The Next-gen Situation discussion *spawn

True enough, it's just we see YoY declines in NPD, and I saw some scary stuff on GAF recently, the UK weekly software sales figures were the lowest since 2001 or something like that. Epically bad. UK sales have been a graveyard lately it's not just the USA. Hell the only bright spot in sales I've seen lately is Diablo 3 for PC, which I think the always on DRM helped that a ton. Will be interesting if Max Payne helps.

Things like THQ, which is one of the biggest pubs after EA/Activision, and rumors of Sega, struggling so much is scary too.

It's also hard for me to tell how much the Wii's death is responsible, I guess, singlehandedly. Ignoring PS3 and 360, when you take Wii portion of the market from roaring to sickly, surely it has an effect. I just dont know if it's the only effect.

Bkilian talking about how the 360 is a "profit center" now makes me think they may never drop the price again. Pitiful.
 
I'm reasonably happy with what I've seen so far. Games like Halo 4 and Last of Us looked great on current systems and Watch Dogs looked like PC-versions should already look, a clear step up from current stuff. Star Wars 1313 looked amazing and certainly set the stage for beautiful Next gen imo. I saw some quite high quality version of the video on my Ipad, which looked to be quite artifact free and the effects were quite spectacular.
 
Rangers said:
Bkilian talking about how the 360 is a "profit center" now makes me think they may never drop the price again. Pitiful.
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It wouldn't surprise me if that were the case. The "$99 on contract" xbox is coming to Bestbuy and Gamespot now, so they can claim it's $99 now.

It wouldn't surprise me if when the next xbox hits, the 360 will be $0 on contract while the new system costs $299 with a contract or $499 off contract.
 
Shifty Geezer said:
The consoles are still expensive. I'm sure a price drop to $150 ish would see sales pick up. combined, PS360 have been selling as fast as PS2 did at a higher price, so console gaming has been very healthy. In terms of numbers.
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Maybe the recent subsidised Xbox 360 IS the price cut at least as far as the United States is concerned? I guess we'll have to wait until some sales numbers are released, however the fact that Best Buy and Gamestop have picked up on the deal may be an indication of initial success. We'll have to wait a month or so for any real numbers however from NPD.
 
Why should MS lower the price of the 360 in the U.S.?

The hardware units sold now is likely to have a low game attachment rate for two reasons: 1.) the console is at the end of its life, with a corresponding shorter time for buyers to accumulate games. 2.) the people buying console at this point in the cycle is unlikely to spend as much as early adopters/"core" gamers.

Selling hardware at a loss, thus makes little sense.

For reference:
The PS2 cost $149 in 2005 at the 360's release, it was lowered to $129 at the release of the PS3. It didn't hit $99 until 2009.

Cheers
 
With these specs Wii U needed to launch in 2010-2011 to get decent sized installed base before next-gen transition happens. Now publishers will just ignore it in favor of PS360 juggernauts as they also start to move resources to support PS4/720 titles and not the Wii U

Before E3 i tought Nintendo would get atleast 50% big titles fall/spring but now it literally looks like 3%. This is very dangerous for Nintendo console business because the casual appeal is also much more limited this time.

Nintendos messaging on this platform is all over the place http://www.forbes.com/sites/terokui...t-panic-is-crippling-its-product-development/

What on earth is going on at Nintendo? The company that was the premier champion of simplicity and clarity in consumer electronics has devolved into a complete mess. Multiple controllers with completely different design philosophies and target audiences; a gadget that is too big for a controller, too small for a tablet; a Pro controller that is a transparent Xbox rip-off.


But Wait... There's Another One...

What is the unifying message and what is left of Nintendo’s core identity of simple family fun? Take a look at these two new controllers – what is the common theme? Fear. The first one is a not-so-subtle reaction to Apple, the second one a rather desperate lunge at Microsoft.

Apple is devouring casual gamers and Microsoft is connecting with fans of grim military epics. Nintendo is trying to morph into several contradictory things at once.

We may be witnessing a corporate meltdown on par with Research in Motion.]
Click to expand...
 
I have the impression that this E3 clearly shows that we need high powered next gen system: people all over the place are talking about the games with the best graphics and presentation, such as watch dog, star wars 1313, Halo4 and Last of Us...people love graphics! People are starting to get desperate for next gen graphics imo...me too!!
 
Billy Idol said:
I have the impression that this E3 clearly shows that we need high powered next gen system: people all over the place are talking about the games with the best graphics and presentation, such as watch dog, star wars 1313, Halo4 and Last of Us...people love graphics! People are starting to get desperate for next gen graphics imo...me too!!
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I agree

It looks like the type of casual market they were aiming for got saturated with the Wii.

The big question for Nintendo was, how can you attract that market again to your new console when people already got used to the motion controller and there arent many ideas to improve that concept further?
Then there was the question how you can differentiate yourself from competition when competition now implemented your ideas and beyond?

Well a new controller was the answer, but the thing is the WiiU tablet looks more like a complementary product to add to the experience, not a primary game changing showcase like the motion controller.
Then that controller is perfectly fitted for hardcore gaming, so Nintendo chose well to include core games that need analog sticks and buttons anyways.

