While I agree about the graphics taking a good leap forward, this doesn't change the fact that upcoming "next-gen" games like AC will NOT look like the UE5 Demo but instead look like the "kind of shit 'next gen' bed" for both consoles.
MS also confirmed that many, and I really mean many of their first party studios are going to utilize that engine, but I can't blame MS for showing games that will be released in 2020/2021 on the XSX/PS5 as cross-platform games with the graphics that they will come with. You can blame MS all you want, AC and other games releasing at first will indeed look "this-gen" and less "next-gen".
I don't disagree - but gaming sites, "influencers", and other commentators were telling folk that Valhalla was what "next gen" was going to look like. So, clearly, they're wrong - but it's because Microsoft demoed this stuff as their big "next gen" reveal. So, people took Microsoft at their word, believed what we saw was what the Xbox Series X was going to deliver, and believed we needed to seriously lower our expectations. For that, I put the blame on Microsoft for shitting the bed because, frankly, it's
their bed and they
chose to shit in it. They could've shown us anything - anything at all. It is
not Ubisoft's fault Microsoft themselves decided that Ubisoft's multi-gen multi-platform game was the best choice to introduce the world to the power of their "next gen" console. Whether they meant to or not, Microsoft created the expectation that Valhalla was Series X's "next gen" standard. It's Microsoft's fault for thinking a multi-platform multi-gen title could stack up against the absolute best Sony had to show... when that title is
also on Sony's own console. An utterly baffling choice from Microsoft, frankly.
To get real specific: Sony made sure they had something - anything - that offered up a taste of what we can expect from their new console. Sure, this may not be an accurate reflection of Sony's launch titles - no arguments there - but they have provided players
something to help us understand what the long term investment in their console can look like. Now we know where that 10.2-ish TFLOPs is going to go, and what our money is going to buy. And, frankly, it's pretty incredible. And look around - people are
very excited for the PS5 because we can see what makes it "next gen". We get it - PS4 cannot do what we saw today. We've seen "next gen".
On the opposite side of the fence, to introduce the entire world to the incredible raw potential of their turbo-charged new "next gen" console, Microsoft selected... multi-platform and multi-generational third party titles, most of which will be on Xbox One. And now everyone expects Series X games to look like launch window cross-gen titles because that's what Microsoft selected to show. Months of PR, dozens of articles and blog posts, and an
entire hour long presentation, and they
still haven't shown off what their 12 TFLOPs can ultimately deliver. And look around - people are very underwhelmed by Microsoft's new console. That's on them. I have no doubt Series X can deliver visuals on par or better than the demo we saw today. But Microsoft haven't really proven it to anyone.
In short: Microsoft had their chance to get out and
define next gen, and they dropped the ball in a big, big way. Now, Sony's intercepted the ball and defined "next gen" on their own terms. Microsoft let that happen, so it's absolutely on them.