PS5 and Xbox Series X Will Hit a Graphics Dead-End

The PS5 and Xbox Series X may not have the big leap in graphical fidelity that gamers are used to with previous console generations.

[isarai]

The main improvements are going to be things like AI, physics, scale, density, speed and overall interaction.

[Godmars290]

Given that all that's been on the backburner since HD became a thing, they can only improve.

[NeoGamer232]

That is not true. Look at the games. The maps got bigger improving scale and detail in draw distances dramatically, the environments got more detailed, the systems got more enemies on maps at once, physics got a lot more realistic, character motion got less robotic looking, and there was a lot more environments to interact with then previously.

The thing we saw this generation vs. previous generations was that these things are not massively obvious changes. But go and play games from the same year of the console cycle and you can see extreme differences.

[chiefJohn117]

RDR2 says hello.
Scale, and interaction was truly next gen

[umair_s51]

They are talking about diminishing returns of graphic. There will be a jump in fidelity specially in lighting and physics

[Godmars290]

@NeoGamer232:
"But go and play games from the same year of the console cycle and you can see extreme differences."

Go and play games from prior, less graphic intensive, generations and you'll see greater diversity in play types. My complaint is that in chasing after the HD as well as the first perspective dragon - realism - game development fell into a narrow regiment of service to those aspects of gaming the industry has only recently began to get out from under. Except in regards to AAA gaming.

[isarai]

@Godmars290

Agree 10,000,000% about the chase for realism. There really aren't enough stylized games these days, and many if those that are stylized seem to just be adopting either breath of the wild or overwatch's style and it's already getting played out.

[Muzikguy]

I'm ready for games to start pulling away from 720p as well. I think with more being put into the games they'll start feeling leaps ahead of the current stuff on their own. I do think too that developers talk like this a lot but don't put their money where their mouth is either. Some do, but many claim to want to do these things then fail to deliver. Or talk about how development takes too long.

[nitus10]

Since the release of the PS4 most games (over 95%) are capable of displaying in 1080p since that is the top resolution of the base PS4. Sure the PS4pro and the XBox1x can display natively to 4K (2048p) but not many games have the assets to do that.

One feature of the PS4 is after an earlier update is the ability to display in HDR (High Dynamic Range) providing the game supports this and you are displaying on a 4K HDR display (includes TVs and monitors). So even if you have a base PS4 and providing the game supports HDR you can display the game in 1080p HDR.

Note: Not all 4K displays support HDR (usually HDR10 but some later displays also support Dolby HDR as well) so you need to be careful when purchasing one.

Looking to the future, 8K displays are now out and depending on the screen size and viewing distance as well as your own eyes it will be very difficult to justify a display that has a higher resolution than 8K. In fact while you can definitely see the difference between 1080p and 4K (assuming appropriate content) it is much more difficult to differentiate between 4K and 8K and justify paying the extra price.

It must be noted that most decent 4K HDR TVs/monitors will upscale output that is less than 4K to 4K that is very acceptable to many people. Basically sound systems reached the limits of human hearing decades ago and technology is rapidly approaching what the human eye can discern.

[Muzikguy]

I have a 4K HDR TV now (60in) and games look great on it. PS5 should be a nice addition as well. Personally I don't ever see myself getting an 8K TV. 4K will do just fine. Heck, it has taken long enough to even get where we are with HD. Most things are still getting upscaled and that's not at all like being native.

Sound is an interesting beast if you ask me. Most people don't even have a HD sound setup. They don't use multiple speakers or anything like a surround system. Most just use whatever the TV gives them. Some TV sound systems are getting decent but most of it now is software enhanced to sound like a surround sound system without actually being one. They're still very different. I consider myself somewhat an audiophile compared to most. Although I admit, I do game mostly with just the TV speakers now (toddler in the house)

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Most devs will focus on graphics like they always do.

[ssj27]

Something clever Microsoft and sony have been doong with all this "leaks" secrecy is fool us to be ok with weak 12tf power. When we all know is a small generational jump ever. By saying sony may be 9tf and making 12tf apear like really powerful when it's not. And everyone fall for it. Like good sheeps...

[isarai]

TF arent everything, my assumption is purely based on basic understanding of what hardware they have now (5400rpm standard mechanical drives, and terribly weak jaguar CPUs) vs what the new systems have (SSDs withMS going the nvme route and sony doing a proprietary direct to board ultra high bandwidth connection, and both using Zen 2 cpus) and understandingjust how big of a gap that is. These are the leap, these are literally game changers and their functions complement eachother very well. THIS is what has me excited for next gen.

