Next-Generation, the time of change and evolution, you would think this is all a good thing, and it is. The change from 2D to 3D a huge step in gaming in which changed the way we play games. The improved graphics, more options and more memory to make the game last longer.
But of course the change in generation brings a console wars, the chance for a developer to get a better market share in the market and come out on top, we all know Sony has dominated by a vast amount the past 2 generations, with a 70% market share in the current generation. But this time it is anyone's game. Sony, Mircosoft and Nintendo all stand a good chance in coming out on top. This is going to be a close race with the winning console only expecting to get under 40% of the market share. All this has caused his generation of console wars to be very petty. Flaming and fanboyism are at a new height. Alot of the flaming coming from Xbox Fanboys (Don't get me wrong, I think Mircosoft have done a great job this time, the 360 is a great machine) but in alot of forums, alot of the bashing are coming from Xbox fanboys, but they are the only ones, there are plenty coming from all sides, though the Nintendo fanboys are the most mature in my opinion (but the Gamespot and Zelda outrage counters that point) Forums are becoming less interesting and discussion is low, fanboys are taking over.
Last year in 2005 things were good, next-gen was announced, things were looking up, but in 2006, things are more cinister the first next-gen machine was about the Xbox 360 and these past few days the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii are released, the changing of generations has arrived, but the level of spite and hate has grow rapidly the past few months, starting at E3 06 where the second generation 360 games were announed and more details on the PS3 and Wii were released, people had a clearer picture of what to expect, which also gave people more chanves the bash. But why? What can it achieve? Was the past generation this intense and bitter?
The level of bashing isn't the only reason why the change is bad, it's the launch of the console. The launch of a new console always brings huge hype and why wouldn't it, gaming has evoluted, it get people excited. But what is so special about the launch. The games at launch are normally poor except for 1 or 2, and the price is at it's highest. You can understand why people do it, but really it does not show the potential of the console, look at Red Steel that was looking to be a great game and look it was average in the end.
Overall the point i'm getting at is, this time of the gaming calender, it is always over hyped and it gets petty, this year is the best example of that. But 2007 is looking to be a promising year with better games, and hopefully all the bitterness would of calmed down. But nothing can change that fact that this year has been a pretty rotten year for gaming. A change is generation is good, the process it goes through it a pain in the ***.