EA Studio Boss Talks About How Next-Gen Consoles "Feel"

We know a lot more about the Xbox Series X and the PS5 now than we did a few months ago, but while we’ve seen a lot of next-gen game trailers and hardware specs, there’s still a lot we don’t know – such as the price, obviously, but also about what kind of third-party next-gen games we can expect to see, and what some of the bigger publishers think of this new generation.

Well, as it turns out, that was one of the things that EA studios boss Laura Miele spoke about with Gamesindustry.biz, and while I can’t say we learned much in the way of concrete facts, we certainly got a better idea of what to expect from next-gen technology.

"Historically, console transitions have been punctuated by increased graphic fidelity and that hasn't changed -- this next generation of games will certainly take a visual leap -- but we are also taking advantage of the extra memory and CPU cycles to bring a lot more detail to life.”

"As an example, in Madden we will be using the NFL's next gen stats so every athlete in the game will play how they do in real life, with the data being updated in real-time. Fans in the stadium will be unique people responding to the action on the field. Deferred rendering allows us to use colors and lights in more dynamic ways... and dynamic weather systems will impact the athletes, their equipment, and the playing field. Games are going to feel different, better and more visceral."

Some aspects of “feeling” next-gen are obvious – for example, Sony made a big deal of their tactile new “DualSense” controller that takes old rumble technology to another level, pun very much intended. But adding those extra details to a game takes more than just technology – it also takes manpower. And one has to hope that squeezing next-gen “feelings” into a game doesn’t result in more crunch…