The programmers are smart - I foresee a lot of good programmers going into either middleware or kickstarter.
The next gen consoles, with their power, are going to bring dynamic animation and procedural 3D environments and numerous innovative areas so that small teams can unshackle themselves from the legions of artists necessary today.
Ah, the dream. I've heard the same thing for the last 15 years.
And AMD APUs are not very powerful beasts either, as far as I know. Not matter how tuned the whole architecture is...
If you look at how the extra power on PC is used you'll see it's the same type of games, prettier. Almost universally. I can't think of a PC game that uses performance to do something significantly new or interesting, or even do some gameplay better.
It's going to be the same this new generation too. What can we so with this extra raw power? Not much more except make the game games, prettier. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo know this, which is why they're all pushing for second screen integration, social features, online connectivity and (especially in MS's case) motion input.
m3mnoch.
90% of paid salaries will be to people who contribute to sound, code, graphics and other things that is shipped.
Publishers have the know how and capital to devise and implement such a strategy. Don't make the mistake to assume that they are just there to take a cut of your profits without putting any value on the table.
I am not sure that developers without publisher pressure is ACTUALLY a good thing. Sometimes you need constraints to do good work.
Compared to the consumer-facing mess that's XBLIG, it's hard to fault them.