Good article about how weird this new console generation is

[yourbeliefs]

Kotaku posted an interesting article about how this current gen is really different from others. The game release schedule is weird, with some games coming on last gen while others on current gen (as opposed to just releasing all for both) and future releases being randomly assigned gen (Xbox One Titanfall coming out before the 360 version.) Finally, they point out (like I have) the rather troubling trend of numerous re-releases of games that haven't even been out a year on new consoles.

http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-and-the-playstation-4-weirdest-console-tran-1561660528

 

[KE4EST]

Yeah it is very strange what they are doing. Must be trying some new marketing thing.

 

[king3pj]

I agree that parts of the transition are weird but I don't think it's quite the new phenomeon he is claiming it to be. I had several games in my own collection that fly directly in the face of the claims he makes in the first section of this article.

Is it just me or is the current transition to 'next-generation' consoles extremely, extremely weird?

On Kotaku today: news that a new, updated version of The Last of Us, previously a PlayStation 3 exclusive, is en route to the PlayStation 4.
In stores today: an Xbox 360 version of Titanfall. A video game experience that was recently heralded as one of the first 'true' next-generation games. A game that, thanks to some incredible technical wizardry on the part of Bluepoint Games, is near indistinguishable from the supposedly superior Xbox One version.1234
Officially announced today: a brand new Borderlands game. A 'pre-sequel' currently in development at 2K Australia that isn't appearing on next-generation consoles at all.5
In my house today: two next-generation consoles that haven't been turned on once in the last month. An Xbox 360 that I continue to play: Dark Souls II, South Park: The Stick of Truth.67891011
In January the most significant next gen release was a port: an updated version of Tomb Raider. My most played game on the PlayStation 4 so far? Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. A game that was released months earlier on the Xbox 360 and PS3.1213
This generational transition is weird. I can't remember another one like it.14

I loved the Tony Hawk games on my PS1 and PS2. This lead me to buy Tony Hawk's American Wasteland as one of my first games for my launch day Xbox 360. The only problem was that the game wasn't good and it came out on PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube a month earlier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hawk's_American_Wasteland

Another somewhat early game I bought on 360 was Splinter Cell: Double Agent. I loved Splinter Cell and Pandora Tomorrow on my original Xbox so I couldn't wait to play the next gen follow up. This one came out almost a full year after the 360 launched. It came out in October 2006 and I had owned a 360 since November 2005. This game was also released for PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clancy's_Splinter_Cell:_Double_Agent

Another weird example from last gen was Madden 2006. This was a launch game that I got with my 360. The problem with this one is that it not only came out on PS2/Xbox/Gamecube but those were also much better versions of the game. The 360 version might have looked better but it was missing a lot of features that had been in the previous gen games for years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madden_NFL_06

Finally we have the weirdness that is God of War 2. This was a PS2 exclusive game that came out 4 months after the PS3 released in the US. It was about a year and 4 months after the 360 came out and started the new generation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_of_War_II

These are just examples of games I owned that contradict a lot of points this author made in the first section of his article. There are probably other examples that I'm not thinking of. Yes, it's somewhat weird to transition this way but I don't agree that it's new. Developers knew that they could make more money by hitting the larger install base of the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube at the start of last gen too.

I don't think we have anything as weird this generation as Sony putting out a gigantic PS2 exclusive like God of War 2 after the PS3 came out either. Imagine how weird it would have been if inFamous: Second Son would have came out exclusively for PS3. That's pretty much what they did with God of War.

 

[Derwin0]

Kotaku posted an interesting article about how this current gen is really different from others. The game release schedule is weird, with some games coming on last gen while others on current gen (as opposed to just releasing all for both) and future releases being randomly assigned gen (Xbox One Titanfall coming out before the 360 version.) Finally, they point out (like I have) the rather troubling trend of numerous re-releases of games that haven't even been out a year on new consoles.

I think alot of it is attributed to this being the first generation where they're not backward compatible with the prior generation.

PS3 & XBOX 360, (and even Wii) were all backward compatible when released
PS2 was backward compatible. Xbox was a whole new system.

With no backward compatibility this time, producers are making different decisions on which generation to put it on, or even both.

The "troubling" re-release thing is caused solely by the lack of backward compatibility with this generation, something that wasn't an issue the last couple times.

