Five Things We Learned This Generation

The eighth generation of video game consoles carried many new innovations with it. Looking forward, we'd like some of these to stick around, and there's others we'd prefer stayed behind or changed if they intend to stay. With the Wii U already in some living rooms and the PS4 and Xbox One on the way, it's the perfect time to reminisce on the last seven or so years and remember what worked and forget what failed.

[Phil32]

This was the seventh generation, though. The Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One are part of the eighth generation.

[theBAWSE]

i learnt that stick and ride out the rough like the ps3 when it launched and you will reep the benefits in unique exclusives

ive learnt for the second console generation in a row Microsoft have abandoned its current darling for the new kid on the block

and most importantly ive learnt its a marathon not a sprint so people talking about launch games in general have no clue... its beyond launch games its mid cycle when developers have learnt the architecture that the real fun begins

knowing all this plus the more powerful and cheaper console.. ps4 will be my gaming console of choice for the new generation

[fattyuk]

Well said sir!!

[darthv72]

I learned that...

SEGA of old (the platform holder) was better than Sega of current (the 3rd party publisher). They had a few good games but the golden days were where they really shined.

Nintendo just can't catch a break and the stigma of them being for kids will haunt them for a lifetime.

Consumer trends are tough to predict. what people like one gen is not so much the case for the next.

Fanboys overrun the gaming sites and any chance at a genuine conversation between gamers will always be met with insults and/or jokes about one's sexual preference with farm animals by said fanboys.

And last but not least, that younger gamers need to take a break from current systems and pick up a game that precedes them. Maybe, just maybe it will help them appreciate how games were more about fun and entertainment.

Come to think of it, that's not a bad idea for devs and pubs to do as well.

[Phil32]

Lol. Disagrees towards a fact. This community gets worse and worse in how pathetic it is.

[fattyuk]

That playstation rules.

(In terms of games and value for money)

[ala_767]

Agreed! At first the PS3 looked awesome but the price was really expensive... But at the end PS3, really did well even after the PSN hack

[gaelic_laoch]

I learnt you always go back to Playstation!

[GreenRanger]

Developers made a habit of shipping discs with nothing but concept art on them and they patched the rest of the game on afterwards, if they felt like it.

[Edito]

I learn that everything can change to a direction that we never imagined, that games we used to love can be turned into crap and that we just can't trust Capcom, Square Enix and Kojima never more...

[Bluepowerzz]

i learnt that devs werent as innovative as they were on ps1 and ps2 days and tried to cater to cod nubs heres hoping for ps2 gen dominance and originality on ps4 kz sf already showing it

[ShaunCameron]

You got the PS3 to thank for that. Architecture too sophisticated for its own good driving up development costs and effectively pricing Japan out of the home console market hence the apparent lack of "innovative and original" games.

[oof46]

It's hard to be innovative and take risks when one bad selling title or two can sink a publisher. Games are much more expensive to make than they were in the ps1 and ps2 era.

[byeGollum]

I agree with the article. Software > Hardware... as much as I like single-player, online gaming is expanding at a very fast rate. I'll be doing a lot of it on Xbox Live Dedicated servers, this upcoming gen.

[CaulkSlap]

Learned that Nintendo is a completely clueless dinosaur. License to print money with the DS and Wii yet failed to evolve so badly that the Wii U is a complete flop. They could have launched a true next-gen system and easily dominated this generation if they invested in hardware and expanded their game studios to cater to the modern market. Instead they cater exclusively to the exact same fanbase and tried for a Wii gimmick repeat that fell flat on its face.

[ShaunCameron]

Yeah. Next-gen as in bloated hardware that loses them a gang of money like the PS3 did for the first 3.5 years catering to a modern market that has become really homogenous fixated on FPS's and "AAA" games. And then people have the nerve to complain about the industry getting stagnant.

[ghostrider32]

I learned that the console community this generation is full of lunatics that can't accept the fact that there are other people with a different preference and can't respect the opinion of others. You say you like so and so system, you get attacked immediately without warning. I also learned that when a PC gamer come into the picture, talismans are suddenly not important.

[2pacalypsenow]

MS ruined Gaming with their DLC