Are we in Gen. 9 now? Will we ever be?

[Xprimentyl]

I don't know if the Switch counts as Gen 9... it's basically a Wii U with a more versatile portable gimmick. Maybe Gen 8.5?

Generations aren't defined by hardware power.

Looking At this thread, everybody seems clear on what doesn't define a generation but not on what does.

I?d offer that ?generations? are defined by hardware; they?re defined when one or more companies decide to push out hardware that makes all the current hardware on offer significantly inferior (?significantly? being the operative word) and any others wanting to compete are forced to do the same which creates a relatively level playing field (read: ?new norm?) to which the majority of serious, major developers turn their focus.

 

[WeepingAngels]

I don't know if the Switch counts as Gen 9... it's basically a Wii U with a more versatile portable gimmick. Maybe Gen 8.5?

Generations aren't defined by hardware power.

Looking At this thread, everybody seems clear on what doesn't define a generation but not on what does.

The Switch started a new generation. Wii, 360, PS3. Wii U, Xbox One, PS4. Switch, ..., ....

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I don't know if the Switch counts as Gen 9... it's basically a Wii U with a more versatile portable gimmick. Maybe Gen 8.5?

Generations aren't defined by hardware power.

Looking At this thread, everybody seems clear on what doesn't define a generation but not on what does.

The Switch started a new generation.

Based on what? The fact that it exists? Nintendo churns out a new handheld system every year.

 

[WeepingAngels]

I don't know if the Switch counts as Gen 9... it's basically a Wii U with a more versatile portable gimmick. Maybe Gen 8.5?

Generations aren't defined by hardware power.

Looking At this thread, everybody seems clear on what doesn't define a generation but not on what does.

The Switch started a new generation.

Based on what? The fact that it exists? Nintendo churns out a new handheld system every year.

They put out a NEW handheld every year? I am going to need receipts on that.

IF you don't think that the Wii, 360 and PS3 shared a generation then how do you define that generation?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I don't know if the Switch counts as Gen 9... it's basically a Wii U with a more versatile portable gimmick. Maybe Gen 8.5?

Generations aren't defined by hardware power.

Looking At this thread, everybody seems clear on what doesn't define a generation but not on what does.

The Switch started a new generation.

Based on what? The fact that it exists? Nintendo churns out a new handheld system every year.

They put out a NEW handheld every year? I am going to need receipts on that.

IF you don't think that the Wii, 360 and PS3 shared a generation then how do you define that generation?

I like Xprimentyl's definition.

 

[WeepingAngels]

I don't know if the Switch counts as Gen 9... it's basically a Wii U with a more versatile portable gimmick. Maybe Gen 8.5?

Generations aren't defined by hardware power.

Looking At this thread, everybody seems clear on what doesn't define a generation but not on what does.

The Switch started a new generation.

Based on what? The fact that it exists? Nintendo churns out a new handheld system every year.

They put out a NEW handheld every year? I am going to need receipts on that.

IF you don't think that the Wii, 360 and PS3 shared a generation then how do you define that generation?

I like Xprimentyl's definition.

Ok so what consoles shared a generation with the Wii in your opinion?

 

[WeepingAngels]

From what I understand, the Wii had the same CPU as the Gamecube, but at a higher clock speed.

Of note, "Broadway, the Wii's CPU, is a derivative of the PowerPC 750 CL clocked at 729Mhz," and that the "Hollywood" GPU has "no notable increases in programmability" over the Gamecube's "Flipper" GPU. The end result? "The Wii has the processing power of one-and-a-half GameCubes with no noteworthy increases in functionality."

The Wii couldn't have pushed gaming forward by itself. It was the first generation of HD console gaming, and Nintendo was still doing 480 resolutions. Xprimentyl explained my stance nicely in post 32. Thanks. Nintendo saw the (at the time) powerful Gamecube as a failure and stopped trying to compete with the other two. It doesn't matter if they release their consoles in conjunction with the others. Developers don't care. They're gonna keep releasing their games on the "cool" consoles and PC and ignore Nintendo. Nintendo does their own thing.

So...you think the Wii was actually sharing a generation with the Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube?

 

[WeepingAngels]

From what I understand, the Wii had the same CPU as the Gamecube, but at a higher clock speed.

Of note, "Broadway, the Wii's CPU, is a derivative of the PowerPC 750 CL clocked at 729Mhz," and that the "Hollywood" GPU has "no notable increases in programmability" over the Gamecube's "Flipper" GPU. The end result? "The Wii has the processing power of one-and-a-half GameCubes with no noteworthy increases in functionality."

