Generation Next

... I don't like Pepsi... Or the Spice Girls... Yet I manage to connect both of things to the title of my post... Odd...

ANYWAY! Now for something completely different... Or rather, something that's on topic; the next generation of video game consoles.

Yes folks, it's that time again, 3-5years after a generation is born a new one comes along. Over the 2001/2002 period we saw Sony's PS2, Microsoft's XBOX, and Nintendo's GameCube. WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE! ... And by jungle I mean 128-bit era... Now in 2005, we are staring the NEXT generation of consoles in the face.

Sony. With it's somewhat-confusingly powered PS3. Utilising CELL processor, which some have argued would be fairly difficult to program for. Of course, for your average gamer, all those specs mean next-to-nothing.

Then we have Microsoft's XBOX360. A powerhouse among powerhouses, boasting some 9.6 GhZ of processing power (3 cores, each running @ 3.2GhZ), and quick to gloat about how amazing games will look on it's console.

Thirdly (And possibly finally) there is Nintendo's next console; the Revolution. The specs have been kept secret, not much known... Ok, nothing is really known about this console apart from it being Wi-Fi enabled, and having more backwards compatibility than you can poke a stick at.

What does this all mean? It means we have a new generation of gaming on our hands. Better audio/visual quality. More realistic (Or complex) AI. Larger games. Longer games. We can look forward to exactly what we have now (And what we've had for a while), only it'll be a tad more shiny. Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited about a new generation of games, but, the thing is that it won't be all that different from what we have now. Games (For me) have never been about graphics, and I'm quite content with the level we're at now. But this post isn't about what we have now! It's about what we're getting!

... Which I've already stated? Yes. But how do I feel about all this... I'm overly excited, and almost wetting myself in anticipation o_o. I do believe I have already managed to show that I am a hypocrit... But aren't we all? Course we are. The fact of the matter is that as much as I'm fine with what we have, I still want more. New gaming concepts, new gaming worlds, new ways of gaming. The Nintendo DS has already done some of these things, what with it's dual touch screens, but will we see the same sort of thing with the new consoles?

I have no idea, and do not wish to speculate. I am disappointed with MS and Sony's displays of their consoles. Showing nothing but pre-rendered CG movies. I've seen Final Fantasy: Spirits Within, and that movie is fairly old now, so I know what kind of quality we can expect from pre-rendered footage. Then there's Microsoft's admission of their 360 consoles only being in their alpha stages, and utilising a third of their full power, this has lead to many jokes about MS releasing the beta version to the public, eh heh heh...

Let me say that the Nintendo Revolution is th only console that has managed to capture me. It might be my curiousity, or Nintendo's track record that draws me to it, I just don't know. Whatever it is, I just feel as though Nintendo will really come through with some high quality games, and a gaming experience of equal quality. Before you call me a fanboy, I want you to know that I never owned a NES/SNES, the N64 was my first Nintendo console, I also have a PS1 with some 150 games. The PC I'm currently using is running MS Windows. I have no brand loyalty. Just because I think I'll like the Revolution best of the 3 consoles doesn't mean much. Sony or MS could pull a few tricks out of their hats and astound me, thus changing my mind about Nintendo, then again, they could do nothing and not change my mind. Whatever.

Sony and MS are all about the power. Nintendo has me wanting Revolution for the sake of NES/SNES/N64/64DD game downloads. I still have my Sega Master System, and MegaDrive (a.k.a. Genesis to you NTSC folk), as well as my GameBoy Color (Yeah I have an Advance and an SP as well - no DS though). What's my point? I'm not sure exactly.

For my first piece, this has been fairly crap I'd say. My thoughts were all over the place, and there was little coherence in my writing - it was terrible. I apologise if this confused you. Let's just hope that I get better as time goes on.

GENERATION NEXT BABY! OH YEAH!