Battlefield 3 producers Fredrik Löving and Alexander Gröndal fielded fan questions via a live Q&A session online today. Among the many interesting questions asked, some fans wanted to know their opinions on the current generation of consoles and their thoughts on future next-gen consoles.
If there is anyone to ask about pushing the limits of the current-gen of consoles, it's DICE. Battlefield 3, of course, pushed the envelope featuring stunning graphics thanks to the new Frostbite 2.0 engine. The updated Frostbite engine realistically portrays the destruction of buildings and scenery to a greater extent than previous versions, but could the Battlefield 3 developers really get the most from the engine using this generation of consoles? The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 must have held them back, right?
As it turns out, the only thing that held them back was time. When asked by a fan if they "think that the current generation consoles is done, that we need a new one. Or you people can do a lot with Xbox 360 and PS3 yet?" producer Alexander Gröndal gave a surprising answer you may not expect.
In a loose translation from the Live Q&A Alexander Gröndal responded, "When it comes to technical stuff, there's tons of stuff to do on the existing consoles. Tons of stuff we want to do, but didn't have time to do. I still think there's room for a lot of improvements on these consoles. I'm not worried about their performance right now."
Alexander continued, "It doesn't make sense to change right now. Right now we see more potential in the current generation."
Asked to "add more details" and if they were "limited by the hardware", Alexander Gröndal explained, "We're not limited. There's potential by doing smart things. I can't give you more details on that specifically. There's all these small things and its very technical."
I'm sure many aren't pleased with DICE backing the current gen over the Xbox 720 or PlayStation 4, but if they say there is more potential on this current-gen then I believe them. There is no sense in rushing out a new console just to have one. Still, no matter how impressive the graphics or gameplay turns out, there will always be someone clamoring for a newer system.
