Games: The Next Gen console race.

[Cataferal]

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Originally posted by Wiseman on the "Halo 2" thread
IRT Cata(1): Sony, just like Nintendo and Sega, always designed its own machines with a custom architecture. This can be good (Dreamcast, GameCube, SNES, MegaDrive, ...) or bad (PS2, Saturn, 32X, ...), but when it's good, it's certainly better and more cost effective than a PC, and a custom architecture which doesn't suck is better for games (from development to play). If the Xbox Next is not going to be a PC (1) and it'll be designed in Japan (2) I'm more likely to get it.

The reasons for (1) are: PCs are always PCs, and will get the same games because it's dirt cheap to tweak and recompile. But I already own a PC, and a PC is better for PC games, so when I buy a console, I want a different set of games, not just 90% of the same. Besides, not being a PC means I'm not necessarily getting a million of Quake clones which I'm not fan of.

(2) means that a new team will do this for Microsoft (Microsoft was never good at doing hardware ? they'd use a tweaked PC with Windows even for a toaster just to control the temperature, and guess the results), and it's not like a Japanese team is more likely to do a better job than westerns (see, the PS2 design sucks, although more than half of the consoles they did had good architectures), but they WILL be more sensitive to Japanese tastes and gaming needs, and since I like Japanese games, this is a good thing.

????

Of course, as N said, it's too early to tell what console to get, and as Phaq said, graphics and sound are so good already, that the differences between them are getting harder to notice, so:

1. Getting a new, more powerful console for the sake of realism/graphics whoring/etc. is less justified
2. The practical techinical differences between platforms will be hardly noticeable

Therefore it'll be all about the games. (Just I hope they don't design them poorly because of this.)


However, I do have something in mind: 95% that I'm getting a PS3. Reason:

95% that Xenosaga 3 will get released for it, and I'll get whatever console Xenosaga games are released for with 100% probability (100%*95% = 95% ^_^).

And even without considering Xenosaga 3, I'm likely to buy a PlayStation 3 because for the looks of it, it'll still have the most RPGs, the most Japanese games, the most games, and the highest budget ones, due to popularity and Square-Enix and Namco's support (these two alone make half the RPGs).

I won't buy an Xbox unless a miracle happens, and I won't buy a GameCube unless half a miracle happens.

I would buy Nintendo's next if they keep the kiddy stuff and Mario Badminton type things down, and they get an assload of interesting RPGs.

I would buy Microsoft's next if it's not a PC (looks like it won't be so), and it gets an assload of interesting RPGs.

Note that by "interesting RPGs" (to me, of course) I mean Japan style cRPGs, with lots of story, anime characters, and major artistic value in music and graphics. God slaying and perverted characters are pluses. So if you want examples, Tales of Phantasia is interesting to me, Baldur's Gate is not.
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<font color="#101010"><font size="1">[ October 18, 2004 08:40 PM: Message edited by: Cataferal ]</font></font>

<font color="#101010" size="1">[ October 26, 2004 10:57 PM: Message edited by: -Wiseman- ]</font>

[Cataferal]

Well, with regards to future consoles, i currently see things from how much i play the current generations:

Gamecube: I am very grateful to my friends, who bought this console for me (anonymous pricetag). However, i havent played on it since Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes, a fairly uninnovative remake of a classic game. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles also left a sour taste in my mouth, having worked alongside my friends to get all the technology required to play it only, to realize its an average game that had very little to do with Final Fantasy anyway.
With regards to future prospects, its looking good, as Baten Kaitos, Tales of Symphonia and the next Zelda all serve us "must-have" games in my eyes. For me to buy the next Nintendo console (which bears the project name "Revolution"), they'll have to make more RPG's, focus on online services, and gather as much 3rd party support as possible.

Xbox: I bought it off my uncle, only thanks to the ridiculously low price (?100), along with 6 games. Now, ive sold off all the games except Halo, which is the only title that appeals to me and that i still play on the console. So far, ive been disappointed at the lacking RPG quality, and the severe lack of cRPG's on the console; the FPS's which the console holds in abundance dont appeal to me at all. That said, it has the best online services out of the three, which perhaps compliments the FPS genre.
With regards to future prospects, its looking like Halo 2 will be the high point in the Xbox's somewhat linear existance, although i do have my eyes on games like JSRF and Fable. For me to buy the next Microsoft console, branded "Xbox Next", they'd have to minimize the console, and get a more diverse range of games (ie, get more japanese developers working on it).

Playstation 2: Bought it with my brother for ?200, who never actually ended up playing on it anyway; the most expensive of the three consoles, and yet technically the worst. I bought it for FFX, and that game alone justified the console price tag in my eyes. I then proceeded to play other stellar titles, such as Kingdom Hearts, MGS2:Substance, Disgaea, and the more recent Star Ocean 3, among many others.
The future prospects of the console look good, with games like Xenosaga 2, MGS3, FFXII, KH2 and many others down the line, which all appeal to me. I wont need much justification to buy the PS3, i already know the odds of Mist Walker, Square Enix, MonolithSoft and Konami developing for the console are high. However, i'd be happier if they'd improve the quality of the console, as its predacessor showed a few too many graphical limitations in comparison to its rivals.

