[Speculation] Next Gen

So, I was watching this (the TGS podcast it's about 3 hours but it's highly entertaining) and they mentioned that it's been two years now that we have been expecting the "next generation" of consoles. Two years now we've been bombarded with 'leaks' and been at the edge of our seats (figuratively speaking of course.) about the supposed PS4 and the 720. This got me thinking. Jesse mentioned that the least big tech race was Blu-Ray vs HD DvD, and that was mid last decade. In the recent years there has been a huge shift to the PC market, and why not? Consoles aren't getting any better. The only thing we know is that they are 'in development'. Computers get better every day. If you want the best experiences gaming wise, that's where you look. All Microsoft and Sony have been doing is pushing add ons for there existing consoles, trying to get them to appeal to more people, neither is significantly better.


But, why the wait? The PS3 and 360 are both over five years old at this point, a computer from five years ago wouldn't even be relevant at this time. Why is it that we haven't heard about new tech at this point? They have been very, very tight lipped, and it's a little frightening. To me, they have to be trying to push this gen as far as it will go, but for what? Fans would eat up a new generation. We have been waiting years at this point, the 720 would be probably sell out (providing it's not that expensive, of course.). This leads me to believe that they are waiting for something. They have to be waiting for some bug push in technology that they know is coming but they can't talk about.


Of course, I could be wrong, but it makes sense to me.

[Rant] Nintendo's decision making behind the Wii U

So recently it has come to my attention that there has been some confusion as to whether or not the Wii U is really a new console, not so much in the gaming community, but in the general eyes of the public. I wanted to take a moment and clear up that confusion. Yes, the Wii U is a separate console from the original Wii. It is not just a redesign with a new controller. You will need to buy a Wii U to play Wii U games, as games made for the Wii U will not be playable on the Wii. The Wii U is however backwards compatible so your old Wii games will be one hundred percent playable on it.


On another note, Nintendo decided a long time ago that graphics weren't the most important thing to them. To them, there job is to create awesome gaming experiences available to a wide range of consumers. They do not want their platform to be overly expensive, and as such when the launched the Wii they decided to stay a generation behind. This means that while Microsoft and Sony will be paying top dollar to create new consoles, Nintendo will be paying less, and therefore be charging us less. I would imagine that the gamepad is costing them a bit to make, so it won't be anything too low, but it will certainly be the cheapest next gen console on the market.


Besides, since when did a game need amazing graphics to be good? As it stands the Wii U is indeed more powerful then the PS3/ 360, so its not like the gap will be huge or anything, and Wii U games will have the power to be visually appealing, it just won't be mind blowing because that's not what Nintendo is about. They care more about being different, and offering innovation, which is honestly something that the industry desperately needs. People look at Nintendo like they are a kiddy company, but then mostly these same people complain that E3 was nothing be a "Hyper Violent Gore Fest". That's because things that aren't hyper violent get called childish!


I hope that I managed to shed some light on the Wii U, and maybe help some people form an opinion, but really, the amount of hate this thing is getting is unwarranted. A game does not need to "hyper violent" or have jaw dropping graphics to be good. All a game needs to be good is to be fun. I play games to be entertained, the gaming industry is my favorite industry because of how innovative it can be. It should always be enjoyable, and it should always be about bringing us new ways to play, and new levels of immersion. I'm all for better graphics, but I'm glad that one of the big three has decided to put gameplay first.


And just so you know, I'll be getting either the 720 or the PS4 as well. We'll just have to wait and see which I like more when they are revealed. I own a PS3 and a 360 right now. I don't even have a Wii. This isn't some angry fanboy rant. I just get tired of people on the internet dissing something just because it's Nintendo.

What do I hope to accomplish?

Well. It's a very good question. Most gamers out there hate journalists, they look at us and see biased incompetent fools that only care about the paycheck. Here's the thing. This is what I want to do. My passion is video games and I don't care if I have to get a "real" job to support doing this. It would be nice to make a living off of talking about video games. But hell, that isn't even my long term goal, let alone a short term goal.


I'm sorry about talking about myself on my "professional blog". This won't happen often, I promise. This is solely to "sell" myself so to speak. Why listen to what I have to say, as compared to say G4, or Joystiq (even though I would love to eventually work full time for either of those places.) I guess it's really a "why do I want to get into this industry where a lot of gamers are going to hate me?" question. Well. The answer is simple. I want to provide an unbiased opinion (as much as possible at least) and get information out to gamers.


I have been doing this for eight months now, and I really love it. I can talk about games for hours. I have an opinion on everything that I hear about in the gaming world. I'm not an Xbox fanboy, or a PS3 fanboy. I don't consider myself part of the "PC master race". I game on all three platforms. I enjoy Nintendo games a lot, although I do not own a Wii (Plan to buy a Wii U though!). I am a gamer, and really? I love talking about games.


The only reason I am writing this is because of this. I do not think the game industry is dyeing. I think that there are still developers out there who care. If we didn't buy the games these "evil" publishers would make no money. They have to have the developers make likable games. And in truth? I had fun playing Skyrim, Diablo 3, Mass Effect 3, and Rage. I loved Battlefield 3, and Assassins Creed Revelations. DRM isn't the end of the world (although it is certainly annoying!) and if DLC adds to a game I love I will get it. If it doesn't I find the games perfectly playable without said DLC. In fact, I don't really buy DLC. I bought the Oblivion and Fallout game of the year editions. I have considered buying the Borderlands DLC, just because I would like to play through it before Borderlands 2 comes out.


