Maybe I’m just too old, but for me the next generation of consoles will be the worst one yet. I don’t want it – and in the next 1200 words or so, I’ll tell you why.
This year’s E3 showed an industry on the brink; teetering delicately on an edge crafted by its own circular self-destruction, poised and seemingly desperate for new hardware. It was there of course, both in the shape of top-of-the-range PCs (see: Watch Dogs’ much-celebrated showcase) and almost certainly behind locked doors upstairs, out of the public’s (and the media’s) longing eyes.
Investors will have wanted to see what Sony and Microsoft were coming up with, and we know for a fact that the likes of Epic and Crytek have seen (and returned) spec sheets to the platform holders with a big red stamp across them that said ‘failed’ because – well, they’ve largely said so themselves. And developers? They’ll certainly know what they’re aiming at. Next-gen might not be in a piano-black box yet, but on paper and where it counts, it’s very much real.
Heck, even SCEA are happy to confirm that there’s another console around the corner.
But the public at large? Still no idea, and no amount of trivial ‘leaks‘ will make the slightest iota of difference because the PS4 and the successor to the Xbox 360 aren’t meant to be seen yet. Sony and Microsoft believe there’s life in the current dogs yet, and to them at least there was no real reason to showcase new hardware.
[drop2]And me, personally? I’m more than grateful. I don’t want new hardware, not yet, and probably not for some time to come. It’s not that I fear change, or have concerns about the cost of the machines – I don’t, but I do feel that the industry is rapidly going in a direction that I simply don’t feel comfortable with.The consoles themselves aren’t going to cost upwards of £400 again. That was a ridiculous move by Sony that only just managed to scrape past being a complete and utter disaster. The economy’s nothing like that now, and nobody’s got that kind of money to throw down on silicon.
My last big expenditure on gaming hardware was the Vita (which ended up costing me about £600 all in after a horrible importing experience) and I won’t be doing anything like that ever again.
But they aren’t likely to be a budget-friendly £250 either.
No, I think Microsoft’s $99 experiment with the subsidised, subscriber model will be the only way to buy. I think gamers will pick up a PS4 or Xbox 720 (for want of a better term) for around that same kind of level, but be forced into a two or three year payment plan that’ll nicely offset the initial cost but – ultimately – end up being a lot more once the deal is done.
Sony would be mad to skip the concept, even if the thought of being tied into a console doesn’t appeal to me one bit. They might not be charging for PSN now but it’s not hard to imagine that the currently evergreen PlayStation Plus won’t be central next gen – and that includes online play – and it’s not a particularly large stretch to see them shoehorning that into a long term monthly subscription that also sees the price of the hardware bundled in.
And as the price of games moves steadily upwards, normally bolstered by the annual Call of Duty look at me spectacular, so too does the apparently necessary evil of DLC and online passes. EA’s “project $10” worked so well that almost every publisher (including Sony) have jumped on board, and it’s now a struggle to buy a top tier game that doesn’t have a code in the box to activate some of its key features. And we all know what happens when the codes expire.
Next generation, this’ll start to include more and more single player aspects – of that I’m fairly sure – meaning that a good chunk of the second hand market will be affected. If you buy a game pre-owned be prepared to fork out more cash online to get the game up and running – we’ve seen this already with the likes of Codemasters, who bundle away better cars (and not just multiplayer) behind the now trendy pass system.
[drop]But it’s not just the online passes and now seemingly mandatory day-one DLC, the latter of which makes me feel more and more uncomfortable every time it appears as publishers decide to throw in more and more perks, bonuses and extras alongside the game that we’ve already spent £50 on.No, it’s the games themselves. This generation has seen pretty much every single first person shooter gloop together into one unrecognisable lump, each one practically indistinguishable from the other. I’m bored of chasing down the same corridors set in different countries fighting identical enemies that act like little more than cannon fodder.
It’s always the same, they’re always the same. And they’ll be the same next gen too.
I long for a return to more open shooters, but we’ll rarely see a game like Doom again and even when we get somewhere near, like the lovely BioShock, they’re few and far between. Publishers, and by extension the developers that are so closely tied, don’t want the risk of something bombing at retail just because it’s different. Next generation will bring CPUs capable of advanced physics and wonderful AI, but we’ll still be firing AK47s at dumb, spawning identikit enemies.
And I know – there’s online play, but that’s becoming more and more tied into subscription based deals to get the most out of the games. Call of Duty Elite’s the first, but others will follow, and before long (and almost certainly this next gen) the price you pay for a game will end up being about 50% of what you’ll pay in total.
And we’re all doing it now: Elite’s hugely popular, so we’ve only got ourselves to blame as the publishers continue down this route.
