games™ Forum

I think this generation of consoles has really taken gaming to another level, the idea's that have come through to consumers were something of a dream ten years ago and now they are reality. The first i had from the new gen was the wii and it didn't fail to impress, who would of thought that this new way of playing games would bring so much fun and so many families and friends together to play video games. The mii channel itself shows innovation and how technology has expanded over the last decade, who would of thought we could of made such accurate depictions of ourselves through computer graphics? I really think that Nintendo has raised the bar in more than one department with downloadable classics and innovative gameplay, i think the only way is up for Nintendo at the moment and when Mario Galaxy comes out i think the world will be amazed.

Now the most recent of my consoles and definately the finest out of the two beasts in my opinion is the 360. There's just so much to do with the console it's hard to keep up. The achievement system i believe is a phenomenal system for gamers and not only let's gamers get more out of their games but also let's you socialise with your mates and the world, showing off your scores to them. The online play is the best around and i think the PS3 has a lot to live up to if it want's to start shifting more than the 360. I do not think that the graphical difference is much of an issue really as i can't see me preferring the PS3 because of that alone, what matters more to me is the games and the superb extra's that are on offer with the LIVE service, how can the PS3 compete with this at the moment? It cannot.

In the future i would only expect that the download services will become much more expanded in the sense of downloading feature length movies that are brand new and full music albums as at the moment on the 360 it looks as though they are very limited. I would love for the content download of games to be expanded too like more levels or a sub story to a game, which we could pay for obviously if it was long enough. I think that Microsoft is way ahead at the moment with it's machine but the wii is still there with it's unique innovation so it's a tough call at the moment to say which is the most important, i would say the PS3 but what is it doing exactly? Sweet FA! I want to see it provide us with something that the Wii and 360 can't, until that day comes it can stay on the shelf in the shop!

I'd have to say what next-gen gaming means to me is Online.Specifically,playing with my mates on Xbox Live.I've had countless fun sessions on Gears,Graw2,Crackdown,Command and Conquer.And there's plenty more potential classics on the horizon.

What i also consider important is the re-introduction of 2 player co-op modes through story missions,e.g Gears and Rainbow 6.I'm particulary impressed with Gear's co-op,because if you got stuck you could just go on Live and get your mate to help you.

Then you have the growing strength of Live Arcade.It makes mistakes sometime (e.g the Horse Armour/Guitar Hero Song download fiasco's),but when it gets it right,it's brilliant.There's so many classics out there (Doom,Castlevania,Poker,Smash TV),and lots more coming soon (Puzzle Fighter,Bomberman).It gives people the chance to play games from the past that they either didn't get around to playing,or weren't around at the time.

The downside to all this of course is games being released and requiring patches to fix them.There's been a few occasions where this has caused serious problems (e.g Crackdown deleteing people's save-files permanently),and Microsoft's reaction to these are generally "Send us £75 and we'll sort it out".


As for the most important console,at the moment i'd say 360.I'm probably biased,as i love my machine.But i feel right now it has a dominant role in the marketplace.However,the ps3 is gradually picking up steam,and has the potential to side-line the 360 if Microsoft become too complacent.

In regards to the manufactures themselves - They have never had so much control of the market. The online services offred on new consoles mean that they know exactly what I'm playing, how long I play, when I play, this gives them an excellent opportunity for them to target my tastes. The XBL service has the opportunity to gives games that wouldn't stand a chance in todays market (2D - didn't seem so long ago we were all mourning the death of 2D and the sprite), this in turn gives us a chance to talk to them in the only language they know (our wallets) and tell them what we want.

Todays consoles can do everything every previous console has ever done, plus they satiate our need for the cutting edge; offering what I see as '3D done proper'.

Features such as the ability to produce homebrew for the Xbox means development can be taken back to the bedroom and is more accessible than ever.

So to sum up, we now have the complete package, everything I loved about games before, retro revivial, the hairy edge plus there's still plenty more to come...

