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[Speevy]

So not only you don't want people to attack your beloved Xbox360, but you also want from others not to defend Revolution. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice...

I don't want people to criticize any company unless it's warranted, and the same is true of defending companies. Nintendo is in such a unique position next generation that it's hard not to root for them.

 

[Lakitu]

:lol

He says with a blurry MGS pic as his avatar.

What does MGS have to do with anything?

 

[HokieJoe]

You know, I wonder about that. My friend and I were talking about how, will kids these days look back on games like GTAIII and Halo 2 and Tony Hawk x the way we wax nostalgic on a game like Super Metroid or DW4... and he said that they won't, that the games don't have that kind of timelessness and level of simplicity that made earlier titles so memorable. I'm tempted to agree, since this era seems to be one of incremental upgrades to existing franchises - in 10 years when kids this gen are all grown up, I doubt they'll look back on Halo 2 when they have Halo 5, which will probably end up being a fairly similar game at its core, barring any type of paradigm shift (holograms? VR?).

Interesting take.

I think some games will be timeless simply because of their mix of gameplay and funness. Games that rely on whizzbang stuff only will never inspire nostalgia from any generation.

It's kind of like old movies for me. Some movies are timeless because of the actors, the story elements, timing, and execution. Old they may be, but they're still great movies.

 

[Prospero]

You know, I wonder about that. My friend and I were talking about how, will kids these days look back on games like GTAIII and Halo 2 and Tony Hawk x the way we wax nostalgic on a game like Super Metroid or DW4... and he said that they won't, that the games don't have that kind of timelessness and level of simplicity that made earlier titles so memorable. I'm tempted to agree, since this era seems to be one of incremental upgrades to existing franchises - in 10 years when kids this gen are all grown up, I doubt they'll look back on Halo 2 when they have Halo 5, which will probably end up being a fairly similar game at its core, barring any type of paradigm shift (holograms? VR?).

That's an interesting point, and to an extent I agree with it (though I still have a nostalgic memory of Marathon, even though that game is inarguably technologically dated). I think my primary reason for saying that there's a chance that this gen will have some nostalgic value compared to future generations is because I think this gen may be the last one in which there's a significant degree of diversity, even taking into account the current franchise climate that wasn't as pervasive during what I'd personally consider to be the "golden age" of the Commodore 64. (Sorry--I wasn't a console gamer back then.)

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Shadow Hearts: Covenant (which were both franchise games, but had a strong stamp of individualism all the same) were the most fun games I've played in a long time, and I have my doubts that games as unique as those will be around as much in future generations (not to mention truly off-the-wall games like Katamari Damacy). I think that in future gens, we won't just see successive iterations of franchise games that don't have any significant changes in their core play. As development costs ramp up, and designers start to use the same licensed engines and recycle models and game elements in order to cut corners, then games will become more like each other, to the point when there won't be any real reason to buy more than one game in many genres, and games that fall outside genre altogether will become increasingly rare.

 

[Barnimal]

if every 2d game isnt high res next gen may whoever the developer be die a fiery death. no 2d game SHOULDNT look as good as alien homonid next gen.

 

[pjberri]

:lol

He says with a blurry MGS pic as his avatar.

Seriously, how does one make a coherent response to such an irrational, pulled out of one's ass type statement?

Irony. You could start off by saying why it is irrational.

And I'd love to know what my MGS avatar, or said blurriness, has to do with anything.

 

[AndoCalrissian]

There will definitely be nostalgia from this generation when we look back in ten years, but probably only for games that are more unique, like Pikmin, Ico, Katamari Damacy, Nintendogs, etc. GTA, Halo, and the me-too's of this generation will likely be getting more constant updates through the next generation, and incremental ones at that.

 

[Culex]

We'll probably see far too many sequals and not enough new IP's.

EA and Ubisoft will continue to eat away at any hope of a bright videogame future :-(

 

[Ruzbeh]

So today I played Max Payne 2 (now that I have a faster processor and more, faster memory, finally). And the whole ragdoll thing didn't impress me. I could walk up to things like a box and it will fall or if I walk against something it would fall and stuff. Very realistic, but I was still unimpressed. It really felt like Max Payne 1 with better graphics and realistic stuff.

