Do you believe that next gen console games will look better than current PC games?

Yeah, Next-gen games will be better looking and have more cool stuff in them.

Sure in like 5 years PCs will take the lead again, but till then, Next-gen consoles will rule for a bit. nothing wrong with that either.

I think plenty of 360 games already look better than a lot of current PC games, so yes.

No clue. Only time will tell. I'd guess that there'll be a point where the two meet, but again will drift apart. That's kind of how it's been since video games have been split between consoles and the PC.

They'll take a substantial leap forward and get close for a little while but soon enough they'll fall back behind. And even while they're close, they will most likely run at half the framerate of PC games.

But will the new consoles equal a top-of-the-line PC in terms of raw power? No.

Which games, running on which PC?

There might be a year, two years AT MOST, that Consoles will be able to KEEP UP (and very rarely, lead) with the PC in graphical fidelity. It will eventually fade.

I don't think almost anybody is going to be "blown away". I surely wasn't blown away by anything at the PS4 conference, or the bit of CoD: Ghosts that they showed at the XB1 reveal. That's because there's no huge leap forward these days. The PC has already been putting out graphics like this for a while, and without a huge stepping stone like 3D or HD to propel them like it has in the past, I don't think most PC enthusiasts are really going to be very impressed at all.

We'll see at E3.

Are we counting the 120 FPS that I can get in Battlefield 3 on the PC or no? Because if we are then they won't look as good, even if on an actual visual level they might be close. If not it'll be close but PC will eventually pull away within 2 years. 2 years, in hardware terms, is a long long time.

Have we never been able to quote/reply to OP if they make a poll? Seems like an odd feature to leave out. I voted that it's complicated. There are so many things to consider when dealing with how technically good these next-gen console games will look.

Multiplatform PC games have been held back by the PS3 and 360. Once those old consoles are unaccounted for the graphical quality will jump for those three platforms. The issue is that the PS3 and 360 will probably not die off once the next generation starts. Split-gen/Cross-gen games have been coming up a lot with games such as Destiny. Those type of games will still be limit by what the older consoles can do.

Then there is the overall issue of launch games (and games within the first two years of its cycle) not taking full advantage of the hardware. This might not be that big of a problem since both consoles are now operating in the x86 architecture, but every generation of consoles has shown that it takes a full development cycle with the actual hardware for developers to take full advantage of it.

There are also the nuances of graphical fidelity that PC players can control that are obviously locked for consoles. Some developers have come out and talked about keeping the fps of games locked at 30. In the risk of sounding like a PC elitest, I do everything I can to keep the fps on my games locked at 60. For resolution, the general accepted rule is that 720p is indistinguishable to 1080p on HDTVs <46". Meanwhile, PC gamers tend to have 1080p monitors, with 1440p monitors becoming more widespread.

Lastly - in bringing this back to OP's question - there is the semantic argument of what is meant by saying "current PC games." If the question is if a X1 or PS4 game will look better than a PC game running on a beastly rig (dual SLI Titan for examples), I'll tell you the answer right now: No. SLI'd Titans, and just single Titan setups, are prohibitively expensive for most PC gamers though. So the question of what a model PC configuration is needs to be answered. Personal opinion: the GTX 680 (soon to be 780) or HD 7970 GHz Edition are the "model" PC GPU, but this is coming from a guy who doesn't mind putting some extra cash on their rig. Judging from people who ask for help with building PC though I would say that the GTX 660 Ti to 670 or HD 7950 is the model GPU.

I bet first party console games will look better than any games on PC for a while.

They might be even for a bit, but eventually PC will pull away like it normally does.

The horse power of an obscenely expensive PC today is about how strong the next-next gen will be. 3 Nvidia Titans and an i7 overclocked to hell and back are already 8x more powerful than the claimed power of the PS4.

Crysis came out very early in the current console generation and looked better than any games out for any console during this generation, BUUUUT you needed a super expensive computer to run it.

I imagine it will be similar this time around too. If you have unlimited money you can get a PC that will beat a PS4/XBONE today. You could have bought a PC that would beat the Xbox 360/PS3 before they came out as well, but once again, it was prohibitively expensive.

