Do you consider cross gen games as this generation, or last gen?

[Arcana Wiz]

We see many lists... such as the best games of xth generation in publications/sites and even on polls here on era.

This gen we had a lot of great cross gen titles such as ER, GOW:R, Resident Evil Village, Ghost of Tsushima, Forza Horizon 5 and others.

Yet the question is... you think they should be eligible for which list - best of 8th generation, best of 9th generation or both.

Before some posters say: "who cares? Let people consider what they want".
This is only to gauge Era's members personal opnions, not to make rules.

 

[Oozer]

Yes.

 

[Merton]

Gens are getting gray. Like I wouldn't consider, whatever um, sackboys big adventure on steam a Gen game. It's just a better looking newer game.

 

[SilentObserver]

 

[Gabaghoul582]

I mean, they are still enhanced for next gen. You're not playing game with the same exact settings.

 

[skeezx]

playing Horizon 2 right now.. if i came out from under a rock yesterday and you told me it was next gen exclusive i'd probably believe you fwiw

 

[AstronaughtE]

I ran into this issue while working on my catalog. Last generation I suppose. I'll probably just keep them all mixed up.

 

[Dolce]

Both. People say "I have the current gen version" and "I have the next gen version."

Games in and of themselves aren't any gen, it's the consoles that tend to dictate a gen. a next gen game isn't a next gen game, it's a game released on a next gen console.

 

[Rippa]

Last gen games only made better when using next gen hardware.

 

[Dolce]

Last gen games only made better when using next gen hardware.

Click to shrink...

What if the next gen version was the lead and the current gen version was modified from that? Where do PC games fit in? PC games can scale way below next gen hardware.

 

[Trey]

neither, they exist in a superposition which only collapses one way or the other into a finite point on a console war list by the gamer who wields it

 

[Bizkit Krueger]

both

 

[Shoot]

Ghost of Tsushima doesn't belong in that list.

 

[just_myles]

After playing Sonic Frontiers, yes. I considered them last gen.

 

[AuthenticM]

I asked myself this question just this week lol. Funny.

I think the answer to that question varies case by case... and there's probably not much logic to it. For example, Metal Gear Solid V was released on PS3 and 360. This means that the game was designed around that hardware. But practically no one played that version of the game; everyone played it on PS4, Xbone or PC. When it came to the Game of the Generation conversation, we all considered that game to be a PS4/Xbox gen game. No one tried to convince others that it didn't belong in that gen. The game "felt" like a PS4 gen game, even though it was designed for the previous console gen. Probably due to the fact that it released two whole years into the PS4 gen, honestly.

On the other hand, there were other games that were cross-gen, but felt more like last-gen games. I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I know that there are, going from previous conversations about this same topic. Probably launch or launch window games.

 

[JigglesBunny]

This is such a weird thing. If the game is released on a specific console, it belongs to that generation of consoles. A cross-gen game belongs to both generations that it's releasing on.

Some of y'all need to have "cross-gen" forcibly removed from your lexicon.

 

[TheMadTitan]

Both. People say "I have the current gen version" and "I have the next gen version."

Click to shrink...

Those people are wrong. It's current gen and last gen! 😎

 

[bounchfx]

both but 90% last gen because the restrictions create huge limitations to what could be pulled off

 

[hasher]

I don't think of BOTW as a Wii U game. I don't think of MGSV or Persona 5 as PS3 games. The same goes for Ragnarok and others moving forward.

 

[Dolce]

On the other hand, there were other games that were cross-gen, but felt more like last-gen games. I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I know that there are, going from previous conversations about this same topic. Probably launch or launch window games.

Click to shrink...

heaven forbid we start adding indie games to the conversation

 

[RetroRunner]

Believing in generations is for boomers like Jim Ryan, I believe that I like good games regardless of their targeted hardware

 

[Kahhhhyle]

I consider them cross gen:P

 

[Gestault]

I mean, the whole point is it's both (and mindful of last-gen capabilities), hence "cross-gen". For me personally, if a cross-gen game looks bonkers-good anyway, and/or has things like really solid high framerate modes, that's pretty darned close to current-gen for me.