....the cost? a meagre amount of pounds and perhaps some quite invasive marketing

Besides plenty of bruised wallets, the next generation has brought many different things to the table. Some may even say there's something for everyone, because whereas the 360 is arguably the best all-round system at the minute, the Wii is certainly the most innovative and the PS3, despite being overly expensive, is also doing a good job in most respects.

What it breaks down to is what the player wants from a system. Never before have the differences and approachs between systems and their manufacturers been so abundently clear. For instance, if you want something that's fun for the family and safe for kids, the Wii would be recommended. Though, if you want something that's more of a graphical powerhouse it would be better if you went with the PS3 or 360. Each system has their strengths and weaknesses, whereas in previous generations many of the systems were painfully similar to the general consumer, meaning it was difficult for many people to differentiate between systems. Thankfully that doesn't appear to be the case anymore.

What the next generation seems to be concentrating on is both online functionality and downloadable content. The fact that each of the manufacturers seem to be fully embracing the online aspect of gaming in this generation is a positive step, as such a major leap can only be seen as beneficial to the player because, for the mostpart, developers seem to be getting the balance right between the offline and the online content. In other words, in most cases the single player experience isn't compromised for the multiplayer experience and vice versa.

I believe downloadable content is the future of gaming. What we've seen through downloadable content so far is that many companies are able to rehash or re-release some of their retro titles and make a profit on them. It is this profit that could quite easily be invested into other company projects that may have never seen the light of day due to funding constraints. It's simple, effective and allows developers to cut out the middle man and make more of a profit on the titles they create. That can hardly be a bad thing.

I think games like Dead Rising have shown us that it's not unnecessarily all about graphics this gen, they have used the power of a next generation console to make an experience that would have been impossible on an older console. I think also that this is where the future lies for the next gen, new experiences and in the case of the wii new ways in which to experience them.
I'd say that the wii is the most important console because at the moment other than lots of sales and a great concept it hasn't really achieved much, and from the beginning it's had a lot more to prove than the other two, so it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

There's not been that much that's truly next gen yet- nothing to suggest the kind of leap forward that we saw from two dimensional to three dimensional gaming. But it's possible that such a leap will never be repeated, but there is something I'd love to see- genuine 3D. With cinema starting to adopt it again, it would truly push gaming into a new zone.

Aside from that, the decision by Rockstar to concetrate on making the next GTA world dense and full of interactivity rather than just bigger and shinier is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for from the next gen.

Natural Motion's Euphoria physics engine- the one from that Indiana Jones demo- looks cracking too, especially as it would add genuine replay value to games. You can never get tired of seeing the number of different ways a man can fall off a roof.

The idea of a game designed as an exclusive for one console seems to be fading away quite quickly with this generation. Increased development costs and whole new genres being invented thanks to the new control methods devised/pilfered within the current generation mean it's no longer possible for developers to stick to one console. A net gain for gamers.

the next gen has brought us pac-man and frogger with wireless controllers and more than one button

Matthew wrote:Hello everybody.

We've been chatting to one of the designers on Bioshock about what the next-gen consoles are bringing to gaming and we'd like to get your thoughts.

What has the next-gen brought so far?
What does the future hold?
Which is the most important console?

These are just a few of the points you might like to consider – try to look past the technology itself and toward what that technology could make possible.

Best ideas will go in the magazine.

1.For me the next-gen has brought broader gaming experiences that weren't possible before, a tremendous sense of community and friendship online and convience never possible before with the Xbox Live Marketplace for example providing free downloadable demos of upcoming games.

2.The future is very exciting to say the least, recently Forza Motorsport 2 has been released with great titles such as Colin McRae DiRT, The Darkness etc. coming out later this month. Then in August you have the truely tremendous looking Bioshock, WWII game Medal of Honor:Airborne and the potentially great FPS Hour of Victory. The next month you have another potentially amazing game out with Halo 3....the future's bright it's green and white.

3. For me the Xbox 360 is the most important console in the next-gen, it was the first to enter the "next-gen" territory by releasing the Xbox 360 console a year earlier than it's competition from Sony and Nintendo. I too have a Wii and a PS3 but neither has had quite the same effect on me as the fantastic Xbox 360 that gets used regularly every day whilst my Wii and PS3 just sit there gathering dust.

