firebush03 said:
Variety between console controllers. It really feels like ever since Switch, all three systems have homogenized in their respective pro controllers. No longer is it GCN v. XBOG v. PS2 controller, but the NS2 v. PS5 v. XBSXS controllers (which all feel very same-y in the hands… and again, I’m talking pro controller specifically. So Joy Cons don’t count). |
Yeah I feel similarly; I quite liked say the Wiimote or the Wii U Gamepad or the Gamecube controller which did things differently.
As much as I do like all three current gen controllers, I miss that creativity of the above.
BradleyJ said:
Two things come to mind for me:
1. The dramatic increase in graphics and capability from new games / consoles
There was a palpable excitement at the release of new consoles or even new games within a console generation because there were very obvious improvements to the graphics or perhaps just straight up revolutionary changes (such as the advent of 3D gaming). For example, I remember being blown away by how good Final Fantasy 7 looked and then just two years later FF8 was released and it looked drastically better than 7 and I remember just being absolutely in awe of the change. There are definite improvements with new consoles and with new games ever year, but there is also a case of diminishing returns and it is less immediately obvious and awe inspiring than what we saw in the past.
2. The faster release schedule
Given the limited capabilities of prior console generations, game development was in many ways far easier compared to now, which allowed teams to be able to create entirely new games and experiences much quicker and cheaper. Keeping with Final Fantasy, I already mentioned that there was only two years between 7 and 8, but then 9 was released the next year, and then 10 was released the year after that. That's 4 mainline Final Fantasy games in the span of 5 calendar years, which is absolutely unheard of in modern gaming outside of annual releases that don't see much innovation from game to game. That of course wasn't even an exception, as there were many, many franchises that would see multiple entries with the span of single console generations that would have entirely new or expanded gameplay systems from release to release.
This is all with the caveat that I think games today are better than they've ever been and we are absolutely spoiled for choice, particularly with the indie scene, and there are still innovations in today's games that are worth getting excited over (for example, the drastic reduction to complete eradication of loading screens in modern games). |
Definitely agreed on both; seeing graphics go from Mario 64 to Gears of War in just a decade was mind-blowing stuff, and it was great getting like 3-4 games from the same dev per generation as recently as PS3/360.
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