And then there’s the requirements for single player games to have a need to be signed in to some publisher’s arbitrary online portal that can’t cope with the initial demand and is subject to hacking attempts – both of which push the solitary player into nothing but error messages – Diablo III’s an obvious example, but it’s not alone.
Next-gen spec sheets will be nothing but resolutions and clock speeds.
They’re largely irrelevant to me – I don’t really care how many channels of sound I get beyond six, or how many pixels the system can offer when most publishers won’t get anywhere near because it’s more cost effective to re-use half a decade old engines and just repackage the visuals to suit whatever global crisis is currently unfolding.
Basically, we’re locked into another generation of the same old games packaged in ever more increasingly expensive boxes with ever more ways to make us spend money on stuff that should really be in the game. It didn’t used to be like this – £5 would buy you the full game back when I when I was a kid and – later – £30 would buy you a complete N64 or Dreamcast game.
But those days are over, as, it seems, is true risk taking from the publishers as game development gets perpetually more expensive. Watch Dogs might be a new IP but it’s one that’s in a familar genre and even so hardly represents the norm, which is now annual rehashes, reskins and remixes.
The number of games I’ve been truly excited for over the last few years is in single figures, and unless next gen really offers new ways to play (rather than new ways to pay) I’m not looking forward to this at all. But maybe I’m just too old.
gazzagb
I agree with much that you’ve said, but I’m looking forward to the next-gen. Yes, it’s going to be expensive, and so I may not be getting a launch day console, but to me it feels as if this generation of consoles is now holding everything back. That’s a big reason why I think PC gaming is, and will continue, to be such a strong market.
Perhaps the next gen will bring around a collapse in the console gaming market, perhaps people will get bored of paying £50 for a game, and then having to pay for extras like online, DLC or be punished for buying pre-owned. Perhaps then, later in the next gen we’ll see the return of games where what you buy is the full package, and within the £30 range. Perhaps, the next-gen will bring round this revolution that the industry needs so much. At it’s current rate, I can just see it crushing itself with overpriced DLC, online passes etc.
Crocadillian
Awesome, I agree on pretty much everything, i’m pretty much in the same boat, and usually as a first adopter of consoles when they release I will be unlikely to buy any new console. I’m sick of their business practices, which is going to bury their market segment at the rate they are gong.
My University house gaming setup will proudly sport a Dreamcast, N64 and GameCube, and I bet they will be played more than all 3 of the current generation consoles I have as they are generally more fun and accessible.
The Lone Steven
I really hope next gen we won’t see a repeat of COD influncing every single modern FPS as people are getting sick and tired of it. Hell, even COD fans are getting tired of it. That said, Uncharted may have started a new surge in games that try to copy it and get the same amount of success as it does. Which doesn’t make sense as UC didn’t break any records or was an anomly.
Publishers need to learn to respect their customers and stop the bullcrap practices that punish people for daring to buy preowned/brand new/for being a gamer. Espically you Capcom! I would imagine the PS4 and the Nextrangobox will probably be £300-350 as MS and Sony would want to avoid having a repeat of the PS3 where it struggled to sell due to the £400 price point at the begining of it’s life.
But i fear it will only get worse next gen. From every 3rd person shooter and 3rd person adventure game being a UC clone to every FPS trying to be like COD. In fact, i wouldn’t be surprised if 30% of the game ended up being locked to the disc if you don’t get it on day 1. :S
If next gen is download only, i will quit console gaming and switch to either PC or give up gaming entirely. Excellent article Nofi. :-)
Motalla
A very good article and it nails exactly what I feel about the subject. One of the main reasons for getting a console for me, is that you do not need to upgrade every time you want to play a new game, without the husstle of upgrading processor, memory and graphics card like you would do on a pc.
The graphics and sound quality of this generation is good enough for me. The joy of playing for me is playing online, preferably with you lot on a TSA-meet and battling it out.
Roynaldo
Im not entirely sure how i feel about it. Right now there is no need. The Playstation i own is still providing me with entertainment and even if a single game was never made for it ever again i would still have about 200 games to go back to that i either couldnt afford or simply refused to give a chance.
Its all about the entertainment and im not losing it from my Playstation just yet, infact i believe it has hit a high point over the last year with developers pushing and refining the limitations it has, combine that with it being a full entertainment system also and im still very pleased with the old girl.
The next gen may have sharper graphics and faster speeds and possibly more immersive characters to go with the boost in power, i just have no burning desire for anyof it right now, not yet at least.
Tanster
Long time reader, small time poster, but this article caught me. I’m all for new hardware if the software delivers.
Very interesting read and what I like are most if not all replies are intelligent, articulate and more importantly hold valid points. Not many other forums can say that!!
