Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Generation Why
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Games: With buzz building around “inevitable” new console announcements
(February 20th, Sony?) I started thinking about it and came to a
realization:
For the first time in over thirty years of playing games,
I'm honestly not excited about or even looking forward to the next generation
of hardware.
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| Not ready for new consoles? Whaaaaa? |
Just thinking that gave me pause for a moment... As a gamer
to the core, it’s a bizarre, jarring way to feel. How can this be? After all, looking
back it seems as though no matter what system I had, I was constantly eager for
the next thing.
The Atari 2600 kept me busy for ages, but I knew that
couldn't be all there was. The NES was fantastic, but I could conceive of
better. The SNES and Genesis? Fantastic stuff, but the seams were showing. The
PS1 was striking out in an all-new direction and things got interesting, but they also got a hell of a lot uglier. And now that we've had the 360 and
PS3… well, what's next?
Real talk: I'm fairly satisfied with the consoles we have
now.
Tech-heads may disagree, but in general, the graphics we're
seeing these days are more than good enough. We've got decent online
connectivity (for those of us who are actually online) and I've got an
over-stuffed backlog of titles for 360, PS3 and Wii. If I stopped buying games
this instant, I wouldn't run out of things to play for at least another two or
three years.
Years.
So, for the sake of argument, let's say that both Microsoft
and Sony announce new consoles this year. What would their big hooks be?
There will eventually be solid games to play (especially as
support dries up for the older machines) but when comparing graphics between
the current generation and the next, the improvement might be visible, but I
doubt it will be stunning enough to drive consumers to the stores.
Going further, I don't think many developers are getting the most out of what they've already got. Rather than trying to get
shinier skin or real-time eyelashes on in-game characters, I'd rather see
people focusing on better designs, more innovative thinking, and newer types of
content that are entirely possible on the current machines.
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| Not high-tech, but I bet you can't find a copy in stores. |
For example, look at Fire Emblem: Awakening. I've happily
poured twenty hours into it and will likely put in another twenty. The graphics
are simple and there's nothing cutting-edge about it -- it's just a
smartly-designed piece of software. The same goes for Serious Sam DD XXL on
XBLA. It looks like it could run on a graphing calculator, but there are a lot
of clever ideas and the gameplay delivers. The list just goes on and on.
Monster Hunter, Deadly Premonition, Trials HD. Hell, I’ve never, ever heard of
anyone describing it as the “system-straining Journey”, yet that thing walked away with
nearly every award out there in 2012.
It's from this perspective that I question what the next
generation is going to bring.
HD graphics? Already there. 3D? It's a gimmick,
and with the current state of technology, seems likely to remain that way for
quite some time. Motion control? Kinect and Move failed to make their cases,
and while most players seem open to a little waggle in their game diet, I don't
see anyone focusing on that as the next big thing.
Always-online requirements? Used game lockouts? Publishers
and developers might be keen on these things, but I'm guessing that very few
gamers are looking forward to these "advancements".
Another factor in my new-box apathy is that while my 360 has
seen heavy use since purchase, my PS3 and Wii have remained largely untouched
except for the occasional exclusive.
Although I'm in a special position as a game reviewer and
needed to have these units in-house, the smart move would have been to wait for
the hardware to drop in price and then scooping up all of the worthwhile titles at deep
discount. Looking at the library on my shelf, there weren't many exclusives
that I would have missed out on if I had done so.
Given that multi-platform development is now the norm, buying
a new set of boxes makes less sense than ever. In fact, despite being a console
diehard since the beginning, it's starting to look like the smartest move is to
buy a gaming-class PC, hook it up to my TV, and investing in a couple of
high-quality controllers. It's not something I thought I would ever say, but
the cost savings of PC games on sale is undeniable and the idea of having both
big-budget blockbusters and edgy indies on the same box is incredibly
appealing.
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| The pockets of consumers: they ain't infinite. |
Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying I won't get on board if Microsoft or Sony
present me with a tempting set of reasons to make the jump, but I'm not champing at the bit to empty my
bank account like a sucker and hope that something compelling will come from
it.
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Posts
Couldn't agree more, Brad. I have no interest in the new generation of consoles and barely even touch my existing ones anymore. What little gaming I do play, outside of work, is done via Steam. Also, provided you already have a PC, you can get a killer graphics card for less than the price of a PS4.
I'm with you. I don't really want a PC hooked up to my tv though. I already have a Mac there. :)
I feel like it's too soon to focus on a PS4. As you point out the current console(s) have yet to be fully exploited. Why should I start getting excited?
And "backwards compatibility" through the cloud... So I could re-purchase games I already own? No thanks.
I do enjoy my PS3 and it is also my BD/DVD player. I have never gotten into the Xbox family. I haven't been motivated for the Wii U yet, although I think Nintendo has been doing something's right.
So, next gen? Let the marketers battle it out, I am happy enough with this gen. Besides, why should I think about the investment costs of new gen systems and games?
Similar situation; similar sentiments.
I'm thirty-three and I've been gaming the majority of my life.
I'm not ashamed to say that videogames take up a fair bit of my mental real estate, free time, and disposable income. It's a problematic assignation but I guess I'm what you'd call a "hardcore" gamer.
And I find myself unable to muster even a modicum of interest in this upcoming generation.
I've had a PS3 for four years and there are still TONS of titles I've yet to play: Red Dead, Mass Effect Trilogy, Binary Domain, Nier, Ni no Kuni, and on and on.
I've only dabbled in the Wii and XBOX 360 libraries. There's just way to much ripe fruit still on the vine with this gen for me to get too geeked about the next gen.
For the sake of the industry I hope Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all do well. But I can't see me getting on board with a new machine for the foreseeable future.