Battlefield 3: DICE talks next Xbox, PlayStation 4

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 24 October, 2011

PC version what to expect from next-gen consoles.

The PC version of first-person shooter Battlefield 3 is what gamers can expect from the next-generation of consoles, developer DICE has said.

Amid rumours of a 2013 launch for the next Xbox and reports that publishers such as EA have next-gen kits "on desks", Swedish developer DICE has gone on record to say it already knows what to expect from Microsoft and Sony's next-generation efforts.

"If anyone would build a new console today, that would be the result," Battlefield 3 executive producer Patrick Bach told Eurogamer in reference to the PC version of the game.

"At least. Probably more, because it's classic PC technology. We know everything about multi-threading now. We know everything about multi-graphics card solutions now. If someone built a console where the specs are that or more, we have the technology to do something. We could port the game to that console tomorrow."

DICE built Battlefield 3 using its new Frostbite 2 engine, designed to future proof the studio and work with the next Xbox and PlayStation.

Bach said the next-generation is a case of more horsepower - in particular multiple processors and graphics cards in a single unit.

"There's nothing we know about now that the new consoles would do differently, rather do more," Bach explained. "More processors. Bigger memory pools. Everything we have and more.

"The big step is to go from single processor to multi-processor. Single graphics card to multi-graphics card. To multi-memory. Do you do multiple memory pools or one memory pool? Since we can handle both consoles now, we control that as well. We have all the streaming systems. We have whatever we might need for the future.

"I would be surprised if there were something we couldn't do with the next-generation of consoles."

As part of an investigation into the next-generation of consoles, Crysis 2 developer Crytek UK told Eurogamer that visuals achieved using the DirectX 11 graphical benchmark were an appropriate indication of what the next Xbox and PlayStation will be capable of.

But with this extra horsepower stuffed inside new consoles, won't they be expensive?

Not so, according to Bach.

"Remember when the 360 and PS3 came out they weren't as expensive as an expensive PC," he explained. "If you optimise things and say, instead of building 10,000 of these graphics cards we want 50 million of these graphics cards, it's like, wait a minute, we can push the price down to zero. Then you get a cheaper console. So if you take this PC technology and just mass produce it for consoles you will get a much lower price."

For now, gamers hungry for the next Xbox and PlayStation will have to make do with the PC version of the game, out in the UK alongside the console versions on Friday.

"There's some stuff in here that's truly next-gen," Bach insisted. "A lot of tech stuff, Frostbite 2. Rendering, the lighting, destruction, to me I'm mesmerised no one else has been trying to do it.

"I'm looking forward to see if other games can start to do some of the things we're doing. We have some really cool stuff."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (32) Latest comment 7 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ectotropic #1 7 months ago

    Post deleted at 09:51:56 12-12-2011

  • TheNonk #2 7 months ago

    Bring it on. I'm just hoping for better backwards compatibility this time round!

  • TheNonk #3 7 months ago

    One nice addition to the next gen would be cloud-based trial periods, say a three day window for £5 to see if you want to go out and buy the retail version with better graphics than a compressed, streamed video can give a la On Live.

  • digoutyoursoul #4 7 months ago

    really enjoyed my 360 and PS3 but the thought of new console excites me. better RAM, proper backwards compatibility and a good GPU upgrade is the least i expect. :)

  • Darren #5 7 months ago

    New forum but sadly the same old shit when it comes to spamming! :(

    EG, you should make your sign up process a little more tedious and use Catchupa (or whatever it's called) so these spamming idiots are less inclined to post on here.

  • Darren #6 7 months ago

    I see we can no longer block users either so their posts do not appear in the Comments section. :(

  • Jonny5Alive7 #7 7 months ago

    Have to say I'm not overly bothered about backwards compatibility. If I get a new console I want to play new fancy games on them, not old ones.

  • DozyKipper #8 7 months ago

    I just hope the next-gen consoles do get a decent amount of RAM. If PCs are already up to 2GB VRAM and 8GB main RAM, the consoles aren't going to stand a chance if they come with 1GB VRAM and 2GB main RAM.

  • joelstinton #9 7 months ago

    Playing 64 Player Conquest seems very much appealing after watching it on youtube. I hope that both Dice and Activision would call it a day after BF3/MW3 and totally concentrate on producing something for launch window next gen (Aside from patching and tweaking those two). Theres no real need to have more Military shooters from these two this gen.

  • jablonski #10 7 months ago

    My God, how many Battlefield 3 items on page?

  • bf #11 7 months ago

    So in two years we can expect consoles to do what a PC can do today? I know it's not as simple as that but to me that is what it sounds like. On the other hand I'd be perfectly happy with a 100% backwards compatible and quiet xbox 720 that can perform like a high-end PC today.

  • spellenberg #12 7 months ago

    I really don't need a new console yet. I could happily wait until 2014.

  • Xardan #13 7 months ago

    @jablonski I know, its getting silly now. There are 4 articles about BF3 on the right side too. .ttoo'Popular Now' section too.

  • irrelevanthuman #14 7 months ago

    Thats good because I doubt I will be playing Battlefield 3 until the next gen is with us, or a gaming pc lands in my lap. I'm sure the current console versions will be very playable and fun but I'm holding on for the ultimate experience.

  • BritishBlue1 #15 7 months ago

    "I just hope the next-gen consoles do get a decent amount of RAM. If PCs are already up to 2GB VRAM and 8GB main RAM, the consoles aren't going to stand a chance if they come with 1GB VRAM and 2GB main RAM."

