20 replies to this topic

[Skychrono]

So I'm sure you've seen the 52-page "Xbox 720" slides. You may also have seen the (very fake) specs for the PS4.

What do you want and expect in the next gen consoles? What innovations do you hope persist into the next generation?

For me... (I apologize in advance if most of this seems Xbox centric - I really think that the 360 is doing things "right" this time around)

KEEP
I want to keep the always-on mindset of the home console. The Boxee, Tivo, and Apple TV aren't bad ideas, but there's no reason we need that dedicated box if we have a gaming system. A low-power mode is a must, and an ever-expanding lineup is a necessity for competition. Microsoft is getting a Nick channel for kids, has HBO for adults, and YouTube for everyone inbetween - a fact that isn't lost on advertisers.

Games. Lots of good games.

WANT
I want to see a high-density disc and a high-space hard drive. There's nothing inherently wrong with switching discs but there's no reason for it.

I want them to keep the tiering system, allowing the system to be expensive (and more future proof) but also putting in a system for a subscription. A lot of people don't like this but it'd be preferrable to a $600 system for a lot of people out there. Double points if you can pay back the subscription early and get off the plan for some fixed price.

I want SmartGlass and everything that means. Tying the system in as another one of your devices - esentially an optimized PC using whatever you have as an input device - is a very smart idea.

LOSE
Lose the option for a hard-drive less experience. A blu-ray drive means higher loading times, unfortunately, which means caching. Allow for that and keep the hard drive in so this can work out. You can put in a fast flash drive instead (cheap SSD?) with ~100GB of space and the option for larger drive attachments, but don't allow gamers to not have one - that restricts the games' developers too much.

Lose the requirement to pay to use Streaming services. It should be included in the cost of the system and paid for by ads (bandwidth and updates I presume, which are mostly handled by the app developer anyway).

Lose the idea that we may not keep our content that we purchased digitally. At the very least that stuff should be backwards compatible - the point of most XBLA titles, after all, is that they're arcade titles that are ported to a new generation. Don't require people to keep porting their games every generation!

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Anything else you're craving in the new system?

[JohnnyC]

Nintendo to beat out the competition as usual.

[Skychrono]

Nintendo to beat out the competition as usual.

I think they're going about that the wrong way then.

[JohnnyC]

I think they're going about that the wrong way then.

That's what they said about the 3DS and look at it now

[DarkCobra86]

Wants:
physical copy of video games and not digital download
more harddrive spaces
consoles to work and not break
decently priced - $300 is good
backward compatible
make more HD re releases of games

That is all I can think of now.

[Kezins]

I've already decided I am done with Microsoft, so I will probably only be buying the Wii U and PS4 when it's all said and done. I expect and want backwards compatibility this time around from Sony. I want the price to be more reasonable for the PS4 when it launches and I want the Wii U to be $300 or less. I expect a bigger focus on digital content from Sony and possibly cloud gaming which is something I don't want, but there's no stopping the future I suppose.

[DarkCobra86]

I've already decided I am done with Microsoft, so I will probably only be buying the Wii U and PS4 when it's all said and done. I expect and want backwards compatibility this time around from Sony. I want the price to be more reasonable for the PS4 when it launches and I want the Wii U to be $300 or less. I expect a bigger focus on digital content from Sony and possibly cloud gaming which is something I don't want, but there's no stopping the future I suppose.

It's funny that I want backwards compatibility but I think Sony won't have that, nor will MS. Sony got rid of it. I'm sure it cost them more money to add that on and if they decide to price it decently for us at launch they won't have that feature. Plus, with all the rumors of going fully digital and no used market, I'm sure they don't want you to be able to play your old games as that can still allow for a used market and have physical copies of game lying around.

[Skychrono]

I believe that both Sony and Microsoft have said that they have no intention of going all-digital with the next console. But I can't cite that...

About the price... a question.

Do you want the next console to be future-proof - extremely powerful, say 8GB or RAM or more with a nice strong set of CPU/GPU chips, but with a high-cost near $500 - or more reasonable and conservative, around $300 and the best that may mean?

Kezins - why're you done with MS?