Ultimately, i'll be willing to buy the PS3, as well as focus on a secondary console, be it the Xbox Next or the "Revolution". Right now, its looking like Microsoft are attacking the industry from a better angle than Nintendo, but we'll just have to wait and see. It'll all be based on the games in the end though.

[Nevan]

My views on the current consoles (In order of recieving):
Playstation 2:
Was a great console for me, had a lot of fun playing Ghost Recon, Red Faction, and Red Faction 2 multiplayer, even some Katamri Damacy. However it lacks in multiplayer, very much so. It does excel in single player, Xenosaga, the Ratchet and Clank series, Grand Theft Auto series. However it still feels lacking. I hope Killzone makes up for this void, along with the new GTA and the new Ratchet and Clank, all due out before the end of the year.

Gamecube:
Neat little system, with a neat little handle, too bad I've never need to carry it around due to the lack of people who play it. It also excels in single player, also some great multiplayer like Metal Arms, Freedom Fighters, Mario Kart, Pikmin 2 SSBM, and So Cal 2. Some fun single player games were Wind Waker, Paper Mario, True Crime, and those mentioned above. However I can't but feel like a seven year old again while playing some of the games. But Paper Mario has brought me back lately. Metroid Prime 2 and Geist look promising for good times, but I still have my doubts. It's an okay system but I've probably spent the least amount of time on it, even though I have had a lot of fun with it.

XBox:
I asked for this last XMas and I must say, I have fallen in love. If you have friends and they like video games you should have an XBox. We all know about Halo, but there is also XIII, Crimson Skies, Battlefront, Burnout 3, and a ton of other great action games. But not just multiplayer, there is also some great single player, such as Full Spectrum Warrior, Halo, Armed and Dangerous, and Shellshock. Now this is the system with the most potential in the future. Halo 2 will define the system, but we can't ignore Black, Pariah, Snowblind, Area 51, Goldeneye, Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms, and plenty more shooters coming out. Heck I think I've played this more than any other system, and that is mainly me playing Halo. I figure I have spent over 100 hours on Halo, alone. Now with Halo 2 coming out in 22 days I'll be fused to my XBox. Of course this is all in my preference, since I enjoy shooters and I like action games. But if you want the best of the best of the action and shooter games then you must have an XBox.

In conclusion, I see the XBox as my current favorite system, followed by PS2, then Gamecube. Not that any of them are bad, just that is how I see them at the moment.

<font color="#101010" size="1">[ October 18, 2004 09:01 PM: Message edited by: Nevan ]</font>

[Cataferal]

The Xbox surprised me. I only took my uncles offer because it was cheap, and i thought "well...at least it'll look pretty next to my GC and PS2". But it actually turned out to provide a lot of enjoyment, if only through one game. The fact a lot of my friends own Xbox's too made the experience that much more worthwile, since we can currently hook them all up to a LAN, and in the future access Xbox LIVE.
Ironically, its the biggest, heaviest and most frustrating console to transport.

The Gamecube to me is like the new Dreamcast; awesome console, but suffers from the poor decisions made by the company behind it. Not to mention the consoles a port-house for Dreamcast games anyway...

[Nevan]

Yep, I see where you are coming from.

What games did you get with your Box? I forgot.

[Cataferal]

I got XIII, Midtown Madness 3, Simpsons Hit 'n' Run, Medal Of Honor: Rising Sun, Halo and Splinter Cell.

[Nevan]

Why did you trade the others in?

I enjoyed XIII, and I also liked Hit and Run. Still playing Hit and Run.

[Cataferal]

I didnt like the style of Splinter Cell, i felt it was too dry and fiddly and i lost perseverance.
I disliked Medal Of Honor: Rising Sun, especially since it only took 8 hours to beat, and wasnt that big an improvement on Frontline.
With Simpsons hit 'n' Run, i felt it was basically a GTA clone, and i dont like GTA all that much anyway, or the Simpsons for that matter.
As for Midtown Madness 3, its horrendous in every way, and since it came free with the Xbox, i couldnt trade it off.

XIII and Halo were the only two i liked, but since i wanted Shen Mue II, and another Xbox controller, i decided to trade XIII in for those. I partially regret it, since the story was good, I might pick it up again later when its cheaper.

[Nevan]

Well I can understand where you are coming from.

Although, XIII is only $20 here in the States, probably around the same there, I'd think.

[Cataferal]

Yeah, in fact, its only ?9.99 on amazon.co.uk, new. I might buy it with Xbox LIVE, test out the service before the 10th Nov. Im pleased because i sold it for twice that.

<font color="#101010" size="1">[ October 18, 2004 10:25 PM: Message edited by: Cataferal ]</font>