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[BadBurger]

The last major change in console gaming was with the PS3/360, when they became multipurpose, online-capable devices that could have various applications installed on them. Everything else has been iterative.

As for "the worst gen"? Well, which gen is or has been the worst is entirely subjective.

 

[JayK47]

For me, it is. Or at least the generation that I have very little interest in. I still do not own a PS5 or Xbox Series. Does a Switch count? Covid really shit over the start of it, followed by console shortages. I think this year was the first year I actually saw a PS5 on a store shelf. So it took 4 years for the console to actually be readily available. Games take too long to make, need to appeal to "everyone", and are way to political. Last gen, woke games were the exception, not the rule. First party titles, which used to be a reason to purchase a console, are just trash this gen. Trash compared to the last two gens at least. It also just takes too long and too many people to make games. Too many consultants and developers have hardly any say in their on games. All the added cost and time and it makes the games worse. Too many activists working at developers who, rather than wanting to make a great game, simply want to influence and preach to gamers.

 

[reinking]

Either way, though, there's no harm in going black and playing older stuff

@OP, If you can't find anything good to play this generation, I think you have gotten older and jaded. It's okay, it happened to me too. I eventually grew out of it and you will too.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Ps5 is inspiring with its quick resume, SSD, Dualsense, VR capabilities, bold shell etc. etc.

 

[Arsic]

Idk didn’t wet BG3, Zelda ToTK, and RE4 remake last year?

We’ve also had Elden Ring, it’s dlc coming, demons souls remake, and dozens of other games I don’t want to list.

I would argue the ps4/xbox one probably was the shittiest generation for games.

 

[Seider]

Unreal Engine 5 was released 2 years ago. You cant do AAA games in 2 years. Best we can get now are games like Hellblade 2. AA game with 6 hours of gameplay.

Games like Hogwarts Legacy (5 years) or Jedi Survivor (4 years) took a lot more than 2 years in their developments using Unreal Engine 4. And now we want betters games done in Unreal Engine 5 with only 2 years. Crazy shit.

 

[PixelatedBeast]

Naw, you're just getting old or something. Try playing games in different genres. The innovation of tech this gen is not having such a big step compared to last gen because its not going in the direction everyone thought it was. There are plenty of games to play this generation though. You have to try new things. The only thing I dont like is the trend of live service games and season passes for single player games.

Truthfully AI is the biggest step in gaming this generation. AI upscaling tech, AI being used to develop games, AI being used for NPCs. When people were using AI to speak to NPCs in the Unreal Engine 5 Matrix demo, that was an example of what the next generation of gaming could look like. Less about graphics and more about making game worlds more believable with AI trained NPCs. Devs could probably develop more realistic or complex animal behavior as well.

 

[Bernardougf]

So much hype around Ryzen CPU,SSD etc and yet so little inovations,level design is same as old gen,graphics are basically like upgraded PS4,no destruction,no inovations in physics.Who knows if even UE5 will be playable on this gen. I think we might have to wait till PS6/Next Xbox to get true next gen games.


Yes Hellblade 2 looks great but its basically 6 hour linear "cinematic hold your hand" showcase.

Theres a limit in evolution when dealing with constant cheap boxes ... they were selling ps5 for the same prices they sold ps4 and cheaper than ps3... its pretty clear for me that this boxes were very limited from the start... they are bad .? Nope... but for people wanting a generational leap like we saw before, 499 cheap plastic boxes are not the way anymore.

I think this gen was an adaptation to 60 fps gaming ... is the first gen that the majority of game came with this option ... now that 60 fps is settled time for the graphics and physics leap next gen.

I personally gave up graphic whoring... dark souls teached me to value gameplay above all ... so i really dont care.. being 60 fps with kick ass game play and Im good.

 

[Guilty_AI]

if you only play games to be "wowed" over and over again with new tech, i'm sorry but this was bound to happen sooner or later.

Look for what you find fun, explore different genres, stop just sitting around and waiting for the "next gen revolution" and start approaching games the same way you would movies or books. Or idk, try some other hobby like hiking or bird watching or stuff.

