Hmm. This is... probably true, now that I think about it. The parts that aren't about HDR, that is; I don't know much about the parts that are.
I think my personal experiences boil down to:
a) HDR in its current state sounds like a joke, but I've never experienced it. I've also never experienced 120Hz. The interesting difference: the first isn't something I naturally thought I wanted, the second is.
a) HDR in its current state sounds like a joke, but I've never experienced it. I've also never experienced 120Hz. The interesting difference: the first isn't something I naturally thought I wanted, the second is.
I do believe it's a huge component of getting closer to reality in graphics. But, like DoF effects for example, it sounds like a thing I'd turn off in current games because of poor implementation. Perhaps I'm arguing that there's an uncanny valley in 3D graphics.
b) The PC's ability to convert "higher" hardware performance into better user experience is garbage. Getting that "higher" performance is financially and fundamentally inefficient. And it's hitting a ceiling, while optimization is catching up. This is a perfect storm.
All of the exciting developments in gaming hardware are about "lesser" platforms that can finally over good experiences. What's missing is high-end PC offering a transformative future for them to aspire to. Maybe DXR is it.
But... I dunno. Personally, if I imagine why today's stuff will look dated in a photorealistic future... it's basic stuff like polygon count and texture resolution, for me, not postprocessing. That may be an unpopular opinion.
Aside: the stuff I want improved is fundamentally hard to develop. Realistic hair and cloth textures, say. Better lighting, if the hardware comes, will—say it with me, Jensen—"just work." So, I suppose it's low-hanging fruit in that way.
But in a broad sense, I think what the iPad does against PCs in CPU performance, it does against gaming PCs too: it shows how much of a joke this all is in terms of optimization.
We like to imagine handing Apple's silicon team a 400W platform TDP or putting the iMac Pro hardware in an Xbox not because they'll get to game like we can... but because we can't do anything interesting with what we've got.
tl;dr: Even without HDR, the ostensible point of this thread, "the dwindling technical superiority of PC gaming" really hits home.
(But I'll probably always use it, just like I'll probably always use Android: because I'm a control freak.)
(But I'll probably always use it, just like I'll probably always use Android: because I'm a control freak.)
