So what's next?

[Aswald]

To be honest, I'm not especially impressed with the "advances" of the latest generation of home consoles- they just don't seem to be able to really do anything NEW, unlike when the original Playstation and Nintendo 64 came out, with their ability to handle games like Mario 64 and Spyro the Dragon- games not really possible (or at least practical) with the 16-Bit generation.


Since not much time had passed between the current and previous generations, it may well be that before long the next generation will be released, in spite of underwhelming consumer demand.

What will they offer, do you think? Anything truly NEW, anything that absolutely couldn't be done now?

[dlopez9069]

i truly think that something new has come along its just that its not as visible as it once was. when the n64 and ps1 came out everyone realized the huge difference between 16 and 64 bit. now however the differences are smaller yet still very effective such as smart AIs more fluid movement and better story lines.

[Kid Ice]

Funny, I think all three systems are a huge advance over their predecessors (in terms of HD visuals and network capability). If you ask me it was the previous generation (PS2, Xbox, GC) that didn't go anywhere.

[Aswald]

Well, any advance counts as something, true...but I mean will it be something that actually really matters to gamers? For real? We seem to have hit a plateau with both arcade and home gaming.

[Griking]

now however the differences are smaller yet still very effective such as smart AIs more fluid movement and better story lines.

Maybe its me but I don't see how upgrading to the latest hardware is going to all of a sudden let developers create better story lines. And some games have had smart AI for a while now, so that's not entirely hardware related either.

[CosmicMonkey]

We're reaching the limit of what you can do on a flat telly screen. The next big leap will be consoles that work with those 3D TVs, or full on Ghost in the Shell / Matrix stylee plug-a-cable-in-your-head-VR.

[carlcarlson]

having never played a wii I can't really back this up, but it seems to me that their control scheme is a big step forward. being able to play a fps and just point at something to shoot it, or swinging the remote to hit a golf ball sounds like quite the improvement in my opinion.

[7th lutz]

The wii control scheme is different then anything else from other game console generations. It offers a different experience for some games.

[Trebuken]

The biggest changes have been in textures and some of the effects such as fog, transparency, and water reflection. Lighting has improved as well.

I think the biggest advance we will see from this generation will be the physics. More lifelike motion from objects should develope through the generations lifecycle.

The diversoty of control schemes is a big deal; and for me HD gaming has blossomed, but you need have the HDTV for it.

[FantasiaWHT]

I'd just be happy to see a character wearing a cape (or any clothing, really) that actually looks right. Capes never come close to interacting realistically with the movement of the character, the character's other clothing, sheathed swords, etc.

[Haoie]

You know what's hit the wall in terms of improvement? Sound/music.

[FantasiaWHT]

You know what's hit the wall in terms of improvement? Sound/music.

Wait, you mean that they aren't going to come out with a surround-sound system for consoles that has 360 speakers, one for each degree? Man... I'm so bummed out now.

[BHvrd]

I think we are on the threshold of two possible outcomes for gaming.

Virtual Reality or awesome Retro Gaming.

It's getting to the point where realism has to become more real or cinematic to be enjoyable, otherwise the tried and true formula's still stand strong.

Personally i'm pulling more for the retro side of things. Some outrageous awesome 2-D gameplay would rock in my books, or any famous formula enhanced.

I say take the old tried and true formula's and enhance the hell outta them! I think that would be more enjoyable for the time being rather than virtual reality as I don't think we are quite there yet.

Sure they should push the limits and do the most they can, but it's a time for gaming to return to its roots a bit and I feel this will be the generation it happens in, what with virtual arcades and all.

If they do it right it could be very exciting.

Super Stardust HD on ps3 is a prime example, and one of the games that has got me thinking this way. You can tell this game was programmed by some very intellegent people.

[Chris]

Well, any advance counts as something, true...but I mean will it be something that actually really matters to gamers? For real? We seem to have hit a plateau with both arcade and home gaming.

Just look at the Wii phenomenon. If it weren't for Nintendo, I'd agree with you. The last generation was pretty boring imo, but the first time playing Wii Sports was genuinely fresh and exciting.

[Cryomancer]

Xbox360 will have a headset attachment soon that lets you smell your games.

Sales of fap games will rise to creepy new levels.

[Aswald]

I thought about this post again Saturday, when I read about the techno-hysteria over the Apple I-phone.

Quite frankly, we seem to be becoming a society so obsessed with the latestandcoolesttechnology, that it doesn't really whether or not it's really any actual use.

Look- it took at least several years for the remarkable games of the Atari 2600 to appear. Who, in 1977 or even 1979, would have believed that Robot Tank or Solaris was possible?

Look at the sort of games Opcode is programming for the ColecoVision.

It can take many moons for a console's abilities to finally, truly, reach its limit. So just how the hell is that going to happen after just two years?

It also seems as if the companies are telling the consumer what he wants, more than anything else.

