How do you feel about next-gen gaming? *remodelled
- Thread starter Nesh
- Start date
Well I don't feel exited about next-gen, I think this gen last too long decoupling from the technology advancements in the PC realm, now on the contrary of previous generation the hardware is barely playing catch-up with the PC realm. I do get the economic behind and I also get that on the software side of things... the production costs have skyrocketed to something I could qualify as unsustainable.
I'm not a graphic whore though the issue is not the hardware merit on insulation more the fact that the hardware is nothing special, my geekiness is left unsatisfied. We look at extremely potent PC parts, well balanced systems but we look at the type of performance PC have been mostly able to deliver for years now (or could have).
The most deceiving system for me is the WiiU. I don't know how well the PS180 combo will fare and how fast prices are to go down but I know the economy is in a way worse shape than what the MSM say in an attempt to convince/calm the masses.
Abenomics is failing fast, some guy called those policies euthanabe... which I find funny.
EU and Euro is a disaster, whereas advanced collaboration between european countries was a good idea, may a common money between some of those countries was a good idea, but ocverall the whole thing was not put together well to say the least. It is a disaster and the consequences are yet to fully materialize.
Then there is US where lot of people are simply broke too, though they got easier access to credit I wonder how long this will last... The Fed chairmen finally noticed that a lot of people taking student loan are doing so not for studies... but for the money... Anyway that is my relentless optimism...
To the point there was imo room for a well designed 299$ system, may be even 249$. Overall the PS360 are selling at that price point (,more or less), their silicon budget is not that low, nor is their power consumption and overall I believe that you can simply do much more better now using TSMC 28nm and more advanced technologies.
Now there is this E3 which was sort of a disaster to me, for many reasons:
First the noise about DRM stole the show but that is "superficial".
Actually as someone, supposedly from MSFT, stated "second hand market kills the industry". I don't agree the issue is that the gaming industry is on an unsustainable path and relative to that is the fact that be it Sony, MSFT or the publishers will do something. It is a pretty standard behavior, they will try anything before actually considering altering their models. Still it is a bad omen for me as it is unclear if DRM are to make the whole sustainable either.
Another point of concerns, especially in that bad economy, is how much life do the ps360 combo still have. It is a big market and lot of next gen games... are not that next gen, aka they are available on current gen and PC. What will be people upgrade pattern as economy still is going down? I think that manufacturer better have good price reduction path ahead.
Overall that E3 game me the sense that even with a new set of consoles to be release the concerns remains about where that industry is heading, how it will evolve.
Relative to that is that as the industry is searching for a more sustainable path, it makes room for unstability (on top of the quite possible systemic clusterfuck that could reach us at almost anytime now). If I look at Apple for example, Jobs is gone, the growth is not there (for the brand) the new management may decide to make a greater move toward the living room. Clearly Google would follow suit.
You also have attempt like Ouya (though quite irrelevant), you have Newell unhappy with Windows8. No heavy weights for sure though my guts tall me that the whole thing is on a really metastable equilibrium and that disruption could happen.
The primary effect of disruption would be not that positive to say the least, as Blezinski states (though he did not elaborate on why he thinks so) it could turn into a blood bath. In a first time it could prove negative to eveybody industry and consumers alike.
There are a lot doubts surrounding the industry now. Another example MSFT/Windows situation. They sort of sacrifice the profits they could have made in the PC realm to have the Xbox to look better against Sony offering (be it though exclusive policies or their half assed effort to take on something like Steam). Imo Sony is a lesser evil if ever Apple or Google are to do something more game oriented, or simply looking at what the market share are nowadays for OSes...
OSes, we used to live in a world dominated by Windows with consoles existing aside in their own plane... Computer or laptop were pretty bulky machines... Now it is a fight to death OS are everywhere I simply can't see the fight not entering the living room one way or another.
I will quote Cliff .B again but with the doubt surrounding the way the gaming industry functions and something of greater important, the fight for dominance in the OS realm, I'm almost convinced that something disruptive have to happen during next-gen, it indeed smells like a blood bath coming, with pretty weird situation as MSFT fighting against him-self in the living room (thinking cutting its margins on something like windows RT with that OS used to power devices sort of competing with a device like the xbox).
Overall I'm pretty happy not being an early adopter as I sense that thing could get interesting in the couples of years to come and I'm quite undecided.
