5 Reasons Why: The Newest Console Generation has Underwhelmed

ThisGenGaming Writes: "PlayStation 4 has sold 20 million units world wide since its inception, making it the fastest selling console of all time. Nothing else has ever come close to comparing to the overwhelming consumer reception and support that Sony has received for its console. Outside of the PlayStation 4, however, there isn’t anything that has really made people say “wow” about this console generation. For the most part, it has been a disappointment for many reasons. While the PS4 has thrived, many games and other competition have found ways to blunder through and made it one of the more puzzling console generations to date; not to mention one of the least competitive. Why is this so? Why have gamers become a bit disgruntled, or have been so since the start of the console wars? Has this generation helped or hurt gaming in general? Here are Five Reasons why it has underwhelmed overall, and a look at its affects on gaming as a whole."

[UKmilitia]

what a load of crap.

i have said wow many times and thourly enjoyed this gen so far.

all on different pages so 6 clicks.
N4g needs to change fast because all of those points could be on 1 page but its over 6.

[3-4-5]

* The one that that FOR SURE has gotten worse this generation is journalism as a whole, everywhere.

* Nobody is holding these people accountable for their words and they keep pumping out click bait articles left and right....

[Stringerbell]

There is no room for integrity on this internet. Good stuff gets approved here put it usually remains a low temp / story with few comments. A shame really.

[decrypt]

Dont need 5 reasons why the gen sucks. No games is enough reason.

[Panzerkanzler]

Thanks for the heads up. I'm not visitng a click fest POS web site.

[Blade92]

Of course you have....some people are more easily impressed then others.

[rainslacker]

I find more fun in the PS3 and Vita games I've been playing lately, although have had a few good experiences with next gen stuff. I'm not underwhelmed though, as I didn't expect to be rolling in games like the last few years of last gen because....well it's a new gen and they take a couple years before they really start to thrive, although this gen is ramping up quicker than other gens in the past. For those not keeping track, this years holiday will be 2 years.:)

[Fro_xoxo]

I hope this gen satisfies you someday.

Take the good with the bad.

Give it time, I think you had high expectations from the get-go.

The best is yet to come.

Until then, enjoy your portion of the sales profit.

[mixelon]

Was that supposed to come across as a very weird poem?

[rainslacker]

Two years from now, people won't really remember the first couple years anyways. How many people remember the first couple years of any new gen? They always remember the games that came out throughout the whole generation and end up taking it as a whole. I never see people talking about the SNES or PS1 or PS2 saying that it didn't have that many game releases it's first year or so, but they still talk about all the great experiences they had with their favorite games on any given system.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

Why is it that there are people out there looking for 10 out 10 experiences when this console cycle is less than 2 years old?

The exceptional games don't start coming until developers learn how to work with the hardware. I think this year will be pretty good, but 2016 will be great. I expect 2017 and beyond to be exceptional.

[BigDuo]

It is rarely wise to buy a new console in the first 6 months to a year because the 1st party games in the past two generations have lacked hardcore-oriented killer-app titles. Platform holders typically get their 1st real big releases in the first year for the upcoming holiday season. New console owners have to endure slow and bare bones operating systems while they gradually receive newly added features, maintenance and stability and firmware updates. This process takes quite some time to get to the point where each console's respect OS has undergone a good amount of improvements.

Unsurprisingly, most of the big third parties still have not released new games using their newly created game engines. Where are the games created on Unreal Engine 4 and Cryengine 4 and various proprietary engines such as Pantae Rhei, Fox, Luminious, Frostbite and Snowdrop ? Oh right... those games are all still in development! See them generally released by the 2nd/3rd year from then. We tend to see a lot of cross-gen ports and late remastered ports to hold is over while third parties still have their current-gen only developed titles still cooking in the oven.

[SpinalRemains138]

Its not only that they dont know how to push the hardware real far, but that when a new machine's user base is still small, from being young, it isn't a sound investment in a huge AAA title if only 10 mil users are out there. Of the 10 mil, only a portion are going to buy the game.

Later in the life cycle, when the machine has a healthy and hefty base of over 50 million, developers and more specifically, producers, are going to go all in with huge titles so their return is much safer.

Seems a lot of people dont take this into consideration, but its very real and the huge games are going to come. They need an incentive to be made first.

[AWBrawler]

Ahem*
Bayonetta 2
Smash Bros 4
Mario Kart 8
Pikmin 3

Just to name a few 10 out of 10s this gen

[TheCommentator]

Notice how they're all sequels? Where's the innovation? 10 year old processing and a foot wide controller don't cut it. Besides, I don't wan't the same thing over and over, I wan't to see new games.

