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Forums - Gaming - What makes a console "next-gen"...?

 

What makes a console "next-gen"...?

Significant power improvement 38 24.20%
 
Release date 17 10.83%
 
Successor to existing console 61 38.85%
 
Significant change in controller interface 0 0%
 
Mix of the above 39 24.84%
 
Total:155
bananaking21 on 05 February 2013

1) Yes
1ii) No
1iii) No
2) Consoles only
3) Not at all, these are CONSOLE generations
4)NO, these gadgets are released on a monthly basis, if we were to put them in "gens" we would be at gen 17th by now
5) Yes, its a valid term when talking about the history of consoles, it also explains how consoles are made and released

and since this is a subject that people will talk about and mostly why i think Mazty made this thread. Wii is 7th gen and WiiU is 8th gen. its not about power its about release date, it always has been. when we look back and talk about 7th gen its PS3, xbox360 and Wii. thats how its talked about and thats how it is and always will be. the same will happen with WiiU



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bananaking21 on 05 February 2013
Mazty said:
KHlover said:
I'll go with a simple definition: If it is the successor of a current gen system (not a new revision of the system!) it is a next-gen system. Yes, regardless of power.


So then a next-box containing a 1khz CPU and 1kb ram would be 8th gen?


"Keep all debate polite, reasonable and within the realms of logic."

thats in your OP, atleast ask reasonable questions within the realms of logic. your question isnt. i dont want to be rude but there are more than one user asking the same question in a way. 



IIIIITHE1IIIII on 05 February 2013

You don't have to be stronger, smarter or superior over your forefathers in any conceivable way to be part of the newer generations.


/actual lock thread



Gamerace on 05 February 2013

Historically just cause you released a new console doesn't guarantee it's considered 'next gen'

Atari 2600, Atari 5200 are both considered 2nd gen.
Sega may fall into this catagory too somewhat.



 

Metrium on 05 February 2013

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.



 

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Mazty on 05 February 2013
BasilZero said:
Mazty said:
BasilZero said:
If it is a successor to a system from the previous or ongoing generation

And what if said successor is no more powerful then pre-existing consoles? With that idea if the next-box contaimed a hamster and straw, it's still 8th gen.


Power does not define which generation a system is from

 

Last gen/ current gen is proof of that (I.e ps3/x360/wii and psp/nds)

 

also yes to your question/ theory although it would be suicide for the creator of the system


So then what makes 360 elite not next gen? How about PSX? They are all technically successors with different capabilites. Same can be said about the original fatboy PS3 with PS2 b/c. If you ignore hardware, then we are probably on gen 12. 



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. 



Mazty on 05 February 2013
bananaking21 said:
Mazty said:
KHlover said:
I'll go with a simple definition: If it is the successor of a current gen system (not a new revision of the system!) it is a next-gen system. Yes, regardless of power.


So then a next-box containing a 1khz CPU and 1kb ram would be 8th gen?


"Keep all debate polite, reasonable and within the realms of logic."

thats in your OP, atleast ask reasonable questions within the realms of logic. your question isnt. i dont want to be rude but there are more than one user asking the same question in a way. 

That question is in the realms of logic, as in adhere to a hypothesis being logically criticised. 

Scientific logic isn't altered by probability. 

If you ignore hardware, then how can you even determine a successor? How is the 360 elite not the successor of the 360? 

 

IIIIITHE1IIIII said:

You don't have to be stronger, smarter or superior over your forefathers in any conceivable way to be part of the newer generations.


/actual lock thread

Firstly biology should work in the manner that you are the improvement of your parents on a genetic level due to how it works. 

Secondly care to explain why you don't have to be an improvement?

Thridly as I stated in the OP, this thread has been mod approved, so please quit the "lock thread" talk. Its obvious that the Wii U has highlighted a discrepancy in what people believe defines what makes something next-gen, hence the reason it'd be good to talk about. 



Turkish on 05 February 2013

Better specs.



Metallicube on 05 February 2013
BasilZero said:
If it is a successor to a system from the previous or ongoing generation


/thread