I'm not a graphic whore though the issue is not the hardware merit on insulation more the fact that the hardware is nothing special, my geekiness is left unsatisfied. We look at extremely potent PC parts, well balanced systems but we look at the type of performance PC have been mostly able to deliver for years now (or could have).
The most deceiving system for me is the WiiU. I don't know how well the PS180 combo will fare and how fast prices are to go down but I know the economy is in a way worse shape than what the MSM say in an attempt to convince/calm the masses.
Abenomics is failing fast, some guy called those policies euthanabe... which I find funny.
EU and Euro is a disaster, whereas advanced collaboration between european countries was a good idea, may a common money between some of those countries was a good idea, but ocverall the whole thing was not put together well to say the least. It is a disaster and the consequences are yet to fully materialize.
Then there is US where lot of people are simply broke too, though they got easier access to credit I wonder how long this will last... The Fed chairmen finally noticed that a lot of people taking student loan are doing so not for studies... but for the money... Anyway that is my relentless optimism...
To the point there was imo room for a well designed 299$ system, may be even 249$. Overall the PS360 are selling at that price point (,more or less), their silicon budget is not that low, nor is their power consumption and overall I believe that you can simply do much more better now using TSMC 28nm and more advanced technologies.
Now there is this E3 which was sort of a disaster to me, for many reasons:
First the noise about DRM stole the show but that is "superficial".
Actually as someone, supposedly from MSFT, stated "second hand market kills the industry". I don't agree the issue is that the gaming industry is on an unsustainable path and relative to that is the fact that be it Sony, MSFT or the publishers will do something. It is a pretty standard behavior, they will try anything before actually considering altering their models. Still it is a bad omen for me as it is unclear if DRM are to make the whole sustainable either.
Another point of concerns, especially in that bad economy, is how much life do the ps360 combo still have. It is a big market and lot of next gen games... are not that next gen, aka they are available on current gen and PC. What will be people upgrade pattern as economy still is going down? I think that manufacturer better have good price reduction path ahead.
Overall that E3 game me the sense that even with a new set of consoles to be release the concerns remains about where that industry is heading, how it will evolve.
Relative to that is that as the industry is searching for a more sustainable path, it makes room for unstability (on top of the quite possible systemic clusterfuck that could reach us at almost anytime now). If I look at Apple for example, Jobs is gone, the growth is not there (for the brand) the new management may decide to make a greater move toward the living room. Clearly Google would follow suit.
You also have attempt like Ouya (though quite irrelevant), you have Newell unhappy with Windows8. No heavy weights for sure though my guts tall me that the whole thing is on a really metastable equilibrium and that disruption could happen.
The primary effect of disruption would be not that positive to say the least, as Blezinski states (though he did not elaborate on why he thinks so) it could turn into a blood bath. In a first time it could prove negative to eveybody industry and consumers alike.
There are a lot doubts surrounding the industry now. Another example MSFT/Windows situation. They sort of sacrifice the profits they could have made in the PC realm to have the Xbox to look better against Sony offering (be it though exclusive policies or their half assed effort to take on something like Steam). Imo Sony is a lesser evil if ever Apple or Google are to do something more game oriented, or simply looking at what the market share are nowadays for OSes...
OSes, we used to live in a world dominated by Windows with consoles existing aside in their own plane... Computer or laptop were pretty bulky machines... Now it is a fight to death OS are everywhere I simply can't see the fight not entering the living room one way or another.
I will quote Cliff .B again but with the doubt surrounding the way the gaming industry functions and something of greater important, the fight for dominance in the OS realm, I'm almost convinced that something disruptive have to happen during next-gen, it indeed smells like a blood bath coming, with pretty weird situation as MSFT fighting against him-self in the living room (thinking cutting its margins on something like windows RT with that OS used to power devices sort of competing with a device like the xbox).
Overall I'm pretty happy not being an early adopter as I sense that thing could get interesting in the couples of years to come and I'm quite undecided.
As of now, next-gen is simply disappointing. There are those PC gamers who want nothing but maxed out settings. I feel they are a danger to gaming in general. Is this really the direction we want? Waste of limited resources if you ask me. It's nice that there is a social gaming push, and Kinect 2 itself is what the first one should have been, but I feel like we are not getting anything surprising or even new.
Just sadness...
