Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox
10.01.2024 - 00:16 / gamesradar.com
One question has gotten the retro gaming fandom up in a tizzy, and now the community is trying to decide what the biggest generational leap in gaming history really was.
The question was posed by Obsolete Sony, a Twitter account that specializes in waxing nostalgic about old Sony electronics. This account asked "Can we all agree that the upgrade from the PS2 to the PS3 was the most significant leap in gaming history?" Obviously, the answer is no - both because Twitter can never agree on anything and because suggesting that the leap from PS2 to PS3 was so grand is bordering on nonsense.
Jumping from PS2 to PS3 did give us a lot of things, like easy access to online play, downloadable games, and (marginally) high-definition graphics. But as Digital Foundry's John Linneman notes, there was a big cost: "We went from 60 FPS being the norm to it becoming a rarity. Even 30 FPS solid was uncommon that gen." If you're concerned with performance, the PS3 was a step back. Never mind the fact that the PS3 had a substantially smaller library than its predecessor, and despite its powerful for the time hardware, many multiplatform games ran much better on the competing Xbox 360.
That leaves us with a big question: what actually was the most significant leap in gaming history? Never mind the five PlayStation generations, what about console gens as a whole? If you scroll through the responses to that initial tweet, there are a lot of votes for the move from 16-bit consoles like the SNES and Genesis/Mega Drive into the 3D era, and a fair few arguments that gaming peaked in the PS2 era. (Given the graphical leap from the PS1 to the PS2, that one's pretty strong.)
But there's a dark horse candidate that I've found particularly intriguing: the leap from GBA to PSP. Yes, we're talking about handhelds from two different manufacturers, but these platforms released just four years apart from each other. The GBA offered lovely 2D graphics roughly on par with the SNES, but those visuals were nearly a decade out of date even at the time. The PSP, in contrast, was nearly on par with contemporary consoles.
Not even close. That goes to the GBA to PSP. You will never see THAT type of gap ever again.People genuinely didn't consider handhelds having similar capabilities to consoles. The PSP evened out that gap. https://t.co/vWZNAEHekzJanuary 6, 2024
Game Boy Advance to PSP in the space of four years, and there will never be anything on that level again https://t.co/XpQnlvQEG2January 5, 2024
Perhaps the largest leap in visuals I can remember - going from GBA to PSP was absolutely insane at the time. Ridge Racers on PSP felt like jumping two generations ahead! https://t.co/L433iOD9L6 pic.twitter.com/i8G42cdXbOJanuary 5, 2024
I don't
Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox
This article is part of our Get into Games special , offering students insight on life in the games industry and advice on how to get into the business
Good news Suits fans, more details about the anticipated Californian-based spin-off have been revealed, confirming the show will follow a young female Harvard law alum, rather reminiscent of a past original character.
One of the rooms in the Hyrcanian Forest area of contains a statue puzzle that can be quite difficult to solve. A riddle provides some clues to arranging three figures in certain directions for a rare reward. Those who interpret this clue correctly can unlock an item used to upgrade Sargon's weapons for their continuing journey throughout the Citadel.
Star Wars fans got into a heated argument over perceived changes to the nature of the Jedi and the Force in newer films and shows compared to the original trilogy.
Barely containing his inner nerd as he lifted the curtain on the gameplay reveal for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Todd Howard explains that he's had almost everything about the game, down to granular plot points, planned out for years.
It was a staple game on tablets about ten years ago. We remember everyone playing Plants Vs Zombies back then, and, along with its sequel and various spinoffs, it's still an immensely popular mobile game today.
Bethesda has announced The Elder Scrolls: Castles, a new mobile experience from the team behind Fallout Shelter.
I'm a Heavy main in The Finals, its biggest class' massive health pool making up for my horrendous aim. Coupled with my trusty RPG, all that extra HP means that I love seeing a lobby full of Light and Medium characters - as long as I don't get too close, most of them will struggle to kill me in a straight gunfight. But as The Finals' meta has settled down, I've seen fewer and fewer Lights - and I fear that the new The Finals update might have all-but killed the class for now.
A recent Reddit post has gone viral on the BG3 subreddit proving that most players haven’t found this crucial note about the Absolute, revealing a huge twist in the narrative.
Asmodee Canada and Fantasy Flight Games sent over a copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game prior to the holiday break, and my father-in-law and I quickly played through all the scenarios in the box using the pre-established decks suggested in the Learn to Play guide.
The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin has confirmed that no Bill and Frank spin-off is on the way. Rumors of a prequel series featuring the beloved characters began circling when Nick Offerman made some interesting comments at the Creative Emmys.