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Ubisoft: Watch Dogs "the same game" on current- and next-gen

Publisher says number of characters on-screen cut down for PS3, Xbox 360 versions, though game is fundamentally the same across generations.

451 Comments

The current-generation and next-generation versions of Ubisoft's upcoming open-world game Watch Dogs will be "the same game," according to a new blog post from the company.

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Ubisoft explained that the game's new Disrupt Engine is "flexible" enough to allow those who pick up the game on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to "still get an amazing experience."

"We knew we would have next-gen hardware coming out before we ship," senior producer Dominic Guay said. "But we started off knowing we wanted to support PS3 and Xbox 360."

Though both versions of the game will be fundamentally "the same," Guay said current-generation players will see fewer characters on-screen at any given time.

"On current-gen systems we may need to cut down the number of people on the street a little, but it's still the same game," Guay said. "You don’t get the same sense of the crowd, but it allows us to scale certain bits and keep the same experience."

Animation director Colin Graham expanded on the differences between the two versions, saying though the Xbox One and PS4 iterations will be the "real HD experience," players on current-generation machines won't find the game to be lacking in any way.

"Players are going to know they aren't getting a bad experience if they play Watch Dogs for the current-gen, but the next-gen is the real HD experience. You can zoom in another level. You can have better shaders, better simulation on the wind or the water, more particles, better atmospherics… Basically anything you can get with more computing power."

"So have no fear if you plan on playing Watch Dogs on the PS3 or 360," Ubisoft concluded. "There are no trimmed-down mechanics to make you feel as though you are missing out on the core experience."

Watch Dogs launches for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and PC on November 19. The Xbox One and PS4 versions will release sometime this holiday. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Watch Dogs.

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suren1998

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Edited By suren1998

il have to see it to believe it

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El_Galant

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Edited By El_Galant

I will get this one on the PS4 bundle for sure now...

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nirmalbalaji

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Atleast don't port the current-gen game to PC. PC is superior to all the platforms including next-gen consoles. You just can't simple scale down anything like you are doing on PS3 and Xbox 360.

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Mo60

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Edited By Mo60

What about low specs PCs it can handle the game or what ?
why they did not speak about this point precisely also ?

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NightOfInsomnia

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How's the sega genesis version going to look?

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Messenger360p

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So now were back to the slightly better graphics argument.

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19James89

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@Messenger360p That would depend if you cared about graphics. I don't so have no problem opting for the Wii U version of the game.

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deactivated-5ca532262d747

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next gen needs to get more creative with its games weapons ps4 should be able to handle any weapon or gadget you can think of

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thatsphresh

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Edited By thatsphresh

This sort of annoys me, because I want to buy next gen and be amazed at the graphics. Fair enough at the beginning, but they should step their game up.

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lonleyknight7

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does it mean that current gen and next gen are the same ? , is all confusing ...


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lonewolf315

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@lonleyknight7 He's saying the gameplay is identical. But the graphics are going to be noticeably better on next gen.

Makes sense, really. I wouldn't have expected the PS2 to be putting out the graphical power of the PS3. Though near the end PS2 did have some impressive looking games.

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edgarp

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Edited By edgarp

so is this gameplay footage on ps3 or ps4?? im confused which console are they running with all of these gameplay footages

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baszzer

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So that explains the strange feeling I got after watching Watch Dog's latest gameplay videos. That feeling where I thought I was watching an older generation title. After which I replayed the first ever demo and said: "wierd, this looks much better than the latest ones." Glad, the cross-generation explanation sums this up. My heart is finally at peace.

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Lykanthropie

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Edited By Lykanthropie

this game looks pretty ugly and very boring, just a mix of other games, i hope these always the same games will stop some day.

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Joshuavil

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Yeah I had enough of these open world games where you can control everything that's electronic in the whole city. I'm being sarcastic by the way.

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19James89

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Edited By 19James89

@Lykanthropie It's just Ubisoft's version of GTA. The same way Sleeping Dogs is Square Enix's version and Saints Row is Volition's version. That won't stop it from being a good game though.

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hairdie

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Edited By hairdie

its not about belief its more about them telling me its so . there are obviously three catagories of people 1.cant afford . 2. can afford but too scared because of all the scarey stories of how hard it all is. 3. those that make the jump and never look back.

you do actually know i never said people cant afford a gaming pc infact ive always championed pc gaming and id say for 600 pounds its possible to get a decent gaming pc its more to do with if you dare or not seeing how scary people think it is

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flyingdutchdog3

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@hairdie not scary at all ... I just prefer gaming on consoles and so do many other people. I grew up on PC gaming from DOS on up but when the PS2 and first Xbox arrived I never looked back.

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hairdie

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@flyingdutchdog3 @hairdie thats actually rather said .the dog has returned to its vommit . just kidding but the though still remains . you are missing the joys off windows 7. the ps3 was indeed better than pc on launch and there were some sweet exclusives but give a moments thought to owning both console and pc and youll never go back to just one or the other its gaming nivana at its best

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hairdie

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@flyingdutchdog3 @hairdie ok

but i dont get how you can use same controller with better graphics and smoother framerates and cleaner image .it just doesnt add up. im on the verge of not believing you or at least feel you have a crap pc

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flyingdutchdog3

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@hairdie I don't look at it that way at all .... I do game once in a while on PC and Windows 7 so I'm very familiar with gaming on PC. However, it just doesn't feel the same and I don't know for what reason it doesn't seem as much fun. Overall this last gen I played mostly on the 360 preferring it over the PS3.

