Choice between tech and story

A story cropped up where a developer from Rocksteady Tweeted (and subsequently deleted his account) that the Xbox Series S was holding back this generation. For those not in the know, Rocksteady is about to release Gotham Knights. And the Series S was Microsoft’s attempt to soften the cost blow to users to this generation by providing a lessened-spec, but still improved over last gen consoles, intro to the current gen.

The crux of the argument seems to be around the decision, which is polarising early reviews, that the Rocksteady title is capped at 30fps. Which was not the promise of this generation. We all thought 60fps with high fidelity rendering was going to be the absolute norm. Yet here we are.

One thought I saw was that we are being presented with a choice: 30fps with story and characters, or 60fps with rushed story.

This is not the trade-off the consumer expects. Especially at €70+ for a new title these days. Top-end tech is more accessible than it ever has thanks to the ubiquity of engines that can take advantage of modern hardware.

To even amplify this issue more, the anti-consumer practise of charging an extra €10 for “cross-gen” bundles (I’m looking at you, EA and Activision) is bananas. Considering what they mean is to get from PS4 to PS5… as opposed to sharing the game across PS5 and, say, PC.

These decisions are being driven by big businesses trying to be bigger. They’re not benefitting anyone other than the publisher’s ability to cram a title out the door on time and maximise profits, rather than deliver true value to the fans of the title.

I guess my final point here is to not fall for it. Don’t let publishers do this type of thing. Force the agenda by absolutely not pre-ordering titles. But also, by waiting for titles to go on sale before buying them. Don’t let these practises become the norm, as it’ll only get worse as we enter a new phase with PS5 Pro, etc.