Lettuce be reality, the PS3 (on topic) has been maxed out for sometime. The real question is how much room is left for game engine optimization?

Maxed out is a sweeping term.
What do you mean by Maxed out? It can mean many different things.
Now there is room for optimization for the games in general and the surrounding PS3 hardware.
But to squeeze more polygons, Textures, Shaders, etc wont happen as that is fixed. If you put more of one in a game, you have to take from another do to consoles fixed hardware capabilities. So don't expect to see increased visuals and physics unless some areas are taken away from within the game.

I heard this somewhere before??? oh yes, about 2 years ago when the developers were saying that they have maxed out the PS3's power for games like Crysis 2, uncharted 3, God of war 3 etc...But here were are again asking ourself if the system is maxed out? It may seems that with Two souls and the last of us is the most advance in term of what the ps3 can do have reach its limits. But from what history has shown us with Sony's console is that there are always improvements that they can do with the console. PS2 games that were release one year ago looks like early ps3 games. For me the system is maxed out when it is no longer in use and every body else moves on to the next gen.

Yep.

If we are talking 'overall' graphics, AI, Physics etc then I don't think it is as code can always be improved / tightened. HOWEVER, given how late we are in the cycle I find it hard to believe that Third party studios or even Sony's First party will put a huge amount of pressure on pushing it much further.

I think that as far as pushing the console goes 'The Last of Us' and 'Beyond: Two Souls' are about as far as we will see it pushed as studios will then be looking at developing for the next gen and pushing that.

This is all on the assumption of course that Sony release a 'next gen' console within the next 24 months!

We are in final gen software for the ps3

There is no way that the PS3 is maxed out, Developers are just lazy and haven't come close to pushing it to it's limit

BEYOND
TLOU
NO

Yep it is. We don't see big jumps anymore, we see minor improvements, if at all

With games like the Uncharted series and Killzone can game really look any better?

yeah all of the uncharted games & kz2 + 3 pretty much set the bar with ps3. i recently got a powerful pc and battlefield 3 is really a new game on pc compared to the ps3 version i was use to playing. the half fr on the console version kills the experience imo. And people were right when they said going back to console is hard after playing on a true pc gaming rig. Usually people who say pc still sucks is because there usually playing on a pc that wasn't even really built for gaming. But if your on a budget you cant beat consoles and exclusives of course are worth getting a console for.

I doubt it developers always say they maxed out but someone else comes along proves them wrong, most of them don't even know how to max out.

even its maxed out if games are made at the caliber uncharted id be happy for years to come

the only time my ps3 dropped my jaw with revolutionary jump in visualls was killzone 2 demo. since then even the best of games havnt blown me away. maybe uncharted 2 and 3 did at some stages but not to the extent of what killzone 2 did for me.disagree untill ya hearts content. this is my opinion. yours doesnt count. if i wanted ur opinion id tell u it ;)

There's a lot of game developers on here today!

It's not even about raw power. It's about the lifespan of the console.

PS1 had a long lifespan
PS2 had a long lifespan
PS3 will have a long lifespan

All at least 8 healthy years.

Have any of you even tried playing a PC game on a decent system recently? Consoles are so far behind it's ridiculous. Anti-aliasing (which is a huge graphical enhancement) has been out for years now on PC, almost perfectly refined, yet consoles don't get any of that. Or take into consideration that most of these games are running at horrible resolutions. They upscale the output so you THINK you're playing games in 1080p, but, for example, I doubt Crysis 2 is even running at 720p. Also take into consideration that most modern games are running, at most, at 30 frames per second. Nevermind that PC's are moving on to new graphical enhancements, such as ambient occlusion (which looks amazing, btw). Oh, and don't forget about tessellation.

Console hardware is a joke at this point. Granted maybe they can squeeze out some extra performance by throwing in some optimizations, such as stream loading textures (ever wonder why you get texture pop in?), but they desperately need to move on. I don't understand why these developers are saying the hardware still has more to go. They have to be paid by Sony or something because, seriously, this hardware is crap at this point. DICE knows what they're talking about, considering they have one of the best looking engines out right now.

Stop being ripped off by console BS. You can build a decent PC for like $600, and, bam, you're already in the next-gen. You're getting ripped off paying the same price for PC games, yet getting a tenth of the quality. Granted, PC has it's downfalls, but it still beats the crap out of playing old hardware. If you don't believe me, compare hardware specs.

God of War: Ascension will be the game that maxes out the PS3 just like God of War games always do on Sony systems.

Hell, God of War III is 2 1/2 years old and still looks better than everything else on consoles, it also looks a hell of a lot better than The Last of Us, I can't see how that's impressive during gameplay, nice looking cut-scenes though.

If (It will) God of War: Ascension even looks at least a little bit better than its unmatched predecessor then it'll have the best visuals on consoles.

Boring

Who cares, if it has or hasn't it still going to look past gen. I bet the PS1 wasn't maxed out, doesn't mean I care to see if it can be.

nope, not even close

until i see many 3rd party games coming out at AAA PS3 SONY exclusive level i will say no.

