Next-Gen Apathy

[Ziggy]

You guys sound like a bunch of grumpy old men who can't figure out how to set the clock on their VCR.

We know how to set the clocks on our VCRs, we just can't figure out how to set the time zone on these pesky iPhones and Xboxes.

[Reprise]

I'm largely in the same boat. My PS4 is collecting dust, so in Sony's defence, it was always going to take something abnormally special to impress me anyways. Games just require a larger investment than I have to offer these days, so yes, whilst the complaints about system updates, game updates and DLC etc is a bit meme-esque, I do think there's a lot of truth in it. The number of times I've finally got my son to sleep and then have put a game in only to sit through a 40 or 50 minute update (in the most extreme of examples) did start to grate on me.

It's part of the reason why I mostly game on the Switch now. Everything is just more seamless, accessible and quicker. It suits my kind of life better. Yeah, there's still patches and updates, but I mostly have them running in the background whilst the console is asleep. Also, obviously with it being kind of a generation behind PS4/XB1, updates are mostly smaller in size.

I'm sure I will get a PS5 eventually, but for now I'm skipping one at launch. I'm going to wait for the games I want to come out and for the console kinks to be ironed out first. I bought my PS3 towards the end of the generation, whilst I got my PS4 at launch and the former was much better than the latter. The console costs you less, there's a whole load of games to explore and you can get loads of bargains.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Within the past decade "new" hardware I've purchased includes the Wii U, 3DS, Switch, Vita, plus an update to a gaming PC. And that was much more than enough. Hardware is so standardized these days, and games are heavily ported. Plus, of course, there's my general preference towards retro games. So, I'm good. Never got the PS4 or Xbox One. Most everything I was interested in eventually trickled into Steam or the Switch anyway.

[pook99]

I will eventually get a PS5, but it wont be for a few years, there are a number of good exclusives that interest me so I will pick up the system when it is cheap and has a nice selection of games to play.

I would consider getting the new xbox if it had complete backwards compatibility, I have a huge library of OG and 360 games and if a modern console was released that could play all of them I would happily pick one up, but outside of that I have no reason to buy one because every xbox exclusive also releases on PC.

Having said that, I definitely get the apathy, I do enjoy modern games, but I just dont know how much of a jump the next gen will be. The graphics will be better, but things already look so good, does it even matter?

In terms of gameplay I would be curious to see if there will be any huge improvments, I play my xbox 360 all the time and the reality is that the games on that system feel exactly like the newest games, sure they may not look as good but they do play as good. I don't think that trend will change going forward, and while I am sure there will be tons of great games released next gen, I don't think the gameplay will be as dramatic as a step forward for me to get excited about which is why I am apathatic towards the next generation.

[Sload Soap]

I think part of the apathy is due to current circumstances. Ordinarily this reveal would have happened at E3 with all the hype that surrounds that. This time it's just a Nintendo Direct style stream and it all seems pretty normal.

Personally I'm not super pumped for either the PS5 or XSX but that's because few exclusive games for either have been shown. XSX backwards compatibility is a big bonus for me, especially if it means I can scrap my half dead OG Xbone and transfer my games across and have them run as they would on a One X. Nothing from the PS5 show really grabbed me except perhaps the Demon Souls remake and Spider-Man. And nothing there beside the new Horizon game looked like it wouldn't work on the PS4 anyway.

If however tomorrow I woke up to news that Elder Scrolls VI, Elden Ring, Bloodbourne 2 and Ninja Gaiden 4 were all going to be PS5 exclusive and out next year I'd probably start putting some cash aside.

[Syndicate]

...I'm relatively geeked about the upcoming 9th gen consoles, especially the Series X. I'll be grabbing both though, the only issue I have w/the next gen is that it seems companies are doing their absolute best to kill physical media . Honestly, w/a backlog stretching back to the Genesis now, I probably should pass at least initially but seeing the next in the series of games like the next Forza or Gran Tourismo plus new IPs that will surely arrive make me want to be there from day one.

[Omerta]

Current gen machines are more of a social tool for me. It gets harder to make time to physically interact with people as I get older. I can bounce on, play games and talk with family and friends, and have a few beers without having to get a ride home.

Sure I can’t keep up with the current bests but PSN and Xbox Live have given me a giant library of freebies. And yeah, I’ll have to put up with buying some crappy games to play with some buds but it’s worth it to me. It’s also a bit of a relief that a lot of this online stuff is pretty ephemeral so I’m not stacking it up with FOMO later.

And if I want to melt my face off with some arcade action or do some single player focused stuff, I’ll spin up the Saturn, NES or whatever.

I’m not excited about buying more machines, so I’ll likely jump in when the price point and social pressure dictates. But I think as long as I compartmentalize my gaming and collecting intentions, there’s room for a bit of everything.

[dust_hound]

I'm with Omerta on the face-melting arcade action (although I don't really use any modern consoles for social gaming). I get much more excited at the prospect of spending 30-45 minutes plugging away at some tough CPU opponents in Neo Geo's Samurai Shodown IV, or Sega Saturn's Virtual On than I do at the prospect of spending the same time trudging through a beautifully-rendered city/wilderness/underwater/planet/galaxy to my next fetch-quest. In that regard, I guess I'm just no longer in the modern gaming demographic, but I'm cool with that. That aside though, I DO get excited if there's a new game with an interesting concept that appeals to me (though these usually fall short of expectations upon actually playing them) like Ghostwire: Tokyo.

[pook99]

...I'm relatively geeked about the upcoming 9th gen consoles, especially the Series X. I'll be grabbing both though, the only issue I have w/the next gen is that it seems companies are doing their absolute best to kill physical media . Honestly, w/a backlog stretching back to the Genesis now, I probably should pass at least initially but seeing the next in the series of games like the next Forza or Gran Tourismo plus new IPs that will surely arrive make me want to be there from day one.

What games are you most looking forward to next gen?

[Syndicate]

What games are you most looking forward to next gen?

...though MS hasn't shown much, a new Forza Motorsport is practically a certainty and I really enjoyed The Outer Worlds so whatever is up next from Obsidian, and I'm hoping that Playground games and The Initiative have promising games to show as well. It's a little easier on the PS5 side b/c Sony had an event. So GT7, Horizon Journey to the West, Ratchet and Clank, and Sack Boy's a Big Adventure. I'm hoping that Square's Project Althia is a multi platform title and also definitely looking forward to Assassin's Creed Valhalla and the next Dragon's Age too.