Industry professionals examine next-gen gaming concerns

by Blake Snow { Nov 2nd 2006 at 4:15PM }

Game Trailers sat down with Jason Rubin co-founder of Naughty Dog, analyst Michael Patcher, and developer Grant Collier to discuss potential problems of next-generation consoles. The eight minute video clip considers the impact of rising development costs and 2-year build cycles on gaming which result in risk averse publishers not willing to take creative gambles. The panelists also question early adoption of high-definition content citing YouTube's viral popularity despite its low video fidelity. Overall a very insightful and intelligent discussion on what's around the corner. Peep it!

[Thanks, Brent]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

> @ Nov 2nd 2006 4:24PM

Bah... YouTube is like fastfood (for the most part), HDTV is like a fine meal (for the most part).

crono141 @ Nov 2nd 2006 4:34PM

"Bah... YouTube is like fastfood (for the most part), HDTV is like a fine meal (for the most part)."

Spoken like a true sony mouthpiece.

Though in this case, I'm inclined to agree. YouTube video's bother me if the quality is horrible/bad compression on source videos. Some are ok to watch fullscreen.

There is a legitimate argument that "the masses" don't care that much about quality, just about content, and YouTube adoption and popularity (along with google video, yahoo video, myspace video, etc) is alot of evidence to support it.

HD content definitely has its place (home theater, duh) but free, lower quality content does as well, (internet video).

Number One @ Nov 2nd 2006 4:46PM

Any comment beginning with the (made up) words "Bah" or "Meh" should be disregarded and thrown out. ">" can't make an intelligent comment in defence of his beloved Hi-def to save his life. Textbook defensive maneuver when faced with real issues that step out of the bounds of your imaginary "money falls from the sky, every game being made for next-generation consoles will be a unique instant classic because developpers want to invest millions in uncharted territory."

Wake up, boy.

Wargazm @ Nov 2nd 2006 4:44PM

XNA and Arcade will help stop this "no creativity" crap.

DarkMavis @ Nov 2nd 2006 4:48PM

This was a VERY entertaining show. If G4 had more programs like this then maybe they wouldn't stink as much.

I really find it interesting that a lot of what was being said on this show gives credibility to both Microsoft and Nintendo in regards to what is right with the games industry today.

screw ea @ Nov 2nd 2006 4:54PM

No matter how you look at it, you are still pulling $600 + dollars out of your wallet, that is the point they are making about the ps3's price. You are getting relatively the same experience on the 360, maybe even better. Talk native 1080p and 50 gig of space all you want, its still $600 for a console, people.

crono141 @ Nov 2nd 2006 4:53PM

Don't come down on ">" to hard. At least his arguments are backed up by some semblance of reason.

I mean, we could be getting Darryl, or NovaCharged, or "Me again", or any number of total IDIOTS commenting for Sony.

I, for one, welcome our intellegent sony fanboy overlords...

screw ea @ Nov 2nd 2006 4:58PM

Besides, I have more next gen games than I know what to do with for the 360 as it stands, and more coming out than I can afford in November-December. Nope, you can have the Ps3, I am good.

ymmv @ Nov 2nd 2006 5:02PM

It's funny to hear Jason Rubin's criticism of Blu-Ray and that regular DVDs are good enough even compared to highdef, when the biggest reason he's not a fan of HiDef TV is that it would mean he'd have to replace his three huge plasma tvs that are built into the walls of his house. He doesn't want the expenses of "being forced" to replace those investments so soon, that's why he's opposed to HD.

Personally I think HD will win. Most people who buy a new tv will want one that's obsolete-proof for at least the next five/six years. And then they'll get a widescreen HDTV. The who will stick with standard def TVs aren't going to buy a PS3 or Xbox 360, since that's out of their league too. The core audience for the 360 and PS3 are the same early adopters who like HDTV and they won't mind. By the time the prices of these consoles have come down to make them affordable to the average Joe, HDTVs have become more affordable too and have entered the mainstream as well.

The Wii is a whole different ballgame. The Wii will be the console of choice for parents who want to give their kids a console without buying a HDTV or LCD monitor screen for little Jimmie as well. It's next-gen on the cheap. This will work for Nintendo for one or two years, but then the Wii will fade pretty fast when HD becomes mainstream and the Wii's current-gen grapics will look decidedly last-gen.

> @ Nov 2nd 2006 5:00PM

Bah, hey, Mr. Number One ... I dont have time to tease my one liners apart in more detail (i wish i could); but, it you cant get then, boo.

They once said that colour TV was useless too and that adoption would take forever...ditto with FM.

Bah!

