DICE: BF3 Pushing PS3, 360 to its Limits, Desperate for Next Gen - News
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 14 April 2011 / 7,947 Views
One would have a hard time arguing that DICE’s Battlefield 3 is looking exceptionally well. The only caveat is all the footage we’ve seen is from the PC version. No one outside of DICE has seen BF3 on other platforms. DICE Producer Patrick Bach would like to alleviate some of the console crowd’s worries concerning Battlefield 3’s visuals on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Bach, in an interview with CVG, was confident that BF3 would be "if not the best-looking console game this year, up there with the competition", adding that his goal was to "prove it rather than talk about it.”
Bach then said that BF3 on consoles was pushing both the both 360 and PS3 to the "absolute limit.” The DICE producer was then asked if the tech powering Battlefield 3 – Frostbite 2, could cope with the next generation of consoles.
"I don't know what the big corporations are thinking but definitely we are desperate to move on into the next generation. I think Battlefield 3 will look like a next-generation game and all the technology we're building, the whole Frostbite 2 system - the animations, audio, everything - is trying to aim for a couple of years in the future, rather than looking at what we have today.”
Bach reiterated his point by saying that they are “already there,” and that if Sony and Microsoft were to release a new consoles tomorrow, the engine could scale onto that platform, because they (DICE) have been looking at not only PC technology that’s available today, but also speculating what will happen in the future regarding these things.
He added that “everything from our streaming technologies [to] rendering technologies is scalable onto future platforms."
While it’s quite common these days to hear developers say how they’re “maxing out a console’s power,” can Bach actually be telling the truth this time? Furthermore, do you think Battlefield 3 will look anywhere close to what we’ve seen of the PC version?
To watch the PC version of Battlefield 3 in action, click here.
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i'm disapointed in my fellow PC gamers for even bringing up home console being out dated. leave console out of the PC conversation. its 2 diff worlds and i'm in both so its pointless to even mention them. OT: BF3 PC looks great, and it may mark my return to PC shooters. P.S i'm better than both PC and console gamers in the shooter genre and can beat a PC shooter on a home console cross platform.
This is why I love PC :)
@Genera1MLD
Consoles do support Mouse+KB.. Just have to buy the 3rd party hardware. I use it with my PS3 when Im forced to game with friends on my PS3.
PS3 has the best Mouse+KB import on the market, at the moment.
Typical Console players.. Theyre fine with outdated hardware. Im not a fan of settling for less.
Considering most games are console imports. PC gamers are getting jacked of top quality games, if devs focused more on PC I predict there would be a lot of advances in gaming quality.
Instead, lets focus on nearly 5yr old technology. Do you people till own a 5yr old phone ? Highly unlikely.
i still find it funny when console gamers instantly think all PC's cant be hooked up to big screen HDTV's, my laptop has HDMI out which means i can hook it up to what ever TV/moniter i want, also beings as the graphics is nvidia it has the ability to do 3D on a 3DTV and i have the biggest range of controllers available, considderably more than what's avalable on the consoles thats for sure.
now them motion controllers are fun for a short time but as the console FPS games lack support for keyboard+mouse configuration theres not much point saying its better when it clearly isnt as accurate as a KB+M, and elcido hit it on the nail with his comment which is 100% true fact that console games are realy starting to show their age, the tech for the games has moved on but the tech the games run on (im talking about consoles not PC's) is out dated and seriously needs updating, sony's 10 year console idea was clearly stupid (bear in mind PC's have been doing HD for well over 20 year's where as consoles have only been doing it for 5 years).
why would first party devs complain publicly about the limitations of their own consoles? they wouldn't. truth is, console games are starting to show their age.
Vmey they could have maxed consoles 3 months after they were released. What has happened is games have been reduced in size and visuals due to the largest money maker being limited in power.
If console gamers got to experience a game that was truly made with current technology they would immediately throw their consoles out the window.
O RLY
I think we are fine for a few more years with current gen....next gen should be like virtual reality...or at least blockbuster movie quality CGI...If they are just getting to the point to where they can "max out" current gen specs......WTH took so long???
Wait, the PC is more powerful? If you lead design on the PC it becomes the significantly better version? My god! Who could have foreseen this development!?
Using all the resources of a console doesn't mean you maxed it out. A for loop could use up all the resources if you write it correctly.
PR stunt.
When they beat KZ3 and UC3 than maybe I can believe THEY maxed out PS3, and Crysis 2 to Xbox360 (that GoW3 will probably surpass also)... Still didn't saw a 1st party complaining about limits, so he should squeze some more.
For a multiplat engine optimised for PC? I think they are probably right that they are pushing the limit of what such an engine can achieve, especially on PS3 with its different architecture. I'll say PS3 1st party engines are gonna keep on pushing performance to the end of it's time as the current gen Sony console. Look what GoW 1 & 2 did on PS2 right at the end of its gen. About 360 I can't say because I don't know enough about its exclusive games.
