This generation may just be just a footnote in gaming history.

[xPixelatedx]

With the multi-millions put into advertising, the Hollywood grade voice talent, graphical effects, exponential increase in gaming audience, new ways to play games and rise of the indi-devs, it may appear like this is one of, if not the best gaming generation we've had. Surely this means that this generation, and everything it encompasses will be chiseled into the side of a mountain; forever displayed as a pivotal role in the history of the medium.

Perhaps not.

What makes something stand the test of time is equivalent to how much people still care about it. If anything, the numerous threads about backwards compatibility illustrate that many of you don't care; some even outright stating "you are perfectly happy with never playing another ps3 game again". I admit, I haven't been the biggest fan of this gen, but to see it's biggest advocates say things like that makes me wonder: What exactly will still exist of the PS3 and Xbox360 20 years from now? If you don't care, and the game devs/publishers don't care... who will?

Consumers have been conditioned by GameStop to recycle their collections to get that extra buck for the newest, shiny thing. This extends so far that the majority of people seem more interested in being able to sell their games for the PS4 then the ability to play their old ones on it. Game devs and publishers have started making their games on the foundations of multiplayer, access codes, DLC, etc. All of which are unsustainable services; eventually being turned off at some point in the next cycle, just as PS2 and original Xbox services were turned off during this one.

It's been 20 years since the SNES and Genesis came out, and they're still talked about all over the internet. Their games are still selling all over eBay, some for exorbitant amounts of money. They're all still playable, to. 20 years from now, people will still talk about the first console wars and people will still be buying overpriced cartridges on eBay. Is that existence even possible for 360 and PS3? Or will they and everything they compass disappear in the ether along with their services?

 

[Luca72]

I think most of the medium is going to disappear with time as it evolves. The SNES games we talk about now probably aren't going to be discussed by the next few generations who never encountered them naturally. A few standout games will represent each "generation" or "technological jump", but most are just part of the stream.

For example - Hollywood made probably hundreds of movies in the film noire genre. That genre is important because it influences the style of crime movies today. However, we only remember a handful - Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, High Sierra if you want to get crazy. The individual films aren't important, it's the legacy that is.

So a game like Daggerfall or Morrowind might be remembered for their scope. GTA III or IV might be remembered for open world gameplay. Hell, Doom might be remembered as an early FPS. Who knows. But most of the things developers are implementing into AAA games right now are only impressive for this particular moment. If a game is sold on graphics and "realism" alone, it's not going to matter in a few years when graphics have dramatically improved. I remember an Extra Punctuation article where Yahtzee wondered if future generations would think todays games are weird for their pseudo-realistic clay-looking faces. I think that's absolutely correct - what looks impressive now only looks impressive because of what preceded it. What follows will more or less eliminate what we have now.

But the other thing is who really cares if these games disappear? It's all part of the process. That magical experience some of us had with Commodore 64 games or something on the Gameboy is identical to the experience a kid is now having on a PS3 or 3DS. And that kid will grow up to believe his experience was more valid than a kid in 2030 playing a game on his Quantum Processor Crystal. As long as the medium keeps growing and evolving, the individual elements don't matter as much.

We're all footnotes to everything - that's evolution, baby.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

It's been 20 years since the SNES and Genesis came out, and they're still talked about all over the internet. Their games are still selling all over eBay, some for exorbitant amounts of money. They're all still playable, to. 20 years from now, people will still talk about the first console wars and people will still be buying overpriced cartridges on eBay. Is that existence even possible for 360 and PS3? Or will they and everything they compass disappear in the ether along with their services?

Talking about the bolded statement, that's not exactly true. Not all of the games from the SNES era are still playable. See, all of those cartridges have internal batteries, and since those batteries are currently reaching the ends of their lifespans and no longer holding a charge people are getting their saves wiped and it's now impossible to save at all on those cartridges, so any game that takes longer than a day to go through is pretty much unplayable now (or will be in the near future when its battery dies).

It's really sad actually, a lot of my friends have had this problem with NES, SNES, and Gameboy games over the last few years. My friend and I recently wanted to play some Chrono Trigger for nostalgia sake and we couldn't save our game, essentially making the 40 or so hour game impossible to beat.

 

[Atmos Duality]

We're all footnotes to everything - that's evolution, baby.

Not just evolution; but history in general.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

It's been 20 years since the SNES and Genesis came out, and they're still talked about all over the internet. Their games are still selling all over eBay, some for exorbitant amounts of money. They're all still playable, to. 20 years from now, people will still talk about the first console wars and people will still be buying overpriced cartridges on eBay. Is that existence even possible for 360 and PS3? Or will they and everything they compass disappear in the ether along with their services?

