It's no secret that the Xbox 360 and PS3 are approaching the end of their life cycles, now with the better part of a decade under their belts. The most outspoken PC fans have been saying that consoles have been left in the dust for years, some since the consoles first landed on store shelves. But now it seems that even the most modest expectations for Battlefield 3's visual fidelity on consoles will be lagging sorely behind the PC. During a recent briefing in which DICE explained how the different visual settings for Battlefield 3 would change the overall performance, the absolute lowest settings available for the PC version were said to be similar to the console version of the games.

There are likely few console fans who aren't aware of the fact that the years-old hardware powering the Xbox 360 and PS3 are frozen in time compared to the ever-advancing computer components, so there's little chance of this starting a panic. After all, it's not as if the console versions will be any worse a game, with the same amount of content available and DICE already bragging about "massive" plans for DLC.

Pretty pictures aren't everything, but it's never nice to know that a better looking or crisper version of the game you've been looking forward to for a year exists. And while the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 3 allows players to install Hi-Res texture packs, this recent description of just how large a discrepancy there will be between the standard console version and the standard PC version is likely to bring about renewed cries for a new generation of home consoles.

When speaking at GeForce Lan 6 this past week, DICE's Johan Andersson gave a presentation on what PC fans could expect from Battlefield 3. The various graphics settings were shown, with a few bullet-points on how the increase or decrease in performance would be noticeable. While the 'Ultra' visual settings will be the version PC fans will be killing for, there's a good chance that only the extremely-hardcore will have the hardware necessary. But even if they need to stick to 'High' settings, they'll be far better off than console players.

Battlefield 3 PC Graphics Options

That's right, while DICE has maintained that console fans can look forward to a game that will still impress visually, it still will only be able to compete with the PC version's "lowest possible" settings. Now that may be saying more about the incredible power of the Frostbite 2 engine on the PC, but it's likely going to upset a few console fans who are already more than willing to spend money on a new generation of system.

And even though there are rumors circling of an imminent Xbox 720 announcement, and games already being developed for the next generation, the jump forward can't come soon enough.

What's your take on this discrepancy, console owners? Are you disappointed to see that the console version won't match up to even the 'Medium' settings of the PC? Or are you confident that DICE will still deliver one of the best looking games to date on Xbox 360?

Battlefield 3 will be released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 25, 2011.

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Source: Gameranx