I keep telling myself that there is too much money in console gaming for it to implode, but then I look at my brand new Vita and 3DS and realize I have not used them at all (but for Uncharted on Vita).
I stupidly could have used that money on a new computer (which I am still getting by the way -- the reason I am holding off now is that if I buy one locally I get to overpay $300 or so as opposed to gettign one in the city -- I just don;t want to rip myself off).
Anyhoo, back to the topic, I see this all going the way of two forms of gaming:
- Nintendo consoles survive forever (including handhelds -- thanks Japan). Nintendo leans even more heavily into their niche.
- Console gaming and PC gaming get blurred to the point that dedicated gaming consoles from Sony and MS go away. (Video streaming from your PC to TV's will ubiquitous enough that it will be easy enough for any gamer to go that route).
- (Oh yeah, and Sony gives up on handhelds -- but that's stating the obvious).
Recently Spotted:
*crickets*
Nintendo might have been better off keeping the Wii remote and being a graphical powerhouse like the upcoming PS4 and 720. I dunno, they probably will stay in the console business for quite a while with all of their money.
My biggest concern about the next gen is how the big budget games are going to get done without the risk of killing a company or studio. Darksiders II was a reasonable success selling more than half a million copies in a month, and it wasn't enough to even halt THQ from going on. Big games have to sell over a million copies now to break even. Deadlines are still a major problem from the grand epic games, even at this point of development. The Last of Us is getting delayed by an extra month, Rayman Legends wasn't ready for the Wii U launch, and let's not even get started on The Last Guardian. This next gen.... it's going to be very scary. Very odd.
You don't like the 3DS, Aspro?
Meh, it was fun while it lasted, and your two doomsday predictions don't seem so bad to me, though only the second seems inevitable. I'd probably be more accepting of the first if it came with the qualifier: only in Japan.
Correct. Now that I am used to smartphone displays I find the display to be inadequate. I find the 3D to be annoying and don't like that the poor screen is made worse by having the guaze-like 3D film over the top display. I also find it to be too heavy for a handheld (I have the 3DS LL).
And no games on the system for me yet. I am holding out for Animal Crossing and Dragon Quest VII at this point.
^ That's too bad. I stopped using the 3D altogether after the first couple days; it's really annoying to use. My XL is quite heavy, but after putting 20+ hours into 999 and other games, I've gotten used to it. I have one ending left to go on 999 (true ending), and I'm onto Virtues Last Reward, which will likely be the 3DS killer app for me. I'm also anticipating Animal Crossing and Luigi's Mansion too.
I see your point, but I think develpoment costs will drop next generation because for the first time Sony and Microsoft are using off-the-shelf components (if the rumors are true). This means develop once, launch on three platforms (PC, PS, MS). It also means unified middleware and engines which will cut development time and let developers focus on the creative side, not as much on the problem solving of developing for three unique hardware configurations.