To derail the topic further, my understanding is that console-vs-desktop performance boils down to known hardware, not background tasks.
Every console has exactly the same hardware, and you can write to bare metal if you so desire. Sure the hardware in most desktops is going to be better, but the cost of abstracting code to the point that it doesn't matter what graphics card they have can be more than offset.
That doesn't mean that it will (and every new graphics card that comes out makes that gap bigger). Or that the production house will have devoted the resources necessary to wring every last polygon out of it. But I know there were games made for the PS2 (and I assume this is true for Xbox/Xbox-360/PS3) that did absolutely mind blowing things given the hardware constraints.
-Terry
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"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
Every console has exactly the same hardware, and you can write to bare metal if you so desire. Sure the hardware in most desktops is going to be better, but the cost of abstracting code to the point that it doesn't matter what graphics card they have can be more than offset.
That doesn't mean that it will (and every new graphics card that comes out makes that gap bigger). Or that the production house will have devoted the resources necessary to wring every last polygon out of it. But I know there were games made for the PS2 (and I assume this is true for Xbox/Xbox-360/PS3) that did absolutely mind blowing things given the hardware constraints.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy