Has the Next Generation Already Begun?

Why Xbox One X is the last true Microsoft home console and PlayStation 5 is coming sooner than you think.

[PhoenixUp]

The Switch is next gen

[SuperSaiyanGod41]

U can technically call the xbox1x a next gen console as well just by the specs. Even if Sony does drop a ps5 next year or 2020 i don't expect Microsoft to drop an even better version of the xbox1x until sales for xbox1x start slowing really bad.

[fonger08]

The Switch is “technically” next gen, but given how mid-gen upgrades have sort of muddled what we traditionally would expect a next gen console to be... it will very interesting to see what Microsoft and Sony do next.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

I'm still not sure what Microsoft considers the X1X to be, honestly.
Its naming sense dictates that it's a mid-gen machine, at least. And it isn't really getting anything that the XB1 isn't...
But at the same time Microsoft treats it like a new system in terms of advertisement, sometimes.

At this point I'm leaning more towards it being a mid-gen specs upgrade like the PS4 Pro due to a lack of differences in form, function, naming sense etc, but Microsoft is playing some confusing games with it on the business side of things.
Maybe that's why it isn't selling the big numbers that they thought it would due to its specs?
I mean, we all know how bad the Wii U got nuked due to bad advertisement and form confusion; maybe the X1X is suffering from the same thing?

[fonger08]

Yeah me neither. I mean the Xbox one just had one of the worst launches ever, price, specs, and mandatory crap killed it. Then obviously there first couple of years worth of exclusives; while good, just weren’t good enough to really get them going again. I personally believe they should just call it Xbox, and fully embrace the idea of continuous upgrading model a la PC. It makes sense for them business wise. If they ever get around to doing what Spencer what’s them to do and that’s grow and develop first party teams, I think they can stay in this console game long term. But it will take awhile, I mean it’s taken Sony a good 10yrs to get this kind of consistent quality from their 1st party devs, and Microsoft so far behind it could take them longer.

[StormLegend]

Next gen doesn't start until Sony announces the PS5 and it might not release until 2021

[Kiwi66]

OK so what if one of the other two release a new console before the PS5 releases ?

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Nintendo already did; the Switch is not a part of the Wii line, nor is it iterative of it. It's an entirely new generation of console.

[showtimefolks]

Until there is Ps5 or Xbox 2 we won't get next Gen. These mid generation upgrades improved a lot but still have the weaker CPU

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

But the x isn't a true console, it's an iterative console with no exclusives.

This writer failed in 10 words or less.

[paintedgamer1984]

As far as im concerned the next gen doesnt start until the ps5 arrives... The Switch is a nice companion console but unless youre a nintendo fanboy or love handheld gaming, the switch will never reach mass market. If the switch is considered 9th gen than so is the new atari and any other device thats launched before or after it.

[KidRickarus]

The Switch has sold 18 million units and it’s only been out for a year. Pretty sure that’s mass market.

[paintedgamer1984]

Its no secret millions of nintendo fans didnt buy the wiiu and then suddenly in the switches 1st year they had zelda, mario, splatoon 2, xenoblade 2, and mario kart... So of course the switch was going to appeal to ALL the ppl that bought a 3ds/2ds and wiiu. What does nintendo have in 2018 that rivals its own first year as far as 1st party devs? Kirby? Yosh?? Super Smash Bros??? I dont think so.

The switch sold 18 million in the first year but to what expense? They had to starve the wiiu of first party content and move all those games that would have been wiiu games had it been succesful after only 2-3 years of it being on the shelves so the switch could have an amazing 1st year. This is glaringly obvious. Im really interested to see if nintendo sells another +20 mil like they think. Esp if pokemon, smt5, or mp4 dont launch until next year. I think the switch is head and shoulders a better made product than the wiiu but only time will tell if its going to be as successful as nintendo fanboys claim. Sales will most likely start to tank much faster than the ps4 which has sold 80 mil in almost 4.5 years.

[The 10th Rider]

^Actually Smash and Pokemon are both coming and those are both typically more popular than Zelda and 3D Mario.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Except the Switch IS a new generation of console.
Gens work by sequence. Not by fanboyish wants, hatred/love of specs, or the "appeal of the market". [which, btw, Switch has already reached mass market appeal]
As far as you're concerned? Doesn't matter. Because personal opinion has never defined what gen a console lands in.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Given the logical fact that generations are determined by sequence, not by specs, the Switch has already kicked off the new gen.
Sony hasn't put one out yet, and unless the XBX counts as a whole new system instead of a mid-genner, neither has Microsoft.
So we're just waiting for Sony and Microsoft to catch up via releasing a new console before considering this new gen of systems "rounded out".
Of course, it's not like Sony needs a new gen any time soon, considering the PS4 Pro's sales.XD

[Z501]

This.