 

[DanielG123]

Both! Take a game like Horizon FW for example; that game has a PS4 version, yes, but the PS5 version has details, fidelity, resolution, and frame rate options that just wouldn't be possible on the former machine.

 

[Raboon]

I just consider them as.. new games. Don't really care to label every game that comes out with cross or new gen.

 

[TrollWhisperer]

Never thought about it. But I guess my logic would be: if they have a native current gen version, then current gen.

 

[Firmus_Anguis]

If they are built with last-gen in mind, they're last gen.

It's not a hard concept to grasp. Games specifically designed with current-gen in mind won't be possible on last-gen consoles, in any capacity.

Cross-gen games on the new consoles are just prettier/better performing last-gen games.

 

[Madao]

if the game runs on last gen hardware, it is a last gen game.

only if the game is impossible to run on last gen hardware without making huge cuts i'd say it is a current gen game.

 

[EraLurker24]

If a game targets a console released in 2013, it's last gen. I mean it can still be amazing, but it's last gen. Just like how Skyrim and GTA V can still be unmatched in certain areas but be technically running systems designed for 2005 hardware.

For current gen stuff I expect games built specifically for the hardware in the 2020 consoles. This doesn't necessarily mean graphics, but AI, physics, level design, or other stuff that would only be capable with the newer hardware.

Like a current gen game shouldn't even be imaginable on a PS4. Like in the same way you can't envision Mass Effect (2007) on a PS2.

 

[Dolce]

It's not a hard concept to grasp. Games specifically designed with current-gen in mind won't be possible on last-gen consoles, in any capacity.

Click to shrink...

not true. especially when you reach lower budget stuff, indie games, and simpler games.

that and PC scaling deals with gaps that large just fine.

If a game targets a console released in 2013, it's last gen. I mean it can still be amazing, but it's last gen. Just like how Skyrim and GTA V can still be unmatched in certain areas but be technically running systems designed for 2005 hardware.

For current gen stuff I expect games built specifically for the hardware in the 2020 consoles. This doesn't necessarily mean graphics, but AI, physics, level design, or other stuff that would only be capable with the newer hardware.

Like a current gen game shouldn't even be imaginable on a PS4. Like in the same way you can't envision Mass Effect (2007) on a PS2.

Click to shrink...

lots of next gen stuff will be possible on old gen stuff, but they will stop being released there as people stop buying games on those devices. that's just not how next gen works at all.

i bet you when games start going next gen only, they'll be playable on PC at PS4/One specs.

 

[Precious Tritium]

If they are built with last-gen in mind, they're last gen.

It's not a hard concept to grasp. Games specifically designed with current-gen in mind won't be possible on last-gen consoles, in any capacity.

Cross-gen games on the new consoles are just prettier/better performing last-gen games.

Click to shrink...

So would the Witcher 3 not be a PS4 gen game because it could run on a switch?

Advances in tech are getting much more subtle, the PS5 is 8 times more powerful than a PS4 games don't look 8 times better. Two games build for PS5, Demon's Souls and Ratchet and Clank could easily run on a PS4 with lower graphics and much longer loading times. It's why so much emphasis was put on ssd speeds and new fangled controllers, better audio. Because unless you're looking at 4k screen with hdr, vrr, etc. the advantage in graphics isn't easy to discern.

I'll wait for UE5 games to see what they're like but even that engine is meant to be scalable down to lower hardware.

At some point publishers will drop last gen because of the install base and focus on current gen only and a lot of games will have been possible to still run on a PS4 but simply won't and we'll be none the wiser. I'll die on the hill that if Horizon FW wasn't on PS4 it would be the current gold standard "next gen" game since it's a large graphical upgrade and includes features specifically thought impossible on the PS4 but they somehow made it work.