[BHvrd]

I thought about this post again Saturday, when I read about the techno-hysteria over the Apple I-phone.

Quite frankly, we seem to be becoming a society so obsessed with the latestandcoolesttechnology, that it doesn't really whether or not it's really any actual use.

Look- it took at least several years for the remarkable games of the Atari 2600 to appear. Who, in 1977 or even 1979, would have believed that Robot Tank or Solaris was possible?

Look at the sort of games Opcode is programming for the ColecoVision.

It can take many moons for a console's abilities to finally, truly, reach its limit. So just how the hell is that going to happen after just two years?

It also seems as if the companies are telling the consumer what he wants, more than anything else.

I agree with, and understand where you are coming from 100%.

Hype seems to sell things before people really know, what will be availiable, or the support involved, or what the hell they are even actually going to use it for in a practical situation.

I quarantee everyone who buys an I-phone is gonna use it.....as a phone, and not much more. It's just not practical for everyday use for the everyday joe. It's a good device for business people, but people are just eating it up without thinking what they are even going to use it for.

As far as consoles go this is why I chose ps3, they have a ten year strategy, and I can see alot of things I want for and out of it down the road.

People don't seem to think long term when buying technology nowadays, and I agree that it's what drives the hardware that is important, not the hardware itself, and we all know what drives hardware the best "users". Give users power and the ability to get what they want when they want it. Not what you tell them they can have from a selection of predetermined content.

Open architecture devices is what I want. I want to make and share things, and this is what supports the best of technologies "community".

Latest and greatest my ass.

[Chris]

Hype seems to sell things before people really know, what will be availiable, or the support involved, or what the hell they are even actually going to use it for in a practical situation.

I quarantee everyone who buys an I-phone is gonna use it.....as a phone, and not much more. It's just not practical for everyday use for the everyday joe. It's a good device for business people, but people are just eating it up without thinking what they are even going to use it for.

As far as consoles go this is why I chose ps3, they have a ten year strategy, and I can see alot of things I want for and out of it down the road.
.

Seems to me like you bought in the hype, buying a console for games that aren't out yet. A "10 year strategy"? So you don't really know what will be available nor the support involved..
Looking at the sales figures it would've been more reasonable to buy a Wii, except you really wanted to buy a Blue-Ray player.
Could very well happen that Sony falls from first to last position in this generation.

[Anthony1]

We're reaching the limit of what you can do on a flat telly screen. The next big leap will be consoles that work with those 3D TVs, or full on Ghost in the Shell / Matrix stylee plug-a-cable-in-your-head-VR.

Ok, first off, sorry to bang on your take CosmicMonkey, but I gotta do it, cause......


I totally disagree with this. Forget all about High Definition and component cables and HDMI for a second. Just think about broadcast television. I'm talking television from the 1970's. The visuals of broadcast TV from the 1970's make modern games look like the Atari 2600. I don't care if you have a system that can only output in RF. If it could generate real time visuals that look as good as broadcast TV from the 1970's, we would be blown out the fucking water. So forget about any limits of what our flat telly screens can do. We are so far away from the limits of what our screens can do, it's not even funny. Think of a cheesy TV show from the 1970's like Bionic Man or S.W.A.T. Now, imagine watching an episode of S.W.A.T. on one TV, and then watching a video game on a TV right next to it, and the visuals being virtually indistinguishable..... Can you imagine that? I mean come on. We are so fucking far away from pushing our current technology even up to 1960's or 1970's broadcast TV levels, much less current day TV or Movie levels. Pop in Toy Story on DVD on your regular flat screen telly. How far are we away from controlling an interactive version of that? Very fucking far away. And all that (a movie like Toy Story) can be done on a regular ass TV from the 1980's. You can watch Toy Story on VHS, on a crappy TV from the early 1980's or even the late 70's and we are so fucking far away from controlling a pixel perfect interactive version of that.

So please don't use the excuse that we've caught up with the display limits of our current televisons, because we aren't even close. Not by a fucking longshot.

[djsquarewave]

We're reaching the limit of what you can do on a flat telly screen. The next big leap will be consoles that work with those 3D TVs, or full on Ghost in the Shell / Matrix stylee plug-a-cable-in-your-head-VR.

This is the future, wholly and truly. I can't wait!

...

Incremental graphics upgrades, for all the tech nerd and fanboy gushing, really are nigh meaningless from a gameplay standpoint nowadays. We can already have hundreds of enemies on-screen at once with current hardware (Dead Rising maintenence tunnels! Also Warhawk, I hear.) which is one of the few things that couldn't be done with previous hardware that would actually affect gameplay. Incredibly huge open maps are already doable. Advanced physics, atmospheric lighting, all this stuff is getting to the point where further improvements will amount to a hill of beans. Increased draw distance and resolution will soon become moot when it's representing things too minute for the human eye to percieve.

Really, though. Wake me up when someone figures out how to give a game a compelling story.