Just sadness...
borntosoul
Regular
I've seen many consol launches and this one isn't as exciting for me. A few games stood out for me as different but mostly were rehashed blockbusters. I am getting older admittedly but i think the next gen consols should've come out a year later and much more powerful and with more innovative tech, then we would realy get a jump up from last gen consols and hopefuly a new experience to boot. Now im not saying next gen won't deliver on some of these things, what im saying is the difference won't be as pronounced as i hoped it could've been.
scooby_dooby
Legend
I really think it's an amazing time to be a gamer.
I live in a vertible smorgasborg of delicious video game content.
* My steam library is growing faster than I can count, full of awesome, original, fun content. GPU's are cheap, and amazingly powerful these days.
* Mobile games are maturing in a huge way, and are now full of really excellent games
* Next Gen is injecting huge amount of cash back into the industry, and driving a ton of new IP's.
All in all I don't have a ton of complaints.
Most of my issues are with Microsoft, and their handling of the Xbox 360 Dashboard. Plastering it in ads, and burying my most used features, has completely soured me on them as a company. Their circus around E3 just further solidifed that this is a company with no decent vision at all.
I also get annoyed with the constant patches and such, but it's easily taken it in stride and dismissed when you look at the benefits.
I live in a vertible smorgasborg of delicious video game content.
* My steam library is growing faster than I can count, full of awesome, original, fun content. GPU's are cheap, and amazingly powerful these days.
* Mobile games are maturing in a huge way, and are now full of really excellent games
* Next Gen is injecting huge amount of cash back into the industry, and driving a ton of new IP's.
All in all I don't have a ton of complaints.
Most of my issues are with Microsoft, and their handling of the Xbox 360 Dashboard. Plastering it in ads, and burying my most used features, has completely soured me on them as a company. Their circus around E3 just further solidifed that this is a company with no decent vision at all.
I also get annoyed with the constant patches and such, but it's easily taken it in stride and dismissed when you look at the benefits.
Disappointed in both Sony & MS in the advancement of tech for interactive experiences. Both pushed hard last gen to advance the medium. This gen, neither pushed much of anything. At least Sony still kept their investment in GPU silicon, but neither really ventured off into new territory (simply off the shelf parts that have been on the shelf for over a year (aside from mediocre cpus).
Having said all that, the hardware that is in the box hasn't really been tapped yet in the pc realm, so that combined with untapped gpgpu should provide for some interesting new possibilities, and of course, having 8GB of GDDR5 should provide plenty of room for devs to find new tricks.
Can't wait to see what some of the best devs can do with this hardware (Fallout(!!!), Bioshock, Carmack stuff, GTA)
I still would have liked to have seen Sony/MS pushing more compute as it would have brought down dev costs (less time trying to cheat certain looks/fx).
Having said all that, the hardware that is in the box hasn't really been tapped yet in the pc realm, so that combined with untapped gpgpu should provide for some interesting new possibilities, and of course, having 8GB of GDDR5 should provide plenty of room for devs to find new tricks.
Can't wait to see what some of the best devs can do with this hardware (Fallout(!!!), Bioshock, Carmack stuff, GTA)
I still would have liked to have seen Sony/MS pushing more compute as it would have brought down dev costs (less time trying to cheat certain looks/fx).
As a PlayStation owner, I am actually happy with the way things are shaping up next generation. The PS4 is pretty much of an evolution of the PS3 which I think is great. I think graphics have evolved beyond a point where they are good enough on modern HD displays. As long as we don't see a similar shift in TV resolutions (and even if we do, as long as the screen sizes/viewing distances don't magically change) 720p or 1080p resolutions should be good enough for the next 6 years. Having that said, I'm actually glad that next-generation is NOT pushing the silicon bounderies. It means that the consoles will be a bit smaller than last generations originals and that they will run significantly cooler and therefore quieter. I guess I've progressed to the point where the constant noisy fans of the PS3 have started to annoy me to a certain degree and since I'm quite concious about my livingroom and how it is set-up, I'm actually glad the new PS4 should fit nicely where the PS3slim currently sits.
Anyway, going into next generation I do have a few concerns:
I'm quite disappointed by the fact that there will be no backwards-compatibility. It might be meaningless to a lot, but I actually think it's a great feature. It helps to offset the price of the new console since it means the new one will be compatible with the large investment of games I once bough. That's value. There are also numerous games that I can still see myself gaming next year - and I hate to miss them. And since I am as concious about my livingroom as I am, actually setting up 2 consoles side by side with different controllers that are not compatible with each other is a big no. So it will come down to the choice, over either using the PS3 or the PS4.