The Wii couldn't have pushed gaming forward by itself. It was the first generation of HD console gaming, and Nintendo was still doing 480 resolutions. Xprimentyl explained my stance nicely in post 32. Thanks. Nintendo saw the (at the time) powerful Gamecube as a failure and stopped trying to compete with the other two. It doesn't matter if they release their consoles in conjunction with the others. Developers don't care. They're gonna keep releasing their games on the "cool" consoles and PC and ignore Nintendo. Nintendo does their own thing.

So...you think the Wii was actually sharing a generation with the Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube?

???

Nintendo shares generations with itself now. We're not in gen 9. A console weaker than both the Xbox One and the PS4 can't be gen 9.

We are in Gen 9.

Wii/360/PS3 - Gen 7
Wii U/Xbox One/PS4 - Gen 8
Switch/No Microsoft Console Yet/No Sony Console Yet - Gen 9

If you don't agree, what gen do you think the Wii was in?

 

[WeepingAngels]

From what I understand, the Wii had the same CPU as the Gamecube, but at a higher clock speed.

Of note, "Broadway, the Wii's CPU, is a derivative of the PowerPC 750 CL clocked at 729Mhz," and that the "Hollywood" GPU has "no notable increases in programmability" over the Gamecube's "Flipper" GPU. The end result? "The Wii has the processing power of one-and-a-half GameCubes with no noteworthy increases in functionality."

The Wii couldn't have pushed gaming forward by itself. It was the first generation of HD console gaming, and Nintendo was still doing 480 resolutions. Xprimentyl explained my stance nicely in post 32. Thanks. Nintendo saw the (at the time) powerful Gamecube as a failure and stopped trying to compete with the other two. It doesn't matter if they release their consoles in conjunction with the others. Developers don't care. They're gonna keep releasing their games on the "cool" consoles and PC and ignore Nintendo. Nintendo does their own thing.

So...you think the Wii was actually sharing a generation with the Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube?

???

Nintendo shares generations with itself now. We're not in gen 9. A console weaker than both the Xbox One and the PS4 can't be gen 9.

We are in Gen 9.

Wii/360/PS3 - Gen 7
Wii U/Xbox One/PS4 - Gen 8
Switch/No Microsoft Console Yet/No Sony Console Yet - Gen 9

If you don't agree, what gen do you think the Wii was in?

The fifth Nintendo generation.

Spoiler

From what I understand, the Wii had the same CPU as the Gamecube, but at a higher clock speed.

Of note, "Broadway, the Wii's CPU, is a derivative of the PowerPC 750 CL clocked at 729Mhz," and that the "Hollywood" GPU has "no notable increases in programmability" over the Gamecube's "Flipper" GPU. The end result? "The Wii has the processing power of one-and-a-half GameCubes with no noteworthy increases in functionality."

The Wii couldn't have pushed gaming forward by itself. It was the first generation of HD console gaming, and Nintendo was still doing 480 resolutions. Xprimentyl explained my stance nicely in post 32. Thanks. Nintendo saw the (at the time) powerful Gamecube as a failure and stopped trying to compete with the other two. It doesn't matter if they release their consoles in conjunction with the others. Developers don't care. They're gonna keep releasing their games on the "cool" consoles and PC and ignore Nintendo. Nintendo does their own thing.

LOL, each company has it's own set of generations now?

 

[Yoshi178]

you don?t see many major developers/publishers looking to gear their efforts to develop for their hardware

what do you think the Playstation move and Kinect were? the only reason those things even exist in the first place is because Sony and Microsoft saw how well Nintendo succeeded in sales with the Motion controlled gaming with the Wii.

hell Microsoft even made Kinect 2.0 a major focus of the Xbox One at launch and was planning to include it in every xbox one package until consumers complained about being "forced" to pay for it.

Move and Kinect were Sony?s and Microsoft?s attempt to usurp Nintendo?s niche share of the market

i stopped reading here. i couldn't stop laughing when you just called the Wii and it's market share, a system that not only sold more than both the Ps3 and 360, but that also sold over 100 million units, a "niche" share of the market.

 

[Yoshi178]

Based on what? The fact that it exists? Nintendo churns out a new handheld system every year.

just like Sony and Microsoft churn out a more powerful box every year just like they're doing right now with the PS4 Pro, Xbox One S and Xbox One X

 

[gorfias]

According to Wikipedia, the 8th gen started with Wii U in 2012. I?ve never heard of that before.

?Generations? are becoming increasingly irrelevant to effectively define based on power, since in the above odd case we?d be regressing, and also because waiting 6+ years for better hardware seems to be a thing of the past, even on console. The reasons for this are:

A. It?s more economical to parcel out incremental hardware upgrades vs a complete redesign from scratch like before.

B. X86 architecture across the board will allow more uniform hardware advancement and software support, which only helps point A

C. There was no shortage of bitching and moaning about consoles holding gaming back by clinging to old hardware last gen. Now, just get a PS4 Pro or OneX if you?re not going to buy/build a PC. The Amazon trade in or eBay resale value absorbs most of the loss making it roughly comparable to upgrading a PC.


