"This is always a difficult question because I know people are looking for the one, two or three tech that only show up on a certain platform or is only made possible on a certain platform," Spencer said. "And I think it's just a matter of degrees. It has been for a while."
There were clearer differences to the sort of games that could be created by new hardware in previous generational shifts, Spencer said, pointing to the jump from 2D games to 3D games as an obvious difference for players.
"I think we're at a point now -- with immersion, with the tools we have and the compute capability -- that the deltas will be smaller from a visual impact, or that feature X was never possible before and now it is. And that might sound depressing to some, but what I would say is the advantage side of what I'm seeing now is really the immersive nature of the content that's getting created."
Spencer said that the benefits will be felt most clearly in the mitigation of long load times and low or inconsistent frame rates that he believes hurt player immersion.
"We're able to get to almost lifelike graphics today, even on current gen in certain instances," Spencer said. "But when you take that and you mix it with a very high frame rate, solid frame rate, very little latency in input, and the ability for game storytellers to really push the emotion and the story they're trying to get through their game, through the screen, through the controller and into you? That is something I'm feeling in the games now that is a dramatic step up.
"I don't know that it goes from X to Y in terms of feature capability, but definitely in terms of the feeling of immersion in the content that's being created right now, I think we're going to come to a really great future where stories will have even more feeling and impact."
There were clearer differences to the sort of games that could be created by new hardware in previous generational shifts, Spencer said, pointing to the jump from 2D games to 3D games as an obvious difference for players.
"I think we're at a point now -- with immersion, with the tools we have and the compute capability -- that the deltas will be smaller from a visual impact, or that feature X was never possible before and now it is. And that might sound depressing to some, but what I would say is the advantage side of what I'm seeing now is really the immersive nature of the content that's getting created."
Spencer said that the benefits will be felt most clearly in the mitigation of long load times and low or inconsistent frame rates that he believes hurt player immersion.
"We're able to get to almost lifelike graphics today, even on current gen in certain instances," Spencer said. "But when you take that and you mix it with a very high frame rate, solid frame rate, very little latency in input, and the ability for game storytellers to really push the emotion and the story they're trying to get through their game, through the screen, through the controller and into you? That is something I'm feeling in the games now that is a dramatic step up.
"I don't know that it goes from X to Y in terms of feature capability, but definitely in terms of the feeling of immersion in the content that's being created right now, I think we're going to come to a really great future where stories will have even more feeling and impact."
