We Don't Need Another Console
I bought my first Xbox 360 on launch night, November 22, 2005. I have gamed the crap out of it, to the point that I'm on console number three now (Thanks, Microsoft Sam!). Every year, I buy a bunch of new games, several classics that I didn't have time for in the past, and I download a handful of arcade games.
(Side note: Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is amazingly awesome and fun. Go buy it now. Then come back and read the rest of this.)
Every year, games are released with graphics that I would have never thought possible just 10 years ago. Each Call of Duty looks progressively more awesome. Gears 3 will blow my pants off. Forza 3 is b-e-a-utiful. Killzone 3 is epic. MLB11: The Show is nearly perfect. Clearly, developers are still finding hidden space on discs and utilizing new ways to squeeze every drop out of the 360 and PS3 processing guts.
Visually speaking, just how much better can games look? It's easy to look back at Halo: CE and say that what we thought looked incredible, by today's standards, looks flat and drab. Muddy textures, painted grass, shoddy lighting, etc. It's hard to believe that in 2021, we will look at Uncharted 3 and scoff at its color palette.
With programmers learning more about the processing chips each day, why are rumors so persistent about potential successor systems? Why do prognosticators in the industry point to a new Microsoft or Sony console being announced in the very near future, possibly even at E3 2011? It can't be a cash-grab, since the Kinect and Move just came out and people bought those suckers up like some sort of warm bakery item.
Chronologically, it looks like we're a bit overdue. There was just a four-year gap between Xbox 1 and Xbox 360, six years between PS2 and PS3, and the Wii sucks. Whoops, sorry. I mean the "Gamecube with motion controls" sucks. There, better?
In Nintendo's case, they are finally joining the HD era with their Project Café doohickey, set to launch next year, about seven years after everyone else realized that online gaming and amazing visuals are important. Their need for a new console is different than Microsoft or Sony.
When I ponder what would be in a potential new system, I'm left scratching my head. For the Xbox Gazillion, a Blu-Ray player comes to mind. The problem is that they would have to fork over $X for each console they sell to Sony. That defeats the purpose of a new console, right? Of course, it would have to include Kinect, backwards compatibility, a built-in hard drive (at least 120GB), a back-up console for when the thing breaks, and the same controller they use now. Seriously, the 360 controller is the best mankind has ever created. And of course, each system would be bundled with Fuzion Frenzy 3.
A PS4 would need... well... they seem to have everything in their system already. Maybe a bigger hard drive? Hmmmmm... oh I know! A SECURE ONLINE NETWORK. But that's not in the console, so let's get back to business. The Move would have to be included, along with the don't-call-it-a-nun-chuck. They'd probably pack it with 72 more cell processors, then only include composite cables in the box. They would promise backwards compatibility to the PS3 library, then rip that feature out of new systems within a year. And naturally, a voucher for "Spiderman 4: This One's Really Spiderman 1 Again", on blu-ray.
Here's the number one reason, however, why people can't buy a new video game console any time soon: AMERICA AIN'T GOT NO MONEY. Blame it on whichever president you like (I prefer William Henry Harrison), but the economy is in the crapper. If I were a new gamer, I would much much MUCH rather spend $300 on a 360/PS3 with their massive libraries than an unproven system with the usual array of crappy launch titles. Factoring in all the junk I mentioned above, each new system would likely be on store shelves for $499. Possibly even five hundred ninety nine U-S dollars. That's absurd.
Look, a new console on sale won't really won't be an issue for a couple years, unless you want a Gamecube 3 next year. By all means, go for it. But as it stands right now, I don't see myself moving on from the 360 and PS3 unless their successors come with a free unicorn. Now if you'll excuse me, I have ghosts to eat.