Here's What Xbox Series X Will Focus On Above All Else
The games we've seen during this generation — particularly on the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro — have certainly raised the bar for console visuals. That said, these machines still can't stack up against their PC counterparts in at least one area. That's the area Xbox boss Phil Spencer wants to address with the Xbox Series X.
"I think we've reached a point with Xbox One X in the generation where games look amazing, and there's always work we can do to look more amazing. But I want games to feel as amazing as they look," Spencer told the website Stevivor. "We don't have that in today's generation, mainly because the CPU is underpowered relative to the GPU that's in the box in order to reach a feel and frame rate and kind of consistency or variable refresh rate and other things that we want."
Jumbled quote aside, Spencer's position now seems to be this: Games should take a step back from pumping up the visuals and, instead, find a middle ground where the games both look good and also have higher frame rates.
Why is frame rate so important?
What is a frame rate and why should you care about it? Let's discuss.
A frame rate measures the number of frames displayed per second on your TV or monitor. The higher the frame rate, the smoother a game looks and plays. Most console games nowadays — with the exception of some faster-paced titles — tend to be rendered at 30 frames per second. That's fine for more cinematic titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, but not so great for, say, Destiny 2.
Phil Spencer wants 60 frames per second to become the new normal on Xbox Series X.
"As we were looking at the future, the feel of the games was definitely something that we wanted to have more focus on, not just throwing more pixels up on the screen," Spencer said.
It seems like higher frame rates will be something Microsoft pursues as both a developer and a publisher when the Xbox Series X drops this holiday. Will third-party developers jump onboard that train of thought, though? That remains to be seen.