[paintedgamer1984]

the switch is nothing more than a super charged wiiu... You know if botw can run on the wiiu so could splatoon 2, xb2, mario odyysey, kirby, pokemon, metroid prime 4, yoshi and any other 1st party switch game. The switch is more of an evolution of the 3ds than the wiiu anyhow. Nintendo gave up the right to even be considered a 9th gen home console when they left the home console only market to sony and ms... Nintendos home console business died with the wiiu. None of this hybrid crap lol. If the switch is 9th gen then so is the nvidia shield... Type 9th gen consoles into google and youd have to scroll down and look pretty hard for a nintendo fanboy article to even find something that claims the switch is 9th gen. Noone is saying that unless they are diehard nintendudes.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Actually, plenty of logical gamers that aren't "diehard Nintendudes" are perfectly aware that specs don't determine a generation.
They're also aware that the Switch is a hybrid meant to play the part of Nintendo's newest home console offering, and is NOT a "super charged Wii U". They also don't laugh it off like some sort of elitist console war soldier with their tinfoil helmet strapped on too tight.
Going by your petty standards, the PS4 is literally little more than a supercharged PS3, but anyone with sense knows that those statements are not only false, they're childish.

The only people denying the Switch is a 9th gen console, are the Sony and Micro fans that hate to see Nintendo doing anything successful in the same arena as them.

Also, learn to use the damn enter key. It's on keyboards for a reason, lmao.

[jacobgraves]

Not yet... i am waiting for nest gen Xbox and PS5

[Tsar4ever01]

LOL!! This writer is SUCH AN XBOT!!! LOL!!!!

[JonTheGod]

Anyone saying that the Switch is next gen is an imbecile.

Just because the Wii-U was released as a Gen8 console does not automatically mean that the next Nintendo release is part of the subsequent generation.

Ninty failed hard with the Wii-U, so they abandoned it and came back if a new ethos behind their offering. The Switch is their 2nd attempt at the current generation - and they are succeeding.

The Switch is an 8th generation console; same as XB1/PS4/WiiU.

[Goldby]

So does that mean even if ms releases a new console its part of the 8th gen because they failed compared to the ps4?
Or are we in gen 7 for Xbox from not. Being able to win with the more powerful og Xbox when it was against the ps2?

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Other way around, there, champ.
Anyone thinking it isn't, has no idea how generations work.
The success or failure of a console has no bearing on which gen it is placed in, nor does its specs.

The Switch isn't a mid-gen console, much less a last-gen; most consoles, barring the PS3, XB1, and a few others, typically last for between 4 to 6 years, and unless the company involved makes it clear that this isn't an attempt at a whole new system, like the PS4 Pro or the various size editions of the 3DS, then usually any system they bring out counts as a new generation.

The Switch is nothing like the Wii U and Nintendo has made it perfectly clear that this is their new home console in line, business-wise, despite it being a hybrid of both of their console markets.

Last gen is done.
9th gen is now, and Switch is a part of it.
A part that Nintendo intends to make last at least 7 years, unlike usual, meaning we aren't likely to see any truly new console from them for at least that long, and a mid-genner isn't likely for at least another few years if it happens at all.
Your like or dislike of Nintendo's consoles has absolutely zero influence on this.

[paintedgamer1984]

Exactly lol. I told dude up top shouting the switch was 9th gen to google 9th gen consoles and see what pops up... Look really hard because 99% are talking ps5 and next box and not a peep about the switch which is basically between last gen 2006-2012 and this one 2013... Its weaker than an 8th gen console released in 2013 but considered 9th gen? Gtfo lmao.

[dedicatedtogamers]

Yeah, Switch is the start of the gen next gen. I thought this was commonly known?

[blawren4]

There is only current gen, and previous gens. Next gen, upon release, becomes current gen. Also, since consoles don't release simultaneously, If you want to get technical, the Switch is a 9th gen machine. It is not unreasonable to say that whatever XBox and PS come up with next(including Switch 2) if given enough time could be 10th gen machines.

[mixelon]

TBH I wouldn’t mind if from here on out we just get spec bumps with backward compatibility. There’s no need for any more big architecture changes and they’ve done all the branching out type experimentation and things stabilised to almost exactly where they were before it all. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Does a much faster PS4 need to be called PS5? What are they going to use to sell such a platform?

[Ulf]

Finally a journalist who gets it.

This guy has nailed it -- MS is ahead, and most people just don't realize it yet. You're a MS gamer if you own a Xbox... or a PC... or basically anything but a PlayStation. ...and the only reason you're not an Xbox gamer on the PlayStation is because Sony won't allow it... yet.

Would Sony tell Netflix "No thanks, our customers will prefer Sony Video services, so we don't need your dumb app"? OH WAIT, they already did with PSTV, and look how that turned out. Xbox Game Pass is a service Sony cannot afford to ignore... but they are.

[ShadowWolf712]

...PSTV was a Vita's guts designed to hook up to a TV and they never said "no" to Netflix so I mean...?

[Ulf]

Netflix doesn't run on the PSTV -- Sony was probably unwilling to pay for their platform to be supported by Netflix. It runs fine on the Vita. Sony clearly said "no" for the PSTV -- because as you stated, the PSTV is practically a Vita, and there is a Vita Netflix app.

One of the worst decisions they could possibly make, for a set-top box.. The Vita also has HDMI out... with an adapter they chose not to sell, and that they only provide with a Dev kit. It would have basically been a Switch, with that feature built into a stand. They wanted to sell PSTV instead...

They have a bad track record of getting high on themselves, just as the article states.

[ShadowWolf712]

Yeah, that's a lot more likely to do with fears the system wouldn't sell enough to justify the cost than it is them "being high on themselves" broski.

[maybelovehate]

On PC.