So, its almost here, about a month away, the PS3 and Wii will arrive at the US shores, ready to do battle in what seems to be the most interesting console war since Sony set foot in the market with their 'surprise' gaming machine Playstation. Ever since then, Sega had died(hardware wise), Sony created the successor of the biggest brand in gaming, Microsoft joined the race (for apparent electronic domination) , Nintendo finally turned from cartidges to using optical based technology and The Phantom never came about. But, now next gen is almost upon us, and are we prepared?
I know some people have 'experienced' the next generation with the X-box 360, but do you really feel next generation-ified? (Yes i know i made that word up), what games out there have really made you quiver in the awesomeness of the next gen experience? Not many is my guess, the launch games were sub-par with games like Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo and Call of Duty 3 really fialing to hit the spot, all got decent reviews but in truth, those games didn't really feel drastically amazing, especially with the hype of next-gen. Currently, games like Dead Rising, Lost Planet and Trusty Bell continue to impress me, aside from DR, Lost Planet and Oblivion (of sorts) though, i don't feel enthusiastic about the the next gen hype at all.. im different from most casuals who are excited about playing the X-box 360 game demos in the shop floors but when they play it back at home, they find that their TV isn't HD at all so it disappoints them compared with their first X-box 360 experience(yes i have a few friends that felt experience). I know my game stuff fairly well i say, and it was pretty 'pointless' buying a HD console until i actually own a HDTV (which shouldn't be too long i suppose)
Which brings me to the point of the PS3 situation, Sony hopes that by 2011, at least 50% of the America will own a HDTV of some sort, bold words im sure, and of course, like either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, HDTV will bound to be standard, but im a bit suspect whether Sony's PS3 + 1080p HDTV emphasis is far too early for everyone to bear. I mean, take a look back at the Dreamcast, its technology was a bit too much for the public to comprehend, what with its internet gaming, VMU capability, DVD playback..ish etc, this was back in the year 2000. That was one reason why the Dreamcast failed aside from aggressive Sony marketing, poor Sega marketing and Pirating. Now, Sony PS3 comes along, and i will bet quite a lot of money that casuals who pick it up won't know diddily squat on what to do with it aside from either playing games and playing a blu ray movie, they won't make the best use of the PS3, they just know they purchased a Playstation-branded machine and it plays movies/games. Thats it. A good £425+ on a machine with next to no knowledge on how to make great use of it. Similar to the PSp situation where people who knows a bit about gaming/hacking will know about Devhook, emulation, video/image conversion, firmware upgrading and other stuff that makes the best use of the PSP.
Next up, Nintendo, their strategy of a high-risk but high-reward plan will be a bit strange, but no so dis-similar with the DS. The DS is a simple not threatening device, unlike the PSP, casuals who pick it up would know how to make great use of it because its already there, a very simple pick up and play device that anybody can love.
But here comes the problem with the Wii and its channels, in the UK, despite the Internet becoming a rapidly growing product in most households, not that many have wireless connections, which is important for Nintendo's Internet service, which will have lots of channels like weather forecast, its Virtual console and news etc that require the internet. Of course, the ethernet cable is a viable option so wired internet users can have that choice, but still, im sure there's a lot of tech-savvy gamers out there in the Uk right? Not really, people wouldn't have the faintest idea on how to set it up, Nintendo's online service could be its downfall as its step up from last generation to the next is a harrowing one.
Importantly, one prepartion for next gen is the ability to move one's arm to justify an action in the game, WiiSports, ExciteTruck, Warioware etc, games that require motions of the arms of some sort, Some gamers don't like them.. why? Have they played in the arcades recently? DDR, Time Crisis, Sega Rally, that punchbag game and that Air Hockey table, they're games that require more than just a simple press of a button or two and these games are fun. But i guess, those lazy people that think that Nintendo is alienating them into thinking motion-sensing is the next-gen thing are fools themselves, especially with the PS3's SixAxis. they need to be prepared for next gen, and pronto...
And finally, one last thought, remember the days of Snes, Mega Drive, Master System and even Atari? Those were simpler days, we used to rank everything by bits (i.e. 8 bit, 16 bit), we didn't need to know the specs to enjoy the console, we didn't need to feel threatened by any unneccassary extras and that the console and TV will do fine. I miss those days and its really this generation and the next that have made me wish for something simple in gaming. And then i look at my DS and it warms my heart up a bit.
