DICE’s Rendering Architect, Johan Andersson, has revealed that we’ll get some Frostbite 2 powered games in 2013 that will require a 64-bit OS. This basically means that we’ll get games that will require more than 2GB of RAM. Fair enough, we’ve been stuck in our 32-bit OS for quite sometime. The most interesting thing about Andersson’s tweeted message though – and what others failed to realize – is that this could very well be a hint for next-generation consoles. Could the next Playstation and Xbox hit stores next year? DICE seems to believe so.
As we all know, most developers are currently investing on multi-platform titles. And as most of the times, the PC platform is getting a console port or a similar version that is developed in parallel. What’s obvious here, is that there won’t be a multiplatform title that will require more than 2GB in this generation of games. Hell, even Crysis runs fine on a 32-Bit OS PC. A 64-Bit OS requirement could possibly mean massive environments that would require a lot of RAM or lots of objects on-screen that could not be handled by current generation consoles.
This is crucial here. It’s a game changing thing/feature and has nothing to do with simply adding higher quality textures or shaders to a current-generation game. Higher quality graphics would stress the vRam and not your PC’s RAM. Quite simple, a multi-platform game that is developed with X360/PS3 consoles in mind will not have such requirements. In other words, a game requiring more than 2GB of RAM would be either a PC exclusive game, or a multiplatform title for next-generation platforms.
And this is precisely what Andersson could be hinting. Let’s not forget that Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4 is targetted for next-generation platforms and will be unveiled in E3, therefore there are already hints for next-generation consoles. Both Sony and Microsoft deny those E3 rumors (of them unveiling their next-generation consoles) but if we assume that they do announce them, they’d obviously want to unleash them at around the third quarter of 2013. And if they do, they’d want to have some impressive first-generation games. And both Frostbite 2 and Unreal Engine 4 (as well as CryEngine 3) are appropriate for such a task.
Here is another reason to look forward to this year’s E3. Let’s see what the companies have in store for us!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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