When will the next generation of gaming arrive?

For the first time in gaming history, the generational hardware is all over the place. Mid-entry consoles have broken the pattern which we are so used to and it has led to an unpredictable future in gaming. The PS4 and Xbox One have both seen an unexpected upgrade release in the form of the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. But where does this leave the current hardware generation?

As we know consoles are the deciding factor in a generation advancement, as we have seen in the past games releasing across platforms that are ported to PC to create some sort of parity between platforms. It is not until a new console generation comes in that we really see the jump into a new generation of gaming across the board.

So we can boost our resolution up to 4K on PC and the current consoles, but when and where will we see the jump into better visual fidelity across the board and not just a resolution boost? Well, it is hard to nail down just where the industry is going but let’s take a look at each platform in detail.

PlayStation

As we know Sony released their PS4 Pro late last year in an attempt to bring a 4K gaming to the masses at an affordable price. Sure what we got was anything between 1440p and 4K depending on the game, but the quality of the games, especially first party titles have seen a vast improvement on the Pro thanks to the boost in visuals and the added HDR effect.

Sony is kind of on the borderline of maxing out their current hardware as we have seen this in the latest releases such as Horizon Zero Dawn which runs at an upscaled 4K using checkerboard rendering. Sure their games have been nothing but gorgeous, but we will soon reach a point where the next step needs to be taken to further push this in a new direction.

There is an obvious truth to the matter that the PS4 Pro cannot keep up with the Xbox One X. Its sheer power and improvement on all internal hardware is a clear step above the Pro. Saying that, however, Sony is determined to keep at it by woking on one thing that Microsoft does not have, a killer first party lineup.

With the lack of a “Xbox One X” killer in terms of hardware, Sony has its lineup to fall back on and it will, in the end, be the deciding factor between the two.

Now Sony’s next hardware could be around the corner as in the next couple of months. We can see the PS4 Pro’s success and Sony’s library of games lasting until mid next year, but then what next? Spider-Man could be the last big release on the PS4 as we move into a new generation.

The PS4 will be 5 years old next year which is just one year shy of the time it took for Sony to announce the PS3 after the PS2’s success. With Microsoft’s Xbox One X out in November, Sony’s “next generation” leap could be the push they need to secure the next few years.

It all boils down “why buy the Xbox One X when Sony’s PS5 is coming out?”. That what I predict Sony has up their sleeves and they are waiting for the right moment to announce the move to the next gen.

Microsoft

The Xbox One X is a very powerful device of which is a budget 4K machine for the masses. Its ability to output native 4K in gaming will be the upper hand it has over Sony’s PS4 Pro which often is not able to get to 4K as we hoped for. Saying that, however, Microsoft’s late release of the Xbox One X could mean that they will hold off moving into the next generation for some time now.

You cannot expect a gamer to fork out $499 and then a new console is released on the market. The other sure sign is that the Xbox One X is actually Microsoft’s next-gen console. Sure it is not as powerful as we expect a next gen console to be, but seen as Microsoft are working so hard on the Xbox Play Anywhere feature, it could mean that the company will make sure that they support the original Xbox One in any way shape and form in the future by massively downgrading titles to support it.

Anthem is a perfect example of this. As gorgeous as it looks it could be very different across all the Xbox One platforms, this includes PC. If the game will run at 4K at that visual fidelity at release is still to be seen, but if that is the case then the original Xbox One will hardly get that quality at 1080p.

There is no doubt that Microsoft has invested quite a lot into the Xbox One X, and its boost in power is a welcomed addition to a console that has resolution issue from the start across the board. This could mean that Microsoft intends on sticking with it for a few years now until they move onto something new.

We know that they do have plans for VR and this was meant to be on the Xbox One X, but so far there is no sign of happening anytime soon. They could be saving this for their next powerhouse. If anything, Microsoft’s next generation strategy is probably the most concerning out of the lot as they have kind of moved into it already, but it will not be enough to keep up with the demand as we move into the future of gaming. What happens next?

PC Gaming

Like I mentioned before, PC gaming has always been held back by consoles and the future will not change that. Until we get games running on the PS5, we will not get them on PC. The PC industry just has to sit idly by and max out all their settings to try and get their “next-gen” experience on their current hardware.

It is the sad truth though, but hopefully, as Sony announces the PS5 and Microsoft’s Xbox One X demands better visual fidelity, games will move into a new generation by themselves and PC will be able to benefit from this in more ways than just a higher resolution and advanced shaders.

But what about the hardware? Well, that will depend again on the demand for it. We saw the next generation of GFX cards release over the past few months and they are future proof to an extent where your GTX 1080 might keep you going for the first few years of the next generation of gaming, but then you might need to find yourself an upgrade when they are available.

PC hardware is always moving in a new direction, and the next generation of visuals and VR will demand even more of this hardware. Again, this is held back by where the current state of gaming is at the time.

Now read: 5 games we can’t wait to play in July