@Superchunk. It's sad, this was a good thread.
| Araknie said: It's a questione that i made myself before reading an article. I'm quite disappointed to see that people think that hardcore goes with graphics and the also next-gen goes with graphics. For me the WiiU is next-gen because introduces an old way of play, the GamePad, in a totally new way, the screen and the in build double screens. This is next-gen because never before you could play a game with the TV on OFF, also you totally have a console that has every game on digital support, on retail copy and on digital support by retailers, that's pretty new too. Next-gen means that the whole system works differently from the previous one, hardcore it's not a term for console also, not alone at least, you can only give that term by mentioning games that are not kids stuff or really easy even for a 3 to 7 years old. That's what i always thinked about games, i made my opinion playing the SNES and now that the GamePad is coming, in such an innovation, that's what i will call next-gen also: innovation. And now also a question: are you sick of people not understanding this or you are one of 'em? |
Arkanie, the way I see it is that a generation is generally defined by two things. 1) Improved capabilities on previous gen, and 2) timing.
For example, if the WiiU didn't improve on the Wii, would there be any reason for it to exist, really? After 6 years of being on market, you'd think that there was something at least a tad superior to the predecessor at a similar if not better price. So 1) is important.
2) The timing is fundamental. It doesn't matter how novel your device is, what matters is at what point in video gaming history did it appear, and what does that era define or how is it define.
As such, there is no way to say the WiiU is not next gen, as it mark the start of a new era in gaming, i.e. the 8th generation.
The definition of generations may change as the technology and market evolves, but for now, gens typically last 5 to 10 years, and right now the new one is dawning on us.
