It’s hard to escape the ever-omnipotent hype machine when the shiniest, high-techiest, next-gen consoles get announced. It’s a lot like a presidential race in the gaming world, really. Promises are made, grand statements run amok, and no one is allowed to take more than one side because everyone has to mud sling. When you hop off the hype train for just a second and look at it from a distance, however, it becomes possible to see why you might not want to ride that all the way to its destination. As enticing as the next generation seems at the moment, there are just as many good reasons to stick around in the current generation, as well.
Will History Repeat Itself?
As great as this generation has been to gamers, if we look back to its origin point, it got off to a really bumpy start. While Xbox 360 had plenty of great games out the gate, the now-legendary Red Ring Of Death made it pretty obvious that quality control in the hardware department was not at the top of Microsoft’s priority list. Then, the Playstation 3 came out swinging with a solid piece of hardware, but was at a severe dearth of games to play for nearly a year after its release. Where the Wii was concerned, it offered nothing of note other than Twilight Princess.
With reviews rolling in saying that games such as Call of Duty: Ghosts are not performing well on next gen systems, could this be a sign that developers are still struggling to create games that work well with the Playstation 4 and Xbox One? Sure, Activision’s stable of developers are notorious for putting out buggy games, but that doesn’t mean these signals should be ignored. Not only that, but the actual games available are either already available on current-gen systems, simply underwhelming, or just sequels. It could be a minute before we see anything that really screams “the next generation has arrived.”
Continued Support Of Current-Gen Systems
While promises made during the unveiling of new consoles are not always kept, both Microsoft and Sony have gone on record to say that they will continue to support their respective consoles well into the future. Heck, the Playstation 2 only recently saw its last game released. Provided that these two titans keep their promise, and considering what I mentioned above, it might not be such a bad idea to ride the wave of current-gen releases while the new consoles try and learn how to doggy paddle.
The Inevitable Release Of New & Improved Console Models
Though this particular stipulation is by no means specific to this generation of consoles, it has become the “in” thing to release “new and improved” designs on pre-existing console models. There was the Xbox Elite and the Xbox Slim, along with numerous Playstation 3 models released this last generation. Nintendo has managed to confuse the hell out of consumers with its handling of the 3DS this generation by releasing a million variations of the handheld. Chances are, one or two years down the road, we will be seeing new and improved redesigns on all three major consoles in some capacity, and at a potentially lower price point.
What Will Happen With DRM?
Microsoft ruffled a few feathers when it announced the Xbox One, to put it lightly. Gamers were not happy to hear that they would have to pay to play used games on their consoles, even if it meant losing the admittedly cool family sharing option. Though Microsoft is getting rid of that feature with a day-one patch for the Xbone, if all it takes is a patch to remove it, who’s to say that they won’t just patch it back in down the road and spin it just a little differently?
What’s even scarier to think about: What if it works and Sony decides to follow suit? It’s no secret that Sony is looked at as a good guy in the industry next to Microsoft, but at the end of the day, they’re out to make money. Look how they slid the announcement that their online service would no longer be free right under everyone’s noses during the uproar that resulted from Microsoft’s announcement, and no one seemed to notice. Creepy.
The Next-Gen Feeling Is Not There…Yet
While the games releasing for the Xbox One and Playstation 4 are no doubt next-gen games graphically, gameplay-wise, they don’t appear to be much of an improvement or quantum leap forward from what we are seeing with this generation. Battlefield 4 might be bringing larger-scale multiplayer battles to consoles for the first time, but besides that, there doesn’t appear to be many games hitting the launch window that really feel like something that couldn’t be done in this generation.
Some of the real heavy-hitters, like Ubisoft’s The Division and Respawn’s Titanfall, which are set to seamlessly blend single-player experiences with the online realm for the first time on consoles, aren’t coming out until next year. Maybe waiting on games that truly capitalize on the power of the next generation consoles isn’t such a bad idea?
What do you think? Are you buying into the next generation of consoles on day one, or waiting it out to see where they go? Are there any other reasons to wait on it that I didn’t list here? Let us know in the comments below!
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I think I'll wait until mid-2015 and grab a system bundled with a game or 2 at a marked-down price over some obscure bank-holiday weekend sale.
Now Im not a "fan boy" of either MS or Sony, but i recently bought a PS3 after having a 360 for 5 years, and having that 7 years + of completely different games and content that i missed out on, its almost "Next Gen" in itself lol. Alot of people seem to forget that, by sticking to one console youve only experienced half of what this generation has/ had/ will have to offer us. Switch!
This article hit the nail on the head. I think you'd have to be insane to be buying either of these two on day 1.