WTF is a Generation? *PissOff from Scorpio Thread*
- Thread starter Nesh
- Start date
The thing with the DC and what makes it so amazing is the fact that the console was very affordable and simultaneously so far ahead for a 1998 release. So much that someone would think that might have been able to compete against the consoles that came after it.
The console was outputting at 640x480p almost as standard and supported VGA, it had a slew of 60fps games including games like Sonic Adventure 2 which IMO was better looking than any version of Sonic Heroes (PS2 version of Sonic Heroes was 30fps), and it was a texture map beast.
Some games were even running better on the DC than on the PS2 because custom hardware during those days meant different architectures with different capabilities. We couldnt determine capabilities with "all things equal" as we do today where consoles use familiar architectures across the board.
I am pretty sure that if the console did not die so unfairly early we might have seen many surprises.
I think what determines a generational leap are the capabilities of the console in respect to what is available in the market at the time.
For the record, I dont see the 6x to 10x improvement as being a legit definition of what a generation is, hence why I was using the Nintendo Gamecube to WiiU as a case in point. Despite their modest gains, I'd still have to say each one was a separate generation. There is more than just hardware that goes into what is a a generation. Some of it may be the software side, specifically features such as having no online play to being online or having no user profiles to having them.
I wouldnt say it was, just as the PS4 and then PS4 with PSVR are not separate generations. I am saying being a separate generation of products for a manufacturer is more complex than just hardware performance. Take a look at phones or tablets, there the generational lines are blurred a lot more than console hardware, and yet they still have people upgrading hardware every year or two in droves.
Consoles are not upgradeable to begin with though, you can change your PC CPU, RAM, GPU, Sound card, Optical Reading Device, Mass Storage Device but only the latter in consoles...
So not sure I agree on that definition at all.
I would rather consider either new controls or output (like VR vs screen) or computational power.
So not sure I agree on that definition at all.
I would rather consider either new controls or output (like VR vs screen) or computational power.
You're a bigot. People who upgrade their phones every two years aren't flushing money down the toilet if they get value from it. Likewise, anyone who wants the improved gaming experience of the mid-gen consoles is free to spend their money if they want. You're free to hold out and upgrade when you feel the value is there for you. Don't go wanting to force your values on everyone else - we don't want them.
What's the point of replacing a perfectly functional device ? ;p
(More waste and pollution...)
If you want to get philosophical then what's the point of living? ;p
Anyways, thats entirely off topic...
Some people upgrade perfectly functional devices because of enjoyment, they want something new (featurewise) or faster or smaller or larger or longer lasting or better looking or to hand down the old item to a spawnling or spouse.
It's all relative. I have clients changing their jet every three to five years, at $50 million a pop, for no real reason other than wanting a new toy. Who are we to judge? 
That's an RSPC discussion. Whether people should or shouldn't is besides the point. People do and they like it and that's why they do it. They aren't mindlessly upgrading wishing everyone would stop releasing new junk - they are choosing to upgrade (and more and more people are upgrading less because the level of advancement isn't justified for them. It doesn't require some mandate on high to tell them what they should and shouldn't like and how wrong and stupid they are for liking stylised graphics or liking new things or liking a particular type of music.)
RancidLunchmeat
Veteran
You might be able to do anything you want (I still think that's a questionable premise because what you "want" and what others "want" is certain to be different), but you are doing them far more slowly on an ancient six year old phone than others are on a 2017 phone. That difference in time comes at a cost and for some people their time is more valuable than the dollars spent on upgrading the phone.
As we all discuss what makes a true "generational leap", I'm saddened that things such as boot and load times aren't being discussed. The lost "Gaming Time" that I experience with the XB1 comes at a cost, because my "gaming time" is budgeted. If the Scorpio (or any console) greatly reduces that - including such things as "autosave/resume" that is kind of already incorporated, then more "gaming time" can be spent actually "gaming" and that can be what I consider to be a clear generational improvement if it is of a significant enough difference.
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