BUT

Is it enough to attract back those millions of casuals and whatnot who got the Wii? Probably not.
Is there a possibility that those gamers since their initiation to gaming (or motion control gaming) expect an enhanced experience through better graphics and immersing experiences directly connected to performance? Maybe
Considering its effort to offer hardcore games too, Is it powerful enough to attract the hardcore market who have already invested on a similarly powerful 7 year old mature product just because its got a new controller?
the answer is probably "unlikely"

Its obvious that Nintendo got late, and because of that and their hardware choice, they are lost in the next generation transition with a product with one foot resting in the old generation of consoles and the other trying to step in the new era. And this time without a game changing product that guarantees success with the casuals and neither the performance that will attract hardcore.
And to make things worse for Nintendo, competitors are given the opportunity to check what works and mimic Nintendo's ideas on launch with more powerful and engaging products, since unlike the Wii, they will launch later
With their all in one fully fledged next gen product with both casual and core appeal.
The casuals took notice of Sony's and MS motion control efforts. Now they need an enhanced experience to buy a new console

So far WiiU presents itself like a Wii with some PS360 games (120 millions already own a PS360) and something extra. What was that extra again? Oh a tablet.
 
Billy Idol said:
I have the impression that this E3 clearly shows that we need high powered next gen system: people all over the place are talking about the games with the best graphics and presentation, such as watch dog, star wars 1313, Halo4 and Last of Us...people love graphics! People are starting to get desperate for next gen graphics imo...me too!!
Click to expand...

People like prettiness that's for sure, but that's also the only thing the industry have been selling for many years, and it was and still is a bad idea.
Games are about gameplay and pretty gfx are secondary, do I really need to point to Minecraft again ?
But when your gameplay is the same as for the past ten years there's only one thing you can sell... improved gfx...
 
Rodéric said:
People like prettiness that's for sure, but that's also the only thing the industry have been selling for many years, and it was and still is a bad idea.
Games are about gameplay and pretty gfx are secondary, do I really need to point to Minecraft again ?
But when your gameplay is the same as for the past ten years there's only one thing you can sell... improved gfx...
Click to expand...

Hm, I really do not agree with this! Probably gameplay has not been revolutionized...but there was certainly a massive evolution imho!

Furthermore, presentation, graphics and physics often help to improve the gameplay in addition to just please the eye :)
 
Rodéric said:
People like prettiness that's for sure, but that's also the only thing the industry have been selling for many years, and it was and still is a bad idea.
Games are about gameplay and pretty gfx are secondary, do I really need to point to Minecraft again ?
But when your gameplay is the same as for the past ten years there's only one thing you can sell... improved gfx...
Click to expand...

Again with the same old parroting of the, "games are becoming movies" hyperbole :rolleyes:

Name one game franchise whose mechanics haven't changed in the past ten years. Then name ten whose has. Then name ten franchises whose gameplay was completely new and revolutionary by the start of this generation alone.

[Protip] It's very very easy ;-)
 
I haven't looked at any videos but it sounds like a lot of the WiiU games are for cooperative multiplayer. The guy with the tablet controller would perform ancillary actions while the other guy would control the character on the main screen.

But honestly, it sounds like this kind of stuff could be done online, with two players having different views on their connected consoles. With good voice communications, you can have the same kind of paired mechanics between the two players.

Of course doing it in person is more engaging but as someone snarked, Nintendo must know of a lot of big brothers who would play WiiU games with their kid brothers.

Maybe if Nintendo grok'd online better, they might not have gone down this path.
 
Next-gen is often discussed while current gen is close to its peak. The Playstation 2 continued to make a lot of money during the PS3s first years. Next-gen consoles build up a user base that supports high budget gaming only slowly.
 
Given Sony's commitment to "HD remakes" this gen, I wouldn't be surprised if they develop a PS4 version alongside the PS3 version. They could further entice people if they did the buy once for both consoles scheme like they do with PS3 and vita for select titles.
 
user542745831 said:
Found a video of it in the meantime:




;)
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It actually looks complete. though it's still too big for a console with those dual GPU chips. and it uses granite as a stand?s that stand alone is heavy enough to bust a person's head open, no doubt this pc can defend it's self.:oops:

what we need to see is a console that is sufficient to a point where it can fit in under ANY kind of room conditions. (size and temperature wise.) It also needs to be quiet. and at the same time most importantly, be an example of refined next generation craftsmanship.

you could say to take part in having your tech used in a console is a privilege, it proves that you can refine your tech to be compact and cooperate perfectly together as a single unite. I hope Microsoft nails that dead on this time around. hopefully they got their hands on some exclusive ATI tech like the last time. i hope it's the new 8870 (or something equivalent to it in efficiency.)

To take a current desktop GPU and try to hassle with catering it to a console is just going to end up with unfavorable heat and performance results. Microsoft should look forward on what isn't on the market. right now as it stands you either spend a lot of money and risk overheating or you go low budget and be forced with having a limited life cycle. in a time like this an extra year can really pay off.
 
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