The transition from one generation of consoles to another is marked by changes that are more or less noticeable. Since the advent of the HD era, innovations seem less obvious and games less innovative. This is a criticism that has been levelled at the PS5 (as well as the Xbox Series).
However, Nicolas Doucet, the boss of Team Asobi (Astro Bot), does not entirely share this opinion. While he acknowledges that the visuals have only seen minor improvements since the PS4, he is delighted with other new features such as the SSD and even the DualSense controller.
“When you compare the graphics of a PS4 game at the end of its life cycle with a PS5 game at the beginning of its cycle, it’s fair to say that, to the untrained eye, it’s difficult to see the difference. But very early on [with the PS5], we had the DualSense prototypes, with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. We tried to understand what was different about this type of trigger, so that we could simulate traction, crunching, or crushing… We tested all of that.”
Once you’ve gone through [this process], you can appreciate the changes. There has been progress, but it may be less obvious than when we switched to HD graphics. You only need to look at the screen for a few seconds to understand. With the controller, you have to hold it in your hands to feel it.
But I think the PS5, between the DualSense and the SSD, has really brought something special. With the SSD… I’m thinking of games like Souls-like, where you die a lot. And when you die, you have to wait a long time before you can try again. With the SSD, it becomes very, very fast. So in terms of gaming enjoyment, it’s really improved.”
Nicolas Doucet also pointed out that his team is currently focusing solely on the PS5 and that he prefers consoles to PCs to avoid compatibility issues depending on the setting.
