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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
JoeTheBro on 05 February 2013
Chiefpitchanono said:

This is crazy its whatever current system a company has out that competes with other companies machines in a relatively similar period of time. Wii U is the console that nintendo put out that will compete with the ps4 and nextbox during the majority of all three systems life time. It is a part of that generation and thats the three consoles that will be compared for most of the next decade. You cant say something is apart of a certain gen just because of specs. If you do u might as well start ranking them by price too. Nintendo is not forced to to compete on sony and MS's terms ,it worked great for them last generation. 


If Nintendo released the Wii U after the PS4 or Nextbox had released then without a doubt it would be an 8th gen system. As is though it's having to fight on both fronts. Right now it's acting like gen7, in a year it'll act like gen8. Which one is it? According to my formula, it's gen7.



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Cold-Flipper on 05 February 2013
Mazty said:
Cold-Flipper said:
I'd say something is next-gen based off of release date and competition honestly.

1) Was it released within the generational pattern? (every 4-7 years, give or take)

2) What is it meant to compete with?

As for Wii U, it was released 6 years after the Wii and is meant to compete with Orbis & Durango. Nintendo chose not to compete power-wise but they are fighting for sales in the same business.


So then you'd say that what makes something next gen is irrelevant of then the actual console but is purely to do with what market the company is gunning for with said console?

Interesting take on it. 

Yes, the Wii U was released around the same time Orbis & Durango will be released, and will compete with them for next-gen sales. Release date also matters IMO. For example, say Microsoft & Sony decide not to release a new console until 2017. Nintendo also release Wii U 2 the same year. That would effectively make Wii U be considered Gen7 with the PS3, 360, and Wii. That would never happen though. It is like the next-gen is whatever the next line of consoles are.



TheBardsSong on 05 February 2013
ClassicGamingWizzz said:
is ouya a next generation system ? answers me please



I'd say so. It's part of the 8th gen with smartphones, Wii U, 3DS, and Vita.



RazorDragon on 05 February 2013

Smartphones shouldn't really be part of generations in video gaming, or else PCs would enter it too, and it doesn't make any sense.



kain_kusanagi on 05 February 2013
Mazty said:
curl-6 said:
Mazty said:

Thats a contradiction. How can you determine the next iteration of hardware if you are not looking at power?

 

Because the Wii U is the successor to the Wii, which was 7th gen, and was the successor to the GCN, which was 6th gen.


So then a successor is determined just by the name? If you ignore the hardware then how are you determining what is a successor? How is the 360 elite not the 360's successor if you are ignoring hardware? 

 

kain_kusanagi said:
Mazty said:

How though are you linking 1 & 2? They seem very far removed from one another. You're saying the PS4 could be technically inferior to the PS3, but a new console, say Console X made by Apple would have to be a considerable upgrade from the best of the last gen to be considered next gen.

I'd say that consoles simply need to adhere to point 2 otherwise it's just an off-shoot of the current gen, no different from things like Move, Eyetoy and Kinect. 

Move and Kinect are current gen addons and are not stand alone consoles.

It doesn't matter to me if Sony was stupid enough to releases a PS4 less powerfull than the PS3. It would be the follow up and therefor next gen. It is however, completely unlikely to happen.

 

Still my point stands - why then would a new entry to the generation have to be a significant improvement over the 360, yet MS could release something as powerful as a Furbie?

 

Anything that is a successor would be next gen because it is by definition following it's predecessor's generation.

Take the Ouya for example. It is a new system being released during the 8th generation of home consoles. But the Ouya is not significantly more powerful than the PS360 nor is it a follow up to a 7th gen machine. It is not a next gen game machine. However, if Ouya sticks around for the next 5-10 years and recieves a follow up for the 9th gen then the Ouya 2 would be next gen and part of (8th gen). The original Xbox didn't follow anything, but it was significatly more powerfull than the Saturn, PSX, and N64 so it was a 6th gen machine.

Anything from MS, Sony, and Nintendo is by default an 8th gen. It has nothing to do with its name. The Xbox 360 Elite was not a follow up it was a revision just like the PS3 Slim and Ugly Slim and the Xbox 360 S. To be a follow up it has to be a completely new machine, but it doesn't have to be 10X more powerful either.



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bananaking21 on 05 February 2013
Mazty said:
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? 

 

 

the next generation xbox containing 1khzcpu and 1kb ram is no where in the realms of logic. its not a probablity. 

and because the 360 elite contains the same parts to run the same games on the original 360. the run the same games and have the same specs. no increase in ram, no increase in cpu, or a better gpu. 



curl-6 on 05 February 2013
Mazty said:
curl-6 said:
Mazty said:

Thats a contradiction. How can you determine the next iteration of hardware if you are not looking at power?

 

Because the Wii U is the successor to the Wii, which was 7th gen, and was the successor to the GCN, which was 6th gen.


So then a successor is determined just by the name? If you ignore the hardware then how are you determining what is a successor? How is the 360 elite not the 360's successor if you are ignoring hardware? 

 

Because the 360 Elite is still, by brand, an Xbox 360.



kain_kusanagi on 05 February 2013
TheBardsSong said:
ClassicGamingWizzz said:
is ouya a next generation system ? answers me please



I'd say so. It's part of the 8th gen with smartphones, Wii U, 3DS, and Vita.


No, you're talking about completely different devices that excist outside of eachother's circles.

Tablets and Smartphones have their own generations. Handhelds like the 3DS and Vita have their own generations. Home consoles have their own generations. The Ouya is not a follow up to a 7th gen machine nor is it a signifcant upgrade from the PS360.

It is the first of a new catagory of android boxes. Time will tell if they can compete with the big boys. If it lasts the generation and the Ouya 2 is released to compete with the 9th gen system then the Ouya 2 would be a next gen machine. But the Ouya isn't.



TheBardsSong on 05 February 2013

I don't think smartphones have mattered for gaming until recently (well, personally I still don't think they matter, but they're popular so...), I thought I'd throw them in with the 8th gen.

Also, I do consider PC a part of every gen. Everyone may have a different PC, but software can be broken down into generations.



TheBardsSong on 05 February 2013
kain_kusanagi said:
TheBardsSong said:
ClassicGamingWizzz said:
is ouya a next generation system ? answers me please



I'd say so. It's part of the 8th gen with smartphones, Wii U, 3DS, and Vita.


No, you're talking about completely different devices that excist outside of eachother's circles.

Tablets and Smartphones have their own generations. Handhelds like the 3DS and Vita have their own generations. Home consoles have their own generations. The Ouya is not a follow up to a 7th gen machine nor is it a signifcant upgrade from the PS360.

It is the first of a new catagory of android boxes. Time will tell if they can compete with the big boys. If it lasts the generation and the Ouya 2 is released to compete with the 9th gen system then the Ouya 2 would be a next gen machine. But the Ouya isn't.



It doesn't have to be a successor to an existing console or a significant upgrade to be considered part of a new generation. The PC-Engine was a successor to no previous console, and was technically an 8-bit machine released alongside several 16-bit machines. It's considered a part of the 4th generation alongside the SNES/Genesis/Neo Geo, is it not? Explain your point.