Today, I’m going to go over all of the 8th generation gaming consoles (minus the Steam Machines, they are not out yet). While Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo’s machines are a welcome bump up in power, each console has its fair share of issues, so let’s start in the order they were released.
Wii U
Nintendo’s Wii U came as a surprise last year, and has seen mixed responses. While the tablet controller is equal parst gimmicky and handy. Nintendo’s advertising has been almost non-existent, even a year later, almost nobody knows what the Wii U is. Just like last generation, third-party support is slim for Nintendo, bordering on none. EA has stated it has no plans for releases for the console, and companies like Bethesda and Ubisoft are even backing down.With the same tried and true franchises at the helm, it is clear this machine was built for Nintendo games, and not much else.
Playstation 4
Sony’s next-gen console has seen large amounts of success, selling large figures, and stunning gamers with impressive visuals. As always, many improvements could be made, but chief among them is the lack of games. Sony blew their figurative load early with The Last of Us,Beyond Two Souls, and the latest Gran Turismo 6 as releases for the PS3. While the opinions on GT6 and Beyond Two Souls range frommixed to good, The Last of Us has received universal acclaim, and would have been a good system seller. Sony obviously should have made these as launch titles for their new system, as their current offerings include exclusives like Knack (panned by audiences) and Killzone: Shadow Fall (slightly above average reviews). Honestly, Sony’s machine lacks any real killer apps to drive sales. Unless your a gaming enthusiast, I’d say to wait for more of their impressive exclusives.
Xbox One
Microsoft has had a terrible reputation through the gaming community, as they have introduced, and then repealed, extensive DRM policies. The Xbox One has proven to be less powerful than their main competitor Sony, and also has a higher price tag. The inclusion of Kinect 2.0 in every box is an intentional move so more Kinect enabled features can be used in games and interfaces, but many gamers and families do not like the intrusiveness of an always-on camera. While Microsoft’s offerings at launch are slightly better, the third party games are running at a reduced resolution, or slightly lowered details in the graphics department.
So while each machine does have their own merits, as of now, buying a PS4 or Xbox One will leave many gamers without many titles in their next-gen libraries. Consumers buying a Wii U will find third-party support lacking and graphics not as intense as its next-gen brethren.
Xbox Photo courtesy of ViperSnake
Thank you all for reading this post, and stay tuned for future content, including my 12 lists for Christmas, starting on the 13th!
