The next gen is likely gen:monkey's paw

[xPixelatedx]

I have a wiiU and I love it. It sucks Aliens turned out to be garbage and Rayman got shelved by people in suits, but lack of games is something that will be fixed in time. What won't be is the wiiUs admittedly underwhelming power. Games look great on it, but we all know they won't look amazing in a year or two. That's the wiiU's failing, but does that mean someone who gets the new Xbox or PS4 is in the clear? With rumors about no backwards compatibility, always online, used/rented game bans and digital only, it seems neigh impossible at this point that both the next Playstation and Xbox won't have at least one horrible catch that makes using them absolutely obnoxious. Both Microsoft and Sony have publicly expressed great interest in implementing these anti-consumer practices, and now they have their chance.

So knowing that we are going to be screwed regardless of what we choose, what will be the deciding factor for you, fellow escapists?
I may already have the wiiU, but I am planning on picking up at least one of the others, depending on which one turns out to be the lesser of two evils.

EDIT:Didn't include PCs because, well, I didn't think it had anything to do with the discussion. With the pS4 being announced next week so I thought we were due for talking about the inevitable struggle between the big 3 consoles.

 

[tippy2k2]

The same thing I've done every time a new generation comes out:

Step 1: Wait for about six months or so.
Step 2: Determine if any of the systems have enough games that I would like to play to justify purchase.
Step 3: If so, purchase it. If not, repeat step 1.
Step 4: ???
Step 5: Profit!

That's all there is to it. I bought the N64 fairly quickly, a mistake I don't intend to make again. I then got a PS1...and made the same mistake (I was young!). Now I've learned so I bought the PS2 first due to it getting more games I wanted. I moved onto the 360 when it got enough games. I now have a PS3 because it now has enough games. Rinse and repeat.

Shiny graphics and lack of info does not cut it for me anymore like it did when I was young and dumb. I will take into consideration the anti-consumer stuff but it's very unlikely to affect my decision if there are games I want. Nothing I've seen has made me back away from the systems (especially considering that they've had the tech to do those things for years and have not. Until they are actually implemented, I will assume it will not happen).

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm seriously just observing the coming generation of consoles from a far.

I may actually just buy a WiiU when it has a decent library - I'm quite comfortable in the current generation, and the WiiU is basically just that.

 

[Mikejames]

I'm seriously just observing the coming generation of consoles from a far.

I may actually just buy a WiiU when it has a decent library - I'm quite confortable in the current generation, and the WiiU is basically just that.

Yeah, I'm not looking forward to losing the current generation and potential backwards compatibility.
Just don't really feel that we need a big console shift.

 

[xomocekc]

I just don't understand who the fuck is buying consoles in 2013? Get a PC. You can use a joypad with it. You can connect it to a HDTV. And if you love online downloads and DRM and not being able to resell or buy used games you can even use Steam.

 

[sanquin]

Yeah, I'm not looking forward to losing the current generation and potential backwards compatibility.
Just don't really feel that we need a big console shift.

Consoles do need a shift. But only because of their hardware, not because of anything else they might or might not be lacking. Hardware needs to keep up with the times, otherwise games will stagnate in terms of graphical improvements and the like. And the last consoles are 7 and 5 years old. Not to mention the hardware in them. So it's time for something new. Before the xbox360 and ps3 it was actually quite common to have a new console be brought out every...2~3 years or so?

 

[tippy2k2]

I just don't understand who the fuck is buying consoles in 2013? Get a PC. You can use a joypad with it. You can connect it to a HDTV. And if you love online downloads and DRM and not being able to resell or buy used games you can even use Steam.

*Raises hand

I do. I will continue to do so. I have a PC and I have gamed on said PC plenty before but I always have owned at least one system in every console generation (this trend will likely continue with the PS4/Xbox/WiiU). Frankly, the little box is much easier to use sometimes than the PC.

 

[TehCookie]

I just don't understand who the fuck is buying consoles in 2013? Get a PC. You can use a joypad with it. You can connect it to a HDTV. And if you love online downloads and DRM and not being able to resell or buy used games you can even use Steam.

Not everyone likes to fight with a PC and just want a simple machine they know will play games everytime.

OT: The deciding factor will be the same it was for this gen, the lineup of games and the price. Unless they do add features that make it a pain to play (DRM, no used games etc) that would be a major turn-off so they would have to do something to compensate for that.