[DarkCobra86]

I believe that both Sony and Microsoft have said that they have no intention of going all-digital with the next console. But I can't cite that...

About the price... a question.

Do you want the next console to be future-proof - extremely powerful, say 8GB or RAM or more with a nice strong set of CPU/GPU chips, but with a high-cost near $500 - or more reasonable and conservative, around $300 and the best that may mean?

Well I haven't heard that they won't go digital either. I think there definitely is a push for all digital. But I hope i'm wrong. With the pricing, I hope it is $300. $500 is a lot to spend when your console could break. I hope these consoles will be break proof.

[Kezins]

I believe that both Sony and Microsoft have said that they have no intention of going all-digital with the next console. But I can't cite that...

About the price... a question.

Do you want the next console to be future-proof - extremely powerful, say 8GB or RAM or more with a nice strong set of CPU/GPU chips, but with a high-cost near $500 - or more reasonable and conservative, around $300 and the best that may mean?

Kezins - why're you done with MS?

I've been through 5 Xbox 360s and really feel like I've wasted a lot of time on something that isnt built well at all. I'm going to stick with Sony and Nintendo because their systems at least last.

[Kezins]

Well I haven't heard that they won't go digital either. I think there definitely is a push for all digital. But I hope i'm wrong. With the pricing, I hope it is $300. $500 is a lot to spend when your console could break. I hope these consoles will be break proof.

$500 is too much to drop on a console in my opinion. I'd pay up to $400 for something that's built well though. I'll pay up to $300 for the Wii U. I don't think we'll go all digital in the next generation, but the digital push will unfortunately be much stronger. I think we'll see a lot of smaller developers releasing their games in digital format only. My main concern right now about the digital age is whether or not my purchases will transfer to the new system. If all of my PSN downloads don't transfer to the PS4, I'll be highly upset.

[Darklurkr23]

There better be Full Backwards Compatibility at launch. I swear to god these companies making us re-buy games (If they kept bc and just added a trophy/achievement/misc glitch Patch, then it'd be perfect. Like EVERY game every could get TROPHIES or ACHIEVOS or fix glitches!

[DarkCobra86]

$500 is too much to drop on a console in my opinion. I'd pay up to $400 for something that's built well though. I'll pay up to $300 for the Wii U. I don't think we'll go all digital in the next generation, but the digital push will unfortunately be much stronger. I think we'll see a lot of smaller developers releasing their games in digital format only. My main concern right now about the digital age is whether or not my purchases will transfer to the new system. If all of my PSN downloads don't transfer to the PS4, I'll be highly upset.

Good point. I didn't think about the digital transfer. But can't we transfer that through a usb cable already?

[bink]

I believe that both Sony and Microsoft have said that they have no intention of going all-digital with the next console. But I can't cite that...

About the price... a question.

Do you want the next console to be future-proof - extremely powerful, say 8GB or RAM or more with a nice strong set of CPU/GPU chips, but with a high-cost near $500 - or more reasonable and conservative, around $300 and the best that may mean?

Kezins - why're you done with MS?

Given that a console is under warranty for a short period of time, and is not nearly as easy to fix as your own home-built computer, I feel very hesitant about dropping $500 on a console. Now I recognize that a console may get use for many, many years, and that averaging that price out over time actually makes it fairly inexpensive in the long run even at $500, I still just don't like the idea of not being able to fix it myself easily. If my computer breaks, I buy a new component or fix an existing one, and it's not very hard to get a hold of them or find out what's wrong. Consoles are a bit different though, and that makes me leery.

I too am way up in the air on whether I will continue with MS in the new generation. Since I won't be buying a new gen console at launch though I have a long while to think on it.

[Skychrono]

Given that a console is under warranty for a short period of time, and is not nearly as easy to fix as your own home-built computer, I feel very hesitant about dropping $500 on a console. Now I recognize that a console may get use for many, many years, and that averaging that price out over time actually makes it fairly inexpensive in the long run even at $500, I still just don't like the idea of not being able to fix it myself easily. If my computer breaks, I buy a new component or fix an existing one, and it's not very hard to get a hold of them or find out what's wrong. Consoles are a bit different though, and that makes me leery.

