Can Natal Support 5 years of “Maxed Out” Development?
In a recent interview with Official Xbox Magazine, Electronic Arts Senior VP Patrick Soderlund said his company has “maxed out the 360.” As a major developer for the 360 platform, EA hitting the development ceiling could be an issue, particularly considering Microsoft’s 10-year plan for the 360.
The news isn’t all bad for Microsoft. Soderlund said he’s been very impressed with the 360, but that he would have a headache if he were running Sony. It’s unclear exactly what that means, though he’s probably referring to developer support for both platforms. Plenty of folks have mentioned the ass-chapping support coming from Sony. Soderlund told OXM that EA has yet to max out the PS3.
If the 360 is already getting maxed by developers, what’s in store for the next 5 years? Obviously we have Natal to look forward to in 2010, but can motion control keep the console alive into 2015? Obviously Natal has the potential to win a non-gaming consumer base, but what about the Halo demographic? What of the competitive gamers? Will they be looking at the same graphics 5 years from now? If so, is that all bad?
Several genres have relied heavily on graphical improvements to keep people interested (FPS comes immediately to mind). Graphical stasis could give developers a chance to focus more energy on gameplay, which is a great thing for gamers in any genre.