I wouldn?t doubt if the PS5/XBoxNext are the last real dedicated boxes we see at the rate things are going. Pretty soon everything will be streaming and it will ultimately end horribly. Might even cause the next ET-level gaming crash. PC will likely continue as usual, and console makers will realize how badly they misread that one, even though the signs have been in front of them the whole time. Then they?ll go back to making normal boxes and hopefully the industry will settle on an overdue state of equilibrium.

 

[Xprimentyl]

you don?t see many major developers/publishers looking to gear their efforts to develop for their hardware

what do you think the Playstation move and Kinect were? the only reason those things even exist in the first place is because Sony and Microsoft saw how well Nintendo succeeded in sales with the Motion controlled gaming with the Wii.

hell Microsoft even made Kinect 2.0 a major focus of the Xbox One at launch and was planning to include it in every xbox one package until consumers complained about being "forced" to pay for it.

Move and Kinect were Sony?s and Microsoft?s attempt to usurp Nintendo?s niche share of the market

i stopped reading here. i couldn't stop laughing when you just called the Wii and it's market share, a system that not only sold more than both the Ps3 and 360, but that also sold over 100 million units, a "niche" share of the market.

In your attempt to be a snide, you failed to read my valid responses to you including the part where I accurately called out this very attitude. I?ll try again:

Nintendo doesn?t compete directly with Sony and Microsoft just as McDonald?s isn?t a threat to the Ruth Chris steakhouse down the street, and before anyone cites sale figures, this is despite the fact that McDonald?s Big Mac has probably outsold Ruth Chris? finest steak 100,000 to 1; everyone?s got to eat and a $2 burger is cheaper and more accessible than a $50 steak.

?Niche,? by definition, need not be an indicator of size; by ?niche? I simply meant Nintendo caters to casual, family gaming; that?s their ?niche;? Sony and Microsoft, the ?adult? systems, wanted a piece of that casual pie and ended up falling on their faces. So what, though? It was ultimately water off a duck?s back when they?ve got every developer on the planet clambering to be sold on their platforms, a claim Nintendo will never be able to make and will never need to make as long as Mario games and Playskool gimmicks continue to float their relevance. The Wii was cheap, easy and with its ?cutie-pie? image, it appealed to a wider demographic ranging from toddlers to grandmothers, but when most major developers that support the industry to the tune of billions across the major platforms all but tell them ?fuck off, don?t need ya?,? that wide dissemination doesn?t mean dick. You?ve got a lot of Nintendo systems out there that play Nintendo games, congrats, but those platforms are not vehicles for the AAA titles that denote the wider industry. Nintendo is essentially a closed ecosystem within the gaming industry; that being the case, Nintendo, not matter how many objectively inferior consoles they release to play their games, will NEVER kickstart a ?new generation;? they can tag along, for sure, but steer the ship? No fuckin? way.

 

[WeepingAngels]

According to Wikipedia, the 8th gen started with Wii U in 2012. I?ve never heard of that before.

If the Wii was a 7th generation console (it was) then the Wii U would be an 8th generation console and since it launched before the other 8th gen consoles, the launch of the Wii U started the 8th generation. Just like the Switch has started the 9th generation.

 

[Yoshi178]

I simply meant Nintendo caters to casual, family gaming; that?s their ?niche;? Sony and Microsoft, the ?adult? systems, wanted a piece of that casual pie and ended up falling on their faces.

the majority of casual gamers that i personally know these days own a PS4. and it's always the same sort of people. they love to buy things like FIFA, things like Call of Shooty, things like Fallout 4, things like Crash Bandicoot things like Uncharted and even things like Life is Strange...

they're also always exactly the same sort of people that love things like Mario, Zelda and Pokemon but that's about as far as their knowledge of Nintendo goes. alot of these people have never even heard of things like Xenoblade, Medievil and Metroid. hell they don't even know what F-Zero is the only reason these sort of gamers know who the fuck Captain Falcon is because they love they find the Falcon Punch meme from Smash Bros absolutely hilarious no matter how many time they hear it.

these are the main types of casual gamers these days that just like whatever the latest "Big hit blockbuster" game is. and that's what the Majority of PS4 owners are from at least the people i've met or seen anyway. the only place's i ever even hear about the term
"casual gamer soccer mom" is from people like yourself on extremely niche gaming forums like this one who try to convince themselves that that their system is the "adult" one despite that most of screaming 12 year olds are on PS4 and Xbox One playing these apparently "soooooooo adult" games.