AMD: Get ready for Avatar-quality graphics on the next Xbox

Ahead of official reports from Microsoft, AMD, the graphics chip provider behind the Xbox 360's ATI chips and upcoming Wii U game consoles reportedly told the Official Xbox Magazine that the Xbox 360's successor will be capable of pumping out Avatar-quality games. So 3D games?


With this little blip on the next-gen Xbox 360 rumor train, it's important to tread gently. While there aren't really that many options for Microsoft to invest in graphic chips (really only AMD and Nvidia), it's logical that AMD would already spill the beans on the next Xbox's graphical prowess, as building highly detailed digital worlds takes years to perfect.


To create the world of Pandora in Avatar, James Cameron and his production teams had to use super fancy schmancy motion capture suits that could recognize an actor's facial expressions such as the slight movements in the eye, mouth, etc. For next-gen games, it's a shoe-in that motion-cap will be a must (games like L.A. Noire have already kicked things up a notch).
Even without AMD's slip, it's to be expected that the next Xbox will have in-game graphics that are leaps and bounds ahead of what is offered on consoles today. Touting a console's jaw-dropping rendering capabilities is nothing new. In the years leading up to the PS3's launch, Sony promised photorealistic games that would blur the line between virtual worlds and reality. What gamers got was nothing remotely close to photorealism (Gran Turismo 5 does come really close!) with big games like Final Fantasy XIII a graphical letdown.


Lusher graphics like Epic's updated Unreal Engine 3 demo are practically a given, but next-gen needs to be about more than just the looks.
In fact, in the same breath, AMD's Neal Robinson says that the next Xbox will sport smarter A.I. and physics. For example, in a game like Grand Theft Auto that's populated with dozens of NPCs at once, each character will apparently have individual personalities. I'm no developer, but isn't programming how intelligent an NPC is completely up to the developers?


I recall Peter Molyneux talking up big claims about Fable's ever-changing world back during the original Xbox launch some 10 years ago and I've yet to see ultra-smart A.I. in an Xbox 360 or PS3 game that is capable of automated cognition.


In the same thought, Avatar-quality visuals would also significantly raise the bar (and budgets) of gaming as a whole. With Sony busy pushing 3D gaming as one of its secret weapons, the Xbox 360's unofficial 3D support is starting to look a wee bit lacking. Avatar helped push the limits of 3D. Perhaps the next Xbox is going to have 3D games with Cameron-sized budgets from the start?