 

[king3pj]

I think alot of it is attributed to this being the first generation where they're not backward compatible with the prior generation.

PS3 & XBOX 360, (and even Wii) were all backward compatible when released
PS2 was backward compatible. Xbox was a whole new system.

With no backward compatibility this time, producers are making different decisions on which generation to put it on, or even both.

The "troubling" re-release thing is caused solely by the lack of backward compatibility with this generation, something that wasn't an issue the last couple times.

And they quickly gave up on backwards compatibility last gen too. Sony put out HD collections for just about all of their franchises. The re-release thing isn't troubling to me. I just won't buy a game I already played a year ago with prettier visuals. I don't care if they want to have a smaller team crank those out. If people didn't buy them they would quit doing it but they aren't getting my money so it doesn't affect me.

Another thing, just about every console launch I can remember suffered from a lack of games in the first year. Go ahead and rattle off all the amazing 360/PS3 games that came out in those consoles' first year. I really don't think most of his examples for why this generation is so weird are really much different from last gen. It might feel weird to him but to me it feels like he didn't do much research before writing this article.

Edit: I didn't have a PS3 in the first year but from what I hear it was a pretty god awful list of games. I would argue that the PS4/Xbox One first year games stand up pretty favorably against the PS3/360 first year games.

 

[yourbeliefs]

People have very short memories. MANY consoles were not backwards compatible. I mean Nintendo didn't do that until the Wii/GC (and still do it but no one cares), none of the Sega ones were (unless you count the Master System add on for the Genesis,) Microsoft's was mediocre at best, and Atari only did it with the 7800 because the 2600 was still selling well and the 5200 was a piece of sh*t. Seriously, watch this video (NSFW).

People seemed to have gotten spoiled by the PS2 to PS1 BC. I don't even count the PS3 to PS2 because that lasted for like 6 months for hardware, and then got phased out on software as well. Kind of funny when you think back in the day when the new game system came out and you were trying to justify to your mom and dad why you should get it, and your parents would throw at you "You have a bunch of Nintendo games! You don't need a Super Nintendo that won't play any of your existing games!"

 

[king3pj]

People have very short memories. MANY consoles were not backwards compatible. I mean Nintendo didn't do that until the Wii/GC (and still do it but no one cares), none of the Sega ones were (unless you count the Master System add on for the Genesis,) Microsoft's was mediocre at best, and Atari only did it with the 7800 because the 2600 was still selling well and the 5200 was a piece of sh*t. Seriously, watch this video (NSFW).

People seemed to have gotten spoiled by the PS2 to PS1 BC. I don't even count the PS3 to PS2 because that lasted for like 6 months for hardware, and then got phased out on software as well. Kind of funny when you think back in the day when the new game system came out and you were trying to justify to your mom and dad why you should get it, and your parents would throw at you "You have a bunch of Nintendo games! You don't need a Super Nintendo that won't play any of your existing games!"

Ok but the re-releases aren't new. HD collections were all over the place last gen. It's just a monetized version of backwards compatibility. That doesn't change the fact that this isn't the first time games have released on multiple hardware generations or came out exclusively for the older generation either. It also doesn't change the fact that previous generation launches weren't packed with tons of amazing games in the first year either.

It just feels like an alarmist article that was written with little, to no research to me. The new consoles are both selling faster than any of their previous consoles did. In my opinion the first year library of games we are getting is at least as good as the first year library of games the 360/PS3 got too.

 

[yourbeliefs]

Scroll through the comments. The Members of the PC Gaming Master Race have flocked and are making their voices heard. ;p

 

[Derwin0]

Remakes with better graphics were hardly new either.

Nintendo has been doing them forever, beginning with Mario All Stars on the SNES.

 

[yourbeliefs]

Remakes with better graphics were hardly new either.

Nintendo has been doing them forever, beginning with Mario All Stars on the SNES.

True, but there was a 3 year difference between original games and remake for All Stars, not to mention it included a game that was never released in the US. The God of War Collection was 2 years (random fun fact, the same guys that put Titanfall on the 360 made the original GoW Collection), not to mention it was basically a throwaway, spontaneous project from fan feedback that was pulled off after it was discovered the game could be developed cheaply and in a matter of weeks. At least the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus remake was of critically acclaimed games that were hard to get a hold of due to low sales. The remakes now are of games that are barely a year old.