Like clockwork, Sony and Microsoft have already begun teasing their new consoles. Sony teased that its PlayStation 6 would continue to be powerful while also investing more in cloud gaming. Microsoft also teased its new Xbox, seemingly reacting to PlayStation, claiming that AI will play a significant role in this system.
Usually, this would be a huge deal. A new console generation means more powerful games and an evolution of this medium, for better or worse. However, when you consider how fans aren’t exactly loving this current gaming generation, it’s hard to show excitement for the next one.
Despite some great games, most fans will agree that the PS5 and Xbox Series generation has been disappointing. It's kind of shocking that Nintendo’s outdated Switch seemingly carried this generation through the appeal of handheld gaming alone. Can the PlayStation 6 and new Xbox do anything to stand out from their predecessors?
It is worth noting that the PS5 and Xbox Series systems are great if you want to play games. You’ll get the best versions of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Call of Duty, WWE, and whatever third-party is available on these systems. Even Final Fantasy is excellent on these systems, even if that name doesn’t mean as much as it used to.
For the sake of owning a system that plays powerful games, this generation is great. But in terms of must-have titles? This has been a pretty dull few years of gaming.
After the PS4’s electric final years, fans hoped the PS5 would start hot. But instead, Sony has just released better-looking sequels to games from the PS4 era. Horizon Forbidden West, God of War Ragnarok, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are direct sequels to the company’s amazing PS4 games. These are great for the Sony library on paper, but the company expected them to carry this generation by themselves, making the console feel like a more powerful retread.
Sony then doubled down on this by remastering games that already looked good on PS4.
Marvel’s Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, The Last of Us, and Days Gone got remasters in this era. While seeing these games in 4K and 60 FPS is nice, the fact that Sony treated them as essential parts of the system’s ecosystem has been sad. Nintendo faced similar flak with the Switch, having plenty of Wii U ports early on, but the eventual release of more original games eventually drowned out those criticisms. That hasn’t happened for Sony.
Then again, we wish the Xbox Series was this uncreative, because it feels like this system is just a home for Game Pass and various third-party games.
Exclusives like Halo Infinite and Starfield received mixed reactions at launch, not blowing people away like Microsoft thought they would. Indiana Jones was a solid enough game, but the fact that it came out on PS5 fairly quickly made it feel like a non-event for the console. Because Game Pass and Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard, the Xbox Series systems tend to feel like glorified Call of Duty machines.
Sony and Microsoft are also pretty guilty of some bad business practices this generation. When Concord flopped, Sony didn’t even give it a chance and took it down immediately, despite being in development for nearly a decade. Xbox has also announced a bunch of games that have received little to no updates, like the new Fable and Gears of War: E-Day.
For positivity's sake, both consoles got some new games that made fans happy. Astro Bot was a massive success on PS5 because it was a pretty 3D platformer with a love for the PS brand. Hi-Fi Rush was an amazing stealth drop on the Xbox Series that made the company feel unique for a hot minute, even though it eventually came out on PS5. Both systems also have backward compatibility, with the PS5 playing all PS4 games, the Xbox Series playing every Xbox One title, and certain Xbox 360 games with upgrades.
These are all good things, but Sony and Microsoft didn’t add enough new to make these systems feel like an impactful generation. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 might be the biggest game from this generation, and it’s a third-party title from an indie French studio.
If the PlayStation 6 and new Xbox are coming out in a few years, it will be hard to feel excited about anything they might tout, unless promising new games or features are shown. Graphics have seemingly hit their limit, and both consoles have eliminated short loading times. With $100 games seemingly coming soon and not worth it, we might need this industry to crash so things can get better.
Then again, we’ve all seen how much the Switch 2 has sold. This problem won’t end anytime soon.
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