Sony and Microsoft Should Leave Last-Gen Behind

Ever since head of Xbox, Matt Booty, said that for the first year or two of Xbox Series X, they would be making their first-party games playable on Xbox One as well, there has been a lot of discussion around the prospect and benefits of cross-gen games. You have one side suggesting this is a good thing and “consumer friendly” because it allows consumers who can’t upgrade within that timeframe to be able to play the big first party exclusives, and it makes financial sense because why would they want to “abandon” the install base of the previous gen. Then you have the other side pointing out that having to make games for seven year old hardware will negatively impact design decisions and thus hold back the next-gen versions of these games. In that group there are even a few of us who point out that leaving the previous gen behind, also with sizable install bases, has never been an issue before so why should it be now? Well, I’m hear to tell you why the people who would prefer to leave last gen behind, at least from a first party standpoint, are the correct ones and everyone else is wrong.

Yep, I said “wrong.”

Now, before you skip the rest of this and go to the comments section to verbally burn me in effigy, allow me to explain why they’re wrong.

Let’s address the other side of this argument first. As I stated, they think it’s consumer friendly to not leave consumers behind who can’t upgrade within the first year. The flaws with this logic is that it neglects two factual realities. The first is that it suggests that platform holder shouldn’t make next-gen only games until everyone who wants the new console can get one. That a new piece of hardware shouldn’t have showcase software that can only exist on it due to the technical improvements until some arbitrary, nebulous number of people have access to it is patently ridiculous and impossible to determine. Especially when you figure that no two consoles have sold the same amount from one generation to the next, and each individual has their own reasons as either why the can’t or chose not to upgrade until some, again, nebulous time in the future can’t be calculated. Trying to plan development around this concept is entirely unrealistic.

In continuation of this, most people don’t buy next-gen hardware until well into the console’s lifecycle. There are people who have just gotten a PS4 within the past year and it’s been in the millions which is why PS4 is now at roughly 116 million units as of March 31, 2021. So when is this a realistic cut-off to leave last-gen behind? To me it seems like the people saying this are the ones who can’t get a PS5 so they posit this argument with no feasible solution because it speaks to their current situation. Now, while I am fortunate enough to have a PS5, I should be clear that in the past 40 plus years I have been gaming on consoles, I have only bought three consoles within their first year; The PS4 and PS5 at launch, and the Xbox One in March 2014 when Titanfall released. Every other console I have had has been at least one or two years into its respective lifecycle. That means every console I have ever owned, the Atari 2600, NES, SNES, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Vita.

Which brings me to the second factual reality; waiting doesn’t mean you miss games. In fact, every single next-gen exclusive I couldn’t play when they came out, I could play when I finally got the console. These games didn’t disappear the moment I first booted up my new console. The notion that everyone has to play a game at launch is absurd. If FOMO (fear of missing out) is dictating your rationale behind next-gen exclusives, check that. It’s ridiculous. I get not wanting to miss out on the zeitgeist but that’s a you problem as it is when I feel that way. I would never suggest that if I can’t experience something then no one else should. And when you are saying that next-gen exclusives shouldn’t exist until everyone (you) has access to a next gen console that is exactly what you’re doing.

The second argument I see defending the decisions for cross-gen games is how it is financially better for the company to sell to the largest possible audience. Now, while this is objectively true, why should that matter to us as consumers? Unless you have shares and they’re directly tied to how well a specific title does, this shouldn’t matter. What should matter, as consumers, is to get the best possible experience and that just isn’t happening when you have to cater to the lowest common denominator. Will the success of a game mean a better chance of a sequel? Of course, but that is secondary to the experience of the game to me. Not to mention that history is full of successful consoles that launched without no or very few cross-gen games, including the highly successful PS4, and it was never an issue. So why is it now?

Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart Trophies

Now, this brings me to my side of the argument, which is that making games for seven-year old hardware will hold back game design. Of course you’ll have people cite games being scalable and that’s true in regard to graphics, resolution, framerate, but not so with what should matter most, design. Lots of developers have gone on record in the last year talking about how old hardware dictates design decisions of what can and can’t be done. Even without the context of next gen consoles.