Back to the point, I love new hardware and would buy a PS4 if released tomorrow however I too have issues with the current trend of pricing structures. As an old school gamer I hardly ever play online and prefer single player, story based epic games. I’m looking at you MGS, Uncharted, GOW, Assasins Creed. In addition I also like to support developers and therefore buy new instead of preowned in order to try and aid new IP’s.
However in the advent of online passes which I generally never use I feel a bit hard done by in buying AAA titles new. If new games were released with the single player as standard (and slightly cheaper) and anyone that wants to access online (which I realise are probably the majority) buys this access via download (as they would need an Internet access point to play online) would be a fairer option. This would keep the preowned market alive and like it or loathe it does help the market as a whole, this is because we are not ready for Full Digital distribution due to slow Internet speeds and therefore physical media is here to stay for a while!!!
This means that even if per owned games are brought (at a slightly cheaper price) MOST people would buy the online pass without quibble which seems to be alot of people’s gripe at the moment ie pay premium price (even preowned and then have to pay for a pass). This could suit high street stores and developers.
As a gamer of about 25 years I am sure the industry will sort itself out as I would be gutted if the industry diminished when it has just become mainstream and accepted (maybe that’s the problem!!!). All in all I think the development companies and console distributors are going to have to come to agreement in what direction the industry takes.
Roynaldo
For a non commenter you should really reconsider. One of the best comments ive read in a long long time.
stueeeee
I do disagree with u on the amount of games to be excited for. Obviously for yourself there’s bee far better in past generations, but I’ve had lots of gooduns. Gta, MGS, red dead redemption, the first 2 cods, rayman, GT off the top of my head, and some PSN gems along with it too. The HD collections are a mixed bag but I’ve enjoyed a few of them.
I definitely agree with the ‘new ways to pay’ thing though. The worst things about this generation have been the patches, and add on but already on the disc add ons.
I don’t want this generation to end because i think there are still decent games coming for ps3, and plenty left to play. I dont really know what leap the next gen can offer, 1080p on all games….I’m not paying hundreds for that……:
Galgomite
Alex, I agree that fewer AAA titles are risky ones, and I think this trend will continue. If those creative titles need to look and sound like Bioshock, that is. But there’s now a whole universe for lower-priced, riskier games that didn’t exist ten years ago. And the piece that’s about to fall into place and save the industry, I think, is the death of wonderment at new graphics engines. I believe we’re reaching a point where graphics are “good enough” and the wow factor stems from the gaming experience. As this happens, the people who only cared about CoD will start to notice other games, the same way kids get over special effects and start enjoying indy films.
Once graphics lose their power to wow, the industry will right itself and the majority of people will be more like you, more excited for the game concept and less for its appearance.
Alex C
I hope so. But explain how next-gen will give indie games more exposure and width?
Galgomite
I’ll pretend for a moment that I know exactly how things will happen.
If new systems come out in 2014, the overwhelming majority will be unimpressed. Amazing graphics will no longer amaze and so will be taken for granted. The “wow” factor of a new console won’t be there anymore, and the console market will begin to shrink. Making “AAA” event games with $100m budgets will continue for a while but eventually won’t make financial sense. Edge Magazine will write a tearful article about the end of the “Old Fashioned Blockbuster.” The people who do invest in the new hardware, however, will start dragging their friends and family in with titles that they find insanely fun and compelling, even if they aren’t technically jawdropping. Think of Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and the like– graphically speaking, anyway. The graphics become invisible, leaving just the experience. The ground levels.
I guess what I’m saying is that next-gen will give indie games more exposure and width by accidentally collapsing the console industry. By 2016, any $99 media player will have OnLive-style access to incredible games the same way VOD is available now, but there will only be 3 or 4 big-budget, home theater-exploding smash hits per year, with an increasing mature market looking upon them as disposable thrill rides. Gaming awards shows will stop being the Jamie Kennedy Embarrassment and start helping to shine light on overlooked titles for the year. $9.99-sized titles will be the only games that make sense, and those are the games that inherit the earth. This is in no way ideal; plenty of titles will be overlooked, as always; without money to be made, AAA titles I enjoy will also go away, and the global economy will have yet one more hole with nothing to fill it. But indie games will survive and thrive.
Or not.
Germanos
I don’t see any reason beyond better graphics, to want the next generation of consoles. Seriously ? I prefer better stories , better characters, more non-DLC content….
I think everyone wanting an next gen of consoles are previous PC players who bought an PS3 because “it’s cool” and now dictate how my console world looks. Sad but true.
threelions_66
I’ve been gaming for around 25 years, it’s probably been the most consistent thing in my life outside breathing and eating but this year started to get bored with it. I used to get excited at the prospect of the next big title, but now I’m not fussed. I’m looking forward to the next generation or even just the announcements, purely because I hope it re-ignites my diminishing love if games.