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I'm kind of.........underwhelmed by this new generation so far.

WeAreStarStuff

WeAreStarStuff

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,223
Washington DC
First, I know, people will say it's like this every generation. I'm 37, and I've been playing video games since my dad's Commodore 64. I understand 'cross-gen' games, and etc. When I picked up my PS4 I immediately noticed a nice jump when popping in Killzone Shadowfall, or even AC:Black Flag; I was really impressed by the textures and general picture quality that I was seeing. I should also note that I've had a PS4 Pro since the day it came out, and a 77' CX, so I'm accustomed to seeing games such as TLOU2, Modern Warfare, GOT, GOW, and etc. looking stellar.

I was fortunate enough to secure a PS5 about two months ago. I've played Demon's Souls, Miles, Valhalla, and Cold War. These games look good, don't get me wrong, but I'm often thinking is this really that different than my PS4 Pro? There were some scenes in MM that looked stellar (esp. indoors with ray tracing, and reflections), but often in the game when swinging around in the city, or just doing random fights it didn't really feel/look that different than when I played Spiderman on my Pro. Demon's Souls had some nice looking scenes (Dragon God looked great), but again nothing really blew me away. Honestly, and ironically, one of the only things that has made me go wow were certain scenes during the Resident Evil demo.

I know things will get better, and the PS5 has a significant bump in specs compared to the Pro, but I've just not had my 'nice, this is next-gen' gaming moment yet, and it's a bit disappointing. Fast loading on PS5 is great, so maybe my expectations should be set more towards these QOL type implementations? I've never been a PC gamer, but I imagine that this must be what it feels like to upgrade a GPU, not a revelation, but a more improved, comfy experience. Do any others feel the same way, am I taking crazy pills?
 

Sylvestre

Banned
Mar 20, 2020
763
Its about the potential of the machine, not the first releases. Gap was very thiny with the first ps4 games compared to ps3 as well. Itll grow.
What really sucks tho is that there are no games and with Covid itll be a long time before we get a good rollout :(
 
Maple

Maple

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,722
With the pandemic and severe console shortages it's going to take longer for this new generation to really get going.

I would not be surprised if we don't see a PS6 until 2028-2029.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,549
Yup. This generation sucks. The PS5 can barely justify its own existence at this point and the acquisition wars make it absolutely miserable to be a consumer in the industry.
 
ClickyCal'

ClickyCal'

Member
Oct 25, 2017
59,510
The PS4 didn't really get its "true next gen" moment until Uncharted 4. As in just being actually wowed by the visuals.
 
Osahi

Osahi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,929
Eh. Played around with the ray traced reflections in Miles Morales too much to fully agree, though I agree they're having a slow start.

But every generations leap felt smaller thab the previous one imo.
 
RisingStar

RisingStar

Banned
Oct 8, 2019
4,849
A lot of games did get delayed due to the pandemic.

For me personally, the only stand out game of next generation is Demon's Souls currently, and that's a remake. Astro Bot is fun and Miles Morales runs just fine on PS4 as well. The thing with the PS3 was that it got to a point that the multiplatform games were just not running at stable frames and had tons of AA issues. PS4 doesn't suffer from that, at least for me beyond the insane fan noise.

I don't think this generation will really take off until next year, and even then, I'm not expecting it to be the equivalent of 2015.

Side note, this happens every generation but this is the first to me anyway where it's justified.
 
dusan

dusan

Member
Aug 2, 2020
5,385
Covid screwed many game releases, this gap is very normal. Only the fact that every game is released same time for PS4/PS5 throws me into this psychology.
 
Ikuu

Ikuu

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,294
Start of each gen is always shit, add in Covid and it's going to be worse.
 
Tobor

Tobor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
28,429
Richmond, VA
I'm the opposite. I'm overwhelmed. There was nothing to play for months after the PS4 launched, but with the PS5 I'm playing tons of PS4 games i didn't get around to and they all run better than they would have.