To me, this next generation of consoles is far too obsessed with online components. I feel too much emphasis is on online aspects these days. "Multi-player" has a whole new meaning these days, and long gone are the days of crowding around one TV screen with your closest mates and enjoying the atmosphere that multi-player Halo; Goldeneye; Or Doom Deathmatches brought. Now it seems perfectly acceptable to spend an evening playing with people you don't even know from the otherside of the ocean. This generation has brought a whole new level of anti-social gaming, which to me is a bad thing.

I also feel that companies are more interested with offering us old classics as they are new games and ideas. Nintendo, for example, seem to spend half their time promoting games that are a decade and a half old for their Virtual Console. This generation seems to be all about money-grabbing and trying to make profit out of old software, rather than spending time and money on newer projects

The technology itself wasn't really required or demanded by anyone. It was forced upon us regardless of whether we wanted or needed it. The old consoles (PS2; GameCube; Xbox) were only just reaching their prime, but were automatically made obsolete too early. Yes, the X360 and PS3 are very nice and powerful, but were they really necessary right now when the other consoles were just showing us what they were capable of?


This generation has brought us some good things though. Wireless joypads; New "Gimmicks" to appeal to a wider audience; Hi Def pictures which offer clarity; And new concepts which expand various genre's and reset the standard

Gemini-Phoenix wrote:Nintendo, for example, seem to spend half their time promoting games that are a decade and a half old for their Virtual Console.

Have to call you on that, sorry G-P.
As a huge fan of the VC service a big complaint I've had is that it isn't promoted anywhere near enough.
Where is this promotion you speak of? Half of their marketing time and money is on the VC? Really?!
They don't even send out messages within the Wii to let people know what's available, making you go to the Shop to find out what's out this week.
Frankly, that's bollocks.

I think a huge part of what 'next-gen' has become is negativity from gamers. Honestly, I don't know how people can claim that everything is 'the same except shinier'. When I look at games with advanced physics, complex AI routines combined with incredible online play, I honestly cannot understand this attitude. Titles like Oblivion, the up-coming Fracture, Assassins Creed- these are all games which not only look better, but are based around gameplay concepts which could not have been realised on older machines. Technology IS pushing gameplay forward, and I think gamers need to recognise this.

NEEMAN wrote:I think a huge part of what 'next-gen' has become is negativity from gamers. Honestly, I don't know how people can claim that everything is 'the same except shinier'. When I look at games with advanced physics, complex AI routines combined with incredible online play, I honestly cannot understand this attitude. Titles like Oblivion, the up-coming Fracture, Assassins Creed- these are all games which not only look better, but are based around gameplay concepts which could not have been realised on older machines. Technology IS pushing gameplay forward, and I think gamers need to recognise this.

I agree with you there i think some gamers are just basing the next gen on the jump from 2D to 3D gameplay therefore hoping that something far more powerful than it's predecessor will be available. Obviously this is not the case and i will be surprised if a jump like that will ever happen again. I think for the forseeable future we will see enhanced graphics in terms of 3D and better frame rates etc but definately not major achivements like the change from the SNES to the N64.

Nothing new so far. oops sorry! we have shiny HD images. One of the most popular ideas is to download retro games. I would say the Wii does this best, what with having some of the 16bit era's best titles available.
The new games on the 3 platforms are quite simple, in terms of gameplay, so being able to turn to the more challenging retro games is welcome.
So far i am enjoying the new generation. xbox live is superb and the Wii has some incredibly fun games. so as long the games are fun i'm not bothered with innovation...for now.

The things I expected to see haven't come about yet but they are on the horizon. So far we've been treated to exactly the same with things just looking prettier. However with titles like the new Splinter Cell, Assassin's Creed there looks to be huge move forwards in character animation and interaction with the environment. Exactly what I had hoped for. I'm saying all this as a bystander who hasn't bought a next gen machine yet but quite frankly I still don't see the burning need to pay out yet. Little Big Planet will change my mind.