawless game but couldn't win goty due to lack of big budget used. This article had to include Nintendo if game play is being valued.

[MookaTek]

My thoughts on this subject are as follows:

Graphics will, without doubt, constantly get better. This is a given and should not even be worried over. We are at a point of diminishing returns. We will never see a leap like the SNES to the N64 ever again. It's just not going to happen. However, we will forever see incremental increases in graphics. It has been a natural constant in video game evolution and will not stop. In short, if you do not like the looks of a certain game at this point, and it pains you to play it in its current condition, rest assured that future iterations in that game's series will, no matter what, look better. Better graphics always will occur in the video game medium. This is guaranteed.

What we should all be worrying over is gameplay advancements. There have been few in this current generation. The Nemesis system in Shadow of Mordor is often lauded, but it could have been implemented in previous generations. The accolades that this simple (and wonderful) system receives are certainly warranted, and proof-positive how easily impressed we can be. We should not be this easily impressed, however.

There are many gameplay advancements I could carry on about here, but I think it would be pointless to list them. Most gamers have played a game, even a critically-acclaimed one, and thought about what could've made it better. If anyone at this point thinks that one of those things is graphics... well, wait it out. Trust me, graphics will get better. They always will.

What I am looking forward to is true gameplay advancements. In short, I want to exist, virtually, in a world. I want every door to be able to be opened. I want every person to have a real personality. I want every tree to shed its leaves in autumn. I want a seasonal clock, and not just a simple day/night cycle. I want snow. I want rain. I want to immerse myself as much as possible in these worlds.

Graphics is an important variable in my dream, but graphics will always improve. Always. I want every developer to hire people with real imaginations to advance gameplay. Graphics are getting better as I type this, but gameplay remains stagnant.

[Pyro2000x]

PS4 still owning Xbox One in Sales, Graphics and the number of Games available.

[MetroidFREAK21]

Wait, gameplay is more important than graphics... Who would've suspected that was the case for a video game!?