This is a much better situation compared to launch droughts of the past.
 

Deleted member 91227

Feb 4, 2021
5,002
First year or so is always slow and graphics leaps keep getting less impressive to me. I only took the plunge on PS5 and XSX early as I finally upgraded to a 4K/HDR TV and was fine just playing/replaying last gen games and next gen versions of cross gen games. Otherwise I usually wait a year or so to buy new consoles when more games are out.
 
I Wanna Be The Guy

I Wanna Be The Guy

Member
Oct 28, 2017
16,773
My Series X is the least next gen experience I've ever had. That's because there's nothing new about the console over the One. I mean the layout, UI and all that stuff is IDENTICAL to the One. Doesn't feel like a new console.

Games wise new stuff will come in time. But yeah there's no next gen console freshness from the console itself in any way.
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,485
I have yet to even bother looking into buying one as there's barely any games I'm interested in.

And thankfully, since Nintendo were forced to break off from the standard refresh point because of the abject failure of the Wii U, I can still get new Switch games for at least a couple more years while I wait for the next gen consoles to be a more desirable prospect.
 
DanielG123

DanielG123

Member
Jul 14, 2020
2,490
It's, what, 4 months into the generation so far, in the middle of a global pandemic that has genuinely ravaged damn near everything, especially game development? You said it yourself, there are lulls like this every console generation, particularly at the start of one. We all just have to give these things time to marinate and those next gen experiences to arrive in a consistent fashion, which takes a lot of time the more complex, ambitious, and bigger that video games get.

Maybe one could argue that the Series X/S and PS5 themselves could have released this year instead, with no real ill effects, outside missing the holiday season... But for the generation as a whole, you just gotta wait for a bit, my friend.
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,351
While we do get these conversations every gen, I think the emergence of the Pro and One X definitely did a number on the leap that everyone expected day one.

If you were coming from an OG Xbox One or an OG PS4 you'd have a phenomenal leap, even with crossgen titles. If you've spent the last three years already playing games at 4K on a One X then the step is undoubtedly smaller.
 
Juryvicious

Juryvicious

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,834
YolkFolk said:
People have said this every gen since the 360 came out.

Back when it was allegedly the Xbox 1.5
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Agree for the most part, however, the Wii was in no way shape or form underwhelming when it launched. In fact, the Wii was overwhelming with its VC, Twilight Princess, and Wii Sports, along with several 3rd party titles.
 
Fiery Phoenix

Fiery Phoenix

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,835
The generation has started in name only. Chill.

ghostcrew said:
While we do get these conversations every gen, I think the emergence of the Pro and One X definitely did a number on the leap that everyone expected day one.

If you were coming from an OG Xbox One or an OG PS4 you'd have a phenomenal leap, even with crossgen titles. If you've spent the last three years already playing games at 4K on a One X then the step is undoubtedly smaller.
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Also this 100%. Especially if you were on a One X.
 
AppleKid

AppleKid

Member
Feb 21, 2018
2,508
The jumps from one gen to the next are inevitably going to be smaller as time goes on, but you should still hold judgement until bigger games like the next GOW come out.

I am personally very excited to see what type of leap is made with PSVR2
 
Betty

Betty

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,604
It's been what, less than 6 months?

Graphics are plateauing but performance is so much better than last gen. Loading times and frame rate for me are a big step forward and why I'd never want to go back to other gens.

Pandemic has also put things out of whack so a lot of impressive stuff has been held back.

It'll get better for sure.
 
Mr.Deadshot

Mr.Deadshot

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,285
Go VR if you are unhappy with classic gaming. It's the true "next-gen"-feeling no other technology can give you right now.
PS5 and Xbox X will find their footing eventually, but it seems to take longer than usual this time with Covid, longer development times etc.
 