 

[rm082e]

 

[Danjin44]

if you only play games to be "wowed" over and over again with new tech, i'm sorry but this was bound to happen sooner or later.

I feel majority GAF's motivation for getting in to gaming is to drool over graphics rather just enjoying playing games.

 

[ハトリス]

This generation started from November 2020.

The current generation started with Nintendo releasing the Switch in 2017.
This generation has been the best for me, since it brought me back to gaming. Got strong nostalgic feelings towards the N64 and GCN era tho.

 

[Guilty_AI]

I feel majority GAF's motivation for getting in to gaming is to drool over graphics rather just enjoying playing games.

Eh, i think most are fine, not that we don't get tech whores too.

 

[EDMIX]

I feel majority GAF's motivation for getting in to gaming is to drool over graphics rather just enjoying playing games.

Agreed, or this idea of always needing something fresh and new to justify a new game.

I'm at the point where I just don't care anymore lol

If the game is fun, I'm in.

If it looks like a PS2 game, but is fun....I'm in.

If its literally a dated idea that offers nothing new, if its fun.....I'm in lol

 

[Edgelord79]

I think it’s that we’ve changed and many have gotten older. Games now don’t resonate the same way as they used to.

 

[ByWatterson]

I love original, insightful conversation starters.

 

[CLW]

Definitely going to go down as the worst gen since the CRASH in the early mid 80s

 

[MajinSweet4]

IMO just 2023 alone was better than the entire PS3/360/Wii generation. This was the true worst gen ever and I’ve been playing since the NES era.

This gen also was the comeback gen for most JP devs (except Square lmao), for Nintendo and it even brought the first « market ready » VR headset with the Quest 3.

Good stuff overall.

This mostly sums up my thoughts too, as someone that also started gaming in the NES era. (And still played Atari growing up when I had the chance) Right now gaming is probably the best its ever been? So many great games from so many different studios with so much variety. PS3/360/Wii era was probably the worst looking back. Lots of the big name games from that era don't hold up at all imo.

 

[samoilaaa]

Nah FF7 Rebirth automatically makes it a great generation.

ur proving OP's point , the only improvement this gen is in the graphics department , where is the next gen AI , Physics , destructible environments , level design especially , all of these were promised before ps5/xsx launched

 

[samoilaaa]

Just stop gaming already. This hobby clearly isn't for you.

why ? because he wants games to be better and not designed in the old way

In the ps4/xbox one era devs were saying how the consoles are keeping them from creating open worlds with revolutionary NPCs AI that make the world feel alive , worlds that feel dense and not empty , cities filled with npcs that have day to day activity , they said that the cpu and ssd in the next gen consoles are gonna change that

Here we are 4 years later and all the open worlds feel the same as they did last gen , barely any interactivity , cities feel dead , npcs act like zombies , the level design in 99% of games is crap , filled with shitty puzzles that solves themselves , barely any environmental storytelling

Look at hogwarts legacy , the game is amazing from a visual standpoint but the world doesnt react at all at what you do , you have groups of 3-4 npcs that talk to each other and say the same line , you can use a unforgivable curse around them and dont even flinch

OP is right

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Has been pretty great to me. Cheaper access to a bigger selection of games, load times went from 20sec/ 1min to 5-10sec, most games went from unstable 30fps to 60fps. For inovation thers indie games, triple A games are too expensive to try experiment new ideas that might fail and shut down an entire studio.

If you're going to say that "most games went from 30 to 60 fps" you should be honest with yourself and include the fact that if you want to play qt 60 fps you're getting last gen graphics.

They havn't been able to deliver both 60 and actual next gen looking games at the same time on these consoles. Whether it's cross gen, the gpu's being weak, or maybe even because now these companies have to make a game run on a variety of PC configurations, these consoles have had to compromise heavily if you want 60 fps.

 

[Dr. Claus]

ur proving OP's point , the only improvement this gen is in the graphics department , where is the next gen AI , Physics , destructible environments , level design especially , all of these were promised before ps5/xsx launched

This has been an ongoing issue since the last generation. Physics engines have taken a step back to create static environments to push graphical fidelity. We get the very rare title like Tears of the Kingdom, but as long as devs prioritize fidelity over unique mechanics, you won't see this in AAA games.

