Hey guys and dolls (just a bunch of crazy guys and dolls). I apologise if some of this comes across as rambling.
So as many of you know Microsoft announced project Scorpio at E3
Now this has caused a little bit of anxiety for some. This is manly Xbox One owners but also other console owners. It has caused this idea that we will get new mini console generations happening quickly and it could leave the previous hardware in the same generation irrelevant. Microsoft have said that games on Scorpio will work on the regular system and vice versa. We're also seeing this discussion a little with Nintendo's mysterious NX. As many Wii U owners feel it's too soon. But some people are quick to point out that most console generations usually last 4 or 5 years and that the previous one (Wii, 360 and PS3) was just abnormally long, 7-8 years.
But I can't help but think that this expectation from some customers wanting long console generations is justified or right. Or if it's wrong maybe the fault of the console makers. Now, obviously, each new console generation is some one's first or the first time they buy the console themselves. I don't know the age demographics on this sight or of gaming in general so I'm just going to go on my own experience. I'm fairly young, under 25, and so I do remember the PS1, N64 and even some memories of a friend's SNES. My mom brought my a PS1 when i was young (although the ps2 was already released, thanks mum) but soon after I got a Gamecube and a year or so later an Xbox. While this little tangent may seem irrelevant, my point is that not all of us were there from the beginning and it's easy to forget that some gamers have been alive for less time than some older people have been gaming.
Now while as I said I had a Xbox and Gamecube my first actual purchase (as in my money and not my mothers) was the Xbox 360 about a year or so after it was released. And you know what, many of my friends are in the same boat. We have memories when we were younger of the older consoles but the first ones we actually owned our selves were the 360 and/or PS3 which as stated earlier has long life spans. As such I feel it's important to remember that to many people we are used to our consoles being relevant for many years as we pay several hundred pounds/ dollars/ what ever. And while I don't have sales figures on hand I do think that the last generation really exploded the market meaning more and more people have experience with this than the generations that preceded it.
(I couldn't find figures to compare say the xbox one/ ps4 to 360/ ps3 to xbox/ps2 etc in the same years of their lifespans). Therefore I think these are legitimate worries that people have about new consoles that they are coming to soon.
I am also sure many people will point out the PC. I should state that I have been gaming on the PC seriously since 2007 (I was still in secondary school) and since 2013/14 it's been my primary platform (don't xbone or ps4). So in the almost decade I have upgraded my PC at least 4 times. With one being a very expensive overhaul and I'm planning to get a new GPU in the next couple of months (gtx 970, 1070 or radeon 480 are my choices if curious). But as my first proper ownership of a console (as in i brought it, not just having it in my room) was a 360 I do expect consoles to last longer. As with my pc I can do minor upgrades here and there (added new ram just the other week) but with consoles when there's a hardware update you need to buy it all over again.
I am sorry for the long and meandering post and I don't know if it has proper discussion value. But I felt it needed to have a proper discussion.
So as many of you know Microsoft announced project Scorpio at E3
Now this has caused a little bit of anxiety for some. This is manly Xbox One owners but also other console owners. It has caused this idea that we will get new mini console generations happening quickly and it could leave the previous hardware in the same generation irrelevant. Microsoft have said that games on Scorpio will work on the regular system and vice versa. We're also seeing this discussion a little with Nintendo's mysterious NX. As many Wii U owners feel it's too soon. But some people are quick to point out that most console generations usually last 4 or 5 years and that the previous one (Wii, 360 and PS3) was just abnormally long, 7-8 years.
But I can't help but think that this expectation from some customers wanting long console generations is justified or right. Or if it's wrong maybe the fault of the console makers. Now, obviously, each new console generation is some one's first or the first time they buy the console themselves. I don't know the age demographics on this sight or of gaming in general so I'm just going to go on my own experience. I'm fairly young, under 25, and so I do remember the PS1, N64 and even some memories of a friend's SNES. My mom brought my a PS1 when i was young (although the ps2 was already released, thanks mum) but soon after I got a Gamecube and a year or so later an Xbox. While this little tangent may seem irrelevant, my point is that not all of us were there from the beginning and it's easy to forget that some gamers have been alive for less time than some older people have been gaming.
Now while as I said I had a Xbox and Gamecube my first actual purchase (as in my money and not my mothers) was the Xbox 360 about a year or so after it was released. And you know what, many of my friends are in the same boat. We have memories when we were younger of the older consoles but the first ones we actually owned our selves were the 360 and/or PS3 which as stated earlier has long life spans. As such I feel it's important to remember that to many people we are used to our consoles being relevant for many years as we pay several hundred pounds/ dollars/ what ever. And while I don't have sales figures on hand I do think that the last generation really exploded the market meaning more and more people have experience with this than the generations that preceded it.
(I couldn't find figures to compare say the xbox one/ ps4 to 360/ ps3 to xbox/ps2 etc in the same years of their lifespans). Therefore I think these are legitimate worries that people have about new consoles that they are coming to soon.
I am also sure many people will point out the PC. I should state that I have been gaming on the PC seriously since 2007 (I was still in secondary school) and since 2013/14 it's been my primary platform (don't xbone or ps4). So in the almost decade I have upgraded my PC at least 4 times. With one being a very expensive overhaul and I'm planning to get a new GPU in the next couple of months (gtx 970, 1070 or radeon 480 are my choices if curious). But as my first proper ownership of a console (as in i brought it, not just having it in my room) was a 360 I do expect consoles to last longer. As with my pc I can do minor upgrades here and there (added new ram just the other week) but with consoles when there's a hardware update you need to buy it all over again.
I am sorry for the long and meandering post and I don't know if it has proper discussion value. But I felt it needed to have a proper discussion.