This generation is one of the best I've had. Especially multiplayer games have made a world of difference to me. I can't wait to experience the same but better with next generation.
Anyway, going into next generation I do have a few concerns:
I'm quite disappointed by the fact that there will be no backwards-compatibility. It might be meaningless to a lot, but I actually think it's a great feature. It helps to offset the price of the new console since it means the new one will be compatible with the large investment of games I once bough. That's value. There are also numerous games that I can still see myself gaming next year - and I hate to miss them. And since I am as concious about my livingroom as I am, actually setting up 2 consoles side by side with different controllers that are not compatible with each other is a big no. So it will come down to the choice, over either using the PS3 or the PS4.
This generation is one of the best I've had. Especially multiplayer games have made a world of difference to me. I can't wait to experience the same but better with next generation.
D
Deleted member 13524
Guest
I think graphics-wise, next-gen consoles will be little more than side-grades to what we've seen in Crysis 3 on a current high-end PC.
The Dark Sorcerer seemed an impressive step-up to me at first but I don't know what was pre-rendered or not, so I'll leave that judgment for later.
What I think it will define the next-gen is screen-casting to mobile devices and VR goggles (occulus rift). Being able to use mobile devices as game enhancers and/or screen replacements will be a big thing IMO.
Now that Occulus Rift has a 1080p screen, it just needs to be cheaper to get widespread.
I think Nintendo nailed it with the second screen concept. They seem to always get the "main" concepts for controllers right: first analog stick in N64, ergonomic dual-analogs in gamecube, first "modern" RF controller with wavebird, first usable motion controllers in Wii, first second-screen controller in Wii U...
Too bad they blew it with the terribly sub-par hardware and exaggerated price, opening up for a much better experience with the Vita+PS4 or PC+Shield combos.
What I fear the most with next-gen is the rise of F2P games that we'll never be able to play to the fullest without paying hundreds of dollars and the surge of artificially-enabled mandatory online like Diablo 3 and Simcity 2012.
I either pay for watching a full movie or I don't. I either pay for reading a full book or I don't. I either pay for a full game or I don't.
I won't watch the first 30 minutes of a minute and then pay 5€/minute to get color+surround sound or it'll turn black and white + mono.
I won't read the first 50 pages of a book and then pay 5€/page to read everything or the book will lose the pronouns and punctuation.
I won't play a game for free for the first 30 minutes and then pay 5€ for every single one of the 50 items that I really need to advance in the game.
To me, F2P is a scheme made to extract the maximum amount of money from the consumer in exchange for the least amount of content, and I'll fight it with my wallet to the very end.
I'll refuse to pay even a dime to F2P games, even if it means quitting the gaming scheme all together (which I'm also expecting this generation, unfortunately).
The Dark Sorcerer seemed an impressive step-up to me at first but I don't know what was pre-rendered or not, so I'll leave that judgment for later.
What I think it will define the next-gen is screen-casting to mobile devices and VR goggles (occulus rift). Being able to use mobile devices as game enhancers and/or screen replacements will be a big thing IMO.
Now that Occulus Rift has a 1080p screen, it just needs to be cheaper to get widespread.
I think Nintendo nailed it with the second screen concept. They seem to always get the "main" concepts for controllers right: first analog stick in N64, ergonomic dual-analogs in gamecube, first "modern" RF controller with wavebird, first usable motion controllers in Wii, first second-screen controller in Wii U...
Too bad they blew it with the terribly sub-par hardware and exaggerated price, opening up for a much better experience with the Vita+PS4 or PC+Shield combos.
What I fear the most with next-gen is the rise of F2P games that we'll never be able to play to the fullest without paying hundreds of dollars and the surge of artificially-enabled mandatory online like Diablo 3 and Simcity 2012.
I either pay for watching a full movie or I don't. I either pay for reading a full book or I don't. I either pay for a full game or I don't.
I won't watch the first 30 minutes of a minute and then pay 5€/minute to get color+surround sound or it'll turn black and white + mono.
I won't read the first 50 pages of a book and then pay 5€/page to read everything or the book will lose the pronouns and punctuation.
I won't play a game for free for the first 30 minutes and then pay 5€ for every single one of the 50 items that I really need to advance in the game.
To me, F2P is a scheme made to extract the maximum amount of money from the consumer in exchange for the least amount of content, and I'll fight it with my wallet to the very end.
I'll refuse to pay even a dime to F2P games, even if it means quitting the gaming scheme all together (which I'm also expecting this generation, unfortunately).
