# PS3′s Aging Hardware is Limiting Call of Duty Says Sledgehammer CEO



## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

*PS3′s Aging Hardware is Limiting Call of Duty Says Sledgehammer CEO*








The _Call of Duty_ series may be the best selling franchise in recent times, but plenty of gamers reckon that it hasn’t changed much over the past few releases. Many are quick to say that it’s the fault of the developer, but it appears that the developer is blaming the hardware.

Glen Shofield, CEO of Sledgehammer Games, had a lot to say to GameTrailers about the development of the upcoming _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3_, and among them were his concerns of current-generation console hardware limiting its potential. During a face-to-face interview this week, Glen stated:_We have so many ideas that don’t get into the game. _​He continued:_Some things are just too big for the consoles that we have right now. We always want to throw in one more tank in there or 10 more different types of enemies. There’s a lot more that we can add but we have a long way to go._​The PlayStation 3 released nearly five years ago, and in that time technology has improved substantially. In terms of graphics processing alone, the PS3 is using architecture that is now four series behind what is globally available on the market for a reasonable price. Sony argues that a successor to the PS3 won’t be revealed until the PS3′s power has been fully utilized, but several developers are already having to make compromises to release a product that has stable frame-rate. , even Sony recently surrendered after a four-year battle of trying to implement Cross Game Chat, ditching the idea and throwing it onto the upcoming Vita instead. Whether it be the HD DVD format of the Xbox 360, or the 256mb of system memory on the PS3, current consoles are becoming more of a challenge as time goes on and development teams have larger visions for their product.

Would a new PlayStation console really be the correct move right now, and more specifically, would it allow the _Call of Duty_ series to evolve?

Source: PSLS


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## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Its rumoured MS will reveal their next console in next years E3. If that is the case then a new xbox could be here within 18 months to 2 years. I cant see how the current PS3 can stand upto that for any length of time, but if it can and the next Sony console came in 5 years time (based on 10 year projections), it would nicely stagger the Sony and MS consoles. That IMO would lead to a console battle that would be great for consumers, and nicely stagger the consoles for people wanting to buy both.


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## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

I could see MS showing us the it's next console at E3 next year, Nintendo is already ahead of the pack with the Wii U. Whether or not Sony stays the course will be dependent on the capabilities of the next Xbox, some where there's a group of guys and gals in lab coats working on the PS4. What I find funny about this article is that Glenn Shofield say's that the current gen's hardware is limiting COD's potential and my question is what potential? IMO the COD series has always been Wash, Rinse, and Repeat.


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## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Your not wrong there. They simply want to do the same thing with more effects and on a bigger scale. Thats why hardware is limiting it, not because they cant improve the series, but because they want to keep the formula, but cant improve on the game as it is in any way other than increase the scale and effects. This is why they need the next console, so they can re-release a next in series, but take stuff out and replace it with new graphics and bigger settings. Then the next one on from that will put all the stuff back in that they took out, but in stages.

I don think CoD will stop till sales start to fall, but Ive got over CoD a long time ago now so arent that bothered anyway. I kept on buying it for the Zombie modes, but even they bug me now. CoD3 was may favourite and since then its never quite been as much fun online. Most story modes in games bore me anyway so thats not any kind of hold over me for any game, never mind CoD.


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## I=V/R (May 25, 2011)

If the ps3's hardware is limiting the scale or graphics, then how do you explain Bad Company 2? Their maps are 4-8 times larger, have multiple major moving vehicles, completely destructible environments, and still better graphics than Black Ops. What's more is that Battlefield 3 is improving even further, it will utilize more realistic destruction, even bigger maps, a refined physics engine, and still no complaints from their developers!


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## sub_junkie (Apr 14, 2009)

I=V/R said:


> If the ps3's hardware is limiting the scale or graphics, then how do you explain Bad Company 2? Their maps are 4-8 times larger, have multiple major moving vehicles, completely destructible environments, and still better graphics than Black Ops. What's more is that Battlefield 3 is improving even further, it will utilize more realistic destruction, even bigger maps, a refined physics engine, and still no complaints from their developers!


I'll have to second that. If the console's firmware were holding games back so bad, more than likely the consoles would crash as soon as a destructible building or three were taken down, along with 18 people (I think) battling and blowing up objectives.


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## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

Dan I have to respectfully disagree, as both I=VR and Sub Junkie has pointed out the effects and scale of many games are far superior to COD and it seems one game studio has it in spades......Naughty Dog. Sledgehammer should just admit they will crank out the same old stuff we expect from the COD series and expect gamers to buy it, so far this has worked.


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## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Scale amounts to more than just draw distances. Where consoles fall short over PC's is processing power and RAM. The net result of that can be seen most clearly in genres like RTS games, where the calculations involved get too much for the computer to handle whilst maintaining steady smooth frame rates expected on consoles. A lot of that kind of processing is likely involved in CoD with all the stat tracking and perks systems, and in the story mode where they throw endless bots at you. If they want to make the story modes better but keep them how they are, then they need to improve AI, and allow for better animation variance between the numbers of characters in the area of action. All that takes more processing power and this is where consoles tend to see their limits above all else.

I can see the angle in terms of CoD, and of course games like Battlefield show things can be made bigger, but that would likely mean they would have to make CoD different to how it is, and they dont want to do that.


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