Bravo to the vigilant and patient gamers out there. Your unwaveringness has saved you hundreds of dollars as you continue to bask in the glory of the PS3 and Xbox 360, two consoles still at the top of their game. It’s no secret that the PS4 and Xbox One are very capable machines with bright futures but for right now, they’re being trounced unequivocally by their predecessors. Some may argue that it’s still early and that the PS4 and Xbox One are about to explode but the real concern doesn’t lie in what it may do later on but what it’s doing now.
With talks of the hotly-anticipated release of Assassin’s Creed Unity supporting only 900p resolution due to a compromise in inferior hardware, it’s a little disconcerting to feel optimistic about these machines. Unity’s Senior Producer Vincent Pontbriand claims the 900p across both platforms was a decision made to “avoid debates and stuff.”
I’m not sure what that even means.
The frame rate issues we’re having are something I’m willing to let go. Even though 60 frames is a huge improvement, there’s no way I’d trade a dip in resolution for a bump in FPS. Different strokes for different folks but if these consoles were actually “powerful” we wouldn’t be having these discussions and compromises in the first place. The Last of Us Remastered is a prime example of both FPS and resolution working hand in hand in beautiful unison but it’s a remastered version of a last generation game and not specifically tailored for the new gen like Unity is.
At the very least, if we can’t achieve 1080p and 60FPS on every title, we should expect full 1080p resolution for every single title. So far, we’re seeing a much larger number of games running at 1080p this generation than we saw all of last generation where 720p was the trusted norm. That’s good but doesn’t that mean 1080p should be the norm from now on? Or will this generation be known as the 900p generation with the PS5 and Xbox One (two?) finally sporting 1080p consistently? Admittedly, I didn’t buy my next-generation consoles for the resolution or FPS; I bought it for the games promised. And the reason why I didn’t buy it solely for these features was because I expected them to have them anyway which is very ironic come to think of it.
The online functionality is another beaten horse that is continuously swept under the rug. I touched on the PSN’s troubles weeks ago but many gamers are still experiencing all sorts of hiccups and slowdowns. Why does it take so long to send a message through PSN? And why do I have to spam the cancel button just to force-send a message? I can send a message through the PS3’s PSN in seconds and the PS3 is infamously slow when it comes to doing mundane things like opening the Store or installing a game. Why is my PS3 outperforming my PS4 in message sending and friend managing?
There’s a laundry list of features the PS4 is missing. The PS3 is a media server powerhouse while the PS4 can’t even play video files yet. The Xbox One is constantly being updated, for better or worse, with interesting changes and new apps. I know it may sound like I’m bullying the PS4 but it’s mainly because it’s my console of preference so I’m all for the improvement and progress it needs to make.
Assassin’s Creed Unity is just one example. Dragon Age Inquisition, releasing on November 18, is apparently 1080p on PS4 but only 900p on Xbox One. Why is this a trend? The only thing scarier than PT and The Evil Within is how underwhelming these consoles are right now.