So that's another fear right there. I'm afraid that next-gen will not impress me and will not show any improvement to the overal gameplay experience.

 

[Razoric]

good series being milked even more via yearly sequels

 

[LakeEarth]

Of what Mario might be doing next. I thought "driving a kart, playing some sports, that's ok"...then "okay now he's partying..that's still okay...", now he's "DDR'ing" and "pinballin" I mean jesus christ what's next? Super Gyno Exam featuring Dr Mario?

 

[Roland Hood]

Uncomfortably real female character models?

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

I'm more worried that a lot of my favorite companies will fall more and more into obscurity until they start dying off completely or being devoured by larger companies. We've already seen Bandai buy Namco, we've seen Sammy buy Sega(we'll see how long this venture lasts), and we've seen Enix absorb Squaresoft. Next up is of course, Ubisoft.

How about other Japanese giants(or in some cases, former) like Konami, Capcom, and Nintendo? Nintendo should be well off of course, with their stellar GameBoy and Pokemon franchises. But it seems like every time there's some kind of merger rumor, Capcom's name gets tossed around. And lets face it, their games haven't exactly been selling like gangbusters. Resident Evil 4 is a hit, for sure, and their Mega Man titles rake in a nice steady cash flow. But can Capcom rely on the Resident Evil and Mega Man franchises forever? I don't think so. Eventually, every star fades. People will eventually demand something fresh and new.

The same might be said for Konami. They've got their Metal Gear games, then their Winning Eleven series. I'm not sure DDR is making them much money anymore. But at least Yu-Gi-Oh seems to be doing for them what Pokemon has done for Nintendo.

But will these established franchises keep up their popularity? Or will people gradually lose interest in the Metal Gears and the Resident Evils and popular games of that ilk. Then these companies will have to come up with something new and fresh.

Big corporations like EA can afford to rest on their laurels, becuase let's face it, nobody is ever going to stop buying sports games or licenced-games. I don't know if you've been paying attention, but there are fewer and fewer 'original' hit titles coming out of Japanese publishers these days. And it's a bit troubling to see. Hopefully, Capcom, Konami, and others have a few aces up their sleeves in the next round of consoles.

 

[pjberri]

Uncomfortably real female character models?

Just be glad silver doesn't have anything to do with the gaming industry.

 

[HokieJoe]

Irony. You could start off by saying why it is irrational.

And I'd love to know what my MGS avatar, or said blurriness, has to do with anything.

Likewise. Xbox Live is a service. You either want it or you don't; but there's no reason to cast aspersions on those who do enjoy it. I PC game online and I have Xbox Live- I enjoy both.

I hate cell phones, and I hate some of the knuckleheads who use them in traffic; but that doesn't mean that everyone who uses them IS a knucklehead. I can say however, that anyone who stalls at a green light because they're talking on a cell phone IS an idiot.

As for your avatar, it seems all too typical for some of the more rabid Sonyphiles on this board to bash Xbox or MS just because of who it is; or who it's NOT- Sony. Given your avatar, you seemed a likely candidate. Was my assumption ill-made? Have you ever had an Xbox Live account upon which to base such a statement?

 

[pjberri]

Likewise. Xbox Live is a service. You either want it or you don't; but there's no reason to cast aspersions on those who do enjoy it. I PC game online and I have Xbox Live- I enjoy both.

I hate cell phones, and I hate some of the knuckleheads who use them in traffic; but that doesn't mean that everyone who uses them IS a knucklehead. I can say however, that anyone who stalls at a green light because they're talking on a cell phone IS an idiot.

As for your avatar, it seems all too typical for some of the more rabid Sonyphiles on this board to bash Xbox or MS just because of who it is; or who it's NOT- Sony. Given your avatar, you seemed a likely candidate. Was my assumption ill-made? Have you ever had an Xbox Live account upon which to base such a statement?