Sod next gen, it's a load of online advert ramming, DLC wallet bleeding, QTE-watchathon, death by a thousand cutscenes nonsense. I'm going to pack it up and go back to retro systems with worse graphics than today but better gameplay (because the hardware is weak so the gameplay has to matter).
Wii U
I'm bullish.
I see lots of potential for new gaming experiences enabled by improving technology, increased connectivity and the cross-pollination of ideas across what have previously been separate gaming strata. An example of this is a title like "The Division" which contains concepts from MMOs, FPSs and open world games. I'm excited to see what other types of fusions are possible to create experiences that are both familiar and new.
I love that Sony is pushing "indies". Some of the most clever and addictive gaming experiences I've had over the last couple of years have been games I've bought for $10 or less on Steam.
Between PC, consoles and increasingly powerful mobile devices, there's a broad base of platforms that will be supported by a wide variety of different types of games. In my mind there's never been a better time to be a gamer.
I see lots of potential for new gaming experiences enabled by improving technology, increased connectivity and the cross-pollination of ideas across what have previously been separate gaming strata. An example of this is a title like "The Division" which contains concepts from MMOs, FPSs and open world games. I'm excited to see what other types of fusions are possible to create experiences that are both familiar and new.
I love that Sony is pushing "indies". Some of the most clever and addictive gaming experiences I've had over the last couple of years have been games I've bought for $10 or less on Steam.
Between PC, consoles and increasingly powerful mobile devices, there's a broad base of platforms that will be supported by a wide variety of different types of games. In my mind there's never been a better time to be a gamer.
I should expound on that.
Unfortunately, it feels like MS hasn't really offered a compelling reason to me as a gamer for its standardization. To date, we've had various hand waving activities, on-rails games, and then the dance games, the latter of which is probably their best seller. And of course, a number of games sporting voice recognition features.
It's probably fair to say that the majority of games are multiplatform. So I'm not sure exactly what I am to expect of a proprietary control scheme in this industry when we saw how 3rd party support effectively windled and died for Wii, PS Move and Kinect. Devs tried for a while with Wii and didn't really get anywhere eventually.
Yes, PS Move and Kinect weren't standard, but I'm more disappointed that for the next gen, we still have nothing compelling for Xbox One to showcase Kinect except Project Spark - i.e. possibilities are endless! etc drivel. So where do they go from there? They've had years to come up with something - Ryse is an exercise in failed design/troubled development.
So far from what I can see, it's a glorified UI controller (cute, but not something I care to pay for), but for the main games (e.g. Dead Rising 3, Ryse), it's a rather half-baked use of features, and yet it's being forced on everything when devs understand that they can't make a breakthrough game design due to multiplatform considerations. So they'll just tack things onto the XO version. To me right there is as perfunctory a use as throwing on a secondary map or inventory screen for Gamepad/Vita/Smartglass.
WiiU may be a combination of factors, but then the gamepad didn't see exactly a killer app (not for lack of effort, and then the biggest takeaway seemed to be gaming on the mini-screen because single-tv-families) - at least MS and Sony have mimicked functionality to an extent without standardization, so we'll see how that goes. Ultimately, I don't expect it to be groundbreaking.
Sony's decision not to include the camera as standard may be seen as stifling 3rd party consideration to use the camera features, but it'd be rather foolish of MS to even think to rely upon everyone else joining their camera/microphone array future in that case. Hope may have risen at the camera announcement, but the worst case scenario is that they would always be the one IHV to bend over backwards to support such a device.
Of course, it doesn't help that my Kinect decided to be a snob and only function in Halo Waypoint whilst crashing the system at every other software launch. Effectively, I have a paper weight that is out of warranty. I cannot begin to fathom how a year of being unplugged and an existence of non-wear and non-tear have led this thing to where it is now for me, but in the end, it just means that for Xbox One, there is the possibility of having a secondary hardware failure and that it's standardization in SKUs means I'm being forced to pay more than I am willing to risk anymore.
---
So basically, I'm left with a bunch of kinect-only games that aren't particularly compelling (on-rails shooting, the same old hand waving games), and a device that seems mostly useful for the next-gen UI experience, which I couldn't care less about since the 360 Kinect.
The trend I'm seeing from various big action games is - voice recognition, and maybe that will or will not change in the future, but I'm not putting down $500+ just to *hope* it will be useful.
