do visuals really matter ? and tech isnt really important.

MS is going to have to push out a whole new console soon just to keep up. The DVD9 is a larger issue than they anticipate.

This says nothing about 720p.

" Uhh no, he said Xbox 720 (meaning the next Xbox) isn't needed right now.  Different than 720p. "

" I mean, I do wonder how theyll be able to deal with DVD 9 size restraints in the coming years. "

" I mean, I do wonder how theyll be able to deal with DVD 9 size restraints in the coming years. "

" @Diamond said:

" Uhh no, he said Xbox 720 (meaning the next Xbox) isn't needed right now.  Different than 720p. "

Well that clears it up, i read the thread title and couldn't understand what it meant. "

" I mean, I do wonder how theyll be able to deal with DVD 9 size restraints in the coming years. "

" @zombie2011 said:

" @Diamond said:

" Uhh no, he said Xbox 720 (meaning the next Xbox) isn't needed right now.  Different than 720p. "

Well that clears it up, i read the thread title and couldn't understand what it meant. "

Why did you respond to just the title and not read his post. "

There's no reason to push the tech, companies usually want a huge leap in visual and computing fidelity, and its just not there yet. Now with pipelines getting streamlined we could be hitting another flux, but I'd say just look to PCs for an indication of where we are right now. Barring DVD9, I don't think theres any need for any new hardware, unless its a Wii HD

" @Diamond: But there are some games (like Elderscrolls) where multidisc jsut cant work. what, are you going to switch discs whenever you want to go to the other half of the world? I really think its going to be a problem for MS in terms of Multipalform games in the future, since games are getting bigger and better. Plus, IW already said there isnt much more they can do with 360, and Ubisoft said the same for SC Conviction. This amkes me worry for the future of the platform if devs are already maxing it out and they still want to have the thing out for 5 more years. "

" @Diamond: But there are some games (like Elderscrolls) where multidisc jsut cant work. what, are you going to switch discs whenever you want to go to the other half of the world? I really think its going to be a problem for MS in terms of Multipalform games in the future, since games are getting bigger and better. Plus, IW already said there isnt much more they can do with 360, and Ubisoft said the same for SC Conviction. This amkes me worry for the future of the platform if devs are already maxing it out and they still want to have the thing out for 5 more years. "

" @zombie2011 said:

" @Diamond said:

" Uhh no, he said Xbox 720 (meaning the next Xbox) isn't needed right now.  Different than 720p. "

Well that clears it up, i read the thread title and couldn't understand what it meant. "

Why did you respond to just the title and not read his post. "

I think the current level of visual quality is great and definitely good enough. It's clean, sharp and well done. Older engines, like World of Warcraft (specifically Wrath of the Lich King), also demonstrate how artistic vision can transform a dated system into something marvelous. I thank Microsoft for making this comment, regardless of whta their real motivations may be (if any). However what the should do is redesign the current hardware. The 360 as a platform is great, but the hardware is garbage and should be redone, fixed and cleaned up. 
 
I can only speak for myself, but a stories (true or not) regarding the massive number of hardware failures has kept me from buying. It will also continue to do so.

if Microsoft does keep shrinking the console cycle, 4 years XBOX-------->360, I think that'll just drive people to game on PCs more. 

I agree with MS...there is no need for a new console yet. The tech in the 360 is still capable of supporting big great looking games that don't look dated in the least imo. Also, it just doesn't make any business sense to move onto a new console yet. People don't have as much money to spend, and producing a new console would be a big financial burden on MS and Sony. Also, if you compare the number of console owners from this generation and the previous one, there is still a significant number of people out there that haven't converted to a next gen console yet.

good to hear that they don't want to release a new system anytime soon. i like the mistake of the title  lol. from that i was thinking dang i'm stuck with a 720p tv when they are going to be having games in 1080p. i usually buy next generation games when the price drops so it will be something like three years after the thing is released.

well i think the thing about this console cycle is that it is still pretty much going strong and if it were a traditional console cycle like what we saw before, the 720 would be out next year.  But that is not going to happen.  Game sales are going to ramp up next year and if no one else is putting out another console, then why should they?  This is all about money and MS is not going to start up a new hardware cycle if they can just stick to what they have because launching a new machine means losing money for a while again.

" @TheHBK: One has to wonder though if, from a Design adn Tech perspective, if 360 can last much longer. "

I tend to agree. Looking at the best looking PC game, it does look great, but even a game with 4 times as much detail as a 360 game only looks marginally better to most people. That's how it works at this point. I'm not ready to fork out 500 dollars for a system that looks as good as Crytec 3. That's not enough. With wallets tightening as they are, they really need to wait till they can make a Playstation->Playstation 2 level leap, which they can't right now. And developers probably aren't anxious to upgrade to a system that requires yet more development time and money especially since most of the gaming audience is perfectly content with something like a Wii.
Its lateral thinking, their system doesn't need to be stronger to be more appealing and if Sony is willing to wait 10 years, that gives MS some breathing room so they don't need to upgrade their system.
Plus, its all about marginal upgrades at this point anyway. I'm sure the Xboxs being made in 3 years will run better and be capable of just a little bit more than the Xboxs at launch, just like PS2s.
All they really need to do is offer cheaper and larger harddrives and they'll be fine for the next half decade.

