Board 8 > Did the ps4 do anything

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've been smack talking with "why would we ever need a ps5" recently, and a lot of people have defended that it's a definite step up from the ps4, but I think my biggest problem is, what did the ps4 do?

Thinking back on all my favorite ps4 games, nothing really felt like it offered me a next-gen experience. Most games I played felt like ps3 games with better graphics (sometimes)

MGSV seemed like the only game that felt revolutionary during my time with the system, while other series, like Assassins Creed, Red Dead, Just Cause, all felt more hampered by capabilities to do more rather than enhanced.

Was there games I missed out on? What games did you guys really felt like a next gen experience on PS4 (or if there's an xbone game you can let me know about that too)

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I feel like there isn't much of a need for 'revolution' I suppose? PS4 has had some of my favorite games in recent memory - God of War, Persona 5: Royal

I think for me though there isn't much of a 'next gen experience' as much as 'oh, awesome new games, cool.'

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Yeah, again, I definitely loved the ps4. I don't mean to sound like it wasn't a worthwhile investment. I'm just saying it doesn't feel like our ability to develop games is keeping up with the industry's haste to release a new system. Like with most other generations it felt like "oh if you want new more exciting games with new capabilities you gotta buy a new system" which is fair. But now it feel like "oh well time has passed, so buy this new system because that's the system people develop for now"

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Gosh I think I am excited about load times being great and then graphics steadily improving. Also it was a year longer from PS4 to PS5 than PS2 to PS3, so I don't think they are being hasty. I think it's usually year 2 or year 3 that you really start to see the big 'wow'

Like for example God of War for PS4 is just so amazing visually, it makes a difference.

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Reduced load times is my fucking jam

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I mean I saw loading times in bugsnax so I'm guessing this reducing loading times thing is being a tad overhyped

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The PS4 ran games much less badly than the PS3, and its system interface worked, even with a game running. And sleep mode, that's a practical feature.

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My PC isn't 'VR Ready' yet, so all the VR gaming I've done has been on my PS4, so there's that, I suppose.

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The leap from PS4 to PS5 does seem bigger than from 3 to 4 at least.

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I don't know if bugsnax is the best example for loading times

The example I think of is whenever someone beats my time trial times in astros playroom it brings up a notification and I could hit the PS button and it will instantly take me straight to that time trial even if I'm playing something completely different

Miles Morales is also impressive when it comes to load times

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To answer the topic title though that main thing the PS4 did was have the most appealing and user friendly main menu screen of any console out there although it took a few years to get to that point

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Bugsnax loading doesn't seem so hot, until you realize it's half as long as the PC loading times and like 1/5 as long as the PS4 loading times.

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

Bugsnax loading doesn't seem so hot, until you realize it's half as long as the PC loading times and like 1/5 as long as the PS4 loading times.

I'm running Bugsnax off an M.2 NVMe SSD on PC (Samsung 970 EVO+), and I'd say my loading times are about half of what I saw on Giant Bomb's PS5 stream

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current gen was really just perfecting previous gen's work visually and with physics.
next gen is a much bigger chance between the SSD and 60 FPS target. it's the first time in a while where the console doesn't look like it'll miss out on the part that matters the most.


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I really liked the menu system and the controller

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With the new consoles you're gonna start seeing more 60fps games and it'll break your brain the same way it does everyone else and you won't want to go back.

The last gen didn't do this so much, but I'd say polishing the tools from the PS4/360 gen was still a worthwhile upgrade

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It really was a generation of two halves, both in terms of software lineup (genuinely bad until mid-2016 and really good afterwards) and systems. At launch the PS4 was basically just a souped up previous gen machine, not even a PS3, it was more like a polished 360. It did everything you wanted from a 360/PS3 era machine with regards to features, 1080p, and so on, but I can't really think of anything major at or near launch that wasn't there in the gen before. The only thing is suspend mode, and even that took a while to get patched in right? On the other hand the Xbox One had some features that absolutely were a clear step up from what had come before, but also those were things that people didn't necessarily want, more importantly were atrociously communicated, and largely ended up getting dropped. Even the games just looked like 360/PS3 games with more particles for the first two and a half years.

