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The next Generation of Gaming...your hopes and fears?

T

Taustin Powers

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 5, 2005
263
552
Let's face it, Sony and Microsoft will be presenting a new generation of systems within the next couple of years, just a matter of time. (I'm excluding Nintendo from this discussion...they're doing their own weird thing.;))

What are your expectations for the next round? What do you hope we will see, and what are you afraid of?

My hopes:
- a good old-fashioned controller with sticks and buttons
- physical media
- short load times
- drastic improvement in performance (more than just "now in 1080p instead of 720p")

My fears:
- mandatory waggle or full body spasm controls (Move, Kinect)
- emphasis on 3D
- emphasis on casual & social gaming
- always-online DRM
- license activation DRM
- digital-only distribution with high prices for games
- modular game structures (buy the core game cheap, add content for extra $$$)
- scalable systems


Looking at these lists, I guess you could call me old-fashioned. I want to sit on the couch with a nice ergonomic controller in my hand, pop in a game, relax, and play. No gimmicks, no waving things around, no jumping up and down like an idiot, no Facebook/Twitter BS. The way things are going, I am tempted to say that Nintendo could have ruined gaming for me by releasing the Wii and becoming the role model for everyone else due to its success. Also, this whole DLC, DRM and fighting used-sales business is getting out of control. I want to buy a whole game on a disc, not piece by piece through the online store. I want to pop it in, play without worrying about my connection to their DRM servers and entering pass codes to unlock parts of the game. And when I'm done with it, I want to sell it. Pretty straight-forward, the way things used to be.

Now get the hell off my lawn, damn kids with your wiimotes!! :mad: ;)
 
0098386

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
"Their own weird thing" ;) I fully believe asynchronous play is going to be a big thing. It's possible already with the PS3 and Vita, there just needs to be more games that support it and more systems in homes. I think that's where the WiiU will do fine - every WiiU owner will have at least one tablet controller.

And personally I think it's about time! One of my earlier games was going to have async play, with a second player controlling the environment (but to hinder the player, not help. Inspired by how my friends and I play Left4Dead).


My hope for next gen;

-Ability to run all games in 1080p in 3D at 60fps. Let the framerate be decided by devs but 1080p should be the bare minimum to aim for.
-Cross console play. There is no reason why this shouldn't already exist.
-Frictionless social connectivity, but for gameplay related things. Best example I can think of is recruiting your friends in Peacewalker, automatically adding Facebook friends who have tied accounts. Not just for showing off trophies, achievements or what you bought. Make it fun and interesting.
-More connectivity with handhelds. Why can't I stream my PS Vita or 3DS display to my living room TV?


I don't mind modular gaming so long that the base price is right. I bought Super Startdust Delta, played so much that I bought the DLC without thinking twice about it. If you're going to sell DLC/modular games then you cannot charge full price for the base product. £50 for Call of Duty and £13 map packs should be completely frowned up.

I'm afraid that that will become the norm. But thankfully theres an equally large movement away from that (thanks to Valve).
 
Starfighter

Starfighter

macrumors 6502a
Jun 17, 2011
679
36
Sweden
I have no expectations or hopes about the future but I have one big fear, that has already been mentioned. DRM. Digital distribution. Virtual but still expensive collections that the collectors can not own - it's just long term loans. It's freaking me out!
 
0098386

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
Starfighter said:
I have no expectations or hopes about the future but I have one big fear, that has already been mentioned. DRM. Digital distribution. Virtual but still expensive collections that the collectors can not own - it's just long term loans. It's freaking me out!
Click to expand...

That doesn't seem to be the problem with console gaming, and I don't think it ever will be a problem. As much as it hurts to say it; the current system of buying a new game and locking other players (second hand, lending etc) out of playing sections of it is perfect. It ensures little bursts of income for the life of the platform it's on.

You'd be surprised how much effort studios go into reading what the public are saying about their games, about DRM. They know we don't like it. They know there has to be a better system to combat PC piracy - to keep in favour with the customer but to protect their investment. Personally I think it already has a saviour in the form of Steam. I think more and more devs are going to warm to the idea of dropping activation limits, additional DRM layers, and rely solely on Steam.

I do believe that we're heading down a route where games are tied to accounts. I do believe that the Vita is a sign of things to come where all games are released digitally and in disc format. Because that ties games to accounts neatly. (but thankfully the EU courts recently said it's against the law for publishers, developers or manufacturers to block the selling of online games+accounts)


Tl;dr I wouldn't worry over console DRM. I bet PC DRM improves. Keep calm and carry on.
 
whooleytoo

whooleytoo

macrumors 604
Aug 2, 2002
6,607
716
Cork, Ireland.
Performance & graphics is the key for me. I love console gaming: big-screen TV, surround sound, wireless controller, comfortable couch.. But the graphics in modern consoles now seems to be lagging badly behind the PC. Obviously, consoles and PCs have been leap-frogging each other in performance, but the current console generation is getting so old the difference is marked.

It worries me when I hear execs from Microsoft/Sony say there's no need for console upgrades in the immediate future. To me, they're already overdue!

And higher performance consoles wouldn't necessarily mean a lot of extra work for games developers. They could just increase the number of on-screen characters, so instead of mini 3 v 3 battles in Skyrim, you could have 10 v 10 or more? Or 100 v 100? Less Skyim, more Helm's Deep :) They could also increase the draw distances and reduce the LOD reduction; all of these could be easy-wins. And they already would have higher resolution textures from the PC version.

Other than that, I'd love to see some innovation with the controller. Not motion controllers (meh...) but a physical controller, with some efficient form of text input (!!!), maybe with a touch-pad for gestures - handy if there's a built-in web browser. And lots of buttons. LOTS.

If it doesn't happen soon, I'm more likely to get a compact mid-range PC with a nice case, use it with a decent wireless controller (or keyboard & mouse), hook it up to my TV and never look back at console gaming.
 
MRU

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
My hopes,

world peace. love and harmony. an end to fanboy wars, and we all get down to some hardcore multi-bi-cross platform orgy....

My fears,

history repeats!



:D



But in all seriousness, my biggest fears are basically a continuation of what has begun this generation..

1) DLC killing the industry and a micro-transactioned world, a further continuation of the destruction of a game as a whole - to sell it to us in bitesize chunks at an over inflated worth.

2) and lack of innovation or what could be deemed 'risky' I.P's.
When games like Max Payne 3 sell 3 million copies and thats still not enough, and even classic's like Rayman Origins under perform, there is less chances of publishers funding new I.P's.

It is this area where I think platform like iOS/Android and Ouya might gain some ground. Smaller development costs, easier distribution network and more chance of originality (other than the 5 million copies of copies that already populate)
 
Last edited:
Dr McKay

Dr McKay

macrumors 68040
Aug 11, 2010
3,430
57
Kirkland
My fears: Microsoft going "Download Only" as I doubt they'll go Blu-Ray. Or more games companies start shipping their games with "Online Passes" so that you have to pay to go online if you buy it second hand.
 
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