Talking about the bolded statement, that's not exactly true. Not all of the games from the SNES era are still playable. See, all of those cartridges have internal batteries, and since those batteries are currently reaching the ends of their lifespans and no longer holding a charge people are getting their saves wiped and it's now impossible to save at all on those cartridges, so any game that takes longer than a day to go through is pretty much unplayable now (or will be in the near future when its battery dies).

It's really sad actually, a lot of my friends have had this problem with NES, SNES, and Gameboy games over the last few years. My friend and I recently wanted to play some Chrono Trigger for nostalgia sake and we couldn't save our game, essentially making the 40 or so hour game impossible to beat.

Yeah, but those batteries are super easy to replace. You need a special screwdriver that costs, like $3, plus a button cell battery that you can buy pretty much anywhere batteries are sold. It takes a little effort, but there's a big difference between a dead save battery and dead servers for a game with always online DRM and/or important DLC that you won't be able to get by then.

As for this gen, I think it'll be more than a footnote, but it's going to be a while before you see the huge levels of nostalgia you see for the 16 bit consoles today. Heck, the kids who are too young to remember anything earlier than the 32/64 bit generation are just now graduating high school. You don't really see the huge nostalgia bomb until that generation starts graduating college and having a lot of disposable income to spend on games they loved as children, or always wanted to play but couldn't afford at the time. I figure the PS3/Xbox360/Wii will be hitting that point around... 2030 or so?

Edit: There's also a pretty fundamental difference between the batteries and the servers. One is a hardware failure, which is just going to happen over time with aging electronics. I had to retire my old 32" SDTV this week because it finally crapped out. I would have probably kept it around indefinitely, for retrogaming if nothing else, but you can't get around entropy.

The other? It's totally artificial. It's some bean counter at a corporation arbitrarily deciding to kill off an older game, presumably to encourage people to stop playing it and go buy new ones. I would say this is necessary in some cases, but I'm drawing a total blank -- just about all of the "reasonable" excuses boil down to deliberate decisions in the way console online works. I mean, ever hear of a PC game having offline totally unplayable because some central server was unplugged? It typically doesn't happen, because LAN support and dedicated servers (which can be hosted by anyone with a copy of the game) are standard, or at least were until those business practices started to be migrated over from consoles to PCs. The DLC thing is almost acceptable, except again, there's no reason not to dedicate the comparatively small amount of storage needed to keep it available for sale. If you have to shut down your special console servers, set it up so you can download it from a PC and install it from a flash drive or something.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Well yeah, but then people buy those used games and never trade them away. That's where most of my collection comes from.

 

[XMark]

I wonder what the "retirement plan" will be for DRM-locked games. If a developer one days stops supporting their game, would they release an offline version, or a "run your own server" release if some required gameplay components were server-side? And what happens to all my digitally-owned games 30 years from now?

Maybe the developers don't even really need to do anything, and the unofficial hacking community will take care of all that stuff, so those games won't be completely forgotten in the future.

 

[triggrhappy94]

I don't think you can completely write off the generation that saw the rise of the military themed FPS. I'm sure there's going to be people going back and playing the Fallout and Elders Scrolls games too.
I think any game with any decent level of replay-ability and quality will be remembered.
There's still going to be people downloading Xbox 360 emulators on their crazy future computers in 20 years to play Mass Effect and The Walking Dead.

I think the better question really is what will publishers, developers, and even Microsoft and Sony do with all the content that requires some online connection. I know there's some DLC and downloadable games that require a connection to Live. Are they going to let the old console on to the servers for the new ones, are they going to send updates deleting that DRM, or are they just going to tell everyone to fuck off?

 

[MysticSlayer]

We haven't had much of an opportunity to get nostalgic over much this generation. I mean, some people might become nostalgic for some of the better games from earlier in the generation, such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, and BioShock, but even those games are only a few years old. Still, with games like Mass Effect, we've already seen people seeming to forget its many technological and gameplay issues and many people declaring it as a "real RPG" who thought it was too much of an action game when it was released. Give it a few more years into the next generation and you'll probably see some very popular games from this generation held up to the same level as games like Silent Hill 2 currently are. It is just impossible to compare this generation with the NES and SNES eras when we're far enough removed from those that we can have a real nostalgic factor, unlike with this generation.