IlGialloMondadori

IlGialloMondadori

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
5,495
As someone who also gamed since intellivision and c64, I'm loving this gen so far. Demon's Souls ruled, and Spidey is great. Hitman 3 and PS4 backlog has been great. *shrug*. Not sure what people wanted. Months in, covid, and it's the same story every gen.

I remember people saying Dreamcast was no better than PlayStation at launch.
 
Aether

Aether

Member
Jan 6, 2018
4,421
Like always: i get you, and its a combination o several things.

-Jumps are less prominent every gen.
-the mid gen refresh took a loooot out of the sale of next gen this time
-first year was baren on last gen too for the first year

...and add the pandemic.
But the mid gen refresh with pandemic pushbacks is probably a big factor that makes the usual "diminishing returns" aspect even more prominent.
 
I Wanna Be The Guy

I Wanna Be The Guy

Member
Oct 28, 2017
16,773
AppleKid said:
The jumps from one gen to the next are inevitably going to be smaller as time goes on, but you should still hold judgement until bigger games like the next GOW come out.

I am personally very excited to see what type of leap is made with PSVR2
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Yeah PSVR2 is when the real next gen starts for me. So excited to see what they come up with.
 
SCUMMbag

SCUMMbag

Prophet of Truth - Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,577
There's never been more great games to play with a lowest barriers to entry the industry has ever seen.

The consoles may not be firing on all cylinders just yet but I don't know how you can be interested in gaming and not be overwhelmed with content right now.
 

Boogolo

Member
Nov 1, 2020
492
Happens every generation. Last time around I spent the first six months playing warframe on my PS4. It's going to take a year or two before both Devs move solely over to the new generation and get used to the hardware
 
JoRu

JoRu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,791
Juryvicious said:
Agree for the most part, however, the Wii was in no way shape or form underwhelming.
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Nintendo tends to be the exact opposite of Sony and Microsoft, in that they always start off strong every generation to build an install base, and then the lineup gets progressively weaker each year.
 
xtib81

xtib81

Member
Mar 10, 2019
1,890
Yeah same for me, I feel like i'm playing on PS4+. I haven't been wowed by a single game (granted I haven't played demon's souls)
 
Mathieran

Mathieran

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,858
I'm having a good time and so far I've only played one ps5 exclusive lol (Astrobot)

Miles is the only other game I've purchased but it's cross gen. Waiting for sales. But I've been loving the patched games quite a bit. Right now I'm playing control and I'm loving all the ps5 features, which are making it worth replaying for sure.
 
janusff

janusff

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
18,127
Austin, TX
i'm pretty impressed so far. launch games have been the best, for sure better than last gen. and so far games i've been interested in have been coming in pretty steadily.

plus yeah, it's only been 3 months lol
 
Pitou

Pitou

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,119
I actually think it's amazing just because of the 60 fps updates to so many games. I love it.
 
Ladomania

Ladomania

Banned
Nov 8, 2020
246
There's a pandemic and the new consoles haven't even been out for that long to begin with. Be patient lmao.
 
Izzard

Izzard

Banned
Sep 21, 2018
4,606
Wow, and there's me playing miles, seeing all the extra details in things like fabrics, Ray tracing, sheer numbers of things happening on screen, and thinking to myself if this is just the beginning then I can't wait to see what's coming
 
Bandage

Bandage

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,626
The Internet
Napalm_Frank said:
Good games, high resolution, 60fps, much faster load times.

Life is guud.
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Yeah but I've had that in my PC for years. Why would I spend another $600 for such a lackluster lineup at launch?
I'd rather wait until there's a decent library instead of posting the same threads on Era that happen every generation about a new system being disappointing.
 
IlGialloMondadori

IlGialloMondadori

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
5,495
PlanetSmasher said:
Yup. This generation sucks. The PS5 can barely justify its own existence at this point and the acquisition wars make it absolutely miserable to be a consumer in the industry.
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Which is it? Is it that the ps5 sucks, or that people can't buy one? Surely if the next gen sucked, demand wouldn't be this high?
Man people are miserable and impatient.
 
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