In Horizon Zero Dawn’s Postmortem, Guerilla Games’ Eric Boltjes spoke to how certain robot animals couldn’t follow beyond their respective arena due to memory limitations. It’s also why they weren’t able to have flying mounts for Aloy. Now you have Horizon Forbidden West being made on the same hardware with the same memory limitations – limitations the PS5 doesn’t have – which means we’re most likely not going to see flying mounts or robots travelling outside of their dedicated area. That is objectively holding design back from the possibilities for the sequel due making it a cross-gen game. How is this something any consumer should be in favor of? Ever?

And it wasn’t just with Horizon Zero Dawn. Obsidian’s Brian Heins experesly stated that last-gen hardware held back their design ambition for Outer Worlds, “…we had to actually pull back on the number of actual characters on the Groundbreaker to fit on consoles because we didn’t have the memory budget both for the number of different character appearances and also the AI pathing.”

And here is Bloober Team Producer,Jacek Zięba saying the following in an interview on Xbox Wire (which is weird because they were the first one’s to talk about not wanting to leave their previous install base behind – but I digress), “…thanks to the next-generation hardware, we can realize our vision for The Medium at all. Of course, theoretically, you could rescope any game idea, but in our case it would mean completely changing the core game features.

Thanks to the power of Xbox Series X, we can develop the game the way we have always envisioned it. I’m not talking only about graphics, although certainly it helps create an immersive and disturbing atmosphere, but also about gameplay.”

The Medium Review Screen 3

That’s two developers explaining how they did have to comprise for last gen hardware and another saying they would have had to change their gameplay and scope of the game to get it to run on last gen hardware. So why are people arguing this again? As fans of video games why wouldn’t we want the absolute best possible version of a game? The best way for that to happen is for developers to not be shackled to and have to design their games around really hold hardware. Sony’s next three announced first party titles, Horizon Forbidden West, the God of War sequel, and Gran Turismo 7, are all cross-gen titles. Until both Sony and Microsoft fully leave last gen, and their respective install bases behind, we will just be getting suped-up versions of last gen games. That bums me out.


Editor’s Note: Views expressed here are solely of the author’s and does not represent MP1st and its entire staff.

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Trump2020
Trump2020
2 years ago

Sean should find a new job because his critical thinking skills are not up to par with anything I’d call journalism.

Silicon shortage. Economy taking a dump. Most importantly of all, software sales. You know, those things that need hardware to be sold on? Why do you think Sony is pushing into PC while Microsoft is already doing so? Selling software to consoles alone isn’t as profitable as it needs to be. What’s the point in exclusive software when you can fund more games if you release on multiple units? Why do people actively want Microsoft and Sony to commit suicide? Nintendo is the only one that makes software that sells to a massive chunk of the user base. I still see them shaking things up a bit over the next 5-10 years in regards to exclusivity. It just isn’t financially possible and I’m shocked you people are even discussing it.

datdude
datdude
Reply to  Trump2020
2 years ago

First things first…did you even read the article? If you did, your reading comprehension seems to be nonexisent. The argument you put forth is clearly addressed by the author. Also, the silicon shortage nor the pandemic has nothing to do with Sony and Microsoft’s strategy decision. These were decisions made years ago, early in the development cycle for these early games, and long long before the pandemic or any chip shortage. They didn’t just wake up in 2020, see the world turned upside down, then decide to scrap next gen development, start over (which they would have to do) and move forward with a new cross gen policy.

