Inside Xbox Gameplay Footage is not Representing Next-Gen Consoles

Inside Xbox gameplay footage was game engine footage which was disappointing for many. They were supposed to show real gameplay footage, not gameplay trailers. Now that Inside Xbox is over, there are many lingering questions regarding next-gen games. Some are saying that problem is with Series X, not next-gen console. The fact remains that the gameplay footage at the event was not gameplay footage but rather gameplay trailers. Once again, Xbox has failed to properly market its upcoming console. The lack of real gameplay is leading many players to question the caliber of Xbox Series X.

Despite the event being a failure, the quality of the gameplay has an explanation. Nearly of the Inside Xbox gameplay footage was from cross-gen games. The quality of games cannot be blamed on the Xbox Series X. First of all, it was not even the gameplay footage from the console. Secondly, nearly all of the games that they presented were cross-gen. Developers have to keep the limitation of all hardware in mind while designing a game. Until we see the gameplay footage of the pure next-gen game, the quality of graphics would remain questionable.

Cross-Generation Can Effect the Quality of A Video Game

While developing games, developers have to keep all platforms in mind. Neglecting the difference in power and technology of a console can result in serious problems. A game specifically designed for PS5 or Xbox Series can’t be ported to Xbox One or PS4. It is one of the basic reasons that Switch gets the games later than other platforms. You can’t expect to run a game that requires high processing power to run on a system with low processing power. For PC players, the shift of generation is evident in games because the new game would drastically change the performance of their system. The cross-Gen game will bottleneck the performance of the game for all platforms. Inside Xbox gameplay footage had little to do with the quality of the Xbox’s next-gen console.

A cross-gen game is practically another version of the game for a different platform. Fortnite is the game that you can find on all platforms. It is also a cross-platform game so players from all platforms play on the same servers. It means that a person playing it on a smartphone can team up with or against players from consoles, PC, or any other device. The graphical and processing capabilities of smartphones or low power mobile devices are lower than other devices. To make the game playable on all devices, developers of Fortnite had to reduce details and graphics so that all platform can run it smoothly. Many players complain that Fortnite has worse graphics without realizing the flexibility of the game. The situation of a cross-gen-game is no different.

Inside Xbox Gameplay Footage Was a Disaster

There is no denying that Inside Xbox gameplay footage was nothing short of a disaster. Microsoft was trying to show the caliber of their console but ended up showing nothing. At least they admitted their mistake after the event and developers released the gameplay of some games. Ironically the gameplay footage is from the game engine, not Series X. Some are speculating that Microsoft might not be able to deliver on its promises. It could be that it facing the same problems as PlayStation is facing in delivering next-gen console on time. Maybe the situation is worse for Microsoft but they are keeping their lips tight. Even if all these games were cross-gen, the fact remains that they were not from Series X. Inside Xbox gameplay footage was all about third-party games, not Xbox Series X.

We already knew that the games would be the third party so there were now expectations for first-party games. I am using the word first-party games because Xbox doesn’t have exclusive games anymore. PlayStation exclusives seem to be following their footsteps. Microsoft has big announcements regarding the event, so expectations were high. The major reason for the failure of Inside Xbox gameplay footage was the high expectations by announcements of Microsoft. Xbox has admitted their mistake which is appreciated by many including me. This misstep by Xbox can give an advantage to PS5 marketing. Now all Sony needs to do is organize the events as per their set expectation.

Next-Gen Is Not All About Graphics

The shift in the generation brings a lot to the table other than graphics. A detailed world in video game needs powerful hardware. The more details developers put in a world of a game the more powerful hardware it would require. It also affects the way AI of NPCs reacts and everything related to a video game other than graphics. One such example is the Uncharted Series. The first three games were released on PlayStation 3 that was later remastered for PlayStation 4. Freedom and gameplay of the first three games were more limited then Uncharted 4 because it was a PS4 game. Developers had more powerful hardware that could support more complexity. Uncharted 4 had better graphics and mechanics than the other three games due to the leap of the console generation. Powerful hardware provides better graphics and freedom in a game.

True Caliper of Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 is Not Evident

World details are also an important factor when it comes to the shift of a console generation. A cross-gen game will hold back the caliber of a game as I mentioned before. One good example of the Next-gen game is Godfall, which is showing the true caliber of PS5. Developers can go all-in with Godfall because they don’t have to worry about running it on PS4. Even though the game engine leak footage is more than a year old it still shows better graphics and details. The game would even look better on PS5 as it still in development.

GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 is also a good example of cross-gen and next-gen games. The environmental details and graphics of GTA V are inferior to Red Dead Redemption 2. GTA V was held back by PS3 and Xbox 360 which wasn’t the case for Red Dead Redemption 2. Inside Xbox gameplay footage should not be the final answer.

Verdict

Many are complaining that the next-gen consoles are not offering much when it comes to the quality of games. So far we haven’t seen single next-gen gameplay other than Godfall. All of the gameplay footage is from cross-gen games. PS4 and Xbox One are holding back the developers to go all out. They have to keep the limitation of the 8^th gen console in mind while developing games.

The impact of the next-gen console might be that much on graphics. However, it will improve the overall quality of games while increasing FPS at the same time. Next-Gen games will nearly eliminate load time so there are more than just graphical changes. The true quality of next-gen consoles remains to be seen. Inside Xbox gameplay footage might be a disaster for Series X marketing but it is not the representation of any next-gen console.