'Console gaming experience is about delivering something that's way out past the bleeding edge', says Epic's Mark Rein
Apple will constantly be ahead of the home console industry if manufacturers do not push the limits of what is possible, says Epic’s VP Mark Rein.
Speaking to CVG, he said that the console gaming experience was down to delivering something that is “way out past the bleeding edge”, and if developers cannot deliver that, Apple’s platforms will streak ahead.
He said that one of Epic’s aims was to constantly push for manufacturers to offer the best graphical performance they can, as shown by its Unreal Engine 3 Samaritan tech demo, to ensure console’s retain a wow factor and remain relevant during their lifespans.
"This is why we did Samaritan and why we're doing a really high-end demo in the room here," he said.
"We really are pushing these guys, because if they don't, Apple will go right past them."
Advertisement
He added: “We really like the big screen, home console experience and we really like iPad gaming. We like all these gaming experiences and we don't think consumers want them to go away.
"The only way they're going to go away is if they don't stay true to what they are. The console gaming experience is about delivering something that's way out past the bleeding edge and subsidising it through the software royalty model - just like Apple does with the phones. It's not that much different.”
Rein stated however he remains confident that console giants Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft will stay ahead of the game and “blow us all away” with their next-gen systems.
---
GDC - LIVE! Breaking news, latest news and up-to-the-minute developments: HERE
iPhone owners should download our free app (iTunes link). It puts Develop’s daily must-read online news content – including all the stories from GDC – in the palm of your hand.
Personally I think Rein is talking rubbish on this issue. He has to choose a side (dedicated gaming with controls or not)if he genuinely wants gaming as we know it to survive the next decade.
Making games for those platforms without controls, license funded off the back of console R&D isn't helping the long term viability of his own business. He could never deliver UE on ipad if it had launched with the same technical challenges that PC/console gaming faced together.
Even marginalising the technical differential of say a PS3 from an iPad3, with cheap prebaked lighting, low polycount integer geometry(like Rage), low precision physics and light weight AI and making an App sale off the wow factor of big resolution on small tablet screen is all shooting himself and the entire games industry in the foot.
You only have to look at the footer on this page “iPhone owners should download our free app (iTunes link). It puts Develop’s daily must-read online news content – including all the stories from GDC – in the palm of your hand.” to realise that gameindustry as Epic-demic problem of overly validating these Emperor's new clothes devices from Apple as being special.
Even if they disagree on that point, why shouldn't they then, equally validate the better Android devices(and the biggest mobile platform) in the same way?
Yeah, and look what "bleeding edge" has cost consoles in the past--a $600 launch-price PS3. And look what it's costing Apple consumers to keep up with the latest iPad--$500 just for the low-end model.
Besides, it's easy for Mark Reins to say this--he's an exec for one of the most financially-successful game development middleware companies in the world. Naturally, he wants more powerful hardware--he and Unreal would be the biggest beneficiaries from such "bleeding edge" consoles. To be honest, as much as I love Unreal Engine technology, I think he's speaking more to justify their upcoming Unreal Engine 4 engine--even though there's still plenty of life left in Unreal Engine 3 (I still haven't seen many games reached the "Samaritan" demo's caliber yet).
Also, the significantly-rising costs of game development are encouraging developers to make more affordable and accessible technology. It's costing developers $60 million or more just to develop major games now. Such was one of the big areas of focus for Nintendo with their upcoming Wii U, and seems to be a focus of Microsoft's next console as well. Expensive bleeding edge's out--cost-effective HD development's in.
So, especially in a sour global economy, developers want "powerful enough" consoles that are cheaper to produce, cheaper to developer games for, and cheaper for gamers to buy.
And if anything, Apple had better watch out for Google, because Google smart sync Google Play service is well on its way to replacing Apple's iTunes and their openness to become the developer's platform of choice rather than the rather rigid Apple. But even then, cheap games and "freemium" games come at a big cost to developers, and not everyone CAN succeed from it. MOST developers don't. And the biggest the mobile market grows, the easier it gets for developers to get lost in the sea of cheap mediocrity.
Apple(or mobile gaming in general) is not as invincible as so many people are painting them. I mean, MOST of mobile gaming is cheap casual games, most being endless clones. People get tired of that. But Zelda, Uncharted, and Halo--these games develop long-time fans, and people keep begging for more.
