PS4? Xbox 720? No Thanks.

by Stew Shearer, posted on 18 July 2011 / 19,926 Views

If you were to listen to the rumor mill, you’d be told that the next console generation is just on the horizon. Then again, the rumor still perpetually insists that we’re on the verge of a Final Fantasy VII remake and we all know how that’s gone.

But I digress, they might have a point with this one. This console generation has been going for awhile now. My PS3, the victim of constant college dorm moves, has long since had its gloss replaced by scuffs and my Wii has moved beyond its position as a dust magnet and has transitioned into cobweb collection. The only reason my Xbox 360 still wears the sheen (metaphorically speaking, I bought the black matte slim) of newness is because I’ve had it for less than a year.

Even with the physical age of the hardware currently on the market, I still question if we need new hardware even this far in their life cycles. With half a decade of current gen games behind me I still find myself consistently impressed by the visual achievements of new titles. I have yet to come across a game that could have been better if the hardware was stronger… outside of the Wii library of course.

In fact, while I’m still holding out on fully judging the Wii U, I find it telling that Nintendo opted only to bring the machine’s visuals up to par with its current competitors. Granted, this may again just be an example of Nintendo trying to save money by doing new things with old technology. Even so, maybe they’re also recognizing as I hope Microsoft and Sony do, that there are more important things than raw power.

Versatility, more than visuals, should be the guiding light of console makers.

The biggest reason for new consoles in the past was to expand on the skill set of the machines already on the market. The current generation comparatively, comes with the built in ability to change and grow with time. People like to complain about the frequent firmware updates that come with the PS3 experience, but each one represents a change and in many cases growth. When the PS3 first launched trophies weren’t a part of its repertoire. Now they’re considered a practical necessity. The Xbox 360 and the Wii have both gone through comparable changes with time, expanding on their capabilities and in turn stemming the cyclical necessity of a new console every few years.

If you need further evidence of the importance of adaptive gaming machines, just look at the PC. The sole reason PC gaming survives and to an extent thrives is because of the platform’s ability to change depending on the needs of game makers, markets and gamers themselves. The ability to create and use mods alone is more than enough to keep many gamers hooked to the mouse and keyboard even if a console might often be more convenient.

I will admit there other reasons that I don’t want new consoles any time soon. Keeping up with new hardware can be incredibly expensive. More than that though is just the fact that the “it’s been five years we need a new console” mode of thinking is just plain outdated. More than that though, I just have a desire to see what developers can do with the current consoles even if they’re aging. It can be nice to have powerful new tools, but in many cases some of the best works of many mediums were born within in the confines of limited resources. Compare A New Hope to The Phantom Menace, Master of Puppets to St. Anger, or Chrono Trigger to Final Fantasy XIII. The measure of a game falls well beyond its shininess, and even then, there’s still plenty of glimmer go around.

71 Comments

superchunk (on 19 July 2011)

"I have yet to come across a game that could have been better if the hardware was stronger" I think the difference in BF3's PC version vs the consoles proves you wrong. The only reason you're not noticing issues is that most games now are made on consoles first. If other devs did what DICE did with BF3 you'd make an article begging for their release as aparently all you care about are graphics. Wholly ignoring the potential major advances in AI and environment.

Show replies (5)

rf40928 (on 21 July 2011)

Wow, agree whole heartedly.. Im and older gamer.. i was a kids when the NES came out and changed the world.. Seems to me im reading more articles at VGchartz written by 20 somethings that were kids when the PS2 came out... I feel they may be lacking the experience to write a weel rounded article because anyone knows games written on PC first often have a much higher quality. Anyone remember the old saying that better hardware requirements are constantly driven by gaming ? That was from a pc perspective - but the console industry has convince some of these writers thats not true - when console makers are ONLY slowing down refresh cycles to maximise profits !!

rf40928 (on 21 July 2011)

reidlosdog (on 21 July 2011)

More than lacking the experience of what old systems, I think they lack the educational requirements. I feel as if these new filler articles have done little to no research on their exact topics, and I feel that is a perfect sign of adolescence. But the sad thing is, that these people are not teenagers, they are grown up. So I'm only left to conclude that A) They have forgotten everything they learned in college or B) they haven't gone to college. If I wrote this argumentative paper, I would get scolded for the fact that my argument brought near close to nothing of what the other side would say. One sided papers are shit. This is a perfect example of that. There is almost always at least 4 sides to a issue, with 2 of them almost always being the general focus.

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sawawa (on 25 July 2011)

Dr.Grass (on 19 July 2011)

I usually don't point it out when I see a bad article, but I have to say: Speak for yourself. I would love me some new tasty hardware. ANY gamer would be excited by the prospect, except of course if money (not gaming) is your main consideration. And this: "I have yet to come across a game that could have been better if the hardware was stronger", is an absolute joke. You should consider that the reason you find the Wii lacking is that you have the HD consoles to compare it to. In your naive state you have nothing to compare the HD consoles to so you somehow feel that there is no need for improvement.

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rf40928 (on 21 July 2011)

REGARDING NEXT GEN QUALITY: Aside from stunning graphics, (AMD's) Robison is quoted as saying that the next-generation console from Microsoft will boast A.I. and physics capabilities that will allow for every pedestrian in a games like Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row 'to have a totally individual mentality'. That means no more of the mob mentality that sees everyone just running away screaming, each character will do something different.

rubido (on 19 July 2011)

We should be able to downvote articles and comments instead of just comments. The quality of the articles in vgchartz is getting worse every single day. Everyday I feel less inclined of visiting this website because there is nothing good to read.

Show replies (3)

reidlosdog (on 19 July 2011)

Exactly how I feel.

reidlosdog (on 19 July 2011)

Exactly how I feel.

fastyxx (on 21 July 2011)

Agreed.

kfd056 (on 19 July 2011)

"while I’m still holding out on fully judging the Wii U, I find it telling that Nintendo opted only to bring the machine’s visuals up to par with its current competitors." sigh, the Wii U's CPU and GPU is more powerful than the 360's and PS3's. Why cant you people get that through your thick skulls. *facepalm*

Show replies (6)

o_O.Q (on 19 July 2011)

that doesn't mean its powerful enough to show a significant improvement in graphics for some reason certain people just don't get it

Valerik (on 19 July 2011)

It had better be more powerful than the PS3 and 360's CPU and GPU. They have been on the market for about 5 and 6 years respectively.

reidlosdog (on 19 July 2011)

Proof that it will be stronger? I haven't seen a confirmed spech list of the WiiU at all. The only thing that has been "confirmed," and even that might be a hoax, is the dev kit. And dev kits are always stronger than the actual console your making the game on.

Hephaestos (on 20 July 2011)

dev kit stronger than the console? maybe i missed something but how could the games work on the console if so?

reidlosdog (on 21 July 2011)

The dev kits are strong than the actual console because you are performing two operations during development: running the game(program[s]) & creating the game (another program[s]). That equals needing more power. And you are leaving a large amount of RAM around when you create video game, then erase and polish. You get it now?

elcido (on 21 July 2011)

Why would Nintendo use PS3 and 360 versions of third party games to demonstrate WiiU hardware like they did at E3?

zarx (on 19 July 2011)

And you probably were thinking the same thing in 2004 I see plenty of ways current gen games could improve with more power from better AI, larger levels with greater draw distance, higher framerate and resolution would help fast action games and racers tremendously.

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rf40928 (on 21 July 2011)