Ash @ Nov 2nd 2006 5:01PM

Anyone know if part 2 and part 3 of that show are out yet or when they are coming out?

electro^plankton @ Nov 2nd 2006 5:15PM

Damn, Jason Rubin suddenly got hot during his hiatus.

Number One @ Nov 2nd 2006 5:31PM

Hahahaha! And it replies!!

Dont use colons if you're gonna write stuff like :" but, it you cant get then, boo."

@ 11.
PS3 prices arent dropping anytime before 2008. Xbox360's might but, even then, I dont see how the video gaming experience would solely make buying expensive HDTV's worth it, when even in our day and age, VHS tapes still sell. I dont see HD becoming mainstream so quickly personally. And you cant count out the Wii because its "p-count" is not as high as the other consoles. Thats just restarting the whole gameplay quality-graphics debate.

Prokaryote @ Nov 2nd 2006 5:35PM

Blake: "It's" refers to "it is." The possessive form of "it" is always "its," with no apostrophe.

Evan @ Nov 2nd 2006 5:36PM

"Bah... YouTube is like fastfood (for the most part), HDTV is like a fine meal (for the most part)."

People eat a lot more fast food than fine meals. It's like television... We love multi-million-dollar blockbuster movies, but we spend more time watching cheaper, lower-quality television shows.

With what they were saying about 2-year productions and $30 million dollar budgets, 360 and PS3 games are becoming a lot like movies. We'll only have a few blockbusters each year, and most of those will be sequels.

So, if 360 and PS3 are like movies, Wii and XBLA games are like television. Like movies, we'll love our high-definition video games, but like television, there's still a place for lower-budget standard-definition video games.

mountain_rage @ Nov 6th 2006 11:22PM

ymmv if it works for 2 years thats a long time to build a user base strong enough for developers to take interest, especially if the development cost for wii are so much lower. The other problem is people will not buy a system just because it supports hd by that point they will buy one for the games.

tekkenking @ Nov 2nd 2006 6:20PM

to ymmv:
you missed his point, he's not "against" HD, he's just saying it's not worth the huge expense of upgrading an entire A/V system just to get it. I think most people would agree with him, I'm sure that eventually most people will have HD sets, but they'll only upgrade when they would've gotten a new TV anyway. Most people are not gonna toss out their perfectly usable 27inch SDTV just to upgrade to hdtv.

Haunted One @ Nov 2nd 2006 7:01PM

The question that will decide the upcoming "console war" is the adoption rate of HDTVs. Once HDTVs are in the majority of gaming households, Nintendo's strategy has failed and MS/Sony will be proven correct with their massive HDTV/1080p/bigger is better/big development cost strategy.

But, that has to happen in the next 4 to 5 years (I expect this as the next-gen console life cycle, silly "10 years" comments of Sony notwithstanding).

Personally, I think there is no way that the current HDTV penetration of globally ~10 (US: 15%, Europe 9%, Japan 7% -- all +/-1%) can rise up to and beyond 50% in the next 4 years. 2011-2012, I guess.

That's the problem with such far out predictions - who knows how the gaming market will look like in 2012?

B.

Agent MOO @ Nov 2nd 2006 7:04PM

Picture caption:
"Yeah dood i hit it like that!"

Evan @ Nov 2nd 2006 8:34PM

@18
If Nintendo produced hardware compartable to MS and Sony's hardware, it would be the GameCube scenerio all over again. Nintendo cannot compete on power because hardcore gamers think Nintendo is kiddy and gay.

But, hardcore gamers are the minority, and Sony is leaving their primary audience ripe for Nintendo's picking. Sony has said that they expect the PS3 to take a few years to build momentum. Sony expects the majority of PS2 owners to keep playing their PS2s for another 2-3 years, until they eventually switch over to the PS3. Nintendo is offering those gamers an upgrade now! So, the Wii doesn't even need to compete with the PS3, it only needs to be attractive to the mainstream gamers that Sony has abondoned while they chase the hardcore gamers.

Chris @ Nov 2nd 2006 9:05PM

What, the Naughty Dog programmer thinks the PS3 will win this round? Didn't see that coming.

THAT'S INSANE AND AMAZING!

sean @ Nov 2nd 2006 11:04PM

YouTube will from this day be a crucial part of media democracy for Culture Connoisseurs. I don't believe network TV, uhh ViaCom will anytime make public Velvet Underground live videos, at the same time being able to see Bill Hicks tell an audience member to leave as he calls her a "c*nt" while running around stage going nuts. I mean I never thought I'd ever get a chance to see Born Against, Swell Maps, This Heat etc etc in any format and here I am watching them. Network TV doesn't have anything on the type of content one can get from youtube... yet. YouTube is where TV needs to go in Hi-Def when a T1 line is a basic household commodity.