[DarXyde]

@TheCommentator,

So sequels can't be innovative? There are new IPs that lack the creativity of some sequels.

[ShaunCameron]

@ TheCommentator

What good is a new IP if it's gonna barely offer anything that existing and established IP's already offer?

And neither is 10-year-old gameplay mechanics and ideas with just better graphics gonna cut it.

[AWBrawler]

ok here's some non-sequels that i myself would give 10s to:
shovel knight
wonderful 101
captain toad
alphadia genesis

[UltraNova]

I blame ND living last gen with a 10/10 game.

The bar got raised very high and we gamers are as entitled as they come. Get a taste of the best once and nothing can satisfy as going forwards...everything needs to be 10/10 to exist.

[S2Killinit]

Underwhelmed? Im loving it

[MysticStrummer]

One reason why it may have underwhelmed for some people : Unreasonable expectations

I'm greatly enjoying my PS4. The only game I wish I hadn't bought was GTA5, only because I played it so much on PS3 and I don't really like the first person view unless I'm just driving or walking around the world without a goal.

[moldybread]

i can think of at least 7 reasons why this generation is lacking so far,

1. constant delays
2. broken games at launch
3. connection issues and ddos attacks
4. not many must have exclusives so far
5. the wii u has some great games but the hardware is once again lacking and not very compelling
6. system features that should have been there at launch
7. too many cross gen games meaning publishers are afraid to let go of the previous install base

some issues have improved since and i imagine many will eventually be forgotten but as of right now i don't see any real need to jump into buying them yet if you have a pc and a last generation system

[SpinalRemains138]

They're not afraid, they're maximizing their potential for profit.

If you produced games, you would do the same thing. Its just a business decision. Its not wise to neglect a gigantic customer base. Those customers are profit for them.

[moldybread]

of course it makes business sense but i can't help feel some of the games have been held back because of it. which again goes back to what i said earlier about the need to upgrade to the new systems. that generation of consoles has been around way too long.

[Arturo84]

a good list especially those first three we get nickeled and dimed on everything and we cant even get a secure game experience

[MysticStrummer]

1. Delays are hardly a new thing this gen
2. Broken games at launch are hardly a new thing this gen
3. Connection issues and ddos attacks are hardly a new thing this gen
4. Entirely subjective
5. Entirely subjective
6. Lots of system features were added last gen as well
7. It's not fear, it's good business to not ignore 160+ million consoles in favor of approximately 30 million consoles

[Blade92]

It's way to early for 85 percent of everything you just said. It's still early this gen. Plus the WII U has the best exclusives out right now and can make some compelling titles.

So I disagree with you on the Wii U comment because Nintendo has proved time and time again that the most powerful hardware is not what's always better. It's the devs and original ideas and gameplay they come up and how well the hardware is utilized.

[mhunterjr]

I'm actually pretty pleased with this gen...

I was expecting games with visuals like the Order and Drive Club to be the norm (and at 60fps instead of 30), but that didn't come to pass. Other than that, However, I am having a lot of fun with the games that have come out so far, and I've got plenty future games on my radar.

I like how indie devs are getting a bigger peice of the console pie. I like how new distribution methods are being tested, like PSN now and EA access. I like how cross-platform play is becoming more common. I even like some of the F2P games current and upcoming.

I look forward to advancements as the gen progresses, particularly in AI.

[bmwfanatic]

Not clicking on 6 different pages fix your format and ill go to your site if you have thought provoking relevant info.

[oONinjavitiSOo]

Sorry you're title implies that you are speaking for all gamers but unfortunately I dont share the same feeling so please quit trying to put words in my mouth. This should clearly be a opinion piece. P.s. quit crying game media you are big babies.

[ShaunCameron]

It's because the 8th generation is still fairly young and there hasn't been that many games that came out worth playing yet.

[Remy_S]

Delays upon delays, broken games needing multiple updates to run properly, underwhelming exclusives for the most part, parity clauses, missing features that were standard in the previous gen, lazy "remastered" port jobs, and DLC run amuck; that's just off the top of my head. Granted, I like my current gen consoles and wouldn't want to go back to the previous gen, but there are a lot of issues that I hope will be ironed out going forward.

[blakstarz]

You pretty much nailed it.....I like the new consoles but those are some glaring issues that still need to be worked on.