It's time once again for a new generation of consoles! The current generation will have been a good 8 years long (which is about 3 years longer than average) and was deeply satisfying. Such stellar graphics and immersive storytelling in addition to being catered by state-of-the-art matchmaking and online features; we truly are completely spoiled compared to the days when $50 bought you five minutes of frustration with an impossibly difficult game. I found myself dreaming just how much better things could get in the next generation. And yet somehow people (read: Microsoft) seem to be trying their hardest to piss us off!
Rather than cover E3, I decided to write out my thoughts on this coming generation. Maybe it'll make me feel better to talk it out.
First up, Nintendo:
These guys have an entire year head start on the new generation of consoles. That would be a great boon if they didn't put out a complete disaster. If you have a Wii U and are happy with it, that's good. But there are some huge problems with this thing, so maybe you should mentally prepare yourself for the possibility that Nintendo could fold this console. They won't go away, no no, but none of the decisions they have made here are paying off.
This system was made so that Nintendo would be able to deliver HD graphics and triple-A titles from third party developers. Already these are two things that it will not be able to offer. Third party developers are giving up on this thing faster than they did the original Wii. And the graphics only shape up compared to the XBox 360 and PS3. That means that when the XBox One and PS4 come out, this console will have last gen graphics. And this is a lot worse than the Wii. I can at least say that the Wii did look a little better than the XBox and PS2. Topping things off, I've read that the OS and online features still aren't that great. Nothing as bad as the friend codes from the Wii, and hopefully matchmaking is less laggy than before. But no reviews point these out as being solid.
I haven't been happy with Nintendo's consoles since the illustrious SNES. Boy, that thing was swell. I can see that the N64 had strong points to it, but I (and third party developers) preferred the PS1. The Virtual Boy was a total failure and the GameCube couldn't touch the PS2, so I think this is the end for Nintendo as a console. Too many mistakes, my old friend. We don't hate you, though. In fact, seeing as how strong the Wii's sales were, it's clear we still want to like you, buddy! Hell, I bought one. I've mostly used it as a dust gatherer but I still own one. And your handhelds are still strong... although you should watch out for those smart phones digging into your territory. But my point is: we'd all welcome you as a third party developer. I promise we won't treat you as poorly as you treated your third parties. We'll be nice!
Next up, Microsoft:
Ah, the XBox One. Not sure if anyone's said this yet, but this is the dumbest name for a console that Microsoft has come up with. Maybe the next one will be the XBox RoX or something. It'll wear sunglasses and crap. Anyway, I don't hide that the XBox 360 is my preferred way of gaming. So my bias is to hope for the best on this guy, but MAN are they trying hard to lose my vote. If you haven't heard yet, Microsoft made it official that this system will require constant online connection to play. Worse yet, it has some kind of system that limits your ability to get games used, borrowed, or rented.
The thing is, for many XBox fans (myself included) the "always on" feature will make almost no difference. When my XBox can't connect to Live- which is very infrequent and usually my crappy ISP's fault- I don't want to play my games anyway. I want to know my game's are up-to-date and keeping proper track of all the odds and ends. Paranoia about it recording your illicit perversions is just that: paranoia. I bet MS is well aware of how perverted people are, I doubt they want to know more about it. Joking aside, I doubt that it will be stealing your privacy in any way. At least, not any more than a website that makes ad's based on your location and cookies. Being forced to pay for the games I play is unfortunate, but not terrible. It will mean I will play less games than now. But there are people who buy every game new anyway. I know because those used games you buy at GameStop were new at some point! So it's possible this won't be as unbearable as people think. It won't be as good, of course, but it won't be horrible. The biggest hit taken will be Microsoft themselves. Do they really think this will do anything besides hurt their numbers? I mean, it will REALLY hurt their sales.
Moving on from the obvious stuff, what else is there? Really, I do mean that question. They're forcing a Kinect on everyone. Which is a cool trinket but still useless to me. Which is another headache for XBox sales because it directly affects its price along with delaying its release in some places in order for work to be complete on voice recognition localization (hey, while you're "making sure it works right for everyone" can you double check to make sure there aren't any red rings this time around?). All I know is that everything is "better" or "richer" or "deeper" but I have no clue how. And a lot of the features I see them promoting aren't related to gaming. With all this DRM, streaming videos, and social crap going into this generation it seems like they're just selling us a freaking PC.
Lastly, Sony:
It's $100 cheaper than the XBox One, doesn't require you to be "always on," and doesn't have any inbred coding to combat used/borrowed/rented games. Because of this, many are declaring this to be the clear winner. Here's my thing, though: is that it? Great, you guys aren't being jerks like Microsoft. Although Sony has said that publishers will be allowed to make their own policies on DRM (also, Sony still uses online passes in their games- like in God of War: Ascension and Last of Us- so they are simply more clever at dealing with used/borrowed/rented games) But my question is: will PS4 suck less than the PS3? Who knows! If it doesn't, then it LOSES. And that means all three of the major players will have disappointments on the market. What a bleak generation this will be, huh?
I know a lot of people are happy with their PS3's. I tend to attribute this to either stubbornness or ignorance. Especially if said PS3 owner has never played the Uncharted series. Seriously. If you're a PS3 fan and you haven't played those games, don't even talk to me. Heh, sorry that was harsh. I don't mean that. It's just.... why do you have a PS3!? Ugh. But I suppose that's Sony's market: people who aren't super in-the-know or critical thinkers. See, I loved both the PS1 and PS2. The original XBox was cute, but it couldn't compete with Sony's beefy exclusives. So, if anything, I came into this generation regarding Sony as the leader in the industry. It was only after playing both systems that I discovered how inferior the PS3 is. And looking at how incredibly stupid the PS4 controller is, I'm very wary that this new system will still feature just as many missteps as this one. Like how clunky the OS is on PS3 (slow and unflowing menus, trophy system that takes forever to load and isn't as apparent as MS's point system, saving games takes forever, updating takes forever, friends list not as clean, etc). That's something that could easily happen again. I mean, they put a screen in their controller based on what? Because Nintendo did it? Because of iPhones and iPads? And look how tiny that screen IS! Without going off on a rant, there's one fundamental problem with this design really sums it all up: you are NEVER supposed to look at your controller when playing. Although I guess Playstation players do it a lot because the face buttons have confusing shapes on them instead of letters coupled with primary colors.
The last thing I need to mention is that Sony is Japanese. This is kind of a problem since the majority of games out there come from "western" developers. The reason being- to over-simplify it- is that "eastern" developers are behind the times. And I have a hard time seeing a system coming from a region that's behind as a system that's going to be top notch. For example: Epic Games. They're American and they made the XBox exclusive series "Gears of War." Know what else they make? Unreal Engine. Do you have any idea HOW MANY games come out that use the Unreal Engine? Microsoft and these guys are pretty close. That's a nice advantage to have when designing your console, don't ya think?
Conclusion:
I am entirely satisfied with this console generation. I hope that feeling doesn't become nostalgia, but it seems impossible that SOMEONE won't come away with something awesome for this generation. I'm going to hope Microsoft isn't as bad as it sounds. Sony can still win it, especially in sales, but I'm not betting on their system. Not until I see the results, anyway. There could actually be a changing of the guard, though....
...because there are some new challengers on the field!
Valve has plans for a console. Those guys have their heads in the game, just look at Steam! And hey, maybe they'll be smart asses and finally release Half Life 3 as an exclusive. Wakka wakka!
Nvidia is also making... a thing. It can play current gen games, but is a hand held or something. Check it out.