Also, keep in mind, most of us were children or adults just getting into gaming back during the NES and SNES eras. The spectacle of the medium was more pronounced due to our comparative naivety. Today, we have hundreds to thousands of games of experience to compare each new one we play to, and we are likely aware of many of the games we don't play due to the Internet. Consequently, the very nature of games is less impressive to us. Let's see how people who just joined during this generation look back on it a few years from now. Again, we just can't compare this generation to the older generations quite yet.

Personally, I can definitely see a few games from this generation that I'm sure to remember for console generations to come, which, when I compare it to past generations, is sort of on par with the rest of them.

 

[shrekfan246]

There's still going to be people downloading Xbox 360 emulators on their crazy future computers in 20 years to play Mass Effect and The Walking Dead.

Why emulate when, hopefully by then at least, technology would have advanced to the point that backwards compatibility with Windows XP/Vista/7 wouldn't be an issue for then-current PCs? Both of those franchises arguably work better on the PC in the first place.

Hell, depending on the game it's not all that difficult to get pre-2000 games running on Windows 7. Some might require something like DOSBox, but early Windows games can mostly still get working, sometimes with a bit of work. Diablo II works just fine, so long as you run a Video Test Calibration option. Homeworld works fine, and if you set Windows Compatibility to Windows NT and switch the in-game renderer to OpenGL it'll actually upscale naturally to whatever your native monitor resolution is. Slightly older games like Star Wars - Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight have customized launchers that configure them to work with modern systems (System Shock 2 had the same thing before GOG.com got their hands on it).

Sure, there are some that still have issues -- especially on a system-to-system basis. Legacy of Kain is a prime example. Couldn't get those running on my PC, and couldn't find evidence of other people having the same specific issues I was either. But considering the architecture difference of Windows 95 to Windows 7, I don't think it's that far-fetched to believe current modern games would still be fully playable on PCs twenty years from now.

As for OT: Who, on a regular basis, still talks about more SNES games than Super Mario, Metroid, Zelda, or Earthbound? Maybe Chrono Trigger if you're lucky. You get the odd one or two popping up in specific conversations, but on an average day how often do you see people bring up something like Pocky & Rocky, Super Star Wars, The Lost Vikings, hell, even Castlevania doesn't pop up that often. I don't see any reason to believe this generation will be any different than past generations.

 

[Tom_green_day]

It's been my favourite gen so far. Fallout, Mass Effect, Skyrim, Assassin's Creed, The best CoD so far, Borderlands. People say that high production values, polished games and good voice acting don't make a good game and don't get you immersed and involved in the story and game world. I disagree.

 

[FalloutJack]

My generation has seen us go from Atari to about - currently - four major systems (which includes PC gaming in that) in which to play games. I live in the great evolution of gaming and its history. People will look upon the era in which I lived as the time in which it all began.

 

[DoPo]

There's still going to be people downloading Xbox 360 emulators on their crazy future computers in 20 years to play Mass Effect and The Walking Dead.

Or they can play the PC versions?

Why emulate when, hopefully by then at least, technology would have advanced to the point that backwards compatibility with Windows XP/Vista/7 wouldn't be an issue for then-current PCs?

Why would compatibility be an issue? As you said, loads of games work fine on current OSes. Maybe some require a patch or something but it's, like 1 minute on Google, if that. At most you'd just have to run an older version of Windows in a virtual machine. If you use services like GOG, the issue is already solved for you. Heck, just the other day I played some SimCity 2000 on my 64bit Windows 7. I also managed to play it on Linux, too. No issues, except that the game doesn't have sound, then again, I don't really count that as an issue.

 

[shrekfan246]

There's still going to be people downloading Xbox 360 emulators on their crazy future computers in 20 years to play Mass Effect and The Walking Dead.

Or they can play the PC versions?

Why emulate when, hopefully by then at least, technology would have advanced to the point that backwards compatibility with Windows XP/Vista/7 wouldn't be an issue for then-current PCs?

Why would compatibility be an issue? As you said, loads of games work fine on current OSes. Maybe some require a patch or something but it's, like 1 minute on Google, if that. At most you'd just have to run an older version of Windows in a virtual machine. If you use services like GOG, the issue is already solved for you. Heck, just the other day I played some SimCity 2000 on my 64bit Windows 7. I also managed to play it on Linux, too. No issues, except that the game doesn't have sound, then again, I don't really count that as an issue.

Well, that was my point.

