d21lewis on 19 November 2012
| Jumpin said: Chips and processors are not measured by the same generation scale as consoles - they're much higher. The generations of videogame consoles are determined by adding +1 to the next console released. This system of measurement was more or less determined when the Sega Mega Drive and SNES were released, and then retroactively applied to previous consoles, even when multiple generations of consoles were involved they were occasionally lumped into one generation (like the 2600 and 5200 into generation 2). It's really a stupid system. In reality, Microsoft is on their 2nd generation hardware, Sony is on their 3rd, and Nintendo is on their 6th. |
You know, I've kind of been an advocate for doing away with generations altogether--at least in an across the board kind of way. There were times when consoles released several years apart and were still considered part of the same gen. Time isn't a consistent indicator and companies have used weaker tech followed by stronger tech and then back to weaker tech. In the end, it just gets confusing. Your last sentence makes more sense than anything I've ever seen regarding console generations. If it works for iPod and Droid, it can work for gaming.