So my guess is while you could get a PC that would beat the next gen, it isn't practical.

TL;DR It's Complicated

edit: That said. Games as a whole will look a LOT better even on PC after the new consoles settle in. Which is exciting for everyone. I have an entire gigabyte of RAM just chillin' on my video card waiting to be used by more intensive games.

I think games created from the ground up for next gen consoles will look better than PC for about a year or two.
The 2nd generation (and beyond) of games once devs get comfortable always kick it up a notch as well.
Games like CoD that are gonna be on both this gen and next gen are the ones that aren't going to be anything special.
If Rockstar makes a next gen version of GTAV I'm sure it will look like what the PC version looks like compared to say the 360. (Same for CoD: Ghosts)
Consoles always get more bang for the buck with hardware.
PC will outpace them shortly after though.
PCs have also been held back because of this long generation, supposedly the floodgates will open for PC.

The next Halo, Uncharted or Assassin Creed may be; the average next gen game probably not The PC will always beat the console. Also, 60 frames per second.

Definitely. As much as people don't like to admit it, consoles are the things that push forward graphics. At least for the initial couple of years. Not because they're more powerful, but because most developers focus on consoles, and create new techniques for consoles, which eventually bleed into the PC space.

I think they'll be about even for a few months, but like you said currently games are developed with consoles in mind so they aren't fully optimized for PC. So once they are PC games will look even better than they do now.

And it's a misconception that you need a super high end PC to beat current gen, you could buy a 100-120 dollar card and a cheap AMD build and murder a Ps3 or Xbox and run most games at high, ultra @30fps. I remember playing Witcher 2 on my 5770 on Ultra(with custom settings) at like 30-50fps.

I voted "It's complicated." Just speaking the truth, but consoles have always held back PC development that is the way it is. I am actually kinda paranoid with my crazy theories, but I imagine it could be intentional. Follow me a second; EA stated that it was developing a new engine for Fifa 2014 for the new consoles, but not for the PC. What if, they will use that comparison to say, "Look, the new consoles are way better looking than the PC folks. Your hardware is strong with this one." Even though it is far fetched, that is my idea.

If anyone has a crystal ball, I would love to use it and sort out the PC vs Console BS.

Like every other cycle, they'll look better than mid-range gaming PCs for the first few years. Eventually the price of components will drop faster than the consoles do and you'll be able to get a comparable PC for around the same price. Then in five years time a new console will come out. Cue the Elton John music.

just reminded how much some developers love Linux and while most use 3rd party engine solutions to go from studio to studio.

If we are talking today's best looking PC games on decent hardware:

At launch? - No.

After the developers had time to optimize and push the new console hardware? - Yes. (if we are still comparing only to currently existing PC games)

Reasons are simple. The best looking PC games (lets throw BF3, Witcher 2, Metros, out there for the sake of examples) have been designed for PC first and downgraded to consoles. The launch lineups shown by Sony and Microsoft so far only reach parity. Obviously just like every generation the developers will learn to use the new console hardware better and create better and better looking games for it over time. So yes a game on those machines that comes out in a few years will look better then any of today's PC lineup. (but by that time the PC's will have advanced too).

At launch? No. At anytime? Definitely. Games like Halo 4 and Uncharted 3 look better overall than any PC game from 2005.

This pretty much. Eventually next gen console games will look better than current PC games. But by that time PC games will look a lot better. As far as launch titles go, I doubt most will look better or even as good as current PC titles like Metro Last Light or Crysis 3.

I feel like with my gaming rig, I will be able to run pretty much anything that comes out on the Xbox or PS4 at launch. There will most likely be a 6 - 12 month period in which the graphics on the PC are comparable with those on the consoles; however, it won't be long before the PC is back on top. Once the next generation of hardware is released, the gap will widen again. Either way, I'm sure both will look great. However, the PC will eventually look better and will always run at double the framerate.

Honestly, No.

It took the developers of this current gen several years to fully utilize the tech behind either console. I doubt that will change whatsoever with the next-gen. Once they possibly get a handle on things, I'm sure they will be on a relatively similar scale as PC games of that time as well, but they will most definitely fall behind.

