On FIFA 15's "next-gen" PC demo... - tinpanalley's Blog

tinpanalley's Blog

On FIFA 15's "next-gen" PC demo...

Posted on September 12, 2014 at 05:04 AM.

(0)

Let me be clear, first of all, that I've wrapped next-gen in quotes not to be facetious or sarcastic. It's because it's the term used to differentiate the XBOX1 and PS4. I can't stand the term, it reaks of marketing copy to me, but alas there it is.

I am thrilled by EA deciding PC was acceptable to them for their next gen version of the game. Which, quite frankly has not been the case for PCs in general for the past 10 years. Most games have skipped PC when they could have easily sold a PC port of console titles. The ones that were released on PC have invariably been better graphically on a PC with a good video card than on the consoles. There has never been any reason that a powerful machine couldn't run any game on PS3 or 360 and better. The problem is the numbers of people out there with those powerful machines and what kind of revenue that would give the developers. Not enough to have to market and package PC versions of console titles.
Let's hope the trend to ignore PC stops now. We already know that Watchdogs and new iterations of Assassin's Creed will be released on PC with next gen graphics. I have already heard many people say that they'd rather spend the same money of a PS4 or XBOX One on a really powerful video card and RAM for a new PC build. Watch Dogs, when played on my PC that has some real processing power but not thousands of dollars of gear that is typically found in hardcore gamers' rigs, looks absolutely incredible.
FIFA is alive in a way it hasn't been in the past, the Premier League branding is a big part of that. But the attention to the minutest detail of both broadcast television and of modelling and physics is really remarkable and at the same time shocking when you consider how weak efforted, not weak performing, NHL's two iterations were.
When you add the graphics processing of a PC, the ability to patch your computer easily to a flatscreen TV, and the enormous community of modders for the FIFA franchise, it leaves questions about why overpriced, underdeveloped new consoles are necessary for anyone other than the media device/casual gaming market.