 

[writhingcorpse897]

Any game released after the current gen console launch that supports the platform is current gen to me.

 

[Pancracio17]

Lol, if next gen only games are the only games that count does that mean Returnal, Plague Tale, Flight Sim, etc. are the GOTG candidates so far?

Eat your heart out Elden Ring.

 

[GamerJM]

I've always done it as the newest gen. Even late PS2/Gamecube/Xbox stuff that had a early 360 version like King Kong, Gun, the Godfather game, and Hitman Blood Money were part of the 360/Wii/PS3 gen in my head.

 

[Dolce]

I've always done it as the newest gen. Even late PS2/Gamecube/Xbox stuff that had a early 360 version like King Kong, Gun, the Godfather game, and Hitman Blood Money were part of the 360/Wii/PS3 gen in my head.

Click to shrink...

those games can be so very different, too.

i mean here is nba 2k6, which was a huge deal at the time.


View: https://youtu.be/GfaLZ87StiI?t=166

 

[Firmus_Anguis]

not true. especially when you reach lower budget stuff, indie games, and simpler games.

that and PC scaling deals with gaps that large just fine.



lots of next gen stuff will be possible on old gen stuff, but they will stop being released there as people stop buying games on those devices. that's just not how next gen works at all.

i bet you when games start going next gen only, they'll be playable on PC at PS4/One specs.

Click to shrink...

Then they aren't built with current-gen in mind... But to be more precise, I'm talking about games that fully utilise the systems.

And again, no, games that push current-gen systems will never be possible on last-gen consoles.

They can be radically different and share the same name, but they won't functionally be the same.

 

[Windu]

All Gen

 

[Dolce]

Then they aren't built with current-gen in mind... But to be more precise, I'm talking about games that fully utilise the systems.

Click to shrink...

I think what you consider next gen is actually just cutting edge. Cutting edge fits the idea of pushing boundaries, but generations are just a way to measure games released on a platform during a certain time. What we get from games that push the X and PS5 aren't going to feel like the gap between PS2 and PS3 because of diminishing returns. The way engines work nowadays, especially, things can be scaled up and down very easily. And with games targeting 4K and 120hz, it makes it much easier to run games at 30hz/1080p.

Next gen isn't a term that only focuses on the top level, but cutting edge is. Something like the Switch was the start of the current (PS5/Series/Switch) generation. And the games are targeting much different hardware there.

 

[Firmus_Anguis]

So would the Witcher 3 not be a PS4 gen game because it could run on a switch?

Advances in tech are getting much more subtle, the PS5 is 8 times more powerful than a PS4 games don't look 8 times better. Two games build for PS5, Demon's Souls and Ratchet and Clank could easily run on a PS4 with lower graphics and much longer loading times. It's why so much emphasis was put on ssd speeds and new fangled controllers, better audio. Because unless you're looking at 4k screen with hdr, vrr, etc. the advantage in graphics isn't easy to discern.

I'll wait for UE5 games to see what they're like but even that engine is meant to be scalable down to lower hardware.

At some point publishers will drop last gen because of the install base and focus on current gen only and a lot of games will have been possible to still run on a PS4 but simply won't and we'll be none the wiser. I'll die on the hill that if Horizon FW wasn't on PS4 it would be the current gold standard "next gen" game since it's a large graphical upgrade and includes features specifically thought impossible on the PS4 but they somehow made it work.

Click to shrink...

Then they wouldn't be the same games.

By that standard, God of War Ragnarok could run on a PS3.

Jesus, cross-gen games + the pandemic have really f*cked this generation up.

HFW on the PS5 is visually quite different from the PS4 version. But it isn't pushing any boundries when it comes to physics, A.I. game deisgn etc., although it's still very impressive.

It's the gameplay advances I'm mostly looking forward to though, and those you can't scale back in any capacity.

You'll 100 % be wrong about this.

 

[Dolce]

Then they wouldn't be the same games.

By that standard, God of War Ragnarok could run on a PS3.

