Technically the 7th gen hasn't actually ended yet, but all three consoles have basically experienced their heyday and the defining games have all been released. The 7th gen was overlong and divisive, but it certainly had its moments. In the first part I will be covering the life and lasting impressions all three consoles left. In the second part I will discuss the direction software makers went and how the market has changed in the decade since ye olde Xbox 360 kicked off the 7th generation. To those that read, I would love to hear your own experiences with these consoles.
Microsoft Xbox 360:
The successor to Microsoft’s console gaming debut was the first one out the door, and went on to become the first genuinely competitive game console from a North American company since the Atari 2600. I picked up my Xbox 360 in 2008, at the tail end of the notorious hardware issues that plagued its lifetime. At this point, the system was in its prime with tons of great exclusives and a bright future ahead. The favorable architecture allowed most multiplatform games to run the best on the 360, and the exclusives were a-plenty. Microsoft had a bigger variety of exclusives than most gave them credit, with solid entries in just about every genre, including some of the only worthwhile JRPG’s of the entire generation. Even the long-dormant Rare seemed to be making a comeback with the very solid Viva Piñata games. And then, Microsoft made the biggest mistake of their console gaming career with the Kinect. This is a peripheral that deserves the hate it gets, not only for its true lack of any worthwhile games, but for halting the considerable progress the Xbox brand was making.
The funny thing about the Wii is, despite cementing the idea that Nintendo were dedicated to casuals, it was the third party studios (big and small) that were largely making the casual games. Nintendo were making games like Metroid Prime, Xenoblade Chronicles, Battalion Wars, Fire Emblem, and resurrecting the classic Donkey Kong Country series. These games, in addition to those they funded through second party studios and games such as Mario and Zelda with universal appeal, dwarfed their casual software output of the Wii Sports and Wii Fit games. But when Microsoft brought out Kinect and it was a success, it became their primary software output for 2 whole years, leaving the primarily hardcore fan base of the 360 in their wake. Hardcore exclusives dwindled down to a couple big IP’s a year. The funding of big Japanese exclusives ended, Rare was making Kinect games, and Microsoft’s years of consumer satisfaction since they entered the industry were over.
The 360 continued to sell well due to the strong appeal of games like Halo and Gears as well as the popularity of multiplatform games in North America. But in the hearts of hardcore gamers, the Xbox brand was beginning to lose. It wasn't until the start of the next generation that the ultimate product of Microsoft’s poor choices would get the consumer backlash that set them back on track.
It’s easy to remember the bad of the 360: the hardware issues, the paid subscription, DLC and Kinect. But the first 4 years on the market were some of the best of any console, and we can only hope Microsoft can recapture this kind of magic with the Xbox One eventually. I also think it’s just as easy for Sony fans to forget how influential the console was in building the PS4, Sony’s best designed console ever in terms of hardware. The ease of development, the encouragement of indie developers, and the innovation of social features all started off as trademarks of the 360’s success. Really, Sony learned just as much from the 360 as they did the PS3, and it was for the better.
Also, let me just say the Xbox 360 stands as the only worthwhile import console since the Dreamcast. Anyone ever wonder where the bullet hell genre went? It’s on the 360, in Japan, and it’s glorious.
Sony PlayStation 3:
There’s a consistent curse within the game industry: the third console is always mired by fundamentally poor design decisions. The N64’s cartridge format destroyed Nintendo’s market lead. The Sega Saturn’s bad architecture swayed developers to the PS1. And now Sony’s PS3 relied on an unusual Cell architecture and a ridiculously expensive Blu-ray disc drive. These were choices that wouldn’t seem worthwhile until years into the generation, and choices that would lead to them losing nearly half of their former market share.
The pre-launch talk of the PS3 was plagued with a kind of cockiness and blatant PR bull that wouldn’t be seen until 7 years later with the infamous Xbox One announcement. Fairytale talk of 1080p, 120 fps games and the PS3 being the most beautiful thing in the world permeated the news as most just stood in disbelief of the high price point and lack of launch titles. Despite an awful launch line-up, the old meme of “PS3 has no gaemz” couldn’t have been more wrong. Even in its first year, we already had such classics as Resistance Fall of Man, Warhawk, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Uncharted, Folklore and more. The rapid release of first party software would become a trademark of the PS3’s life, along with Sony’s ability to regain the confidence of consumers when it seemed impossible.
With the Xbox 360 in the lead with a year head start, the Wii taking consumers by storm, and the news constantly reporting Sony’s massive losses due to the PS3’s production costs, many felt that Sony could never have another chance at first place. Former PlayStation mainstays like Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, and Final Fantasy were not only receiving 360 ports, but in some cases, running better on the rival platform. Sony needed to do something, and do it fast if they wanted hold on to the market share they had left. In the end, I don’t think any one company has supported a system as well as Sony supported the PS3 in its time on the market. Whereas Microsoft’s plans were clearly short term, such as buying exclusives, buying timed exclusivity and advertising rights, Sony’s plan was for the long term and it clearly proved more effective. Sony raised an army of studios during the PS3 era, and although several big ones had to close down, this steady flow of exclusives is what made them preferable over Microsoft during the latter half of the 7th generation.
I think the legacy of the PS3 is unquestionable; it won’t be the decidedly negative reception it had in its first years or the poor ports it suffers from to this day, but the comeback no one saw coming and the sheer quantity of games you can only find on the system. They bit a financial bullet to win the confidence of their fans, and are reaping the benefits with the success of the PS4.