[ssj27]

This is what i mean sheeps fooled sheeps. Tf doesn't tell the whole history sure it doesn't but it's a main part of it add other current technology and make a truly next gen console not this low tf that is like 4 years old tech plus other older tech stuff in it . The only thing that appears to be current technology is the ssd in the playstation 5 and that's how it should be for the other components as well. But i guess we will get a small upgrade and have to settle for it in 5 year it will feel so old and outdated. Even phones will be competing against it

[Zefros]

Well said. I think scale will be a very big focus in mp. For example modes like battle royale could have 3x+ the amount of players.

[lifeisgamesok]

This goes against what we've been hearing from the people that would know these things

We will see a big leap in graphics just like we always do. People try to make this claim every new generation smh

[ABizzel1]

Realistically there will be a difference, and a fairly noticeable one in comparison between a last gen version and current gen version of a franchise game. But it wont be the leap between, SNES to N64, or PS2 to PS3. And honestly it'll be less than PS360 to Current-gen.

I think that's more so what people are saying about holding your expectations back on graphics. More powerful hardware produces better graphics but....

Even though we have 6x - 10x more powerful hardware, were also targeting 4x the resolution, unlike the last couple of gems which was generally 2x the previous resolution.

Next fps generally target 30fps, but this gen with the console's not being CPU bound 60fps is significantly more achievable and those fps will come at the cost of additional graphic effects.

Going from 1080p @ 30fps, up to 4k @ 60fps is going to take around 6x the GPU power, which takes up a large portion of the GPUs power.

But as you said games will still look better because a higher resolution and framerate have an effect on graphics and immersion. But also having more and faster RAM and that extra 20% - 40% GPU power left means it can go to thinks like much better 4K textures, meshes, and lighting which are easy ways to improve graphics in the game worlds.

So if PS5 and SX average games look like the best graphics PS4 and XBO had to offer, but uo to 4K running at 60fps, with next_gen textures and lighting eith bigger and more interactive worlds, I still think we're in for great looking games.

[I_am_Batman]

I think we'll see a much bigger graphical leap than you might be expecting. While you're correct, that a higher resolution and framerate can eat up much of the available recources, I think your assumption that 4k 60fps will be the common target will end up being wrong.

Higher framerates and resolution will be the easiest way to utilize the consoles processing power, but I also think that going for a full 3840x2160 framebuffer is the least effective and most wasteful way of using that power. Developers that want to push the graphical boundaries will probably resort to reconstruction methods from lower resolutions and/or target lower framerates. Keep in mind that VRR might loosen the almost digital 30/60fps paradigm up, which could result in more games with unlocked framerates that otherwise would've been locked to 30fps.

We also have to take into account that the graphics pipeline will be more efficient and the dev tools will also keep improving over time.

The biggest question mark for me right now is how much of an impact raytracing will have on performance. It'll be interesting to see how devs will optimize the use of the limited raytracing capabilities of the next gen consoles.

Since we still don't have the exact specification of the next-gen consoles all we can do is speculate. With that being said I think that people merely expecting sharper and better performing and shinier current-gen games are vastly underestimating what is possible with currently available tech when it's treated as a new baseline.

[lifeisgamesok]

I'm sure we'll have some games target 30FPS, it goes back to graphics being more easily showcased over frames

[UnholyLight]

Regardless of what people are saying, I am hopeful. I remember the early days of PS4 and thinking Battlefield 4 had such amazing graphics...and I have recently gone back to play the game lots and I notice just how not amazing it is anymore!

I really think with next gen we are going to see some really nice new visuals that will still excite and impress, and as we know, as time goes on into the next gen it will only improve. I would offer to simply look at what Sony was able to achieve on PS4 with some of their exclusives later in the current gen as a reason why we shouldn't be worried the graphics won't be as impressive or whatever.

The overall improvements that everyone wants should hopefully be achievable with next gen hardware: much better AI, a lot more things happening on screen and detailed...draw distances that sort of thing, framerates, games that won't crash and pop in (BF4 launch anyone?!). Overall immersion is going to vastly improve next gen!

[ABizzel1]

@I_am_Batman

Agreed, I was coming from a worst-case scenario for PS5 / SX. So at worst games will look slightly better than PS4 Pro / XBO-X, but higher resolutions and double the framerate.