Then at about the three year mark things started to change. You started getting not only really good games, but games like Uncharted 4 and Doom which clearly looked like a step up from the previous gen. You had the half-step consoles which could do 4k, and also VR and HDR on the base consoles which were definitely distinct from the gen before. So my answer would be kinda, but it took a long time to get there.

Now, PS5 and Xbox Series X seem like a much bigger leap. You get the sense that in 2013 people genuinely weren't sure if there was much of a role left for traditional console generations and we'd switch to more of a PC model, but now the feeling is like "yes there are still new generational leaps we can do". And that's a good thing, I was really over consoles when the last ones launched but I'm excited to get a PS5 next year.

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i mean we did switch to a PC model.
which is probably the other big thing current gen had to it, the x86 architecture switch. that probably was the biggest difference and is probably why changes flooded the gen 2-3 years in. now we're talking about these consoles like they're PCs and it's no coincidence. the main thing missing is the modularity but everything else is on point.

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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

With the new consoles you're gonna start seeing more 60fps games and it'll break your brain the same way it does everyone else and you won't want to go back.

I'm probably in the large minority, but I don't see a huge difference. Like yes I can see a difference in a side by side comparison, but I couldn't tell you which one looked better.

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SSD standard is huge and all but even ignoring that there's nothing hasty at all about moving off of last gen's consoles. As someone who regularly plays at 120+ fps I've really lost both my appetite and my patience for games that stick at 30 or fail to even meet that. We were in dire need of a hardware upgrade for consoles and now for the first time in a long while they actually look like very capable machines. (Both PS3 and PS4 were dated tech the day they came out.)

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I play a lot of old games so I'll probably never be that bothered by any graphical shortcomings. But inconsistent framerate, stuttering etc. are some of the worst problems because they're more noticeable than even low framerate.

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charmander6000 posted...

I'm probably in the large minority, but I don't see a huge difference. Like yes I can see a difference in a side by side comparison, but I couldn't tell you which one looked better.

you'll feel the difference way more than you'll see it.
your eyes can get used to just about any framerate as long as it's consistent, the feel of the game can change dramatically between the two, even if all your eyes can tell is "it looks smoother."


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charmander6000 posted...

I'm probably in the large minority, but I don't see a huge difference. Like yes I can see a difference in a side by side comparison, but I couldn't tell you which one looked better.

If you keep consistently playing 60+ games you'll get conditioned to it so when you get hit with the lower framerate it'll be extremely noticeable. Trust me, I barely gave a shit about this a year ago when I got a gaming pc. It's not like it'll ruin your ability to play under 60fps but you'll be able to tell, especially when comparing within the same game

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Souls is gonna be a lot less frustrating. You'll die and respawn quickly

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Bugsnax loading doesn't seem so hot, until you realize it's half as long as the PC loading times and like 1/5 as long as the PS4 loading times.

5 second loading verus 10 second loading holy shit the future is here

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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

If you keep consistently playing 60+ games you'll get conditioned to it so when you get hit with the lower framerate it'll be extremely noticeable.

so this seems like a huge con, and not a pro?

"hey buy our new system so you can learn to hate all your current favorite games"

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I barely touched my PS4 outside of my EA NHL online league games.

Adulting is severely limiting the amount of time I have to play video games. I invested in a top-notch gaming laptop so I can play when I magically have time at home or find myself with a lot of freetime on the road. Trudging around a console to a hotel or (and this sounds incredibly lazy) working up the motivation to turn on my PS4 didn't sound appetizing.

I'll buy a PS5 to continue my EA NHL online league play, but it's going to be in Fall 2021. No need to get one now.

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SantaRPidgey posted...

so this seems like a huge con, and not a pro?

"hey buy our new system so you can learn to hate all your current favorite games"

I dunno, did you play PS3 and PS4 games with AV cables on an SDTV as to not ruin the sanctity of the PS2?

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PS4 didn't even have a Twisted Metal, so I didn't care.

But it did play games, so it did something.

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SantaRPidgey posted...

so this seems like a huge con, and not a pro?

"hey buy our new system so you can learn to hate all your current favorite games"

This is just the nature of progress, innit? Bit of a weird take but I guess it could be compared to VHS enthusiasts who were upset that DVDs outmoded their collections.

