Not too Excited About the Next Gen Consoles

[billf]

Both Nintendo and Sony have announced that they are going to reveal their next generation console systems at the next E3 and it is expected that Microsoft will soon make a similar announcement.

All three systems are supposed to be on shelves by sometime in 2006 (Sony and Microsoft have said 2005 while Nintendo will probably be 2006), but what are we supposed to expect from these new systems? What is going to make them so great that anyone will jump up and buy one?

Honestly I don't think that the technology has taken a far enough leap from the current systems to warrent another breed.

As far as graphics go, most game developers can't even make games for the current systems not look llike ass in comparison to some of the better quality games. The PS2 especially has many games that look like a 12 year old could have done the character modeling. Unfortunately the assyness of the graphics is not moderated by the console manufacturers unless it is a first party game (and that's why you don't see many crap looking games from Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo). We're always going to have idiots with crayons trying to make games that are "kewl", I guess we're just going to have to put up with it, but it would be nice if the hardware manufacturers would ring some necks.

Granted the processor speeds are a bit dated. If I remember correctly, which I probably don't, the PS2 is running on something like a 500mhz processor and the XBox is running on a 700 or 733mhz processor. Although these speeds are quite deceptive because we aren't talking about computers here, we are talking about systems designed for specific tasks, no matter what way you look at it the processors are dated. Too tell the truth though, I don't see that it will make too much of a difference in the new systems unless the previously mentioned assyness of graphics can be improved.

About the only thing I can think of that may save these next gen systems is integration with existing electronic demands. Both Sony and Microsoft have made moves to try to get their consoles to be the entertainment hub of any home, and I believe that if they can improve upon this it will go a long way towards putting a game console in a lot of homes. Microsoft has even gone so far as to begin integrating MSN Messenger with it's XBox Live services, and although it is still in it's infancy, it's a pretty damn spiffy feature.

The only problem there is that it leaves Nintendo out in the cold. The folks over at Nintendo have been screaming for years that they make game consoles, not entertainment systems... which is funny because the original Nintendo was also called The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Nintendo managed to squeek by with the Game Cube, despite some pretty harsh critisism for not having many additional features that the other two systems were supplying, but they really need to come up with something special for their next system if they are going to stay afloat because current technology isn't going to supply them with too much of a boost in graphics, and since they also seem to keep a lot of the asslike graphics away from their system, they aren't going to gain much for beefier graphics cards.

Unless the game companies come out and surprise me, I can't really see myself buying anything other than the next generation of XBox, and possibly the PlayStation if I happen to have a lot of money lying around.

[RadicalDreamer]

Indeed. Although it has been a good 5 years, I don't think we've made enough progress either. A few months ago, Sony claimed that most games for the PS2 were barely using half of it's power. At first I thought it was bull, but looking back on it's first-gen games, it hasn't made near the progress that the PSOne did.

[StruckingFuggle]

Nintendo managed to squeek by with the Game Cube, despite some pretty harsh critisism for not having many additional features that the other two systems were supplying, but they really need to come up with something special for their next system if they are going to stay afloat because current technology isn't going to supply them with too much of a boost in graphics, and since they also seem to keep a lot of the asslike graphics away from their system, they aren't going to gain much for beefier graphics cards.

I wonder if I'm the only person who doesn't see that as a negative. I don't care that I can use a PS2 or an XBox as a hub for some sort of entertainment center (which is what was not meant by the "E" in NES.) ... I don't care they can play DVDs. I don't care about online support! I'm a crotchety old gamer who prefers a solid single player experience to a fun party game like Goldeneye or SSBM to online play ... Furthermore, sure there's a lot of "assy" looking games (Mac Hall reference?), but there's also a lot of good-looking ones.

[billf]

Nintendo's major advantage over the other 2 companies is that it focuses on games. It isn't like Microsoft who have this little side project that they call "Windows" or Sony who are busy sticking their name on everything from my DVD Player to Spider-Man. Nintendo can focus on games, that is what they are good at. They can afford to look at the crap games and tell the to take a hike. Even the crap games like Bloody Roar at least look pretty.

I'm also not saying that there aren't any stupid looking games graphic wise for Nintendo, I'm sure there are a number of them. I'm just saying that in general Nintendo is better at keeping cheap looking graphics away from it's system, and that's one of the things that has helped them a great deal with the Game Cube.