There will obviously be games that target different resolutions and framerates (30fps) and put an even greater emphasis on graphics.

But I honestly think/hope we'll see significantly less 30fps games next-gen outside of open-world games.

[obz]

You are totally wrong on saying next gen will be a smaller leap than the current one. Even at launch, the internals used in the ps4 and xbox one were not top tier to say the least. It was a very modest upgrade and the internals revealed already alone point towards a much bigger leap.

[ABizzel1]

@Obz

It has nothing to do with the components that were used, but the performance difference between the prior and current generation. The GPUs used for PS4/XBO were mid-range at launch, but they were still LEAPs above what was in the PS360. If we are specifically discussing the GPUs between PS3 (HD 5450 equivalent), PS4 (R9 M290x equivalent), and the rumored PS5 (rumored RX 5700 XT), then the difference between generation is less for PS4 -> PS5, than PS3 -> PS4.

The PS4's GPU was around 9x more powerful than the PS3's GPU since it was based on AMD's R9 M290x laptop GPU (with 2 cores disabled).

Now we don't know what GPU is in the PS5, but if we go with the rumors it's in the range of an RX 5700 XT, which is believable for a 2020 console. That GPU is a good GPU, but it too will be mid-range next year, and it's just 7x more powerful than the base PS4's GPU in comparison at best (and that's before disabled cores).

And as I said moving from PS360 to PS4 was just over a 2x resolution increase. Moving from PS4 to PS5 can be up to a 4x resolution increase. So again there is a leap, but if they are aiming for 4x resolution, then that leap is instantly reduced to half of what it could have been (that's excluding higher fps as well).

The leap in performance last-gen was GPU and VRAM, the leap in performance this time is CPU and SSD. We'll see better GPUs and more and faster VRAM, but moving up to 4K resolution is going to eat away at that boost moreso than moving from PS360's 720p up to PS4 1080p.

It's not just about components, it's about the target.

[Prince-Ali]

I dont think that's what is trying to be said here... there will be a dead end.. but the tech itself will focus on allowing for greater immersion in the game, from AI, Physics, Foliage Draw distance and stuff like that...

[Xb1ps4]

I mean... of course there will be a dead end l, the successor of next gen will have a dead end as well.. so what are we really saying here? No one is marketing intimate power with this one next gen console!?

WTH are some of you expecting from next gen? I’m not tech savvy by any means but I have a realistic idea of what to expect out of next gen..

[AnubisG]

There wasn't a huge leap from PS3 to PS4. Did you see the Godfall video online? That is a next gen game and it looks like a current gen game in every way.

However, I'm hoping for a huge leap as we did not get one from last gen to this gen.

[lifeisgamesok]

One unfinished game doesn't represent the whole library of a next generation console

[rainslacker]

It really depends no how one defines advancement in graphics. The new things coming are more subtle, with a few standout improvements which will be readily noticeable and certainly push the graphics to be better. But as far as how it actually looks, we're already decently close to being realistic, and the next gen is just going to push that to be more consistent.

Everything else is just art style and design, and will vary wildly between productions. Or we can hope it does.

[IRetrouk]

Doubt it, still plenty of room to grow in terms of graphics, we are nowhere near a dead end.

[Melankolis]

Technically yes, i agree. But emotionally....when i played Uncharted 4 even it looked way better, i didn't get the similar impression compared to Uncharted 2. Other than the possibility i've reached Gossen's 3rd law, maybe the progress of graphic itself has been too predictable.

[GordyNYC]

The graphical updates will be in the density and complex behavior of the graphics. The ability to simulate larger amounts of particles for destructive environments or liquid sims, NPC reaction fidelity(more granular response to player action), conversational ai for NPC characters, more accurate light simulation(raytraced reflections/shadows)

[madmat77]

highly doubt such a claim, especially when you look at the CG trailer of witcher 3 and GOD 2018, we still got ways to go.

[GordyNYC]

or just look at any of the Blizzard games cinematics...we have a long way to go.

[Einhander1971]

Let's be honest the jump from ps3 to ps4 wasn't that big in my opinion.

[monkey602]

If Ray Tracing can be brought front and centre we'll see a huge difference. Just look what HDR did for television. Is not always about pixel definition

[sprinterboy]

Who writes this dribble?

[Takwin]

THEN FOCUS ON GAMEPLAY AND AI.

