With Will Wright recently stating that he considers the Wii to be the only next gen console, has sparked a question in me; what is next-gen?
Lets look at what the current consoles offer. First the Xbox 360. The 360 came out a year prior to the others, and was said by many to feel like a rushed console. I agree with that. In terms of power, it feels more like half a next gen console, and that can be attributed to the fact that since it came out early, it hasn’t had developers really push it until recently. However, what Xbox provides, and what continues to make it appealing, even to MS naysayers, is the online game play. If there is one thing the 360 does excel at, its the Xbox live system. However, to really enjoy that, you must pay that subscription fee. In the end, the Xbox continues to outsell its competitors in the software department due to its early release. Because of that, I believe that developers found it easy to adapt to, and even if they experienced difficulty, they’ve now have had time to adjust. Thusly, more games are available.
With Sony’s Playstation 3, we find that power is the key to this console. It’s like the PS2 on PCP. The applications that can be applied to the system seem endless. This is ironically the system’s downfall as well. The system is so powerful, that many developers have complained that it is too difficult to make games for. I would say it is partially because the technology used is so new, that they don’t know how to make the hardware flow with other components of the system effectively. But while the PS3 lacks now, in the long run, it will prevail. In terms of power, its the exact opposite of the other systems, its next next-gen. Sony could’ve played their cards much better, but with confusing TV spots, and statements like; “We’re glad that developers aren’t able to use the full capacity of the PS3, quite frankly, we think they never will”. That is not a direct quote, but that is the effect it left on me. More specifically, it feels like they’ve said were gonna make you pay a lot for our system but you will never get your moneys worth. Its like $500 sunglasses with the capability to watch movies on it, but no one will make movies on the medium it uses.
Finally, the Wii. Obviously, graphically, the Wii falls far behind both systems, it’s a last generation’s power. Some have said that there is a hidden power behind the GPU in the Wii, that allows it to be pushed farther than we have seen. Purely speculation at this time though. What we can see, is that it does out preform the Gamecube, and is approximately equal the PS2. Argumentatively, Nintendo did this on purpose to keep the cost low, and make a profit on their system from the get go, something that usually doesn’t happen for quite some time after the console’s release. With Nintendo realizing that games have become stagnant, however, they went an alternate route and poured money and time into their controller. Motion sensing was the route, and brought a new experience to games, that while have been tried before, haven’t succeeded on the same scale. Some have said the motion control can be easily bypassed by flicking your wrist, but that only hinders your own fun. Effort should be put into your game while playing to make it worthwhile. FF7 – you can beat the game with some time, but the American Weapons are where the real fun is. Even Mario 64, quick game, but collecting all the stars gives you extended gameplay and adventure. All in all, the Wii seems to be an idiot savant, lacking in many fields, but exceeding in the amount of pure fun.
In the end, we previously considered next-generation consoles to provide more power. Upping the graphics and having more memory to make larger games. Xbox went with their online gaming system to create a great massive online experience. Sony went with the traditional route of graphical power, but to an extreme. And finally the Wii has gotten the closest to what we’ve strived for, for years, virtual reality – though is still far from it. This generation of consoles all have their own ideas of what next gen is, and personally, I believe that the Wii has gone the farthest with this. We all know online gameplay, though never before as well on a console. We have all seen the graphics get better, but just like online play, the PC has done it before, and will continue to up the graphics. The Wii is the only face that has actually changed the way we play games. And it is the second time Nintendo has done this. Before the NES, everyone was used to joysticks and a few buttons, or paddles, but Nintendo made way with their new d-pad oriented controller. At that time, many were against this, and when more buttons started making way onto these controllers, gamers either left (seeing the new controls as too complicated) or dealt with it, accepted it, and moved on with the industry. Weather it’s accepted now or later, I believe that motion controls will eventually be the norm for generations to come.
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