The reason many gamers are disappointed is because developing for the ps4 and xbox one means developers are working with one hand tied behind their back from the start, because even when those machines launched in 2013 the cpu’s in both the xbox one and the ps4 were considered weak and the hard drives are a joke. In 2021 those cpu’s are damn ancient and the hard drives may as well be from the triassic period. We are not getting leaps forward in game design that would be possible on the ps5 and series x, because of their ssd’s that we would be getting if development were focused on the series x and ps5. It’s that simple. What ps5 owners will get is a game designed for ps4 with better resolution and better framerates. That is not innovation, that is not moving the medium forward. Period. I’ll leave Mark Cerny’s own words here for you…..
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/18/21185356/sony-ps5-playstation-5-ssd-load-times-mark-cerny-developer-gdc

Ryan Davidson
Ryan Davidson
Reply to  datdude
2 years ago

No actually they did wake up in 2021, realized there are only TWO factories capable of making semiconductors on the planet and both have been shut down for 14 months, combined with only 1 factory that makes the silicon needed for the semiconductors……

You would have to literally be straight up retarded, to run a business saw that the world has been shut down for the last 15 months and didn’t reassess your strategy until atleast 2022 since that seems to be how long the semiconductor shortage could possibly go. Its not rocket science to figure out that someone with common sense probably said, what can we scale down to release on last gen consoles to keep the market interested….

I hate to break it to you but LMFAO if anyone think there is a Switch Pro coming out this year…The semiconductor problem isn’t just MS and Sony. Its Nintendo, TVs, cars, PCs, Laptops, phones, EVERYTHING electronic that uses semiconductors…..

Sean Mesler
Sean Mesler
Reply to  Ryan Davidson
2 years ago

Again, these decisions were made before everything shut down in March, 2020. That might influence decisions going forward but in the case of Horizon and God of War, they decided to make them cross-gen before there was a pandemic.

SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
Reply to  Sean Mesler
2 years ago

Yeah they hire people to tell them if things are going south BEFORE things happen. Shoring up the business is a solid business choice. Get on board with that. It helps them employ a lot of people.

datdude
datdude
Reply to  Ryan Davidson
2 years ago

I can’t figure out if you’re actually this mentally challenged, or perhaps reason and logic can’t find a foothold in the folds of your cerebrum. Either way, you need help. Seek it.

Ryan Davidson
Ryan Davidson
Reply to  Trump2020
2 years ago

LMFAO the economy is not taking a dump…Just go back to licking windows, fingerpainting with your poo and watching Faux Noise…Alot of that LOL “inflation” Trump TV is talking about is shortages caused by factories being shut down for a year, selling all they had and not actually being able to get their stock back up yet to sell…….The semiconductor shortage was caused by there only being TWO plants on the planet that can make them and they’ve been shut down for 15 months and a fire at the ONE silicon plant which makes the silicon for the semiconductors…Protip:Trump lost LMFAO, it wasn’t rigged he’s a loser

SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
Reply to  Ryan Davidson
2 years ago

Oh boy, an election expert is here to tell me how 200% voter turn out works. And incumbency percentages… And counties won…

He won quite comfortably. You can deny the numbers all you like but that’s on you. I don’t care what you believe.

Wood. Gas. Groceries. All going up, wages stagnant. That’s a bad economy that’s likely going to crash. I don’t live in the US, it’s far worse here. Skip to the I’m a racist Nazi part so I can ignore you. You people are truly something else. No reason, just immediate foaming at the mouth of orange man. Living rent free in your head while he does what? Golf and enjoy retirement? For somebody who won on the level, you sure act like a winner alright.

Sean Mesler
Sean Mesler
Reply to  Trump2020
2 years ago

First of all, I have never considered myself a journalist so you should be pleased. Secondly, these decisions were made long before there was a pandemic or a silicon shortage. Third, as I said in the article, Sony has been hugely successful without needing cross-gen games. They are putting games that are two-three years old on PC. And Sony had their most successful year in ages during the pandemic.

Lastly, why do you care how many pieces of software they sell more than the game being the best it possibly can be?

I know I shouldn’t be replying to someone who is insulting my intelligence while having the user name “Trump2020.” But here we are.

SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
Reply to  Sean Mesler
2 years ago

Jesus, they let you write for this place? Politically brain dead and doesn’t get how the software market works. That’s cute.