 

[samoilaaa]

This has been an ongoing issue since the last generation. Physics engines have taken a step back to create static environments to push graphical fidelity. We get the very rare title like Tears of the Kingdom, but as long as devs prioritize fidelity over unique mechanics, you won't see this in AAA games.

the fact that its might be possible but the devs dont want to improve games in those areas makes it even worse

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Absolute best post in here. Every device on the market provides value to someone.

So what? You compare generations against other generations. You judge them by looking at whether games lived up to. and took advantage of the hardware specs. You judge them based on Sony and MS' OWN promises for what they said these systems would be:

Sony's big SSD spiel and the type of performance and visuals the i/o would usher in. The way it could revolutionize the way memory works. How it would allow UE5 to thrive. Has Sony delivered on that promise? Fuck no they havn't in fact Sony's own studios are behind on tech this gem compared to the likes of Ubisoft!

On the MS side: a complete abandoning of all the promises made by Phil early on! Halo Infinite was a disaster. The wonderful BC program was shut down. No next gem games until FINALLY Hellblade 2 (which looks amazing but took 4 years to arrive but sadly the game itself is disappointing with regressions in puzzles and combat). Forza Motorsport sucked and didnt deliver on the amazing early trailers. Halo Infinite was pathetic and the series is in serious trouble).

Sure, some people with low standards will still be happy with this gen but I doubt any hardcore gamers who spent the money on these systems can honestly say they have lived up to their potential.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

So what? You compare generations against other generations. You judge them by looking at whether games lived up to. and took advantage of the hardware specs. You judge them based on Sony and MS' OWN promises for what they said these systems would be:

Sony's big SSD spiel and the type of performance and visuals the i/o would usher in. The way it could revolutionize the way memory works. How it would allow UE5 to thrive. Has Sony delivered on that promise? Fuck no they havn't in fact Sony's own studios are behind on tech this gem compared to the likes of Ubisoft!

On the MS side: a complete abandoning of all the promises made by Phil early on! Halo Infinite was a disaster. The wonderful BC program was shut down. No next gem games until FINALLY Hellblade 2 (which looks amazing but took 4 years to arrive but sadly the game itself is disappointing with regressions in puzzles and combat). Forza Motorsport sucked and didnt deliver on the amazing early trailers. Halo Infinite was pathetic and the series is in serious trouble).

Sure, some people with low standards will still be happy with this gen but I doubt any hardcore gamers who spent the money on these systems can honestly say they have lived up to their potential.

Ok?

 

[Games Bookstore]

I don't think it's bad per se. My time to play is much more limited that other gens.

I think what's lacking in general from this gen is *must haves*, in particular from first party studios, and even then many of those titles were cross gen with PS4 / XB1, or wait a couple of years / day 1 released on PC.

In general this gives people less desire or urgency to buy into this gen.

 

[Hudo]

There's only one solution: You should burn all your consoles and games.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Past couple years have been loaded with amazing games.

Being on PC+Deck has been awesome. Best time for gaming ever. I could see console fanboys having a tough time with everything being multiplatform and on PC.

Why console "fanboys" and not simply "console owners". That's a bit of a dick comment to make if i may say. If you are a PC gamer it has been a great gen.
You should be grateful instead of rediculing console owners realize you are only in this position because the greedy cunts Phil Spencer and Jim Ryan decided to sell out console gaming to try to make all that money instead of keeping the platform strong.

iIf you don't have a gaming PC, Sony and MS have fucked us up the ass by going multiplat and focusing so little on actually bolstering their own consoles this gen and doing anything special for the very people who supported them by buying their consoles.

You don't need to be a fanboy to see we've been fucked in the ass on console but ironically it's the fanboys who are too stupid and immature to realize the bad deal we've gotten this gen because they're blinded by their famboyism. This is one of the reasons I have started to despise console gamers even though I am one. To see how shitty this generation has been- from lack of good backwards compatibility to cross gen bullshit and finally losing exclusives to PC and having to see these idiots still defending Sony and MS.

