Generation Eight

[TheFlyingGerbil]

 

With the launch of the Wii's successor next year we will be into a new generation of home consoles seven years after the start of the current gen. Are you ready?

 

What do you think Sony and Microsoft's responses will be? Will it work to Nintendo's advantage to be out of cycle with the other players. Or does it mean Sony and MS can built Nintendo's innovations fully into their next gen consoles?

 

Has the generation run its course or do you think it still has life in it.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Deanb
added cool pictures

[deanb]

I think this generation has still got some blood left in it. But I think that next generation the console model will start to fall apart. If they carry on demanding that games are $60 a pop then they're fucked.

They need to get adaptive with their business models and product distribution. Digital downloads, cheap app-like titles, Free2Play titles etc. Their online stores need to be shit loads better.

 

I also think next gen won't be counted so much as the big 3. In the handheld space whether they want it or not Apple and Android are competitors to the 3DS n NGP. Nintendo are living in denial and will be eaten alive in the handheld space next gen. Relying too much on older titles. Sony on the other hand have embraced it. The NGP is hardware compatible with the iPhone and they've got the Playstation Suite on the Androids.

On the console side Steam has pretty much become a platform unto itself. Especially if they're roaming about onto consoles too. Onlive and Gaikia (and anything that crops up in future) are a major threat to the current model of having such outdated concepts as "consoles". folks are getting used to netflix n hulu for films n TV. Pandora, Google Music, Spotify etc for music too. Games are only a hop n skip away.

 

As for what I'd like to see: I'm kinda into me motion games. So I'd like to see stuff like that remain. Maybe a higher res PSeye tied with Move.

 

I'm wary to state this as I'd probably have said the same (along with many others) about this time last gen but: Nintendo are fucked. I doubt they will reach 9th gen.

[Strangelove]

Its strange, but im barely getting used to this generation. Then again ive only had my ps3 and wii since 2008.

 

Also, i disagree with pretty much everything dean said. So much.

[Mal]

 

With that, I think Nintendo can benefit from going out of cycle with the rest. Come on, who here doesn't think thew Wii, while a good console, is a bit under powered? Of course, it will lose in the long run with Sony and Microsoft coming up with beefier consoles to combat whatever Nintendo rolls out. Then... Nintendo will find itself on the lower end again, when it comes to hardware. Though... at this point, can't say I care too much about graphics since devs seem to be able to be able to do things fine with the current generation. Besides, people are so damn focused on MP games, that graphics doesn't come not play too much.. since you can't have too good of graphics for the MP portion of a game.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

I don't think we're ready for all that with gen 8, Dean. Don't forget only about half of xboxes are online this gen, we are a long way off download being the main delivery method for games.

[deanb]

Not saying it'll be the main delivery, at least on launch. But the stores will need to be shit loads better. It needs to have day one downloads available for example. Not just cherry picking random titles to add on months down the line for more than the launch price.

[HotChops]

I don't care very much about hardware anymore. I'll admit that I get excited for new graphics and controls, but what I'm really eager (if not desperate) to see is the evolution of games as a properly matured medium for .... well, EVERYTHING.

 

More than once I've heard people say, "If I want a really good story, I'll read a book." I've never viewed interactive entertainment in such a narrow way. I've always believed that "video games" as a medium are the pinnacle of entertainment and art.

 

They have the ability to deliver the depth of literature, the visual grandeur of cinema, the audio accompaniment of music and sound, the emotion and beauty of art, and most importantly, the ability to interact with these elements all at once.

 

So when I want a great story, I don't think I should have to read a book. If I want to see a beautiful sculpture, I shouldn't be limited to a museum. If I want to learn valuable information, I shouldn't be forced to use a textbook. I truly believe that anything books, movies, music or art can traditionally do, "games" can do just as well if not better.

 

Unfortunately, stigma, commercialization and lack of imagination has stifled the potential of what interactive entertainment can be.

 

Interactive entertainment is just too young at this point. When you really look at history, traditional media are no different from games. Like video games, literature, music, art and film all once had their share of entry barriers and limited expectations of what they could be.

 

For example, reading/writing was originally used almost exclusively for recording history and religion. The ability to use it was limited to the intellectual elite. Art was once severely limited to venerating leaders and recording major historical events. Today, we use those mediums for whatever the imagination desires.

 

Why should interactive media be any different? Why can't a child learn history or algebra through an interactive format? Why can't a person experience a touching romance through a game?

 

The only real obstacle to this evolution is the dependence on technology. Traditional media requires far less to exist. But assuming technology continues to evolve and be readily available, who is to say that our great grandchildren might not experience the vast majority of entertainment and art through an interactive format?

[TheMightyEthan]

lol, this picture makes it look like those controllers are supposed to be jammed into your eyes. I love it.

 

I'm skeptical about dean's claim that Nintendo won't make it to Gen 9. However, I do think they'll have more trouble this time around since the Wii 2 (or whatever they call it) will basically just be a PS3 with Move. Sure they supposedly have screens on the controllers, but I think those will end up like the speaker on the Wii's controller: gimmicky and annoying.

[RockyRan]

I'm excited for a new generation of hardware, not because I want to buy a new console anytime soon (god no), but because at the very least we'll get a better class of shitty console ports on the PC. It's really quite a shame that a vast majority of PC gamers can't even use their hardware properly because most games they're playing on it are still optimized for hardware from 2005. And considering the industry's collective circle jerking around consoles in recent years, there's no chance in hell we'll get a good amount of software optimized well for modern hardware unless the Console Overlords deem it so.

