I wasn't really sure if I should post this in Windows or gaming but I thought that direct x is a windows only thing.
I was talking to a friend about directx and I said that we should be moving on to directx 10 and 11 but the current consoles are holding us back. My friends then said that we need directx 9 because directx 11 is just directx 9 with some new technology in it and that directx 9 is still a large market. I think I remember reading that only 4-6% of pc's only support directx 9. I asked him what's so special about directx 9 and why we don't use directx 8 or earlier if what he said was true. He never answered that question.
So my question is is this really why we still have to support direct x 9? or is it because of the xbox 360? I had a look at some games like bf3 and the new hitman game which only have directx 10 and 11 support how does this work if he is correct? I would really like to know more about this subject and I thought this would be a good place to ask it.
Because Dx9 is still a good API. It's possible to create great looking games using Dx9, in fact the DirectX version being higher does not necessarily mean it will be a better looking game. Dx9 supports most of the functions that modern games need. Going from Dx9 to Dx10 will probably double production costs, it takes time to develop more advanced engines, and theres always the task of finding people skilled enough and who know what they're doing to be able to create more advanced engines.
We don't use Dx8 because it's simply outdated, it doesn't support algorithms that modern games need.
Also, that 4-6% of PCs supporting Dx9 is way off... more like 90%