Throughout the history of video games, every new generation of gaming consoles has brought with it new power. The more advanced technology brings many new features along with it, including vaastly improved sound, visuals, physics, gameplay, etc.
When I think of this generation of gaming, I see the visuals we have, I see the physics we have, I see the sound we have, and I see the gameplay we have. What I also see are vastly diminishing returns on those aspects (which is obvious), and it makes me wonder about where our industry will progress in the near future.
Technical Aspects:
Graphics will improve, physics will improve, along with lighting and the rest of those technical aspects. But what about music? Have we already reached a point where sound is "good enough" and can't really be pushed much farther? Battlefield 3 has some of the greatest, most realistic sounds of any video game on the market. How much room is there for improvement that consumers will care about?
Gameplay:
Much like my worry with regards to sound, how will gameplay be evolved and changed beyond what's already been possible? Sure, developers will move out into new areas with more ideas, but what will our new technology be able to let us do that we can't do to a great effect already? What revolutions and advancements in gameplay design can we still receive from our new technology that consumers will really care about? When looking from the NES to the SNES, or the PS1 to the PS2, there were huge advancements in gameplay design due to the increase in technology. What do you all hope to see as far as advancements go in gameplay design for this next generation?
As a side note, I feel like this is why Nintendo has been pushing alternatives to the standard progression with the DS, Wii, and Wii U (yes I left out 3DS). They've been using alternative ways other than pure power to evolve the gameplay aspect of video games, whether gamers consider them genuinely cool or mere "gimmicks."