[Gridknac]

This is the exact same nonsense everybody was saying before the ps4 and x1. Compare god of war or gears 5 with anything last gen and tell me there wasn't a huge jump. Now it might take a couple of years in the new consoles life cycle, but I guarantee you will see things on these new machines that will put this argument to bed. Hell there is a huge step up from 1080p to 4k by its self.

[PS4Gamer1984]

I've been saying for the last couple years that this is the least excited I've been about a new console gen like ever, and I'm 35 been gaming since the NES era, I've been through all of them.

During the PS2 to the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, there was this level of excitement over what lied ahead, but I just feel the new consoles will be marginal upgrades over last gen.

It just feels like the PS5 will more of a PS4 Pro 2 and the Series X will just be a slightly upgraded Xbox one X. The level of excitement just isn't there for me

[lifeisgamesok]

Tune in to the PS5 reveal show and I bet your stance changes ;)

[MasterCornholio]

He's more into Stadia then anything else if you read through his comment history.

[lifeisgamesok]

@MasterCornholio Ahh I see lol

[BrainSyphoned]

Guess Nvidia can close its doors and cancel any future projects because there is no way they could possibly improve on the mind blowing, state of the art, future proofed 9th console generation.

[nucky64]

tittle seems born out of a need for site traffic. there'll be an upgrade -how much we don't know yet. and as i've said in the past and will continue to say - as long as sony continues to make great games, i'll buy their console. now, if sony decides pc would get all PS exclusives on the same day it launches on PS, i'd probably play them on PC - but that day hasn't happened yet.

[lucian229]

Didn't they say this before the current Gen and it was false?

[chiefJohn117]

If Hellblade 2 looks anything close to that teaser we got then that's BS

[ANIALATOR136]

Things can always look better. Just like how we see a trailer for a game that looks better than the game itself because it's CG. Until we reach CG level, we've still got a long way to go.

[GrizToof]

We shouldn't be too concerned with graphics anymore. Games will be beautiful, that's a guarantee, we should be thinking about the quality of content and video game performance. 60fps at 4K with super fast loading times is what next generation consoles should be pulling off. Prioritizing graphics over frames per second is what developers have been doing with console games for a while now and with upgrades to CPU, RAM and SSD HDDs we should be well on our way to stable gaming goodness.

[BoneMagnus]

The point of the article is that there is an end point to the journey of graphic improvements - photo realism.

Each gen brings us closer to the end point. And it gets more complicated as we approach that end point.

It’s like climbing a mountain that is continuously getting steeper - the further you go, progress is slower and more challenging.

[OB1Biker]

It's a nice analogy but the premise is false.
'PS4 and Xbox One have near photorealistic graphics and textures. There really isn’t much room to move when it comes to graphical power.'
Ps4 and xb1 graphics are no where near photorealistic

[victorMaje]

Great gameplay with good graphics will always surpass great graphics with good gameplay.
I’m excited about next gen for the gameplay possibilities.

[TheHunter81]

Performance such as FPS and various gameplay elements will be more improved than graphics going forward. One thing to note is that games will also get bigger and will demand more resources. If there are any graphical differences it won’t be too much.

[lifeisgamesok]

I think the jump in gfx will be very evident this year

[frostypants]

LOL. People said this garbage two generations ago. No, there is a long ways to go before graphics hit a "dead end". Clickbait nonsense.

[Gameplayer1]

And I'm perfectly fine with that!!! To me,gameplay and art direction is everything,as long as it's not under 30 frames per second that is,lol!

[Sharky231]

Why are there always articles that say this when a new generation is on the horizon? They said the same thing about the ps4 and Xbox one. Look at how that turned out! It only took 10 years to hit a dead end!

[TheEroica]

I'm so looking forward to the end of the meaningless graphics wars.... Make games that people want to play... Itll never be because of graphics. Ever.

[slavish0]

After seeing hellblade vs godfall. We still have along way to go.

[aaronlif10]

I find this a little hard to believe with what I've seen with Ray Tracing. It appears to make a substantial difference when applied and being that the next consoles support Ray Tracing, I'd expect that to be pretty noticeable.

[aaronlif10]

Also I think VR will be where more noticeable improvements can be made in the coming years, but of course that depends on if people start supporting the amazing tech.

[Miacosa]

Haven't we heard all this before? At the end of every console generation these tired articles begin trickling out.