Honestly you look at crysis once and it's amazing. Look at it twice and it's everything else that looks garbage, instead of crysis looking excceptional. Basically i think that the wii has allowed everyone else to stop pushing as hard to be technologically superior (which is expensive)

Well then you think "well most of these gaming PCs are using MS products". They don't really have a need to upgrade their console, even if PC games make the 360 look kinda shitty. They can basically wait until they see a bump in the PC market when the gap between PC and 360 becomes too large, then they just figure out a way to get the latest PC build fit into a console. I think they have at least 3 years before that happens. Its not really an issue until the average PC game makes the 360 look like shit, as it is Crysis is an anomaly.

" I tend to agree. Looking at the best looking PC game, it does look great, but even a game with 4 times as much detail as a 360 game only looks marginally better to most people. That's how it works at this point. I'm not ready to fork out 500 dollars for a system that looks as good as Crytec 3. That's not enough. With wallets tightening as they are, they really need to wait till they can make a Playstation->Playstation 2 level leap, which they can't right now. And developers probably aren't anxious to upgrade to a system that requires yet more development time and money especially since most of the gaming audience is perfectly content with something like a Wii. Its lateral thinking, their system doesn't need to be stronger to be more appealing and if Sony is willing to wait 10 years, that gives MS some breathing room so they don't need to upgrade their system. Plus, its all about marginal upgrades at this point anyway. I'm sure the Xboxs being made in 3 years will run better and be capable of just a little bit more than the Xboxs at launch, just like PS2s. All they really need to do is offer cheaper and larger harddrives and they'll be fine for the next half decade. "

So apparently this generation will suffice for shit like Project Natal for ever, which I'm guessing means that we'll be stuck with this generation until people realize that a new generation might be more fun than making a fool of yourself in front of a TV while playing "Wii [insert activity that is more fun in real life here]".

Yeah, it's a good idea not to jump for the next console. That's good for gamers and the companies.
 
Besides that, with the limitation of the 6.8 GB DVD discs developers are creatively optimizing the space they have and yet the game still looks great. Hell I don't even know how they managed to cram all the games into the Orange Box and it's only like 5 GB.

" So apparently this generation will suffice for shit like Project Natal for ever, which I'm guessing means that we'll be stuck with this generation until people realize that a new generation might be more fun than making a fool of yourself in front of a TV while playing "Wii [insert activity that is more fun in real life here]". "

" @Snail said:

" So apparently this generation will suffice for shit like Project Natal for ever, which I'm guessing means that we'll be stuck with this generation until people realize that a new generation might be more fun than making a fool of yourself in front of a TV while playing "Wii [insert activity that is more fun in real life here]". "

Who's saying that the only new games are going to be motion based ones.  Not everyone is willing to pay for another console right now, and i don't blame them. Graphics and gameplay are fine as they are right now. "

" @Snail said:

" So apparently this generation will suffice for shit like Project Natal for ever, which I'm guessing means that we'll be stuck with this generation until people realize that a new generation might be more fun than making a fool of yourself in front of a TV while playing "Wii [insert activity that is more fun in real life here]". "

Who's saying that the only new games are going to be motion based ones.  Not everyone is willing to pay for another console right now, and i don't blame them. Graphics and gameplay are fine as they are right now. "

If they are still considering going the DLC route all they would have to do is release larger hard drives. DVD 9 probably won't be that big of a restraint anyhow.

Wow, what terrible flamebait the thread title is. Even if it's a typo, you know tons of people are clicking it just to get their rage on :P
 
As for gearing up for the next generation, you can easily get your finger off the trigger.
None of the consoles have hit their pinnacle yet imo.

" @Snail said:

" So apparently this generation will suffice for shit like Project Natal for ever, which I'm guessing means that we'll be stuck with this generation until people realize that a new generation might be more fun than making a fool of yourself in front of a TV while playing "Wii [insert activity that is more fun in real life here]". "

Who's saying that the only new games are going to be motion based ones.  Not everyone is willing to pay for another console right now, and i don't blame them. Graphics and gameplay are fine as they are right now. "

They graphics are great right now, but they were great in the PS2 too, weren't they? And yet a PS3 exists. Graphics can always be better amirite? There is no logical reason to stop the evolution and the bettering of such characteristics merely because "this generation is doing fine and we still have lots of stuff in stock for it lololololol project natal".   Jeez people. Better means better. Yes it is fine as it is, but I think we would all enjoy seeing a new Xbox, an improvement , ONE THAT DOESN'T BREAK EVERY YEAR THANK YOU VERY MUCH. "

I tend to agree with MS at this point for a couple of reasons.
 
First is the television.   This gen of consoles are HDTV sellers, but have they become the norm yet?  A lot of people still have SDTV's (get with the times already!).  Those that have HDTV's are also accounted for since the current 360 hardware is designed to output 720p.   I don't see a reason to release new hardware with increased graphical fidelity at this time because of this.
 
Second is hard drive installs.  The DVD may require future games to be released on multiple discs, but since we're able to install it to the hard drive I don't see a problem with that.  I think they're price gouging the hell out of their hard drives, but what are you gonna do besides not buy one?

Microsoft: DURRRRRRRRRRRRRF.
 
This is just echoing what everyone else is saying. The only console that will receive a significant update in the next couple years is the Wii when sales start to plummet.

I'm glad that the '720' or 'PS4' won't be coming any time soon. They are two brilliant consoles that have constant backing trying to improve them. From a consumer standpoint, neither are dated either. I think it's great that I won't have to buy a new system for a long time.