I too am way up in the air on whether I will continue with MS in the new generation. Since I won't be buying a new gen console at launch though I have a long while to think on it.

To be fair, repair for a console is generally much cheaper than repair for a computer if you account for the service cost. Even if you know how to fix it yourself, a computer isn't much cheaper - a broken hard drive these days will cost you ~$60, and a motherboard can be much worse depending on the spread of the damage (say, an electrical surge).

To fix a Mac, Apple will charge you a flat $300 most of the time.

To fix a 360 it costs $100, regardless of the problem. Sure, the tech is much "lower," but the price isn't bad at all.

[zero110100]

I'm not buying into next gen console but my brother probably will.I'm saving up for a PC.Reasons: Kinect is terrible.I'm buying Leap Motion so,I can have my Tony Stark computer.Sony has been really disappointing and see no value in their brand anymore or their Ellen Page experience.Exception being PS Vita but who knows how'll that turn out in future.

[Cipher Peon]

I would want easier to develop consoles and wired controllers being the standard.
Everything else is gravy.

But other less important things I would want to come back are:
1. Backwards Compatibility: Like all of it, please. Wii and PS3 did a fantastic job with it (until it was dropped with the Wii Family Edition and the Slim, respectively).
2. More HD Rereleases: I'm not normally fond of ports, but man I love these things.
3. Cross Compatibility with handhelds: Cross Buy is a fantastic step in the right direction. Connecting from handhelds to console games is always fun.
4. Achievements/Trophies: I know a lot of people don't like them, but I love them.
5. Better communities: Fanboys attacking each other is never pleasant :I
6. More Virtual Console, PS Classics, etc
7. Rock Band. With access to all of our old DLC. Seriously, Harmonix. Let's do this.

[DarkCobra86]

I would want easier to develop consoles and wired controllers being the standard.
Everything else is gravy.

But other less important things I would want to come back are:
1. Backwards Compatibility: Like all of it, please. Wii and PS3 did a fantastic job with it (until it was dropped with the Wii Family Edition and the Slim, respectively).
2. More HD Rereleases: I'm not normally fond of ports, but man I love these things.
3. Cross Compatibility with handhelds: Cross Buy is a fantastic step in the right direction. Connecting from handhelds to console games is always fun.
4. Achievements/Trophies: I know a lot of people don't like them, but I love them.
5. Better communities: Fanboys attacking each other is never pleasant :I
6. More Virtual Console, PS Classics, etc
7. Rock Band. With access to all of our old DLC. Seriously, Harmonix. Let's do this.

I agree with you on everything. The Cross Compatibility is definitely a big seller point for the Vita. I'm not big on achievements/trophy but I'll be lying if I say I never check what achievement/trophy I just got.

I think though that wired controllers are bad. Wireless is the way to go. I think they should go like the dualshock. You don't need AA batteries but it has the battery built inside and is just rechargable. And can we get some kind of wireless charging going on? I heard rumor of that for the Samsung Galaxy S3 phone back before it was released that it'll have wireless recharging. So maybe our current technology can do this already?

[OrochiNobunaga]

One thing I'd love but can't expect is shorter load times. With games being downloadable (or installable), this is cut down, but it is still there. It's one thing I love about cartridges. And if more and more games are being offered as a download, I'd like much bigger harddrives. Also, have a lower price for the downloaded version and cut its price quicker (that one is more directed at Microsoft since the Games on Demand rarely drop to acceptible price points).

For just about everything else (controllers, backwards compatability, online), if they keep it the same or a little better than current consoles, I'm ok with that.

[DarkCobra86]

One thing I'd love but can't expect is shorter load times. With games being downloadable (or installable), this is cut down, but it is still there. It's one thing I love about cartridges. And if more and more games are being offered as a download, I'd like much bigger harddrives. Also, have a lower price for the downloaded version and cut its price quicker (that one is more directed at Microsoft since the Games on Demand rarely drop to acceptible price points).

For just about everything else (controllers, backwards compatability, online), if they keep it the same or a little better than current consoles, I'm ok with that.

You bring up a good point because I hate load times so much. I understand it is part of the disc process but man. Especially if I have to reload a save point or something, more loading time...yah. Cartridges were the best in that regard, no load time.