The thing is, graphics technology hasn't advanced enough to make that a major selling point of the next generation systems. I can quite easily see graphics of the next generation systems looking worse than mediocre looking graphics of the current systems. So if good looking games are your major selling point, and the graphics haven't really improved from the old system to the new one, what's the point in unloading a ton of money on the new system?

At the current rate, unless Nintendo comes up with some spiffy extras besides graphics, there are going to be a lot of pissed off people thinking that the game would have looked almost as good on the GC as it does the new system, and it wasn't worth paying X amount of dollars for a new system just for slightly better graphics.

[F_Sake]

I have said it before and I will say it for the first time here.

Consoles are good, but the best gaming system in the world is the PC

[StruckingFuggle]

You seem to think that graphics are the only selling point of a new console. Well, graphics, or new "features" like internet connectivity.

What about more powerful consoles granting more power to do newer and innovative things to invent new types of gameplay and the like? That's a DAMN good selling point. Especially igf it has backwards compatability, like the PS2.

"Good looking games" is the other selling point of the XBox, next to "the internet for multiplayer" .. which is really why I've put off buying it, but a few interesting games seem to be coming out, like Metal Slug 3 and Fable, so given those I might pick it up, due to the price drop. (Halo 2? Man, FUCK Halo 2... )

Posted Mon Jul 12, 2004 8:01 pm:

Consoles are good, but the best gaming system in the world is the PC

Depends on the type of game.

[RadicalDreamer]

[quote="StruckingFuggle";p="368528"]You seem to think that graphics are the only selling point of a new console. Well, graphics, or new "features" like internet connectivity.

What about more powerful consoles granting more power to do newer and innovative things to invent new types of gameplay and the like? That's a DAMN good selling point. Especially igf it has backwards compatability, like the PS2. [/quote]

The problem is, my dear Fuggle, they're not really doing either.

[F_Sake]

Depends on the type of game.

True, but with a PS2 to USB adapter and a PS2 pad, my pc can play any style of game that a console can do and even more

[StruckingFuggle]

I didn't say they were or won't, RD. just that its a another selling point, and in my opinion, the best one.

[RadicalDreamer]

Can't disagree with you there.

Though online play only certainly has worked for the Xbox. Before Xbox Live came out it was at the butt of every gaming joke.

[billf]

Well, if you want to talk processing ability, we can do that too. Most smaller game developers (and even large ones) aren't using their full potential there either. Take for instance Red Faction and Red Faction 2.

In the original Red Faction you could play almost any level and blow up 99% of the environment, but in RF2 the amount of stuff you could blow up was signifigantly less.

Although I don't work for the people who made RF and RF2, I'm going to guess that a lot of that had to do with time contraints. RF 2 was released just a year or so after the original. Not nearly enough time to put in any kind of decent developement. So again we are dealing with not fully using the capabilities of the system, mainly do to money or time. Perhaps a better thing to do would be to develop better ways of programming that make development easier.

[Ragnarok7331]

http://cube.ign.com/articles/529/529130 ... ?fromint=1

I know these are just theories, but if Nintendo pulls through on one of these, that'll be amazing.

[StruckingFuggle]

On the link:
While I was saying "innovation good", gyro-pads = BAD. I like being able to play at weird angles, like on my back or my side, holding the controller comfortably at another angle.
Eye Toy-type things: Also no fun, see previous comments.

[grassmunk]

I'm the old school gamer. Had the NES watched the Mario Bros. cartoon etc. The xbox is good for only one thing: Modding. Modding it makes it 100x worth the cost. Install something like Xbox Media Center and its worth its weight in gold. Before i modded my Xbox i think it spent about 98% of the time holding up my GameCube games. Now my Xbox is the Media Center and the gamecube is for gaming.

But while i might be getting old i still like gamecube. Most of the major games come out for it. The controller fits well in my hand and if i want i can carry it anywhere. The GameCube was designed more as a party item that could be moved about the house. Thats why its got a handle on it. In my opinion the GameCube is made for kids and the other two systems are made for teenagers and up.

[Ragnarok7331]

Well I think that if they released such a unique way of interfacing with the system they'd have normal controllers as well or something because although the ideas are very interesting, sometimes you want to just pick up a controller and play. But then again I'm not Nintendo and I cannot predict their actions.