 

[drganon]

Hooray, more whiny blog posts disguised as threads.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

That's a bit of a dick comment to make if i may say

You should be grateful instead of rediculing console owners

And then...

ironically it's the fanboys who are too stupid and immature to realize the bad deal we've gotten this gen because they're blinded by their famboyism.

to see these idiots still defending Sony and MS.

 

[RyRy93]

PS3/360 was way worse. Stop the

4 years into that gen we had a GTA, Red Dead Redemption, 2 Mass Effects, 2 Bioshocks, 2 Portals, some of the best CoDs, 3 Uncharted games, 2 God of wars, Gears 2 and that’s just off the top of my head

Compare that to this gen, we probably have less than 5 gen defining games, ER, Ragnarok, BG3 and TOTK? 2 of those are also available on last gen consoles

 

[buenoblue]

Stop gaming then

 

[Ozriel]

and it even brought the first « market ready » VR headset with the Quest 3.

That was the Quest 2. C’mon man.

ur proving OP's point , the only improvement this gen is in the graphics department , where is the next gen AI , Physics , destructible environments , level design especially , all of these were promised before ps5/xsx launched

why ? because he wants games to be better and not designed in the old way

In the ps4/xbox one era devs were saying how the consoles are keeping them from creating open worlds with revolutionary NPCs AI that make the world feel alive , worlds that feel dense and not empty , cities filled with npcs that have day to day activity , they said that the cpu and ssd in the next gen consoles are gonna change that

Here we are 4 years later and all the open worlds feel the same as they did last gen , barely any interactivity , cities feel dead , npcs act like zombies , the level design in 99% of games is crap , filled with shitty puzzles that solves themselves , barely any environmental storytelling

Look at hogwarts legacy , the game is amazing from a visual standpoint but the world doesnt react at all at what you do , you have groups of 3-4 npcs that talk to each other and say the same line , you can use a unforgivable curse around them and dont even flinch

OP is right

The missing link is that doing all this can be prohibitively expensive. You complain about the interactivity in Hogwarts Legacy, but that title had a significant AAA budget and still needed a year delay to make it out.

Are YOU going to pay for the extra development effort to push for the level of interactivity and fidelity you want?

The Hogwarts example you cite is even a great example to show how misguided this complaint is. Because it turned out to be extremely successful as is. Showing exactly what the market is perfectly fine with. Why waste resources and time on stuff that’s not essential?

 

[Team Andromeda]

Load of old tosh. I also love the fans who have a pop at Hellblade2 but love Kojima-san. All one did in Snatcher was press buttons, but it held up as a classic! One take's out the cinematics and you've got about 5 hours of actual gameplay in MGS4 and the less said about Death Stranding the better There's a place for high action games and a strong narrative one. But I get the SONY fans need to have a pop, just like the Nintendo fans would say all you had to do in Sonic was old right on the D-pad




I started gaming in 1983 when I had my ZX Spectrum and this gen been incredible for games , it's such a shame we have to piss poor threads like this, where a lot of the time people just use Metric or YouTube rather than actually buy and play games
This year alone given me some of the best game made in years with Banishers: Ghost Of New Eden and Like a Dragon: Infinite wealth

My main issue this gen isn't a pathetic take on lack of 'destruction', but lack of enough SSD space to hold all these incredible games without needing to swap SSD's

 

[sigmaZ]

 

[Xtib81]

No lies detected OP. This gen was all hype with finally a great cpu and a SSD. Yet, we're playing the same games we've been playing for a decade, with little to no innovations. At least, loading screens have almost disappeared lmao.

 

[Skifi28]

Hooray, more whiny blog posts disguised as threads.

They really are on the rise lately. I wonder what happened all of a sudden.

 

[Team Andromeda]

I feel majority GAF's motivation for getting in to gaming is to drool over graphics rather just enjoying playing games.

Watch YouTube and bitch about current gaming more like...

 

[Darkmakaimura]

I agree but not for the reasons you list and for what it's worth, my first console was the Magnavox Odyssey 2.

