Friday, 24 May 2013

Are we ready for 'The Next Generation'?

We are coming closer and closer to the next generation of gaming with the Playstation 4 already shown off and the announcement of the next Microsoft console, Xbox One, coming earlier this week. The gears are starting to sputter as we reach what could potentially be the biggest console war of this generation. The thing is – are we really ready for a new set of consoles?

Across the globe people can easily make the argument that our economy is in a slump, people have less money to purchase luxuries that the next generation is likely to be a slower transition than those that have come before it. At the present time, we do not know what the price points for each console will be or which specific games will accompany them. We often argue about the software market being too expensive and are happy to purchase used games in order to grab at the cheapest rates. It isn’t a priority to own the next generation’s consoles and if the price points don’t sit lower than the releases of the PS3 and Xbox 360 than both of the developers can expect to see slow sales.

The one advantage that Microsoft and Sony have against this is the fact that people have been trained to upgrade on an almost yearly basis. Technology is rapidly being improved and hardcore gamers are keen to sit at the top of the pile. People always want the new iPhone, the new Galaxy or the new Call of Duty and almost expect to have to fork out the money for these in the run up to their releases. Because we’ve been systematically taught to upgrade our electronic technology so frequently, it should be easier to transition into the next console generation.

An argument can be made that the current consoles and services provided are just fine and that many are not rushing to get into the next generation. Obviously this could make the transition a lot harder. If Sony decides that you may need to pay for their newest online service or Microsoft decides that their online service needs to get a bit more expensive in order to provide you with a higher quality of service, then why would you want to leave the comfort of what already works for you?

There are many games out there for consumers to play that have not been played and gaming communities that feel well-established where they are at this point. There are even consumers who have recently bought the newest XBOX 360 Slim or PS3 Super Slim and see no need to upgrade since there are already a myriad of games at their disposal when the newest generation will only have a limited number available upon launch. With that said, a good amount of games that will be available at launch for the next generation consoles will be available on the current generation consoles as well. There is no need to transition into a console future where the current consoles work perfectly fine.

On the flip side of this we have reached the end of the line with current console capabilities. While they have done remarkable things with graphics, sound and experience, they have simply reached the limits of what they can do. We are a society who is taught to explore uncharted waters and experience new things and an upgraded set of hardware will be need to provide this. Gaming in general is a much more of a social environment than ever before and the abilities of the next generation to be able to play a game, and have the chance to either share your gameplay with others from the console itself, ask for assistance from other players, or to even join a game with such ease is something that the community has been waiting for.

Either way you look at it the next generation is just around the corner and it’ll be here faster than you think. Even if the transition between systems is slower, this time around, we will all be speaking about the Xbox One or PS4’s new releases instead of the current generation and that in itself will get people interested in making that jump.

Is there anything that I've left out that could be possibly important as to why or why not to shift over to the future of gaming? Are you ready to make the leap or are you happy where you are? Let me know in the comments below and as always, thanks for contributing to the conversation!
 
 
 

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