 

[Maevine]

Graphics, shmaphics I say! As long as the games are fun and original, I don't care if they're 2d and 8-bit. That said, I may invest in a Wii U some time far, far in the future if enough games I like come out on it, but with the way things are looking over at Sony, I may never purchase another Playstation console. I expect this kinda crap from Microsoft, because, you know, it's Microsoft, but Sony's really got me disappointed. I don't know what I'm gonna do when my PS2 finally breaks on me D:

Maybe someday Sony will either make a console that's reliably backwards-compatible with PS1 and PS2 games or re-release all of the old games on discs. I ain't doin' that digital-download shizz.

 

[Luca72]

The same thing I've done every time a new generation comes out:

Step 1: Wait for about six months or so.
Step 2: Determine if any of the systems have enough games that I would like to play to justify purchase.
Step 3: If so, purchase it. If not, repeat step 1.
Step 4: ???
Step 5: Profit!

That's all there is to it. I bought the N64 fairly quickly, a mistake I don't intend to make again. I then got a PS1...and made the same mistake (I was young!). Now I've learned so I bought the PS2 first due to it getting more games I wanted. I moved onto the 360 when it got enough games. I now have a PS3 because it now has enough games. Rinse and repeat.

Shiny graphics and lack of info does not cut it for me anymore like it did when I was young and dumb. I will take into consideration the anti-consumer stuff but it's very unlikely to affect my decision if there are games I want. Nothing I've seen has made me back away from the systems (especially considering that they've had the tech to do those things for years and have not. Until they are actually implemented, I will assume it will not happen).

You've got it. "Killer apps" at launch day are usually a myth anyway. It seems like it takes almost a year to get a game that is both unique and functional to appear on a new console. Plus, I get the feeling that we're going to be in for a torrent of "Like X but PRETTIER" games before we get anything legitimately cool.

This is going to sound like I'm being a video game hipster, but I'm 100% serious when I say that the only games that actually satisfied my need for new ideas this last year were indie games, and I'm probably not going to need the latest hardware to play the friggin' Witness.

 

[thesilentman]

And I'm not going to care as I have a massive backlog of titles to catch up on and the next gen seems like the perfect time to do it. The next gen systems, if what they're saying is true, will not look appealing at all for someone like me anymore if MS and Sony pull it off.

 

[Mikejames]

Consoles do need a shift. But only because of their hardware, not because of anything else they might or might not be lacking. Hardware needs to keep up with the times, otherwise games will stagnate in terms of graphical improvements and the like. And the last consoles are 7 and 5 years old. Not to mention the hardware in them. So it's time for something new. Before the xbox360 and ps3 it was actually quite common to have a new console be brought out every...2~3 years or so?

But that's one issue I have with it, creative and thoughtful design will be what stops stagnation, not shinier graphics. A lot of aesthetics are about as good as they need to be; not forgetting that making games is already grossly overpriced with the current high standards of visuals.

Maybe there will be innovation that can only be done with new hardware and I'm just being crotchety, but I can be slow to get used to these expensive overhauls and watching another library of games become harder to find backwards compatibility for.

 

[The White Hunter]

Visuals aren't just about pure polygons. Gears Of War and Killzone 2/3 push some of the highest poly counts of any game series this gen. I still think they both look like ass. Terrible art direction, a lack of any sort of colour, generic looking levels and enemies... it doesn't matter how much tesselation or AA they've got, they both look dull as dishwater. Conversely, Legend Of Mana and Final Fantasy IX are still two of the best looking games I own, and they both came out on PS1. What does that tell you?

If we're gonna look at shooter visuals I think Resistance 3 is one of the best looking of the generation, not necessarily on technical merit (Killzone 3 is shinier and takes up more raw disc space with textures and uncompressed things and stuff.), but the art direction is interesting and fairly colourful for what it is. With unique and well designed enemies and equipment.

OT: The Wii U is more powerful than current last generations hardware, not by as many leaps and bounds has orbis and durango are rumoured to be, but it is.

I'm enjoying my Wii U but I really can't wait for it's ibrary to start fleshing out, it really would've benefitted if it had hit market with a few more first party titles worked out because it really got fucked by companies like Ubisoft delaying half the launch line-up into oblivion.

I think a fair few of the coming games for durango and orbis will get Wii U ports, which will be slightly inferior, but then I also see both of those getting ports up from the Wii U depending on the way the market goes.