Keep crying about the orange man. It’s really solidifying my belief that you’re an adult man. Perhaps just skip to the part where I’m Hitler and get it over with? For someone who wants games to be the best they can be, how are you not aware that it usually takes a few years before we start to squeeze consoles? We aren’t going to get impossible games that cannot run on the PS4. It’s a matter of optimization and scaling. PC has been doing it for many years. Sony being able to do both platforms at once is going to fund those games that move on to the newer hardware, exclusively. In the mean time? It’s a great business decision with a market crash likely on the horizon. Sony is notorious for ending studios that can’t turn a profit. If they can mitigate that risk now they should. Silicon problem isn’t fixing itself for a while, job market is still rough for potential console buyers (reasons why Microsoft is financing a God damn game console), AAA budgets are more bloated than ever.

Not making games for other platforms is suicide for a lot of developers. I’d rather those people have stable jobs that aren’t dependent on a stupid meta critic score.

Sean Mesler
Sean Mesler
Reply to  SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
2 years ago

And now you’ve changed your user name. Cute.

And I said “best as possible.” Which means, at the time they’re made. If we wait for current gen only games to be able to “squeeze” consoles we won’t get current gen only games until year 3 or 4. Again, look at the long history of consoles that ditched the previous gen at launch. We’re talking over 30 years.

Sucker Punch released Second Son within the first 5 months of PS4. Guerrilla released Shadow Fall at launch. Neither of them committed “suicide.” So spare me your histrionics. We’re nowhere near a market crash.

You sound like an idiot trying to punch well above his weight.

SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
Reply to  Sean Mesler
2 years ago

Another one like you inspired me to make a new gimmick. Your source is two games. Both of which kinda sucked either way and probably would have ran on the PS3 all the same. You want Sony to have less money for zero reason. What’s so hard to understand about the PC market in that regard? Consoles do it between generations, Microsoft doing that X/S thing. There is no magical game that couldn’t be scaled to the PS4/pro as of now. Will be for a year or two. There’s nothing wrong with that. Take a poop.

Sean Mesler
Sean Mesler
Reply to  SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
2 years ago

You can probably make a case for Shadow Fall running on PS3 but Second Son (which is great) wouldn’t have. Not with the particle effects and quick changes between powers. And even if they could run on PS3, they chose not to. And it didn’t hurt PS4 or those studios at all. Which is what you suggested it would. There is demonstrable proof that it wouldn’t. But sure, ignore that reality to fit your narrative. The studios that Sony have closed made multiple failures.

Sony will be just fine concentrating on and releasing next gen only titles. As they have been every time in the past.

SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
Reply to  Sean Mesler
2 years ago

You literally just turn the particle effects down… Been doing it on PC for years.

Sean Mesler
Sean Mesler
Reply to  SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
2 years ago

It’s not just the particle effects. This is going to be a wild concept for you but sometime devs don’t want to compromise the vision of their game. Why release a lesser version of their game when they clearly didn’t have to?

SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
SleepyJoeStoleTheShow
Reply to  Sean Mesler
2 years ago

You have a lofty opinion of “vision” when games have stagnated for years in terms of features. It’s a fresh coat of paint. Something tells me a developer wouldn’t care if they released another version of the game that isn’t as pretty (IE, what PC has done for decades) if it means they get to remain solvent.

The very thought of them doing what’s safe for the developer, makes more money AND let’s them make the game they want on upgraded hardware is something of a foreign concept to you.

There is literally 0 things stopping them from doing both and you receiving the same product you would have anyways. More or less I’d like your breakdown of what exactly it is that the PS5 version of a game can do that can’t be dialed back for older hardware. I’m baffled as to what this thing is as I’ve been apart of these sorts of developments before. Hell, I’m helping a guy out right now with his game. The costs associated with multiple platforms is peanuts compared to the profits. Don’t believe me? The best selling games are almost always third party. The best selling first party games are bundled with Playstations or considered “sales” somehow through gamepass on Xbox.

