Carmack 'not all that excited' for next-gen hardware
Doom programmer thinks next-gen consoles will just 'let us do everything we want to do now, with the knobs turned up'.
Legendary id programmer John Carmack has said that he is "not all that excited" for next-generation hardware, saying that the next wave of consoles will simply "let us do everything we want to do now, with the knobs turned up".
"It will be what we already have, but a lot better," Carmack told GamesIndustry.
"You will be able to redesign with a focus on D11, but it will not really change anyone's world. It will look a lot better, it will move towards the movie rendering experience and that is better and better, but it's not like the first time you've ever played an FPS."
Carmack estimates that running "a current game like Halo" at 1080p and at 60fps will "suck up all the power you have [available] in the next generation.
"When people ask how tapped out is the current console generation, PCs are 10 times as powerful but you really are still not technically limited. Any creative vision that a designer could come up with, we can do a pretty good job representing on current generation and certainly on PC."
Carmack is currently prototyping a VR headset that he says will immerse players "into the virtual world".
EA admitted yesterday that its Frostbite 2 engine was developed for next-generation consoles.
User Comments
reynoldio
Endless@ munkee
I'm actually quite excited for next gen as a result of Nintendo's Wii U. But in a bitchy "HA! is that all!?" kinda way. I've seen what Nintendo has to offer so far and my expectations for MS and Sony's offerings has risen because I know that so far the only thing the Wii U holds for me is the ability to play games while the TV is in use for another purpose.
munkee
I would be happy to see current gameplay with the knobs turned up. I'm not really expecting too much innovation from the next gen and I also assume that this is why a large percentage of people said that they aren't too bothered about the next gen. But, I've seen high end PC's and I want some of that in my living room.
It seems a little odd that Carmack, of all people, is making this statement. It was my assumption that this guy would want more power in a box. I didn't see "VR Headset" coming.