WE JUST WANNA PLAY GAMES. Well, at least its what i wanna do. =)

If it still cranks out good games who cares?

Who writes this shit?

3rd party yes and some of the 1st party says no or maybe.

Its getting to the point where the differences are becoming negligible but that doesn't mean its not still progressing. Again as others have said, even if it hit the wall today what both consoles are capable of is more than sufficient and in many ways surpassed my expectations.

I admit I'm a pc gamer first (especially past couple years) but I still love the console exclusives and although they don't 'look as good' as modern PC games (even most diehard fanboys know it, even if very deep down and only admit it to themselves) that doesn't mean I don't appreciate and am at times surprised what devs do on the console front. Exclusives though always shine much brighter no matter the platform and are what keep people coming back.

Still, there is always room for improvement both from devs this generation and on the hardware front for the next one ;)

I've got a pile of unplayed PS3 games, simply because I don't have as much time to game as I'd like, and because I spend most of my time playing GT5 these days.

There are also a bunch of games announced that I want.

I really wouldn't care if it was maxed out or not, but I think we still have some surprises left. Last Guardian? GT6?

Where Uncharted 3 is peerless and unparalleled is in its ability to defy the technological constraints of current-generation platforms, which raises an interesting question about whether

ideas are the real premium now over and above the technological arms race that has powered current-gen console game development.

We put that point to Naughty Dog's Richard Lemarchand.

"I think that we are rapidly approaching the point where ideas are more important than the technology but I don't think we're quite there yet," he reckons.

"I think we have a ways to go in terms of graphical technology, in terms of more sophisticated skin shaders and shaders for other kinds of material.

"But I do like the implication of your question and, yes, the world really is our oyster. We're only limited by our imaginations."

Good games don't need new hardware. Next gen consoles are way beyond top spec pcs atm don't expect them anytime soon... silly, silly wabbit. :)

It is possible to squeeze out a slightly more powerful graphics engine I believe, however that really just software. The hardware side has not changed at all really in the past 6 yrs. so in some way the ps3 is and/or isn't maxed depending on your own POV.

Now can N4G pls get back to the task of offering some real news and not every Tom, dick and Sally's opinion pls.

Getting tired of this site now

Now that Jim Ryan is gone just need to remove Herman Hulst from his position! And maybe give Shuhei the position he deserved.

This gen hasn't been the best for games, last gen consoles are still out there and now there's been talk of the PS6 and Xbox Two for a year or so. Many games this gen will be ported to next gen and the cycle will continue. The re-release of the Neo Geo AES+, games on cartridge for £70 ($95), gaming is going back in time. Gaming has gone pricing mad with the high cost of games, consoles and controllers. The men and women at the top are clueless.

It’s always interesting to hear behind-the-scenes stories like this, especially involving veterans like Shuhei Yoshida and leadership figures like Jim Ryan. That said, there are usually multiple sides to decisions at that level. It could be less about not “listening” and more about differences in long-term vision for PlayStation. Yoshida played a huge role in shaping the brand, so whatever the reason, his impact is undeniable.

If true, and I'm inclined to believe it is, it goes to show that Sony lost their way when they became more western/didn't respect the PlayStation origin story. Andrew House and Jack Tretton did great work, but they also didn't try to fundamentally change the PlayStation DNA. Ryan oversaw the death of Japan Studio and a live service direction.

I already figured this, good lord imagine if Shuhei took over instead, would've been a platinum era 😩

I miss the first three generations of PlayStation. The way they turned PS3 around, we knew they meant business. We were all worried for a bit there around launch. Eventually from 2008 they started shifting slowly. But since Yoshida was fired, it's never been the same. Still enjoy my PS5 daily. I got a backlog dating back to PS2 lol So I'm fine but new games aren't as appealing anymore.

It seems like we were thrown on to the worst timeline possible where everything is too expensive and the wrong people were put in positions that makes the world a shitty place. We could have had Shu as the head of PS but we got the shitty alternative. Same goes for everyone in power around the world. Doesn’t matter the company or country the majority of us got the shitty picks and the world is declining like never before. I do think PS can come out of this because of their studios, talent and IP but they need someone more in touch with gamers leading things like Shu was. They’re still the best place for console gaming imo but it could be much better than it is especially without the massive live service failures. The rest of the world I have a lot less hope for right now. Hopefully the pendulum swings back towards the good ole days but I’m preparing for the worst.

There goes illuminati distraction story

So now there's certifiable proof that Ryan was in fact "fired", as opposed to when it was first announced that he "retired", in order to save face.

There's another guy who recently "retired" as CEO of another large gaming company, after doing a dismantling job as lead for well over a decade.

seems legit, the business man, fires the one who has ideas to move the business forward.

Jim Ryan is the reason why we are entering year 6 since the PS5 launch and many of us don't feel like the PS5 has gotten started as yet.

I hope going forward, we will see a return to form.