14 DAY TRIAL // The big announcement that Nvidia is making at Gamescom 2012 will only be revealed tomorrow, but I met the company representatives today and discovered that they have the power and the ambition to fundamentally remake PC gaming, in particular, and maybe even the entire industry.
Nvidia is in the business of making better graphics and then persuading players that they need them to better enjoy the next Call of Duty or Borderlands and the company is still very good at creating processors and adding new features, like better PhysX or the much talked about TXAA.
This latest take on anti-aliasing uses moderate power to deliver a more film-like effect for titles such as the upcoming Hawken and others, making them easier to connect to and appreciate.
And it’s this feature which underscores how much Nvidia is now focused on delivering not just polygons but feelings to the player, creating particle effects and lightning that can affect how they feel about a character or a game situation.
The Nvidia representative emphasized that the uncanny valley effect is forcing developers to be more innovative when it comes to art style and atmosphere and this is what new graphics cards and chips will focus on, emotion and quality in gaming not just performance.
The company is also seeing a big increase in notebook-based gaming, the fastest growing segment of the PC market, and plans to support it with more hardware that delivers better performance while limiting the power it uses and the discharged heat.
The public relations representative would not comment on possible collaboration with Microsoft or Sony on next-generation consoles, but if the PC continues to grow as it is currently doing, supported by companies like Nvidia, a future where proprietary gaming solution are no longer a necessity can certainly be envisioned.