Even though I enjoy graphics as they do help to enhance an experience, even if only in a small way, the differences to me were miniscule unless you were running the most powerful of rigs.

For me, yes. So my answer is yes.

Although I'm not a graphics whore so I'll play my games on whatever I feel like playing them on at the time.

Its complicated will they better that most games on PC currently yes because most of them are console ports that rarely tax the hardware too much these days.

As for will console games look better than they will on a decent gaming PC next gen... maybe briefly, because unlike previous generations they can't launch with the most powerful thing avalible and meet the required power/heat/noise/ envelopes for a console.

It's complicated, but in a way, yes, I think PS4 exclusives have the potential to look better (maybe not run better, but at least look) than any cross-platform game, including PC versions of said games, for at least a couple years. Beyond that time frame, it will almost certainly shift to PC dominance again.

This is probably right, though I have to wonder... current PC games can look pretty damn good, and the next consoles will probably release games that look even better before the end of the cycle. How much better can PC games look by that time?

I think we're rapidly reaching the point of diminishing returns in graphical fidelity. It's hard to go back to a PS1 game now, but I think 5 years from now it won't be too hard to go back to a late-era 360/PS3 title. By the time the next console generation is over, we may hit a plateau in terms of visuals.

If we take a fair comparison: a game developed only for next generation consoles and PCs; then, in theory, someone with the most powerful computer will get a better visual experience. However, PCs being incredibly variable, only a relatively small number of PCs will be able to get that experience. So, all PS4 versions of this hypothetical game will look better than most PC versions; but, the top tier of PCs will be able to produce a better output.

Thinking yes at all makes you so wrong its not even funny. They will be a huge step up from last gen consoles, but no, compared to a good mid end/high end PC they still won't come close. This is common sense.

They should look pretty good, well, anything that's not a day-1 release anyway. Those will probably be a pile of cash grabs.

8gb of unified memory, 8 cores, and a really decent gfx card with less software driver BS between the game and the hardware - all point to eventually looking better than a mid-2013 PC game. I think they'll get to that point sometime mid-2014.

You are comparing a 2012 game with a any game from 2005, without specifying which particular games you are talking about. That's not a very fair comparison. Besides, in 2005, the PC got Battlefield 2, Black & White 2, Guild Wars, Age of Empires III, Quake 4, KotOR II... All games that are far superior, both graphically and technically, to anything consoles were doing at the time.

If you want to be fair, compare current PC games with current consoles games (or, rather, next-gen games).

Agreed. Crysis 3 already looks almost photo-realistic in some parts. I think by the end of the decade we'll have reached a point where graphics will be good enough for most everyone. I doubt there will be another generation of consoles. After this we'll probably be at a point where cloud gaming works for enough people that having local processing will be pointless.

If consoles cost around the same price as a med/high PC today and have the ability to swap out parts, then yes. I don't get the debate, sure PC's win, but then again I don't care to spend the money for PC parts / upgrade for marginal differences that don't equate into drastically better games after my initial investment into hardware.

"It's complicated" because everything looks so alike hardware-wise. The PS4 and Xbox One aren't *like* PCs. They *are* PCs. x86 CPUs running on a ton of RAM. And if both consoles take off, AMD is going to make a killing providing both the CPUs and GPUs for Microsoft and Sony. The big difference will be whatever services they offer alongside the hardware, but that doesn't have anything to do with how good games will look.

Games will look good. They sure as hell will look a better than what's on my four-year-old PC. But at the same time, disappointingly, they're going to look a lot like what's on my PC. Sony won't be able to pull off the Killzone 2 reveal all over again because, back then, the Cell was an unknown thing. Now everything's a known thing.

If you were doing PC-only development for the last few years, you already knew where things were going. Drop 32-bit support. Program simulations that will scale across multiple cores. Use the CPU and GPU interchangeably for calculations that can be run on either. Nothing now can come across as mindblowing, graphically speaking, because you already knew where things were going. And the new console hardware, for better and worse, doesn't hold any surprises. Because really, it's the same hardware.