There are still some games that do have issues running on modern PCs, so I'd never discount the possibility, especially if someone besides Microsoft comes along and takes the OS world by storm. It's not as though I can accurately predict where hardware and software will be in twenty years, just that if it continues as it is right now I see no reason why games made from 2006 onward would have issues running on future PCs.

Captcha: "hear hear". Thanks for that.

 

[Auron]

As a historian I'm sure that sooner or later(more likely later when all the people over 40 die.) there will be a field dedicated to studying games. There's a history field for every form of established media already books, newspapers, movies and so on. There already are works about gaming(mine included) but still not enough quantity to form a field. Ultimately, emulation's here as a resource for older games, it's not perfect but it's better than losing them forever.

This generation is not likely just a footnote, not for another 10 years at least, Starcraft basically reinvented esports in the western world and is still going strong. Batman Arkham Asylum was the first great Comic game ever sans maybe Ultimate Spiderman. Classic Adventure games(monkey island, sam&max, etc) saw the first releases in almost 10 years. The first always online DRM was implemented(not sure that's a milestone. =p), The Kickstarter high profile CRPG will be released starting with Shadowrun in June completely funded by it's public's pre-orders with no uber advertising budget or publishers telling them something's not appealing.

All in all there's a bunch of important things for gaming happening, it's not just Call of Duty.

 

[rob_simple]

I'd like to run a poll and discover the disparity between people who spend all their time talking about how great SNES and Mega Drive games were and how many of them actually still play them.

Personally, my favourite console is the N64, because I have all my fondest gaming memories in that console. That being said, almost every single game on the N64 is now virtually unplayable, I'll probably never go back to any of them unless I can get them as DLC like Banjo Kazooie.

You'll always have the nostalgia crowd, you'll always have the people who parrot on about how their generation was the best; it's exactly the same with music, films and every other artistic medium.

I don't think your point about Gamestop drumming up the used trade has any bearing on how memorable this generation will be, because I only trade in games that I didn't enjoy. At last count, I think I own 100 PS3 games, about 30% I replay on a regular basis, about 50% I will probably play again at some point and maybe 20% I just know aren't worth trading in.

 

[RyuujinZERO]

I wonder what the "retirement plan" will be for DRM-locked games. If a developer one days stops supporting their game, would they release an offline version, or a "run your own server" release if some required gameplay components were server-side? And what happens to all my digitally-owned games 30 years from now?

Unfortunately historically the results have been quite the opposite

In many cases where developers have pulled support for games with server side components their response has been to simply gut the game in order to stop people playing it so much and to force them to migrate to newer games.

Neverwinter Nights after so many years, they shut down the gamespy servers wholesale so nobody could search for multiplayer servers (even though the servers are independantly hosted) to try get them to move onto new-but-similar franchises to fleece them for case instead of letting them keep playing the game they liked.

In NWN's case the community came up with their own third party software that mimics the disabled service but; point stands. Publishers don't like people playing out-dated games they have already bought, they want to push your forward onto new platforms and titles.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

The generation will be known for both the gaming developments and the protest of corporate actions

Gaming is now more mainstream with millions buying them and many games introducing or creating new experiences: Doom's FPS, GTA's open world, Bioshock Infinite and Spec Ops: the Line and their use of story, the partial revival of adventure games thanks to Telltale's the Walking Dead and so on.

On the other hand, the corporate side is becoming more reckless in actions and more hostile towards consumers. On-disc DLC, predatory acquisition and closure of multiple studios, Always online debacles, over bloated budgets, lack of female representation and the rest of the controversies (though DMC, Mass Effect, and many others may have been exaggerated). If this distrust and antagonism continues, sharp industrial shifts may occur that change the industry and its practices. It won't be a crash but an overdue correction.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

snip

Yeah, but those batteries are super easy to replace. You need a special screwdriver that costs, like $3, plus a button cell battery that you can buy pretty much anywhere batteries are sold.

Considering the inflated prices of batteries in retail stores today, I think it would be much cheaper to get such cartridge batteries off of E-Bay. I was originally going to make the same comment you did, but with a different angle.

I've been doing quite a bit of old game cartridge buying recently, and during my E-Bay searches, I every once in awhile come across people selling lots of the exact type/model of battery used in cartridges from the NES to the N64.

I just did a search a second ago to compare prices, and from searching Super Nintendo Battery, I found one seller that is selling them in quantities of ten for $10.21 with free shipping, so basically $1.02 per battery. I know I've never seen a single specialized battery like that go for less then 2 bucks at a retail store, so that's why I think it might be cheaper. Heck, the seller even gave full instructions on how to install the batteries.