Needless to say I won't be supporting any of their draconian anti-used bullshit and will happily trod along with my PC and Wii U if it is the case, because competing on power is not something the consoles can do now, and they need to instead push gameplay and design boundaries rather than try and plough forward in raw power.

 

[The White Hunter]

wiiUs admittedly underwhelming power

Aside from what I already said I see an opportunity for humour:

What if we started having expansion paks or ram carts again like the early through mid ninties? : D

 

[mohit9206]

i will most likely buy a ps4 as am kinda loyal(not a fanboy) to sony. i love the ps2, will soon buy the ps3 and finally the ps4 in 2020.
i have to say once you get attached to a brand its difficult to let go.
am a hardcore gamer so the wii u is out of the question, and i dont really like microsoft. microsoft should quit the console business and focus on the pc as their only gaming platform

 

[Mr. Omega]

Ok, long post, go!

First off, regarding Nintendo:
Nintendo has been messing up some stuff, but they do seem to really be trying to get their shit together. They made their online shop far more appealing to indie developers, they're making a couple new IPs on the eShop, so they're embracing digital , and Club Nintendo actually rewards people who buy new as opposed to punishing everyone so that those who bought used are punished more. Plus they've been working together with Platinum a lot, they've got a 3rd party exclusive from Monolith, and they seem to be getting a little buddy-buddy with Atlus lately.

It shows that Nintendo knows they made a mistake, and they're actually trying to fix it. Not just say it, but actually doing something. They aren't doing it as gracefully as some other companies, but at least they aren't trying to screw people over. Maybe having their first ever yearly financial loss slapped some humility into them. Capitalism at work.

As for the other two:
First off, I get the feeling that people are overestimating just how big the difference between the WiiU and the other two systems are going to be, and everyone is expecting a repeat of this generation. Will the WiiU likely be the least powerful console this gen? Almost certainly. But 1: Odds are we aren't going to have another Wii-360/PS3 difference. The HD-SD gap was a very clear difference and a big limiter on the Wii. There isn't really a gap in technology that big this time around. And 2: Power =/= Success. We should all know this by now.

Still, as for the consoles themselves...

Nextbox:
Microsoft seems dead set in its attempts to make the XBox brand a "multimedia entertainment device" or an "entertainment machine" as opposed to a game console. No attempts at new IPs, and not even a wide roster to choose from in a backlog like Sony and Nintendo. Instead they seem to think this whole "timed DLC exclusive" business will make them the preferred version of multiplatforms. One of the big reasons people got XBox versions was because everyone else was getting them. But being the big system last time around doesn't ensure success, both Sony and Nintendo have gone through that.

The thing is, with XBL becoming more and more inconvenient and exclusives becoming more and more non-existent, what can the NextBox actually offer that a PC can't do better? I'll likely be avoiding the NextBox. I might like Halo as much as the next guy, but if I won't buy a console for Mario alone, there's no way Halo by itself can get me to buy it over the competition.

PS4:
Sony's a far more interesting case. Like Nintendo, Sony seems to be trying to fix some things that went wrong and improving some aspects like PSN Plus, but stubbornly refusing to fix other matters like the constant firmware updates. If the launch price of the PS4 really is $400, that seems reasonable. But there's a lot of stupid things Sony can announce between now and then, first and foremost being the anti-used games tech. Then there's lack of backwards compatibility, but a recent report speculates that Sony will use the streaming service Gaikai to stream PS3 games on the PS4, which raises a lot of questions.

As far as exclusives go, Sony still has at least 2 very solid second parties in Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch, so we can rely on a decent amount of exclusives. They also have a potential killer app in Last Guardian. I'm also curious to see if they'll make any changes to PSN on either the consumer side or the developer side. Right now I'm not interested in the PS4, but they might be able to convince me.

So yeah. So far I'm good with the WiiU and a good laptop. Maybe I might get a PS4, but there are plenty of ways Sony could convince me not to get it. Plus, launches aren't always a great indication of the future. So even after all that, only time will tell what I end up getting.

 

[Something Amyss]

With rumors about no backwards compatibility, always online, used/rented game bans and digital only

Yes, based on the same sort of crap that's been floated since about the 2600 days, it seems nigh (not neigh) impossible that this gen won't be horribly cursed. Because just look at how the no used games and permanent online rumours turned out for the PS3.