PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 aren’t holding developers back, reckons Pete Hines, marketing vice president for Bethesda.
Speaking to MCV, Hines stated his belief that new storytelling, technical and visual heights can still be achieved with the current crop of home consoles.
"The developers are trying to hit a moving technical target, because the platforms are being built. It moves and iterates along the way. And introducing something like that to games that are in development is always a bit tricky. And that is obviously an element of risk,” he said.
"The second point is that your install base always starts at zero. Then it comes out and suddenly a certain number of people buy it but it won’t be the same number as the current gen. So you have divided your audience.”
"It’s then a case of: Are we just making it for the next gen? Or next gen and current gen? And how many people from the current gen that I’m targeting have moved over to the next gen? It does complicate things a little bit. Obviously the changes they are going to make technologically, in terms of the things we will be able to do, are exciting. But it comes at a price."
Lastly, Hines remained uncertain as to whether or not Nintendo’s Wii U would fit into the company’s future plans, after the firm neglected to support its predecessor, the original Wii.
“Our approach has been to put our games out on all of the platforms that will support them. So far the Wii hasn’t fitted into that. Whether Wii U does down the road is TBD.”
Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation consoles – dubbed Orbis and Durango, respectively – have yet to be officially revealed, though are hotly tipped to be released in late 2013/early 2014. A formal announcement is expected to drop at E3 next summer.