Jesus, cross-gen games + the pandemic have really f*cked this generation up.

HFW on the PS5 is visually quite different from the PS4 version. But it isn't pushing any boundries when it comes to physics, A.I. game deisgn etc., although it's still very impressive.

It's the gameplay advances I'm mostly looking forward to though, and those you can't scale back in any capacity.

You'll 100 % be wrong about this.

Click to shrink...

We're reaching diminishing returns. It's not the pandemic that changed it, it's the fact that it's much harder to make larger increases. Also FWIW, something like GTAIV has better physics than most other games and that was released on the PS3/360.

In terms of gameplay advances, it's much easier to scale that back. Ratchet & Clank totally could have played on the PS4. The "jumps" in gameplay advances from PS2-PS3-PS4 and now PS5 have gotten smaller and smaller. Every prior generation was painting the scenery, the trees, the colors, etc but nowadays we're just focusing on the small details.

The reason "next gen" falls apart with this pushing boundaries argument is then, what do you consider 13 Sentinels? That's a PS4 only game. Since visually it could play on other hardware, is it suddenly not a PS4 game? Are the only games allowed to be "next gen" games with hundred of millions of dollars in their budgets?

 

[GamerJM]

those games can be so very different, too.

i mean here is nba 2k6, which was a huge deal at the time.


View: https://youtu.be/GfaLZ87StiI?t=166

Click to shrink...

This is true, but I specifically listed games that were literally just performance improvements lol.

 

[Firmus_Anguis]

I think what you consider next gen is actually just cutting edge. Cutting edge fits the idea of pushing boundaries, but generations are just a way to measure games released on a platform during a certain time. What we get from games that push the X and PS5 aren't going to feel like the gap between PS2 and PS3 because of diminishing returns. The way engines work nowadays, especially, things can be scaled up and down very easily. And with games targeting 4K and 120hz, it makes it much easier to run games at 30hz/1080p.

Next gen isn't a term that only focuses on the top level, but cutting edge is. Something like the Switch was the start of the current (PS5/Series/Switch) generation. And the games are targeting much different hardware there.

Click to shrink...

There is no scaling up or down for these systems, when fully utilised.

That's basically the entire point of us moving on to a new generation. To move on from technological restraints from aging hardware.

Where do you go after TLOU: Part II? RDR2? GoW? Etc. There's only so much you can do.

Precious Tritium mentioned the Witcher 3... Did you forget about the downgrade because of the underpowered CPU's?

But they had to make those sacrifices, otherwise there'd be no return in investment... The console sales were needed.

Witcher 3 Dev Responds to Graphics Downgrade Concerns

CD Projekt Red said it never intentionally tried to mislead anyone, but admits, "This is the nature of games development."

www.gamespot.com

I can't believe people are being this shortsighted. The new consoles are quite a step up... You will see it sooner rather than later.

AC: Unity also ran like crap, because it was designed with more powerful CPU's in mind.

Performance Analysis: Assassin's Creed Unity

UPDATE 14/11/14 2:52pm: Ubisoft itself now suggests players turn off the internet connection while playing Assassin's C…

www.eurogamer.net

"Technically we're CPU-bound. The GPUs are really powerful, obviously the graphics look pretty good, but it's the CPU [that] has to process the AI, the number of NPCs we have on screen, all these systems running in parallel.

"We were quickly bottlenecked by that and it was a bit frustrating," he continued, "because we thought that this was going to be a ten-fold improvement over everything AI-wise, and we realised it was going to be pretty hard. It's not the number of polygons that affect the frame-rate. We could be running at 100fps if it was just graphics, but because of AI, we're still limited to 30 frames per second."

Click to shrink...

This is such a frustrating conversation to have, because you're just plain wrong.

 

[cw_sasuke]

I consider them just games. The generation talk is really not necessary or useful anymore.

 

[Dolce]

There is no scaling up or down for these systems, when fully utilised.

That's basically the entire point of us moving on to a new generation. To move on from technological restraints from aging hardware.

