I thought about this for a second. When you really think about it, Direct X 9 is still considered rather intensive.
I mean, you look at an Xbox 360, a $399 Radeon 9800 Pro back in 2003 can barely keep up with half the graphics of the entire game screen. ATI boasted a better 9700 Pro. Likewise, we'll probably see someone else talking about DX11 after DX10 comes out. How history repeats itself.
Think about Battlefield 2 and Oblivion, the graphics quality (and stunning sound FX) are quite impressive, with or without the highest end hardware. They both are running on DX9. As hard as it already is to even program a DX# enigma, DX10 will require much more work; developing teams are still trying to squeeze as much juice out of what DX9 can possibly offer, according to what technology and talent can offer.
Take a look at what Square-Enix (Squaresoft at the time), over 30 million bucks put into the game. The graphics at the time were considered superbly-spectucular (still is, personally). Many claimed the PS2 wouldn't sport such nice graphics because of its early release, and that it was inferior to the Xbox and Game Cube. But Squaresoft at the time did it, and they did it well.
Even if DX10 graphics cards come out, you will still have to play the waiting game before the higher potential of DX10 technology is truly realized.
Today, we are truly in glorious times, still more good things to come. May we turn up the volume and here the trance music ripple through the window sills. Direct X shall live on forever.
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DirectX SDK - August 2006
The August 2006 DirectX SDK download contains the tools needed to build cutting-edge, media-rich, interactive applications. It includes run-times, headers and libraries, samples, documentation, utilities, and support for C++ and Managed Code development. NOTE: This DirectX SDK contains Direct3D 10 components that are not usable until the Windows Vista RC1 release. Do not install this SDK in Windows Vista for releases prior to RC1.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx/sdk/
Westlake Village (CA) - Microsoft today posted the latest version of the DirectX software development kit - which comes with a pre-release of Direct3D 10. The download, weighing in at a hefty 326 MByte, also includes a beta version of Microsoft's Windows Game Explorer that allows developers to add parental controls and auto-updating features to their games.
The first DirectX 10 components arrive just in time for the upcoming second Beta of Windows Vista, which Microsoft promised to integrate significant enhancements not only on in terms of feature set, but also in driver and multimedia support. The new operating system, due at the end of 2006, will require a DirectX 9 compatible graphics cards to run all of its eye-candy, but is rumored to also make extensive use of DirectX 10 features.
http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/12/13/directx-10-preview/
it's on it's way. it's not secret to developers and insiders who know where to look. but for people who don't care anything, they can just keep doing what they are doing now, because all Microsoft wants from them is to see this: "DX10"
=the many corps around the globe need you to buy their final products, that's why. just keep spending money on video games and hardware components that support them. blah blah blah thank you.
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