First, before I say anything else, I want to stress that I realize cross-generation gaming has existed for a long time. The SNES had games that were basically NES games. Sometimes there were two versions of the game, basically identical. The Playstation had games that were in development for the SNES, and that was a massive shift in resources from 2D to 3D. The first generation of HD had so many basic, HD remasters that we barely play that stuff now since we realize what a cash grab it was.
However, what I'm talking about is a unique situation to the PS4>PS5 and XB1-XBSX generation, which is that console developers aren't acknowledging the generational shift other than to put out press releases and patch notes. Playstation 5 exists apart from PS4 but most "PS5 games" are PS4 games with more settings, where the Xbox situation is even more confusing because there are seemingly more options to bring these last-gen. games into the new era, yet no distinction in labeling the games.
There is also no "winding down" period in sight where console manufacturers would clearly talk about how their development for one platform would end and another one would begin before this generation. It seems that for gamers, buying one console gets you a PC-like experience of upgrading your graphics card to play the games that work already.
The Xbox Series S makes this clearer, as this is technically a next generation machine targeted at lower resolutions and will play the most demanding games released over the next years. I can't imagine any developer making a game that locks it out. Certainly Microsoft wouldn't approve of this. Notably, games on this less expensive alternative seem to run great.
The Playstation 5 has some games planned for PS5, and only PS5 sure, but my comment is not that developers are not making games specifically for these systems. Gamers deserve to play games on a cheap system and an expensive system.
My question concerns what these blurred boundaries between generations and versions will lead to in terms of
I know Microsoft is selling itself as a service rather than a console so perhaps they don't care as much as they once did, but I can't imagine they'd be happy unless the Series line (or their successors) outsell the XBO line. Similarly, Sony is in a difficult spot of having a huge what, 120 million units sold to repeat.
So where do you see us in 5 years? What will play what? Is what's happening now good or bad for the industry?
However, what I'm talking about is a unique situation to the PS4>PS5 and XB1-XBSX generation, which is that console developers aren't acknowledging the generational shift other than to put out press releases and patch notes. Playstation 5 exists apart from PS4 but most "PS5 games" are PS4 games with more settings, where the Xbox situation is even more confusing because there are seemingly more options to bring these last-gen. games into the new era, yet no distinction in labeling the games.
There is also no "winding down" period in sight where console manufacturers would clearly talk about how their development for one platform would end and another one would begin before this generation. It seems that for gamers, buying one console gets you a PC-like experience of upgrading your graphics card to play the games that work already.
The Xbox Series S makes this clearer, as this is technically a next generation machine targeted at lower resolutions and will play the most demanding games released over the next years. I can't imagine any developer making a game that locks it out. Certainly Microsoft wouldn't approve of this. Notably, games on this less expensive alternative seem to run great.
The Playstation 5 has some games planned for PS5, and only PS5 sure, but my comment is not that developers are not making games specifically for these systems. Gamers deserve to play games on a cheap system and an expensive system.
My question concerns what these blurred boundaries between generations and versions will lead to in terms of
- Hardware revisions
- Finally ending the previous generation's support and when that happens
- Long-term sales for all categories
I know Microsoft is selling itself as a service rather than a console so perhaps they don't care as much as they once did, but I can't imagine they'd be happy unless the Series line (or their successors) outsell the XBO line. Similarly, Sony is in a difficult spot of having a huge what, 120 million units sold to repeat.
So where do you see us in 5 years? What will play what? Is what's happening now good or bad for the industry?
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