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Born_Lucky

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Edited By Born_Lucky

On current gen, "You don't get the same sense of the crowd".

More than anything else, that is why I'm looking forward to the PS4. The problem with current gen games is that cities, and open worlds feel empty and desolate, because they don't have the computing power to generate lots of characters.

This is going to change all that. I'm actually excited for gaming again.
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amazon09

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@Born_Lucky

try prototype 2 on PS3, you have no idea what you are talking about.

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lonewolf315

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Edited By lonewolf315

@amazon09 @Born_Lucky The crowds in Prototype are a little different than Watch Dogs. The crowds in Prototype are cannon fodder. Their only job is to flee in terror from you or the other guys and get in the way as you massacre your way through the game.

In Watch Dogs and other similar open world games the people on the streets are designed to behave like normal people. They'll have banter with one another, answer their cellphone, possibly even acknowledge your presence in a way that isn't just fleeing in terror.

It takes a bit more power to run an AI like that. The more complex the AI the more processor power it takes from the hardware.

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rfalstad

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@Born_Lucky

It's not just the hardware, it's the developers that put the time into making the worlds more complex and realistic, but hell ya with better hardware they will be able to pull off some really cool graphics. I'm pretty sure PC is still going to be able to pull off higher resolutions + multiple monitors so the PC crowd still has that, while the console crowd has simplicity - which can be a good thing also.

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SatanicLV

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Next Gen consoles offcorse will be better. Will preorder PS4 i think with all its upcoming games ! Assassins Creed: Black Flag will bee the first for me.

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Ragewarrior_01

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I would assume the PS4 multiplayer will be more stable than PS3

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shadowhunter0

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well it doesn't really matter to me since I will be getting it on ps4

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VenkmanPHD

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....

First they say it's the same game.

Then they proceed to mention about 8 different ways in which the PS4 version will be better...

Then they again state that customers will get the same experience....




just ADMIT that the next gen will be better. Good lord.

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rfalstad

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@VenkmanPHD LOL same game, slightly different graphics.

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frostbite2user

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@VenkmanPHD its like bf3 on consoles vs pc only not so much because lacking 40 extra players kind of messes with the experience of teamwork


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rfalstad

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@VenkmanPHD ULTRA setting on Crysis2 + BF3... big difference. Seems like I die from 1 shot kills mostly in BF3 :( I don't even get to fight back?!

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Nikolajj

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@VenkmanPHD Gamesplay can still be the same. Not every one gets higt on graphics:)

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Breyant

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Next gen consoles will be more so about higher resolutions, better frame-rates and loading times. Games are already almost at their peak when it comes to photo-realism. Not much further they can go than filming actual actors.

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Nikolajj

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@Breyant Easy to think so, until you have seen it. People have been thinking that for years :)

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lonewolf315

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@Nikolajj @Breyant I remember starting up Duck Hunt on the NES for the first time when I was a kid and thinking that there was no way graphics could get any better than that.

Clearly I was wrong but I was also 6 years old.

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Breyant

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@Nikolajj lol you are right!

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Ragewarrior_01

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@Breyant @Nikolajj

Lets give it a few years to see what a true exclusive tital like Halo 6 or Gran Turismo 7

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coco_234

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helooooo crazy boys and losers

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ramthegamer

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as if we don't know that differences will be in those aspects!!!! no need for the article in the first place!!!

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SiLenTWarrior29

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hhmmm... now Im thinking I gotta preorder a game only on ps4 and not cross gen.

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frylock1987

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Something tells me this game is going to get old after a few days of play like most of the Assassin Creed titles.

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Armyboy5

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@frylock1987 Hah, you mentioned the exact game that doesn't get old for me

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Syphen_bast

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Edited By Syphen_bast
Have you had your daily dose

@coco_234 Victoms: Have you had your daily dose today?

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RedLegZeff

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I can't say I'm wild about this statement. "we limited the game so it could run on old gen". "oh but it's got all the bells and whistles for next gen, even though it's the same game" THAT IS A GIANT LOAD!!!! We've been experiencing the enhanced versions of console games for pc for years. It's limited. Sure the graphics are better, but you get a much better experience for games with enhanced engines specifically for pc. Battlefield 4 they altered the engine a bit for pc so it would look a lot better. If you keep basically the same game, it's still really limited compared to games designed for pc and the same would be true of next gen. Sick of them trying to have their cake and eat it too.

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stan_hg

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@RedLegZeff Isnt that true for every console game when compared to PC counterpart ? In this case PS4/XBox1 are in the PCs role

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RedLegZeff

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@stan_hg @RedLegZeff Yeah, that's what I'm complaining about. The guys who get the game on the ps4/xboxone will feel what we on pc's have felt for the last gen. A game limited by a system other then the one they're playing on. I was hoping that we'd be getting pc games that were only limited by the ps4/xboxone now. Which is likely very little limitation or none at all for at least a little while. Oh well.

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Minasodrom

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Edited By Minasodrom

i dont get what there is to complain. that is how it is going to be in the near future isnt it?

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