Though that doesn't really apply here since PS4 games work on PS5 and in many cases reap the benefits of its superior hardware.

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SantaRPidgey posted...

so this seems like a huge con, and not a pro?

"hey buy our new system so you can learn to hate all your current favorite games"

good news: you won't hate your games because the hardware will allow you to play their improved versions.
i'm not sure how it is on the PS4 but Xbox has a solid history of backwards compatibility and enhancing the game with the new hardware. Series X plays current gen and 360 beautifully, hitting 4K 60 FPS consistently. Series S however, avoid for now: it's playing the configuration for One S, which for some games means locked at 30 FPS when it has no reason to be.

you'll understand how outdated the old consoles were as you play better versions of the games.

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Wanglicious posted...

i'm not sure how it is on the PS4

There was no backwards compatibility on the PS4

They sold some PS2 games as downloads but not enhanced
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bah, i'm not used to typing PS5 yet. i'm not sure how PS5 does PS4 games yet. am aware there's a list of a couple dozen games for a good start, though Bloodborne isn't one of them, even though it shouldn't be hard considering the PS4 Pro could do mostly 60FPS at 720p.

Xbox meanwhile has enhancements that go all the way back to OG Xbox. so if backwards compatibility is your thing, Xbox definitely is the better one of the two and would be expected to be the better one out the gate.

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I'm looking and seeing a small number of games that don't work and a slightly larger number with problems. I don't see Bloodborne on either.

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https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/ps5-backwards-compatibility-can-you-play-ps4-games-on-playstation-5

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it runs on the PS5 but it's still locked to 30. considering it's been proven to do 720p, 60 FPS it should be able to at least hit 1440p and 60 with ease.

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Of course it can do it, but the work has to be done. Not every game can just flip a switch. Last Gaurdian, for example, does 60 off the disc, but is locked at 30 digitally because the game was patched to lock at 30 on PS4 after the fact. They'll have to patch it again to unlock it.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8DtkCOyE0I

dunkey (he's this little known youtuber who makes some funny videos) makes my point better than I do

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Have the best library in a console ever

It gave me God of War so no complaints

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I still feel like the PS2 was the best PS so far...

I don't really care about graphics and just want good RPGs (and maybe the occasional visual novel) to chew on, so the last ten years have just been a steady downward spiral to me. For the most part.

Unpopular opinion, probably.
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Thinking on it I think the single most amazing thing to me about PS4 era games vs. PS3 era games is animation. Animation in games became absolute fucking bonkers this last generation with stuff like Death Stranding, MHW, DMC5, RDR2, UC4, TLoU2 and God of War (just to name the really heavy hitters - FF7R seems like it may be in this group too but I haven't played it yet) being light years beyond anything we could have possibly imagined 10 years ago. Granted that's not necessarily a product of the hardware so much as it is adept animators backed by ever more exceptional tools, but this kind of thing by itself is enough to make modern games feel well removed from those of the past in my book.

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Was SharePlay a thing on PS3? Thats what I remember the most of last Gen. The focus on streaming your games. In any case, I really liked SharePlay when I got it to work.

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Xiahou Shake posted...

Thinking on it I think the single most amazing thing to me about PS4 era games vs. PS3 era games is animation. Animation in games became absolute fucking bonkers this last generation with stuff like Death Stranding, MHW, DMC5, RDR2, UC4, TLoU2 and God of War (just to name the really heavy hitters - FF7R seems like it may be in this group too but I haven't played it yet) being light years beyond anything we could have possibly imagined 10 years ago. Granted that's not necessarily a product of the hardware so much as it is adept animators backed by ever more exceptional tools, but this kind of thing by itself is enough to make modern games feel well removed from those of the past in my book.

I would definitely chalk this up to the tools (specifically mocap) and skills you mention. In my mind I pinpoint the game that kicked all this off as The Last of Us, which was late PS3. And while ND is an unfair and unrealistic point of comparison, it was a noticeable improvement on the Uncharted games which were already VERY good and definitely shows this was a creative and manpower limitation and not a hardware one.

What the PS4 era did was popularize the style of "prestige" games like this and also the tools became more widespread so you also get it in other types of AAA games like DMC5 and its ridiculous mocap shenanigans.

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