[Orionsangel]

For me the last impressive next generation leap was going from PS2 to the Xbox 360. After that every new generation has been, yes more impressive, but not so much that I was like, WOW! That's leaps and bounds better than the previous generation. As someone who has been gaming as long as I have, the biggest generational leap was going from the SNES to the Playstation. That was a real game changer. Going from Atari 2600 & 5200 to the NES was another one and going from NES to Genesis was another good one.

[jznrpg]

There will be graphical improvements for sure but other improvements will make up for any leaps that may or may not be made this generation. Games aren’t all about graphics or we would all have high end PC rigs not just a small percentage of the gaming market . I still think there will be a decent graphics improvement, this was said between PS3 and 4 and the games are noticeably better

[Machina]

This is said every gen...

[william_cade]

I'm cool, if they just stop live servicing every thing.

[Germaximus]

The headline alone is pure nonsense.

[3-4-5]

Every Console does....they are called spec limitations....Is this writer stupid?

[Magog]

This is what Nintendo fanboys want you to think, lol.

[Artemidorus]

Already getting a struggle with people wanting 4K and 60-120fps games

[Richhard1]

There is no end to graphics fidelity you moron. When reality is playable, then perhaps. we are not even 10% there yet.

[Rambokind]

Whenever you see a headline like this, just picture the person reading it out loud after inhaling helium from a balloon. Trust me, you see it in a proper perspective.

[DerfDerf]

No they won't. They've been saying this for 20 years.

[frostypants]

"Nothing will ever look better than this!!! THIS IS PHOTOREALISTIC!!!!" - some people after seeing Gran Turismo for the first time in 1997. LOL...

[gamerben]

every new gen is going to see a less noticeable increase in graphical quality than the last as it becomes more and more challenging to improve on what we have.

What I hope from next gen is that instead of focusing on a higher res, devs focus on higher FPS

[saimcheeda]

That's what I thought when the seventh generation consoles came out, but comparing those to eighth generation consoles proves that there's always a room for improvement!

[obz]

We still have a long ways to go. Watch any Pixar/Marvel movie.

[DFresh]

There will be a noticeable change in visuals.
Going from Upscale 4K Checkerboard Rendering @ 30 frames per second to true native 4K @ 60 frames per second is a huge visual leap.
8K UHD is nice but I’m not expecting much until PS6/Xbox (blank).
Better frame rate performance will be noticeable.
Improved lighting (Ray Tracing), enhanced shadows, better particle effects, 3d audio, 4K Blu-Ray storage for games, etc.
Faster loading times with SDD compared to traditional HDD.
Better CPU means better multi tasking performance.
These changes alone are worth upgrading to the next consoles.

[TheColbertinator]

Technically they reach the dead end by launch. Fixed hardware is already outdated a few months after launch. Hence why PC gaming moves forward continually and never slows down in terms of technology.

[AK91]

So basically just like this gen then?

[Larrysweet]

8k checkerboard 30 for next gen

[frostypants]

@Larrysweet with all respect, 8K actually really is a total waste of time, money, and processing power. For the human eye to pickup on 8K you'll have to be sitting so close to the screen that it will be unwatchable. TWO FEET for a 65" screen. No thanks. And it gets even dumber for smaller TVs. You already have to be sitting about as close as practicality permits for even 4K to matter. The greatest leap in terms of actual benefit in the last few years wasn't even 4K, it was HDR.

8K is just flushing GPU bandwidth down the toilet for nothing other than a marketing gimmick. That power could be used so much more effectively, and probably will be.

[Christopher]

8k might be a waste for TVs, but not for processing. Higher resolution images downsampled for 4k viewing can create richer images without additional processing.

[Nitrox]

That’s what they said about the current gen...

[SLiSH83]

I’m more interested in better AI
and a constant frame rate of at least 60fps I would prefer 120.

[ibrake4naps]

Biggest graphical difference will be in vr

[ssj27]

Something clever Microsoft and sony have been doong with all this "leaks" secrecy is fool us to be ok with weak 12tf power. When we all know is a small generational jump ever. By saying sony may be 9tf and making 12tf apear like really powerful when it's not. And everyone fall for it. Like good sheeps

[Acecalibur]

Nah.

[Tyrantt2005]

I just love hearing that the graphical differences between PS3 and 4 were not a huge leap from some people. Those people Need to play Fallout 3 and 4 back to back.

[Imortus_san]

We need more diversety in gaming, everything is going FPS and open world, most japanese RPG's are more and more Dinasty Warriors clones with RPG elements.

[glenn1979]

Everthing can or will improve ,but in the end its up to the developers to use that powa of the machines