Epic's Fergusson: Xbox 360 'Approaching Upper End' Of Visual Potential 2

Author: by Christian Nutt, Staff

Talking to Gamasutra, Gears Of War 2 franchise senior producer Rod Fergusson has been discussing the Xbox 360's technological potential, suggesting that we're "certainly approaching the upper end" of what developers can do with it -- though adding that "there's room to grow" for 2010-shipping titles. When asked about the Xbox 360's lifespan, as part of an extended Gamasutra interview, and specifically quizzed on "...where you think we are, technologically, in terms of the potential" of the Xbox 360 in this hardware generation, Fergusson commented: "I mean, I'm not the technical guy... all I know is that with the two to three more years of optimization that we've had, we're much further along than I think, three years ago, we thought we were going to get. So I think we're certainly approaching the upper end of it, as far as what developers are able to do with it, but just looking at all the demos we saw today -- ours and others -- it's clear that all the games just keep improving, and keep pushing that bar. I think it's just a matter of, you know, it's a slow cycle; you only get a kick at it every couple years, and so it takes a while for people to see that progress. There will be games in development that won't ship until 2010, and I'm sure they'll look killer, just because, again, they'll have more time with it, and learn from mistakes and optimizations of others. So, I don't know; I think we're getting up there, but I still think there's room to grow." The comments from Fergusson came as part of an in-depth Gamasutra interview on Gears Of War 2 that discuss the execution of an attemped "New, Better, More" philosophy for the sequel, the meaning of the title in the broader context, and the trials of managing a franchise that has grown well beyond games into other media like comics, novels, and a potential film.