I posted this on another site.
The next genration approaches and we the gamers have begun our guessing games of what to expect in the coming years from the big three. Many including myself have been ranting and raving about the mistakes that have been made by the companies this generation, some of which parallel the previous generation. We all have our opinions and hopes for what the companies will do. Games, graphics, processing speed, console appearance, console names, advertising campaigns, online capabilities, hardrive space, game medium, and controllers are speculated upon each day. To see the future one must look to the past (and present) so to invision the triumphs and mistakes that are soon to be made.
The first question is when. When will the next generation come rushing in. I hear and read speculation all of the time about how Sony is going to be patient and wait untill 2006 this time. Using anticipation for the PS3 rather than the PS3 itself to off the competition. Nintendo is know for being the last out of the gate. In the past this has worked for them, but in recent history it has only hendered their success. GameCube is seen as a secondary console for GBA and PS2 owners. Its late arrival did not help it to catch up with the PS2. The general consensus is that Nintendo will launch early (possibly Christmas 2004 in Japan) so to not be left behind. Execs at Nintendo have even been quoted as saying they will not let the competion get ahead next time. MS on the other hand has been very quiet. At least to my knowledge there have been no hints about its new system or when it will be released.
Next gen the companies will need to show focus on correcting past mistakes. Sony will need an easier machine for developers to develop for (it is rummored that the PS3 will be the most difficult hardware ever to develop for). Sony should, although their fans usually do not complain, modify their version of the SNES pad. It is simply put; an obsolete design. Nintendo should change thier image. Not change it to the thirteen year old targeted demographic of the Xbox, but rather become recognized like Sony as a company for all ages. MS for example chooses to target only the ultra violence starved and sexually deprived youth of America. Nintendo gears their games in appearance to mostly kids (but kids hate the way Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing, etc look) while the gameplay screams for the game to be played by an intelect. (I'm not suggesting a change in design at all in those mentioned games, I love the artistic freedom that Nitendo takes using super deformed characters) What I'm getting at is that Nintendo needs to make new games that are geared to the older market. I look at their new games on Cube and they follow the same trends of design as found in Mario and Animal Crossing. This is a mistake. What makes those art styles so great is thier individual nature. The new games should be NEW. People should look at them and say "that is something I havn't seen on Cube." Custom Robo is a good example of what could help give the system som visual variety. The opposite is true with MS who chooses nothing but realism when making games. (there are exeptions for both consoles such as Metroid and Perfect Dark)
Other mistakes made by Nintendo have been their controller, with its shortage of buttons, their purple console (should have been platinum, the only other color choice that could have appeared any more homoerotic to Americans than purple would have been rainbow), outrageous absence of a real Mario game (Sunshine was like a Luigi's Mansion take on Mario), and crappy advertising (see Sunshine comercial and lack of any comercial for Eternal Darkness for reference). MS has shown they are not so stubborn. After complaints about thier controller arrose they released a new one. Still the black and white buttons were even harder to reach in the new version. The biggest mistake by MS has been the lack of great games. Sony has many great exclusives like Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto, Ico, Mark of Kri, etc. Nintendo has had RS2, SSBM, Metroid, Eternal Darkness,
Zelda, etc. MS has had what? Halo, Munch's Odysey, and Jet Set Radio. Brute Force was hyped to be the next big hit for Xbox, but turned out to be a turd.
Graphics will only make things worse for the developer next generation. With more technology comes higher costs, bigger teams, longer dev time, more code to be written, and generally a bigger headache than ever for anyone involved. I say focus on advancing cel shading technologies. A game can look perfect as a cartoon, but can only look like a botched attempt at realism when it well realism is used. The point is to dicover a new form of freedom for the artist. The developer should not be restrained to making the game look real. Then it looks uninspired.
Rather than focusing on graphics so much they should focus on performance and speed of the technology. Consitency within those eye blistering graphics. They should also focus on bringing the gamer further into the game. This means breaking the controller in half into two wireless joysticks used for aiming so one can aim and look seperatly in games. Camera could even be controlled by head gear such as a virtual reality helmet. Spending money on closing the gap between man and the machine rather than enhancing the machine could equal more fun.
Also hardrives and broadband are going to be standard. I feel fiber optics is more logical, but who has that? Other technologies coming up include wireless downloading and uploading, smell simulators, and downloading games straight from the net for rent or owning. Demos could be emailed to users. Voice recognition could take over how we play games. We could be communicating with AI characters rather than just fighting them. The medium for game storage is yet another huge debate. Minidisk backwards compatiblity would be great for Nintendo if they decide to use full size DVDs. Then you could play not only Cube games on the new system, but also games from their new GameBoy if it uses minidisks too (no need for outrageous hardware requirements for play GB games on screen anymore). That does not mean the next GB will be Cube based. Sony will likely stick with full size DVD as well as MS. I believe an enclosed medium should arrise, but that could hurt console sales, by riding them of backwards compatibilty. I like the idea of DVDs enclosed and protected. Scratching would be difficult and pirating would take a hit in the arse.
Topic: The Next Wave: A War of Chance (Read 7849 times)
