New consoles, new problems

The time is finally here! The next generation of consoles are about to arrive.

It’s a special moment in gaming that doesn’t happen often. This was the longest console cycle in history, so we are due for a fresh start. The need for extra discs, excessive sequels and large installs show that the outgoing generation is finally ready to die. Rest in peace, third generation: You were the most unstable, but most exciting, in history. For all the red rings, hidden costs and terrible peripherals, there was a wealth of excellent high-definition games and terrific online experiences.

However, moving forward there are some nagging worries that I can’t seem to shake.

Besides the fact these consoles are new and have better graphics, there is not anything to get particularly psyched for regarding their arrival.

The last set of new consoles were really making gamers freak out in giddy anticipation. The Playstation 3 was integrating Blu-ray; Xbox live was pushing the boundaries of online integration and it was the jump from standard definition to high definition. And of course, there’s the Wii.

When I first heard about the Wii, it blew my little adoles

cent mind: a console that was controlled purely through motion control. It sounded like some kind of black magic. Now what we have from Nintendo is the Wii U; a very awkwardly named, designed and marketed device that has failed to truly excite those who are not dedicated to Nintendo. However, it’s not just Nintendo.

The mantra for the Xbox One (Microsoft’s newest console) is that it will be the (sigh…) one home for all your entertainment. And they are still forcing Kinect (motion-capture peripheral) on us, which Microsoft is very stupid for thinking we still care about.

The problem with Microsoft’s new focus on television and other media is that it bogs down the Xbox. Because of the power drawn from the Kinect and the three different operating systems required for the other media functions, it’s not as powerful as the PS4.

Speaking of such, the PS4 has me less worried, but I still can’t get psyched for it. The future of Gaikai (cloud gaming) seems promising, and certain features of the new interface are cool, but what steps does the PS4 take for the future? A button for recording gameplay? Whoop-dee-freaking-doo.

Besides the consoles themselves,

there are some nasty trends that have evolved in the past few years that I fear will only worsen.

The way that downloadable content and online patches have slowly handicapped this generation, can only get more troublesome in the next. I hate the laziness that has been bred from this new wave of online integration. The fact that games can have such glaring and game-breaking issues (Fallout: New Vegas, Bully: Enhanced edition) and not be fixed before release, shows how much developers rely on patches now.

Before, developers had one shot to make sure their game ran smoothly. And if it didn’t, you had to face the repercussions for not ironing out the bugs. It’s nice that developers can fix issues that they’ve missed, but patches should not be used as a crutch.

The greatest and most agonizing sin is that these consoles have no backwards capability whatsoever. They are the most advanced consoles to date, and they can’t do one of the most basic and necessary functions in gaming? There may be old

er games made available later to download, but we don’t want to re-purchase games we already have.

I may sound like a stubborn old man, but I miss how consoles used to be. You would put a game in the machine and play it. There was no bullcrap. I fear that consoles are becoming more like watered-down computers with all of the updates, installs, operating systems and whatnot.

Don’t get me wrong: There are plenty of games that have me salivating for the next generation, such as “Titanfall,” “The Witcher 3” and “Metal Gear Solid 5.” And ultimately if we get great games, all of this is irrelevant.

Hey, the last gen. started off terrible and became pretty good; maybe the same can be said for this one. I hope….

1 Comments

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