Next Gen thoughts

There has been some buzz recently about the latest generation of consoles and their supposed up coming launches. Playstation 4 has already officially been announced, though we are yet to see the actual console itself and despite getting glimpses of some of its games and the new but rather familiar looking controller. Rumours of the latest Xbox have also been rife, though so far nothing entirely positive. The key issue is that it will always have to be online, something that many games are moaning about, not entirely unjustifiably, especially after the failed launch of the most recent interation of Sim City, which requires users to constantly be connected. Microsoft's Xbox director has apparently told the potential consumers to just 'Deal with it'.

My thoughts? Well it depends what the catches are. Constantly being online is not necessarily a problem if you have a good, fast and reliable internet connection. For some though, this could be an issue. If you don't have the option to connect or simply don't want to, then the next gen Xbox is already off limits. For those who have slow internet it's also a problem as the speeds required may not be supported everywhere. Day to day issues I come up against with my internet connection may also lead me to be tempted by the competition. After moving into a new student house two years ago, the internet wasn't up and running for at least a few months. That's a good few months of not being able to play. Now whilst it isn't the end of the world, I'd be annoyed at the very least that I could not play my console when I wanted to.

The second problem I can see is Microsoft's potential desire to do away with second hand games completely. If the always online model requires games to download games rather than insert a CD, it makes it impossible to get a second-hand copy, which is also a pain as they are more often or not a cheaper alternative for the gamer on a budget. Now one could argue that for game developers such a move is beneficial as they only money from new sales, however many high street retailers make more off the second hand than the new, which imminently puts them in a tricky position. One they would probably rather avoid considering their current financial issues.

The next gen Xbox does seemed to be aimed at a certain demographic, one which is not necessarily the best bet for the future.

Either way, I'm going to be extremely cautious in my next choice. Whilst I've only really discussed the pitfalls of the Xbox (as that's all we know), very little on the PS4 and not even covered the cheaper alternatives like the OUYA or GameStick, which I will try and post about later on, being an Xbox owner it's the next one that interests me most.

The Wii U doesn't really merit much mention... though more to come on the next gen later on.