Sure, they can optimize the games for a single set of specs

Hey man. It's complicated. It's complicated. It's complicated.

@joeyravn: I wasn't being fair. I was covering both ends of the question.

Depends on the PC in the equation...

I can't foresee any developers pushing the extra effort into games anytime soon to make them looks ULTRA good on really expensive PC's that a faction of a percent of gamers own.

New high powered consoles are out, and they haven't even tapped into that yet. So yes, the best looking games for the next few years will be on consoles, as you can get the most bang for your buck on that specialized hardware.

Until they start reaching the limits of what the consoles can do, which won't be for awhile. You're not going to see better looking PC versions anymore.

People seem to really want to justify their recent gaming PC purchases i guess? fuck logic PC for life!

I think your comparison was quite fair. It also puts into perspective how much 'growing room' these consoles will have (although, likely significantly less than current gen machines only because it's essentially PC hardware this time around, which is a known quantity). It's pretty astonishing the 360 can run Halo 4, and wouldn't have seemed possible back in 2005. So while I don't think we'll see that same jump this gen, sure, PS4 games in, say, 2016 will probably look leagues better than PC games from this year or next.

At the highest end of gaming PCs, I really doubt it. Crysis 3 already looks pretty goddamn amazing even on medium settings on a fairly modest PC (like my own). I think the next-gen consoles will be able to offer much more consistent framerates when compared to mid-range gaming PCs, though (or so I hope).

It's a closed system. So absolutely. Maybe not right away, but with those second and third year games they'll leap ahead again. It always happens.

@jdh5153 said:

If you're talking cross-platform games, then you must have a shitty ass PC.

I think you're over simplifying that a bit. One of the reason PC gaming has become so popular this generation is because the console cycle has gone on for so long, so there's been little need for more powerful graphic cards and whatever else. The games being designed at the moment already look significantly better than anything on the consoles and it means the price of current equipment has gotten really low.

As soon as the new console hits, games will be designed for that standard and new PC equipment will be released pretty much immediately too. It will take at least a year for developers to get used to the new hardware, I'd be surprised if the launch games on the new systems can even match up to things like the Witcher 2 running on ultra.

It's all going to come down to how quickly developers can optimise console hardware, how cheap new PC hardware becomes and how quickly and if any developers want to focus on PC development.

Console games will probably look more consistently good when those 2nd year games start hitting, but in terms of overall pushing the envelope, I doubt it, especially if Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk are being developed primarily for the PC.

I don't think they're being primarily developed for the PC (Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk that is). I think they announced it that way before the PS4/XB1 were announced, thus only able to say "PC". I'd be very surprised if those two games DONT come out on the next-gen consoles.

I mean as others have stated consoles generally dictate the growth of graphics and such. These next-gen consoles are pretty damn powerful, and are optimized and specialized for such a thing. I mean look at the 360, the growth in graphics quality and scale of game is crazy. The huge leap in quality for PC gaming only came when developers hit a brick wall with the limitations of the consoles. Hence the sudden rise in the "PC master race" crap in the last few years when the 360 and PS3 were hitting their limits.

So what i'm saying is while PC's may continue to grow in power (unnecessarily i might add), it'll only be when the developers reach the peak of what they can achieve on the consoles that you'll see PC's take a noticeable lead again. Which won't be for awhile.

So while PC's will end up on top again, your current PC won't be capable of dealing with the "top-end" future games. So sure, your PC might run launch titles for the next-gen consoles, thats hardly saying anything.

They need to burn out the capabilities of the consoles before they can move past that, because if you instantly go for raw power like that, you're gonna end up with a poorly optimized mess of a game. Next year, your PC will not be better for games than my PS4. 5 years from now, your future PC will probably be better than my PS4. Thats just how things work realistically.

it'll look like PS1.

For a brief period from 2 years to about 3/4 in the cycle it's possible if history is any judge. Though the architectures are so similar this time that maybe consoles won't even get that. Really it all depends on the development of PC hardware. The fact that ATI has such a monopoly on the hardware in consoles this generation it could be that Nvidia pushes real hard for PC, who knows...