Where do you go after TLOU: Part II? RDR2? GoW? Etc. There's only so much you can do.

Precious Tritium mentioned the Witcher 3... Did you forget about the downgrade because of the underpowered CPU's?

But they had to make those sacrifices, otherwise there'd be no return in investment... The console sales were needed.

Witcher 3 Dev Responds to Graphics Downgrade Concerns

CD Projekt Red said it never intentionally tried to mislead anyone, but admits, "This is the nature of games development."

www.gamespot.com

I can't believe people are being this shortsighted. The new consoles are quite a step up... You will see it sooner rather than later.

AC: Unity also ran like crap, because it was designed with more powerful CPU's in mind.

Click to shrink...

Again, The Witcher 3 was brought up earlier. It could run on the Switch. Does that mean it was not cutting edge on the PS4/One? What about games that were never going to fully push a system, because they don't have the resources to spend on art budget and tons of coders?

Scaling down is much, much easier nowadays. Between framerate, resolution, etc. Animations can have some frames removed. Physics systems can simplify some calculations. Draw distance can be lowered. etc etc etc. PC games already have to take these things into account! Consoles are even allowing you more and more to tweak settings like a PC game! Heck, we even have stuff like FSR coming in.

And most devs used standard engines these days, which as mentioned with PC, already have these taken into account if needed on PS5/Series. With PC tech already blowing PS5/Series out of the water, games are already going to be scaled down a bit for PS5 and Series.

 

[Deleted member 61531]

My answer isn't represented in the poll, but I consider them "this gen", because I think "this gen" is still PS4/Xbox One. PS5 and Series are next gen until the number of games coming out for those systems outnumbers the number of games coming out for the previous generation.

 

[Captain of Outer Space]

If I'm playing the PS5 version, it's a current gen game. If I'm playing the PS4 version, it's a last-gen game.

 

[slothrop]

I do not attempt to put games into generations. they are games

 

[Brinbe]

guzzied up last gen

 

[bitcloudrzr]

There is no scaling up or down for these systems, when fully utilised.

That's basically the entire point of us moving on to a new generation. To move on from technological restraints from aging hardware.

Where do you go after TLOU: Part II? RDR2? GoW? Etc. There's only so much you can do.

Precious Tritium mentioned the Witcher 3... Did you forget about the downgrade because of the underpowered CPU's?

But they had to make those sacrifices, otherwise there'd be no return in investment... The console sales were needed.

Witcher 3 Dev Responds to Graphics Downgrade Concerns

CD Projekt Red said it never intentionally tried to mislead anyone, but admits, "This is the nature of games development."

www.gamespot.com

I can't believe people are being this shortsighted. The new consoles are quite a step up... You will see it sooner rather than later.

AC: Unity also ran like crap, because it was designed with more powerful CPU's in mind.

Performance Analysis: Assassin's Creed Unity

UPDATE 14/11/14 2:52pm: Ubisoft itself now suggests players turn off the internet connection while playing Assassin's C…

www.eurogamer.net

This is such a frustrating conversation to have, because you're just plain wrong.

Click to shrink...

We already have examples where gameplay differences are apparent like BF 2042's 128p on current gen versus 64p on last, or near instant portaling from Rift Apart.

 

[Pancracio17]

Then they wouldn't be the same games.

By that standard, God of War Ragnarok could run on a PS3.

Jesus, cross-gen games + the pandemic have really f*cked this generation up.

HFW on the PS5 is visually quite different from the PS4 version. But it isn't pushing any boundries when it comes to physics, A.I. game deisgn etc., although it's still very impressive.

It's the gameplay advances I'm mostly looking forward to though, and those you can't scale back in any capacity.

You'll 100 % be wrong about this.

Click to shrink...

You can scale back gameplay components, though its often not easy or it results in cut content. Like settlements missing from No Mans Sky Switch. Suprisingly, games like FIFA also have cross gen gameplay differences.