Jump to content

Next-gen consoles?


kamoh
 Share

Recommended Posts

Since the holiday 2004 season (Halo 2, MGS3, GTA:SA), I have paid little-to-no attention to the gaming industry, purchasing a grand total of $100 worth of merchandise (FFXII, NHL2k7, and a $30 gift card to Gamestop for my girlfriend's parents' Wii). Roommates had Guitar Hero, Halo 3, and the Orange Box, but aside from that I've pretty much become a non-gamer.

So it's 2010...are there any rumblings about next-gen consoles yet? It's about time for it (every 5 years or so)...I literally have been living under the proverbial rock for a while.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The big players in the console race are trying their damndest to extend this generation as long as possible, with Microsoft touting Natal(their motion control system) as a redefining of the Xbox 360 experience without new hardware, Sony saying that they want the PS3 to have a 10 year cycle, and Nintendo creating iteration and iteration of the DS and still making serious bank on the Wii.

I'm personally cool with this. I really don't think we can do much more in terms of A/V fidelity past this generation. It'd also be a good idea to let dev costs go down, and really focus on great experiences, intuitive controls, and better physics, environmental, and AI engines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised by an update from Nintendo. If the Wii proved anything though, it's that you never know what to expect. Man I'm a Ninty fan all the way but I'd love to see some of their games with the graphics that the 360 and PS3 have, kinda like how you guys are excited about Natal and all that stuff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The companies would point blank stupid to try to force another generation on us now, with the economy the way it is.

Plus as stated before the PS2 (as well as the PS1) has some major staying power. So I would agree that PS3`s cycle will be extended even more, Seeing how it is utilizing the bluray, is updated frequently, and the HDD is easy to upgrade. I would think the latter two also apply to the 360 but I dont have much exp. with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised by an update from Nintendo. If the Wii proved anything though, it's that you never know what to expect. Man I'm a Ninty fan all the way but I'd love to see some of their games with the graphics that the 360 and PS3 have, kinda like how you guys are excited about Natal and all that stuff.

I would be surprised actually - Nintendo is making the most bank I think, why make a new console and not milk the current one?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This might sound strange, but maybe they will release a console revision, similar to what they do with their handhelds. Maybe a "new" wii with wii-motes that have built in motion plus and bundled with a motion board or vitality sensor.

I know I said console revision, but I can't really think of anything inside the hardware they could easily change off the top of my head, so maybe a repackage is a better term. Well, maybe they could add a real hdd to the wii..... Just some random thoughts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It feels like I just bought the wii, and I got mine in 2006. I remember my professor in college proclaiming that the Wii would be replaced in just 3 or so years' time. Glad to see that's not true.

That said, I do not honestly expect new consoles for another 3 years or so. There's been far too much money sunk into the current generation -- and much more profit to be had -- to abandon it now. Developers have a hang on the tech and we can expect far more polished titles in the future... Hopefully.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This might sound strange, but maybe they will release a console revision, similar to what they do with their handhelds. Maybe a "new" wii with wii-motes that have built in motion plus and bundled with a motion board or vitality sensor.

I know I said console revision, but I can't really think of anything inside the hardware they could easily change off the top of my head, so maybe a repackage is a better term. Well, maybe they could add a real hdd to the wii..... Just some random thoughts.

This is what Microsoft wants to do with the XBox (I think they were planning on calling it the 360 Plus) which will come with the Natal in the package with the system.

Honestly, there's always room for improvement in the consoles. I, for one, am sick and tired of the blatant lying on the back of game boxes (especially the XBox 360 games). Most of them are NOT 1080p NATIVE. They are upscaled by the system. At least the PS3 games have the decency to highlight the native resolution. But I am disappointed at the lack of true Full HD games. I know 720p is technically HD but let me tell you it kills the experience a little to play Darksiders on a 40 inch TV and you see huge jaggies. (At least throw an anti-aliasing filter on it! LitteBigPlanet runs in 720 but with a little anti-aliasing, you'd never know) Native 1080p graphics kick so much ass. The problem is, current consoles struggle with 1080p (and rightly so, it is an incredibly large image to render).

I think we all agree Nintendo needs to do two things with it's next system: HD graphics, and a real online network (not the bullshit they've been feeding to us so far).

As far as this generation goes, I've spent way too much money on these consoles to see them go yet, and they still have a lot of potential. I am most excited for the PlayStation Motion Controller. I think RE5 is supposed to be re-launched in the spring with the PSMC. And I want more PS3 exclusives that utilize the superior storage space of Blu-Ray. Darksiders and Borderlands had some pretty noticable compression artifacts in some of the menus and loading screens and such that could have been avoided if they had used more space on the disc. But, since it was multi-platform, they were limited to the space of a DVD :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But, since it was multi-platform, they were limited to the space of a DVD :(

lmao. I was wondering when this would happen.

Cry me a river and get the fuck over it. The load times on the XBox were fine.

I promise I won't say anymore about this.

Otherwise, I agree with you. I have way too much invested into this gen console to see it go so soon. I'd rather spend time playing the fuck out of it than wasting time thinking about how I'm going to embrace/afford the next generation.

Ouch, my head hurts!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First, we had a recession which slows things down, and second, Nintendo proved to the others that you do not need expensive high-tech systems to dominate the industry. They are following this strategy by maintaining focus on the current generation as the systems grow older and more cost-effective to produce.

Releasing new consoles typically results in a loss, in practice they are not one bit cheaper than their PC counterparts but selling them at their real value is not acceptable for consumers (we clearly saw this with the PS3's launch price). They view it as an investment for getting a foothold in the market, and they only really start making money much later in their lifetime. Only in these recent years has the PS2 really reaped profits for Sony.

When they see the possibility, I think both Microsoft and Sony are more than happy to stray from this way of thinking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

lmao. I was wondering when this would happen.

Cry me a river and get the fuck over it. The load times on the XBox were fine.

I promise I won't say anymore about this.

I didn't say anything about loading times. Its the actual picture quality that bothers me. I wonder if anyone at Vigil Games saw the main title screen of Darksiders and said "Hey we've got some nasty compression going on in this animation. Maybe we should bump up the bitrate a little." And I also wonder if someone else said "We can't there isn't enough room for it if we do."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...