[TheMightyEthan]

It's really quite a shame that a vast majority of PC gamers can't even use their hardware properly because most games they're playing on it are still optimized for hardware from 2005.

See, I actually kind of like this, because it means I can run everything on highest detail settings at 1920x1080 with 16xQ CSAA and 16x AF. I loves me some antialiasing and filtering.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

It's really quite a shame that a vast majority of PC gamers can't even use their hardware properly because most games they're playing on it are still optimized for hardware from 2005.

See, I actually kind of like this, because it means I can run everything on highest detail settings at 1920x1080 with 16xQ CSAA and 16x AF. I loves me some antialiasing and filtering.

 

True, but then again textures and models have been looking like crap for the last few years. Playing my games at 1900x1200 just means I have a really clear picture of a lot of low-res assets.

 

I'm wary to state this as I'd probably have said the same (along with many others) about this time last gen but: Nintendo are fucked. I doubt they will reach 9th gen.

 

Going to seriously disagree with you here, Dean. Nintendo is always able to find its niche, and the fact that they sell hardware at profit means that as long as they are able to sell a modest number of consoles, they will be able to keep chugging along. That said, it's hard to say what will happen next-gen without knowing what their plan will be. Let's wait til after E3 to see what happens. Assuming they expand their presence in the online space and improve on other areas of weakness, I think they can be pretty competitive.

 

also think next gen won't be counted so much as the big 3. In the handheld space whether they want it or not Apple and Android are competitors to the 3DS n NGP. Nintendo are living in denial and will be eaten alive in the handheld space next gen. Relying too much on older titles. Sony on the other hand have embraced it. The NGP is hardware compatible with the iPhone and they've got the Playstation Suite on the Androids.

 

I agree that Android and Apple are competitors, regardless of what Nintendo says. But, iPhone-like hardware or not, the NGP will not be anymore successful than the PSP should Sony follow the same pricing strategy. Other than taking huge losses per unit (something Sony may actually do), I don't see the thing hitting the US at under $399. If that's the case, they would be no better off than Nintendo facing off against the smartphone competition.

Edited April 27, 2011 by p4warrior

[TheMightyEthan]

Yeah, I would like some higher-res textures. For the most part I think the models are fine though (with some exceptions).

[Mr. GOH!]

Bigger and more open level designs and better AI are what I crave. And those are bottlenecked by the crappy CPUs and obscenely low memory assets of this generation's consoles. The memory also severely limits the variety assets, which is partly why most alien races in Mass Effect are mono-gendered, for example.

 

The push for new hardware isn't primarily about graphics for me; it's about the hope that with more resources, devs will make games that look good and are, well, bigger and more versatile.

[TheMightyEthan]

That makes sense, and is an aspect of the problem I'd forgotten about.

[Mal]

Aren't the 360 and PS3 running in at a half of GB of RAM? Maybe if they bump it up to 1 or 2 GB then maybe we'll see a marked difference in bootup and make it flow better in just the menu screens for each. I always found it funny how slow they can be.

 

And of course we'll see a difference with better CPUs.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

Aren't the 360 and PS3 running in at a half of GB of RAM? Maybe if they bump it up to 1 or 2 GB then maybe we'll see a marked difference in bootup and make it flow better in just the menu screens for each. I always found it funny how slow they can be.

 

And of course we'll see a difference with better CPUs.

 

I believe the PS3 (at least, not sure about the 360) runs 512 shared between its video and system memory.

[deanb]

No it's the 360 that runs 512MB of system RAM shared with the GPU. The PS3 has 256MB of System RAM n 256MB of VRAM.

 

Next gen will need at least 1GB to the GPU alone to match current PC. That's also when you'll get to see the bigger textures.

1GB for the GPU, 4-8GB for the system.

[staySICK]

 

 

That looks like a Lantern's battery. I want it to look like that now.

[Yantelope]

I still really think that digital download will be the main delivery method if not the only delivery method of the new consoles. Developers want it to kill 2nd hand sales and Console makers want it to get a piece of every single download on the system. MS is clearly building to this by refusing a BD drive add on for their system. I refute the callings of "not everyone has internet yet" by saying that the profits are more than enough to outweigh the minority of people who still don't have internet.

[deanb]

Oh yeah if a single 8th gen consoles comes out with a DVD drive....

Blu-Ray or bust.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

It would be interesting if one of the three main players went with a cart or flash-based memory system. I wouldn't mind using DS-sized games rather than scratchable discs.

[deanb]

If they went for a cart it's be laptop HDD sized. Same as the older carts. Or it would be insanely expensive but smaller.

A 32GB SDHC card, to be on par with a basic blu-ray in capacity, costs £40 a pop. So does a brand new game. The expense of the medium pretty much writes off the idea. Especially when £1 or so nets you a blu-ray disc.

 

Flash would be faster, but not fast enough to justify 40X the cost.

[Mal]

If they do direct download only... I wonder how big the files will be. I seem to recall MGS4 and Killzone 3 weighing in around 40GB. That is around 1/6 of my Comcrap monthly bandwidth allotment. Yes, yes... they will compress the data but man, I sure hope they give us a 1TB drive or at least have an option to put in more than one HD... but then it sounds too much like a PC. Hrmm...

[deanb]

A TB drive at the moment (3.5" mind) is about £40, so I think 1TB isn't out of the question.

[TheMightyEthan]

That looks like a Lantern's battery. I want it to look like that now.

Bullet-point on the box:

 

Your Xbox 720 also doubles as a Deadly Laser for deterring home intruders.