They could always write more efficient code.
Next gen can wait 2-3 years
Not ready for next gen either... Im still having fun with alot of current gen games both old and new.
sorry dice I'm not ready for "next gen", I just got a PS3 and it's fine for a while
This will definitely be among the top 3 in terms of graphics this year.
So excited :)
Sorry DICE, I'm heavily looking forward to BF2, but I still think this generation for consoles already jumped ahead of itself. I'll be fine owning my PS3 for at least another 3-5 years.
The only one that needs an update is Nintendo. So people like you will actually make games for it.
Every year a game is pushing consoles to the limit and every year it gets better.
I'm in no rush for the next gen.
@ osamanobama i believe crytek were just about right cause crysis 2 is in the top 2 for console graphics its better than uncharted just handle it, maybe not killzone,be sure though that they are both unbelievable graphics
actually try to do something CREATIVE. Think outside the box and think about what you can do with the current technology. It's obvious the PS3 and the next XBox are not coming anytime soon, so deal with it and stop trying to use the brute force of a hardware upgrade instead of your brain.
I personally feel no need for next batch of HD consoles for atleast 3-4 years. But that's just me.
We can agree that PS3 and XBOX 360 are close to being pushed to the limit, but keep in mind that 10 year life cycle doesn't mean you SONY and MICROSOFT won't release new console in 2012, because that would be just silly.
And sorry but PC gaming will never be the same. Thing motion gaming, 3D TVs, dedicated controllers, actual controllers, etc, etc. I rather enjoy my game on a 55 inch TV then see it on my 24 inch LCD Monitor, are you serious?
More BLAH BLAH BLAH from the developers. If you continue to optimize your code you will keep getting better results. Just look at what Naughty Dog has done with Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 2, but just wait till you see what they did with Uncharted 3, I hear that it will be UNBELIEVABLE. Now imagine if you could keep improving Battlefiled 1, 2 and 3 like that on a 5 year old PC, are you kidding me.
Each PC game requires new HARDWARE cause it won't run on last years model, bunch go bologna. Sure they are pushing it further, but don't tell me that Frostbite 2 is already optimized for PC, PS3 and XBOX 360 as if they were all the same machines. Seriously, we need to stop listening to that crap, cause everyone who reads those articles will actually a start believing in this stuff after a while.
guys... there's more to a game than graphics. They are referring to a lot of other technology and features that are now being limited... not just graphical quality.
I agree. I am tired of looking at games that look similar to what they looked like in 2005.
@Phoeniks
If the engine is even remotely similar as BC2, you have to remember that in BC2 every shot had to have its trajectory calculated by the server. So the more people shooting the higher the load, and PCs are just far far more powerful than consoles and are able to handle such calculations.
@Genera1MLD, current Pc games don't really look that great. Pc companies can't even make a racing game that matches the details of GT5 cars.
By pushing the 360 and PS3 to the "absolute limit", I guess he means that they're gonna artificially keep them identical, so just some more crap from devs as usual.
I still cannot understand why they capped the multiplayer on consoles at 24 players, sure MS might have bandwith limits on the 360, but bloody Homefront had 32 players. As for the PS3 version, since sony doesn't regulate it, why the hell coulndn't that version have 64 players? PS3 processing power incapable of handling it?
" - is trying to aim for a couple of years in the future, "
How can it aim for a couple of years in the future if the technology we have today is possible to achieve what the game's software demands? Then its just utilizing our current hardware efficiently. If you want to make it next gen, and " - is trying to aim for a couple of years in the future, " it wouldn't run on our current hardware. Duh.
@Aiddon
why cut back on graphics, if the pc can do it now then why not make it look as good as whats technically possable, i think both sony and microsoft have taken a step in a seriously wrong direction by trying to make there consoles last 10 years, effectivly skipping a generation (the usual gen update occours ever 5 years or so but both sony and M$ are trying to extend that by a further 5 years, many were saying PC gaming was dead but this could be the turning point where both sony and M$ make a huge mistake.
i could'nt imagin trying to play any current pc games on tech thats over 6 years old (pentium4/early core 2 cpu's, nvidia 7000 seriese/ati x1000 series gfx card trying to play crysis) yet this is exactly what both sony and M$ are doing with there current console hardware, graphic whoring on a new gen is fine but to say there graphic whoring because the consoles are old is just a sign the nex gen needs to happen now not in 4 to 5 years time.
didnt crytech say something similar, looked at how that turned out.
well no doubt this game will look awesome, but wont be best looking (on console) definitely top 7 though
here's an idea boys: cut back on the graphics whoring. LATERAL THINKING PEOPLE.
This is why I keep going against the grain in saying Sony and MS will have something shown by next (2012) e3 for its next gen hardware and will launch by 2013 at the latest.