Show me what cannot be done on old hardware please. This isn’t some fart sniffing art house, it’s a business. The vision for the product doesn’t mean anything when it can be made regardless. Evidence is king. My stance on this being financially the most stable option with little to no downsides stands.

LordCancer Kain
LordCancer Kain
2 years ago

oof, so I read the article. So this is how it starts hey? First consoles held back pc gaming, and now consoles are holding back consoles?

Shh no one tell Nintendo.

The best possible games are usually not made by developers that say how their game is only possible on a PS3.

What is zipper interactive doing these days?

MAG 2.0 I am sure, now that their vision is finally possible. Gimme a break.
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Sean Mesler
Sean Mesler
Reply to  LordCancer Kain
2 years ago

Consoles do hold back PC gaming. This has been talked about many times. And yes, older consoles will hold back design on new consoles.

LordCancer Kain
LordCancer Kain
Reply to  Sean Mesler
2 years ago

if consoles didn’t exist you would still have to deal with reality, which is a combination of making games is hard, what gamers will actually pay for, and that you have to make a game run on the most common hardware that consumers can afford.

because this is a business it will always be targeted from the bottom up.

there is a lot developers could do to tell unique game stories, create better pacing, better gameplay, and better endings, and endgames besides this idea the mantra of more is better. limitations often spark creativity like doom 3’s flashlight mechanic.

the games industry is just cycles of regurgitating bad game design, and you do not have to look further than completion rates of trophies, and achievements across all platforms to see the massive failure that is modern game design. billions of dollars are spent every year and maybe 30% will ever finish game, less will replay the game twice or with every class and collect every ridiculous collectible.

i do not see how battlefield 2042 is being held back by last gen consoles, all they seem to be able to do is make the maps larger, and add more players while copy pasting mechanics ripped from apex, fortnite, warzone leaving behind what made the series unique in the first place which is the ultimate rub.

this is a for profit industry that is extremely risk averse, the consequence of which is we play the same game over and over and over, this is a problem that is fundamentally independent of platforms.

andrewsqual
andrewsqual
2 years ago

Don’t lump Sony with Microsoft. We are 7 months into this gen and Microsoft should release A GAME on their console, cross platform or ANYTHING.

Sean Mesler
Sean Mesler
Reply to  andrewsqual
2 years ago

I don’t disagree. But the reality is they said they’re going to be releasing cross-gen games for the first year or two.

thestryker
thestryker
2 years ago

I completely agree with your reasoning, but both MS/Sony are publicly traded companies and this is the smart decision for them. Supply vs demand issues have made it haves vs have nots and a quick look at people’s reaction to not being able to buy things reinforces backwards compatibility being smart. I’m primarily a PC gamer so the consoles have been impacting AI etc for years and I’d be perfectly happy if they abandoned last gen, but at the same time I understand and am okay with them not.

Some games may be held back, but for many games it shouldn’t really make much of a difference at all. It’s also entirely possible that developers will have improved their engines, coding or simply having more time may allow them to come up with solutions to these problems.

LostOdyssey
LostOdyssey
2 years ago

I completely agree with Sean (the writer) Sony historically has always made it’s first party games exclusive to it’s brand new hardware why the sudden change? It’s the fact they also lied about it that pisses me off…Games such as GOW Ragnorak GT7 could’ve been so much better design wise if Sony wasn’t greedy and instead acted like they use to with the PS1 PS2 PS3 AND PS4 and made the game exclusively for the hardware.

LostOdyssey
LostOdyssey
2 years ago

I completely agree with Sean (the writer) Sony historically has always made it’s first party games exclusive to it’s brand new hardware why the sudden change? It’s the fact they also lied about it that pisses me off…Why literally spend an hour (as Mark Cerny did) explaining how games will benefit from the SSD from a design and developmental standpoint just to have a bunch of cross gen games? It’s a shame because titles such as GOW Ragnorak GT7 could’ve been so much better design wise if Sony wasn’t greedy and instead acted like they use to with the PS1 PS2 PS3 AND PS4 and made the game exclusively for the hardware.

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