For this month's Co-Optimus Community Voice, we asked the community if they're ready for the next generation of consoles. So far, the answer has been a unanimous "heck no." Everyone seems to have a variety of reasons, but one common thread is that better graphics alone won't cut it. I can't agree more! Let's take a look at two great responses.
pofigster isn't ready, but gives the Wii U an exception.
Gaming has improved visually, but it can't go to much further before we're in the uncanny valley. And is that really what we want or need right now? How many TERRIBLE games came out last year that were visually delightful? How many wonderful games came out that had dated graphics (I'm looking at you Jamestown)?
Zonf86 thinks this generation still has some headroom.
One of the things that has struck me most about the Xbox360/PS3 generation of consoles is the way the experience has grown and changed unlike previously generations. The strong connectivity in the consoles have brought us frequent, and major, updates to games and the console interface. We've seen rapid growth in innovative indie downloadable games, downloadable content and of course online co-operative play. What I'm trying to get at, is that unlike previous consoles, current ones have gone through a number of successful iterations in terms of features and graphics.
It looks like Microsoft isn't quite ready either, at least not this year. They recently announced that the new Xbox will not be announced at E3, and 2012 will be all about Xbox 360. That said, there's no doubt that their next console is in the works. Of course, we all know it takes years for the hardware design, and the game developers need plenty of hands-on time with the hardware before they can tweak their next titles for the new systems. We won't see the next Xbox this year, but it's coming.
I'm looking forward to more responses! Happy blogging!