If you had read my posts at all you would notice a trend that goes a little deeper than 'FUCK M$!!!!!!'.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with subscribing to Live, I'm saying that anyone who doesn't realise that they are being ripped off is an idiot. You're right, I don't have a Live account, but my reasons for saying a Live is a ripoff don't require me to have one. I know what lagless online gaming with voice chat and buddy lists is like. I also know that these features, and the other features Live offers, cost next to nothing to maintain once implemented. Not to mention there's only a couple of games I want to play with it, so it's definitely not worth it.There isn't a lot of difference between Battle.net and Live, yet one costs $50 a year.
Whether or not your, or anyone else, are willing to shell out $50 a year, or more, for nothing doesn't concern me. I waste my own money on stupid things too. But there are people here who will argue to no end that Live is good value, and the fact of the matter is that it is not. Hence my calling it a "scam", which is most definitely is.

Marketplace is going to be exactly the same, eventually forcing you to pay for a bunch of shit you don't need, and often don't even want.

 

[djtiesto]

That's an interesting point, and to an extent I agree with it (though I still have a nostalgic memory of Marathon, even though that game is inarguably technologically dated). I think my primary reason for saying that there's a chance that this gen will have some nostalgic value compared to future generations is because I think this gen may be the last one in which there's a significant degree of diversity, even taking into account the current franchise climate that wasn't as pervasive during what I'd personally consider to be the "golden age" of the Commodore 64. (Sorry--I wasn't a console gamer back then.)

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Shadow Hearts: Covenant (which were both franchise games, but had a strong stamp of individualism all the same) were the most fun games I've played in a long time, and I have my doubts that games as unique as those will be around as much in future generations (not to mention truly off-the-wall games like Katamari Damacy). I think that in future gens, we won't just see successive iterations of franchise games that don't have any significant changes in their core play. As development costs ramp up, and designers start to use the same licensed engines and recycle models and game elements in order to cut corners, then games will become more like each other, to the point when there won't be any real reason to buy more than one game in many genres, and games that fall outside genre altogether will become increasingly rare.

Good points from both you and HokieJoe... I'll definitely agree that the more innovative games will be looked back upon with some nostalgia (Katamari, Okami, Nocturne and SH:C which is my fav game this gen)... but nowadays, it seems that the casual gamers are less open to new things. While, in the Nintendo era, people in general played the big name titles (everyone owned Contra, at least one Mega Man, and Mario 3), but were much more willing to take a chance on an off-the-wall game. Then again, I met some girl last week who mentioned she loved Tao Feng, which is a rather obscure present day game, so you never know. Usually casual gamers have the usual suspects (Madden, GTA), and maybe one or two obscure games... like I went over this one kid's house the other day, and he had an Xbox... with SSX Tricky, Narc, and.... Phantom Dust. That last one threw me for a loop.

 

[Barnimal]

if capcom doesnt make a street fighter 4 with high res sprites and the gameplay of the older SFs they deserve to die. :lol

 

[ronito]

I, for one, fear that RPGs will still use random encounters. I had hope that this generation would've ended it, but that was obviously unfounded. Please, please, please let this generation be the end of this awful crutch.

 

[Kon Tiki]

Adverts in games.

 

[LakeEarth]

if capcom doesnt make a street fighter 4 with high res sprites and the gameplay of the older SFs they deserve to die. :lol

I'd love that too, but with the arcade scene nearly dead I just don't see it happening. HOWEVER, the success of SF:Anniversary Collection does encourage more cheapass ports, yay!

It would never happen, but if they made a Street Fighter 3 : Fourth Wall or something, I'd be happy. Don't try to balance anything with existing characters, except maybe lower the power on Chun's SAII a bit (or for the love of god don't give her 2 stock of the damn thing), make Remy a tad stronger, and give Twelve a bread and butter move for godsake, anything to keep it out of the bottom tier! Add 10 new characters with different playing styles (though I so want to see Guile own Remy's ass) that work well in the context in the game and well balanced (which would be the hardest part), maybe have an actual story to the whole thing and it would make me so happy :lol