Nintendo Wii:
After GameCube sales sat well below half of Nintendo’s initial projections of 50 million consoles sold, the company needed to adapt and innovate if they wanted to succeed. Their focus was not on the graphical power this time around, but the idea of motion-controlled gaming. This has been attempted with varying degrees of success since the 1980’s, but the Wii was really the first time it was done with massive mainstream success. The Wii launched with a lot of hype and went on to have the best first year of any console, a feat even the PS4 couldn’t beat. Nintendo was at the height of their success, and to this day the competitors are fighting for a distant second place to a console that hasn’t been big since 2011.
While insanely popular, the Wii came and went with a stigma of abandonment of the gamer in favor of casuals. Hardcore games for the Wii failed to garner the support they got on the other two platforms despite the larger install base. Nintendo decided its audience wasn’t interested in the mature games they were funding in Japan, so gems like Fatal Frame IV, Captain Rainbow, and Zangeki no Reginleiv that could’ve defined the Wii never crossed the pond for fear of low sales and the disruption of Nintendo’s family-friendly image in America. Others, like Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower, took a massive fan campaign to bring to the US. In short, Nintendo got cocky and ignorant this generation, and it did not end in their favor.
Like so many other gamers with a Wii, I abandoned it within a few years in favor of the hardcore platforms. It wasn’t until recently I could see the Wii had a lot of truly unique, hardcore games that were ignored by so many. To the common gamer, the Wii’s legacy will be the same as always: the console that simultaneously brought Nintendo to new heights, and killed them. To the collector, the hardcore games it did have (Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, The Last Story, Xenoblade, No More Heroes, and Sin and Punishment 2 to name a few) may finally get the recognition they deserved, albeit beyond the grave.
It’s really amazing how the codename of the Wii, Nintendo Revolution, fits it so well. It was revolutionary and risky to abandon the idea of a focus on powerful hardware. It revolutionized the generation, with both competitors responding with their own motion-based peripherals. And like many of history’s revolutions have shown us… the aftermath is not always a good one.
Release date and expected launch time for when the Fallout 4 next-gen update will come out along with how to download.
This is a huge release being treated like a patch update but really it’s a monster in disguise…Bethesda being Bethesda, no actual release times or pre load available or file size info, sigh. All that said, clearing space on the SSD and putting the PS5 in rest mode while at work so I can play later, fully expecting snail download speeds as millions bang on their servers.
WTMG's Leo Faria: "A Difficult Game About Climbing is obviously frustrating, and I don’t exactly think it’s a fun pasttime, but it’s exponentially more enjoyable than the horrendous Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy. It’s actually beatable with enough trial and error. Its mechanics, whilst not exactly polished to the brim, work as intended, with no intentional input lag. It’s still clearly meant for Let’s Play youtubers to film themselves losing their minds over it, but it can still be a passable challenge if you’re up for the task."
WTMG's Oliver Shellding: "Overall, I think Stitch is an ultra quaint title that oozes warmth and welcome in gameplay and visual presentation, and is just such a decompression tool after a long day doing literally anything. It gives me such joy and relaxation to bring together the numbers and colors until I’ve made a bicycle or a nutcracker or whatever. I’ll do Christmas puzzles in April, it’s fine and the game doesn’t judge me. Unlock more and more pieces, don’t wait for power ups or villains because there are none, and just keep making yourself happy. If games are art, this one is a sweater my mom made for me, and I’m wearing it to keep out any and all chilly elements. But, just like mom, I’ll only pretend to listen."
the xbox 360 had the ease of development, a year headstart and price advantage (to that of the ps3) going for it. rrod, dvd drive and live fees are what held it back to some degree. the focus later on with kinect also divided the community who were left waiting for new games and not just the recycled halo, gears of war, fable and forza formula.
the ps3 started slow, was expensive upon release and bluray was a huge gamble. it also proved difficult to work on which resulted in games at times being inferior and game delays. sony turned it around and got back to work focusing on it being a game system first and foremost, got the cost down and showed the world why they are still regarded as the best videogame company as far as software support and hardware ability.
nintendo tried something different knowing they couldn't compete on a technical level while remaining affordable to families. that gamble was wildly successful. problem is the fad quickly faded and nintendo was left with an underpowered system that nobody really wanted to support.
this new generation is starting off very slowly for new ideas and getting consumers hooked on the idea they need to upgrade. perhaps virtual and augmented reality will change that. i am very curious to see what nintendo comes up with next but right now the pc serves my needs for now.
I just don't think the new consoles bring anything new to the table. Just more of the same across the board.
I have the money to get a new console I browse the games and really nothing excites me enough to plunk down the $300/$400. My back log from last Gen is still overwhelming and I have enough games to keep me busy for the next 4 years.
I'm not going to rush into it. Don't care enough to. If Joe Montana football 16 ends up being a real NFL game this summer I might change my mind but it would definitely takes something of that scale to get my attention.
The fith generation is my favorite , because consoles were getting into 3D games like Doom ports , Star Wars Dark Forces , Hexxen , Mario 64 , Duke Nukem 3D , Golden Eye OO7, Metal Gear Solid ,Quake 2 and so on . As a console gamer in the 5th generation it was a very excting , addictive and very fun time for me .
Looking forward to second part of the blog .