So what do I hope to accomplish? What is it I want to do? I want to be a voice of reason in a sea of hate. At least for now. I have found something that I am very passionate about, something that I love more then anything else. People tell you to do what you love, so you don't despise your job. Video games are what I love.  If I told someone I wanted to be a doctor, or a lawyer they would look at me just as funny, and ask if I was to the 8+ years of school it would take. You know what I would say? I would say that I'm not up to it, because I wouldn't be. I would hate that. I write. It's what I do. I talk about my opinions, and I find that often people agree with me. I browse reddit, and get angry about things that get said there. I watch youtubers, and marvel at how often I know more then them about the games they are talking about. I play video games, and talk about what made them good/bad. I've always had this... fascination with them.


So, now that I have gotten all that off my chest, I can go to actual game content. Thank you for reading, and supporting what I do. I appreciate every page view, I appereciate every comment, ever +1 on google, every reader, and if I happen to start making money, I will appreciate every dollar made. I would never want to lose sight of the fact that my readers make my life possible. Thank you. Past readers, future readers, Current readers. I know this blog isn't popular yet, but if it ever is I would appreciate it, and I'll just keep working on it until it is.

The Casualization of Gaming

As we all know gaming has become a very big industry, and the best and most talanted designers are always trying to out do each other for our attention. Production costs have skyrocketed, and it seems our favorite franchises are only getting simpler as time goes on. The question is why?

My theory for this? Games are getting simpler because they have to. To break even a studio has to sell "x" amount of games. As the production costs get higher, "x" becomes a larger number. To appeal to more people to ensure that "x" amount is sold, they dumb down the game, to try to get newcomers.

 It's not surprising that "Farmville" a free to play game by Zynga is one of the most profitable games of all time. It has a very low production cost, presumably and anyone can pick it up and start playing whenever they want. Of course, there is stuff for real money, but most people fool themselves into thinking they will never pay real money for it. They do of course. This is because the gameplay (from what I've heard/read) is so simple that even a house mom who has never played a video game before can pick it up, and do well. When you do well at a video game, psychologically you will want to come back to it. MMO's use this same kind of logic. If you feel good at it, and that you are being rewarded for your efforts you will want to keep coming back for more.

However this "dumming down the game" logic is putting people off as well. There were a lot of people dissatisfied with Skyrim because it felt shallower then Oblivion/Marrowind. Same with World of Warcraft, people have been dissatisfied with it because Blizzard has been making things easier such as getting into dungeons/raids, as well as making getting gear easier. It is a very interesting concept. A lot of people see it as designers turning their backs on the people that made them popular in the first place. I don't see it that way. If you look at WoW, in Wrath of the Lich King Blizzard introduced "Heroic" raids for people who want the extra challenge (although, they do seem to have difficulty tuning the heroics for the right group of people.) If companies can learn to design games for the masses, and for the "core" fans, I think that a happy medium can indeed be reached.

The problem? I don't think that many companies will  try to appease both groups. I think that most will try to grab the majority, and leave the "core" because it would just be more development time and money to try to please both. Don't get me wrong, some will. Some may even do it right. But I don't think most will.

Luminous Engine

This trailer is amazing! I do believe that we are looking at the future of in game cinematics. It is very, very impressive to say the least. It makes me wonder what a next gen Final Fantasy will look like in game.

Also, if this is in game graphics, I'm impressed, and can't wait to play it.

For those of you who don't know this is the Square Enix Luminous Engine that they will be using to power their next gen games. It is said to be running in real time.

Watch_Dogs

Watch_Dogs looks too good to be true, this seems to be common opinion around the internet. Everything from the graphics, to the nature of the gameplay. How free flowing everything seemed to be. When the main character turned the light from red to green in order to cause the accident, is that the only thing you could do at that moment? Could you have caught the guy another way? And then, an even bigger question looms overhead. Is this a next gen game?

I know Ubisoft came out and stated that it was not a next gen game, but come on. It would be a small lie to tell to cover up the "nextbox" or the PS4. I have this theory for two reasons. One: The graphics look phenomenal, and two Ubisoft has embraced the Wii U with open arms, and the Wii U is supposed to be more powerful then the 360/ps3. So why would it be on those and not on the Wii U? My theory? The Wii U, 360 and PS3 can't run it. I think Watch Dogs is a next gen game. I mean, Ubisoft pretty much stated that this game is still in early development, and if popular theory is to be believed were looking at a holiday 2013 Xbox 720. I can't imagine that Sony will be far behind with the PS4.

Enough with that though! I honestly think the game looks great. The aftermath of that game being revealed was phenomenal. Mostly positive things were said, and the E3 crowd rejoiced at something new. The premise of the game is promising, the story looks great so far, and if the gameplay is as open ended as it looks, I will be happy with it. I won't say that the game looks to be an industry changer, but it does seem to be a fresh look on a near future setting.

All in all, whenever this game releases you can bet that I will be playing it, no matter the generation of platforms it comes out on.