Mazty on 05 February 2013
| Metrium said: The next console to be supported by developers/publishers. The console left abandonned by devs are last gen, those to be supported are next gen, those who are currently being supported are current gen. |
I understand what you're getting at but the issue with that is if consoles to be suported are next gen, then if those consoles aren't released at the exact same time, then you're creating more gens than needed.
| Gamerace said: That's a lot of difficult to answer questions. I remember the 2nd gen which had Atari 2600 ('77) but also included much more powerful systems that came out much later like intellivision ('80) and ColecoVision ('82) or used completely different tech like Vectex. It wasn't until the fourth gen that consoles started falling into a five-year cycle. I don't think time can be an indicator of gen then. I think generations are more based on systems that do things that previous systems simply couldn't. Normally this is determined by tech jumps. 8bit, 16 bit, 32 bit, 64 bit.... but I don't think anyone would dispute Wii introduced tech that wasn't possible earlier (cost wise anyway) despite being underpowered compared to 360/PS3. Going by that standard, I lump WiiU in with Move&Kinect as mid-gen enhancements rather than the start of a new gen. With the introduction of Move/Kinect and WiiU all three competitors now became even offering both motion and HD graphics. Of course then there's the issue of the gamepad. But a second screen was already done in the previous gen (DS) so it can't really be considered a tech level not previously possible. Indeed Nintendo at one point considered the dual screen idea for Wii before coming across the Wiimote tech. So tech-wise there is truly nothing next-gen about WiiU. It's just a very late entry into the Seventh gen. I think this is how history will percieve it. Of course I'm on record as saying WiiU will have a short life and be replaced by 2016 which would be Nintendo's eighth gen system. Marketing wise Nintendo will absolutely sell WiiU as next-gen but EA is on record as considering last gen and most likely other developers will consider it like-wise. Mainly because there'll be such a big leap in power and other systems will (most likely) also have some touch pad or touch screen ability (just not to WiiU's level). PC's are ever evolving and are never considered as part of a gen. Tablets with their yearly revisions fall into that same camp. Android consoles like Ouya?? To early to tell. If Ouya gets regular upgrades in power like a tablet (could happen at such a low price point) then I'd say no. However having Android as a base for all sorts of new consoles we could also see 2-3 new Android consoles/Gaming tablets released yearly with progressively better tech and higher OS. Again that gets muddled for defining gen. They could all be lumped into Gen eight like the huge variety of systems that come out at all different times were in gen two. Or just considered something else. The final point I'll make is the seventh gen may in fact be the last console gen. How can I say this? Because PS4/720 may be so multi-media they they themselves may not be considered true gaming consoles but yet another media device capable of playing games (like PCs, tablets, smartphones, etc.) Historically at least. I'm sure we'll see WiiU/PS4/720/Ouya?? comparison sales charts on this site by end of year and for us in the here and now, that's all that counts. |
Agreed although I'd argue the Wii wasn't part of the same gen as the PS3/360. Yes it did introduce new tech, however, as far as core games are concerned, that tech is no more important than the eyetoy. It was a brillaint success, but not for core gamers, therefore not leaving a mark on the gaming industry.
