Next Gen/Touchscreen games-quick opinion
Unnecessary next gen consoles
I’m in love with my Xbox 360, I care about my 360 so much it gets more playtime than my PS3, Wii, DS, 3DS and PS Vita combined.
I say that to ask you this, do we really need a “next gen” console right now? I’m asking as honestly as I can make that sound, why do we need a newer Xbox or PlayStation system?
Both Sony and Microsoft knows that this is the console gen that we should be focusing on, Sony is the biggest supporter for ten plus years of the same console, they still push out more exclusive games than Microsoft and Nintendo.
Third party games are the reason why a newer generation of consoles shouldn’t be in the limelight just yet.
Epic games, DICE and Crytek have shown there’s still some life left in the current consoles, the engines these developers have created works just fine with the 360 and PS3, while also never holding the PC back.
While plenty of people are willing to accept a new generation of consoles others are weary about pricing and the lack of games on launch, as they should be as everybody knows launch games can give a bad impression on a new system.
There are still plenty of great games coming up for the Xbox 360 and the PS3, why would Microsoft and Sony release a new console when their current ones are doing so well, especially Microsoft?
We don’t need a new generation of consoles just yet, maybe in three to five more years but not now the time isn’t right, people are still very happy with the system(s) and games that they have.
Nintendo has chosen the right time to release a new console, the popularity of the Wii is starting to wane and Nintendo needs to breathe some new life to interest consumers and game designers in their products.
I’m of course talking about the 3DS and the WiiU; although Nintendo didn’t really need a new handheld a new home console is the right answer for them.
Instead of adding a new peripheral to the Wii Nintendo opted to rebuild the Wii and call it a new System, the tablet controller is Nintendo’s newest gimmick and it just might work.
Tablets are quickly becoming a device that is wanted and used by people that do not work in a business oriented environment, mainly thanks to Apple and Droid OS’s.
Touchscreen Games
That brings us to another topic, mobile gaming and using touch screens to play games.
I finally bought the PSVita and a copy of Uncharted: Golden abyss, admittedly I believe it’s overpriced, as I was playing my new game I began to believe that maybe touchscreen games belonged on mobile devices and mobile devices only.
The touchscreen sections in Uncharted is forced and feels unnatural, especially during climbing sections which feels even more out of place to have them.
You could tell that the developers, Bend Studios, was just finding excuses to implement the front touchscreen, the back touchpad, the back camera and the Vita’s tilt control function.
Some games aren’t meant to have touchscreen, take GTA 3 or Max Payne; while both games were re-created with touchscreen in mind the controls simply didn’t work because both games were mainly created with a controller or mouse and key in mind.
Physical buttons has a much better response than that of a touchscreen, the player is never really sure if they hit the right “button” on a touchscreen as they would on controller, it likes a sense of “touch” that physical controllers have.
That’s not to say touchscreen games should be dismissed, when a game is created with touch gameplay in mind it can be very responsive and fun.
Ghost Trick, a game by Shu Takumi of Ace Attorney fame and Capcom, was originally created for the Nintendo DS and iOS thus having touchscreen gameplay since the very beginning.
The North American DS box art
The game used the Touch Screen Technology for the actual game and not for the sake of being a shoehorned gimmick, the game revolved around being a Touch Screen Software focus and never felt as if it would have been better if it had physical buttons.
Mirrors Edge for the iPhone and iPad, while having some control issues, shows that an existing IP can be brought to a touchscreen device by not porting a game but building it from the ground up with touch controls in mind.
If developers and publishers want to make mobile a big thing to “hardcore” gamers than they need to treat touchscreen games with more care, especially since EA believes touch screen gaming is the next big thing for their company.
Both touchscreen gaming and next gen consoles needs some more time to settle into everybody’s minds, with the right amount time and games touchscreen mobile gaming can be a very big deal.
yeah.. now tell me why does the rest of the gamerworld has to be as undemanding as you and why should the rest of the world wait for new hardware just because you “don’t feel like it”?
if you take yourself out of this equation you will realize that developping a new hardware is a difficult and very very time-consuming task. just because the major companies are now starting to announce that they are in developpment of new consoles does not mean
a) that these consoles will be released tomorrow
b) that you will have to purchase consoles at day 1
c) that your beloved older model will leave the market as soon as the new ones will be released
could it be that you just don’t know where to come up with the money for the new hardware which will be very expensive the first two years?
could it be that you just are not able to face the bigger picture in consoles-manufacturing? just because random individuals “don’t feel like it” does not mean the industry will come to a complete halt. there is always further developpment. the main difference between your teenage years and now is the internet: way too many (false) information get spread, rumors are made to sound like a spokesman of a company said it, an so on. this has all got nothing to do with any truth but with people who got way too much sparetime and they need some attention. hypes get built up and bubbles burst all the time.
so please, use your 360 as you like, us others would like to move on a little bit.
@myx
I’m not saying Microsoft and Sony should stop developments on a new console, I’m simply saying unlike the other generations of consoles (i.e the Gamecube or Xbox) the current consoles are holding up quite well and doesn’t need to be replaced as soon as two or three years.
I would love for Microsoft to announce a new console, as a lover of new tech and hardware I would be ecstatic to see where Microsoft and Sony would go next, especially after seeing the updated CryEngine and Epic announcing the Unreal Engine 4.
I agree 100% Michael. We DO NOT NEED new Consoles now. This is why I think Video Gaming is slowly,slowly dieing a slow death. There is to many consoles way to fast. The X-360 and the PS3 still have a lot of Life left in them.