As you might expect from a fan of FromSoftware and of the Dark Souls series, I am really looking forward to the upcoming Elden Ring and have been keeping my eye on any news articles that mention the game. An article caught my eye recently where Hidetaka Miyazaki stated that his graphics team were feeling pressure due to the recent release of the Demon’s Souls remake. However, the statement that I really took away from the article was where he said “Graphical fidelity is not something we put as the top priority”. This sentence felt like a breath of fresh air in a games industry obsessed with graphics and made me think about the fact that, in my opinion, this aspect is easily the most overrated when it comes to video games.
Now don’t get me wrong. I really do love to see games with beautiful graphics. However, I’ve come to realise that games with a non-realistic art-style are generally more appealing to me and hold up better over time. Additionally, a problem that many AAA game developers and publishers are struggling with are the rising costs of developing video games. Video game budgets, in the AAA gaming industry, have skyrocketed and this is due to a combination of higher graphic fidelity along with an increase in marketing costs.