    @DozyKipper
    If I could plus you more, I would. I could not agree more. Memory is so cheap these days there's no excuse for stinginess.

  • Cjail #16 7 months ago

    My opinion!
    As a gamer I am living one of the best winters since I play videogames: first Gears of War 3 then Dark Souls, last week Arkham City and this one Battlefield 3...then Uncharted 3 & Skyrim.

    The next gen is surely full of promises but today life for a PS3/Xbox owner is good...incredibly good!
    Edited by Cjail at 24/10/11 @ 13:10

  • Beano #17 7 months ago

    "The PC version of first-person shooter Battlefield 3 is what gamers can expect from the next-generation of consoles, developer DICE has said."

    I hope not - that would be extremely unambitious :eek:
    Edited by Beano at 24/10/11 @ 13:10

  • mattk84 #18 7 months ago

    For a console to appeal to the mainstream they have to maintain a price point of approx £300 at launch. In order to do that you can't go high-end and have to compromise on its innards so a console in 2 yrs time mimicking a 2011 high-end pc sounds about right.

  • Beano #19 7 months ago

    @Cjail Not to forget Skyward Sword :)

  • makeamazing #20 7 months ago

    I would guess there are a lot of articles about BF3, because errm its a massive release of a game, and this is its launch week... do you not think?

  • vizzini #21 7 months ago

    Dice : "If anyone would build a new console today, that would be the result,"
    EG: "The PC version of first-person shooter Battlefield 3 is what gamers can expect from the next-generation of consoles, developer DICE has said."

    No they didn't. The WiiU might be that, and even the next Xbox, but why would Sony want to aggressively move everyone away from 1080p and Blu-ray to higher resolutions, when it was one of the main reasons a low priced Arcade 360 with CRT, did well against the PS3 at the start of this generation.

    The Cell Broadband Engine was designed for large cluster photon/ray tracing. So why would an array of very cheap, very small, very power efficient Cell BE processors not be used in PS4 for tracing at 720p/1080p/3D?

    Rasterization is a diminishing return now for visuals, and possibly the reason so many old PS2 gamers haven't rushed to buy a new PC, 360 or PS3 this generation. When PS3 prices go sub £100 I can see this generation lasting for ages.

  • Hindle #22 7 months ago

    Post deleted at 23:04:43 04-04-2012

  • Cjail #23 7 months ago

    @Beano
    Dang! I forgot about it: shame on me :(
    Also I believe that more than any other game Skyward Sword will prove that having super graphic is not enough to achieve true greatness: a lesson that was learned only by few developers, even in this generation.
    Edited by Cjail at 24/10/11 @ 13:36

  • JumpinJackFlash #24 7 months ago

    I'm in no hurry for next gen consoles as there is so many games i've still to play this gen. This gen could go on for another 3 years, easy.

    Gamers expecting a revolution when the PS4/Nextbox are relesed are just kidding themselves on. The PS4/Nextbox will be nothing more than an extension of the PS3/360.

    Also, don't go expecting a "beast" of a system either as Sony and MS want to reduce the costs of manufacturing their next gen systems.

    playstation-4-cheaper-to-make-than-ps3-sony

    Gamers expecting 8/16 GB of RAM and SLI 580 GTX level of GPU for the next gen systems is just ridiculous. Wake up!

  • arcam #25 7 months ago

    Gamers expecting 8/16 GB of RAM and SLI 580 GTX level of GPU for the next gen systems is just ridiculous. Wake up!

    This is exactly what I'm expecting (well, not 16GB RAM but this level of performance hardware). Wii and Kinect have been a success, but they have not diminished people's appetites for jaw-dropping graphics :)

  • weebl #26 7 months ago

    Colour me pretty disappointed if all we can expect is this.

  • Liquidoodle #27 7 months ago

    Don't forget the PhysX Bach! God knows everyone needs it, they just may not be aware ;)

    Imagine Battlefield with PhysX based destruction and particles, it just adds that extra level of awesome :p http://www.geforce.com/News/articles/exclusive-physx-in-batman-arkham-city-a-first-look

  • snowdog #28 7 months ago

    @BritishBlue1 PC memory is cheap, high performance embedded RAM is a different kettle of fish altogether. If you're expecting more than 1Gb of VRAM and 1Gb of system RAM next gen you're going to be very disappointed. You might not even get as much as 1Gb of system RAM tbh.

  • SirRodSpode #29 7 months ago

    I'll be very surprised if we see backwards compatibility in the next gen. PS3 had PS2 compatibility and then it was removed to make the console cheaper.

    Xbox 360 is based on the IBM PowerPC architecture which is notorious for its heat output. Given the power and heat efficiency of Intel's chips, and the fact that case sizes need to be kept sensible, that's what I'd put my money on.

    If you want backwards compatibility, game on a PC. That's the deal with consoles - cheaper to buy than a PC but at the end of its life it's game over for your software library.

  • informed1 #30 7 months ago

    Next gen console wont need the have sli GTX 580 and masses of ram to perform as well as a similar pc because they have less overheads. (They wont have to run Windows in the background)

  • metatron197924 #31 7 months ago

    sure the quality of the next consoles will do justice for battlefield 3 but the ultimate question that remains unaswered at what resolution and what frame rate the consoles will run battlefield 3 style graphics.if this generation not be 1080p they are shitheads and thives.

  • metatron197924 #32 7 months ago

    @Hindle with a little defference 1080p 60fps