 

[samoilaaa]

That was the Quest 2. C’mon man.





The missing link is that doing all this can be prohibitively expensive. You complain about the interactivity in Hogwarts Legacy, but that title had a significant AAA budget and still needed a year delay to make it out.

Are YOU going to pay for the extra development effort to push for the level of interactivity and fidelity you want?

The Hogwarts example you cite is even a great example to show how misguided this complaint is. Because it turned out to be extremely successful as is. Showing exactly what the market is perfectly fine with. Why waste resources and time on stuff that’s not essential?

hey if its too expensive for you and time consuming then dont promise your gonna do it

And the fact that this game was very successful just shows how low the standards are for gamers these days

 

[FunkMiller]

Attempts to advance gameplay and push the medium forward have been destroyed by greedy fucking games companies, who just want to sell as much bland crap as possible, to as many people as possible.

 

[Caio]

Some Games released from 2021 say Hi :
2021 :
The Forgotten City, Death's Door, Monster Hunter Rise, Solar Ash, Age of Empires 4, Forza Horizon 5, Metroid Dread, Returnal, Life is Strange: True Colors, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, It Takes Two, Resident Evil Village, Halo Infinite, Hitman 3, Psychonauts 2, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Deathloop.

2022 :
A Plague Tale: Requiem, Return to Monkey Island, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Pentiment, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Horizon Forbidden West, Stray, God of War Ragnarok, Elden Ring.

2023 :
LIES OF P, BLASPHEMOUS 2, PARTY ANIMALS, STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR, HI-FI RUSH, DIABLO 4, METROID PRIME REMASTERED, FINAL FANTASY 16, CYBERPUNK 2077: PHANTOM LIBERTY, DEAD SPACE REMAKE, RESIDENT EVIL 4 REMAKE, ARMORED CORE 6: FIRES OF RUBICON, MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN 2, STREET FIGHTER 6, COCOON, PIKMIN 4, SUPER MARIO BROS. WONDER, ALAN WAKE 2, BALDUR’S GATE 3, THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TEARS OF THE KINGDOM.

2024 :
PRINCESS PEACH: SHOWTIME!, DRAGON’S DOGMA 2, HELLDIVERS 2, LIKE A DRAGON: INFINITE WEALTH, TEKKEN 8, PALWORLD, PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE LOST CROWN

Many gamers are aging and, in a certain way, losing interest in video games. They find themselves clinging to old memories and experiences, which inevitably make past games seem more exciting than current ones. However, this is merely the effect of nostalgia and the memories of a time when we were younger, more enthusiastic, had fewer expectations, and, above all, experienced greater tranquility.

 

[marquimvfs]

Err, 1998 was a great year in gaming...

 

[Hrk69]

why ? because he wants games to be better and not designed in the old way

In the ps4/xbox one era devs were saying how the consoles are keeping them from creating open worlds with revolutionary NPCs AI that make the world feel alive , worlds that feel dense and not empty , cities filled with npcs that have day to day activity , they said that the cpu and ssd in the next gen consoles are gonna change that

Here we are 4 years later and all the open worlds feel the same as they did last gen , barely any interactivity , cities feel dead , npcs act like zombies , the level design in 99% of games is crap , filled with shitty puzzles that solves themselves , barely any environmental storytelling

Look at hogwarts legacy , the game is amazing from a visual standpoint but the world doesnt react at all at what you do , you have groups of 3-4 npcs that talk to each other and say the same line , you can use a unforgivable curse around them and dont even flinch

OP is right

Yeah. Time to stop gaming buddy.

 

[Ozriel]

hey if its too expensive for you and time consuming then dont promise your gonna do it

Nobody ever promised you anything of the sort.

Perhaps you might want to find a different hobby?

And the fact that this game was very successful just shows how low the standards are for gamers these days

Far more likely it shows that gamers are being given exactly what they want.

 

[spons]

The Switch is the highlight of this generation, so many good games on that device. Probably my favorite console ever, both in quantity and quality. I have no problems with this generation - although both Xbox and PlayStation are severely underwhelming in their first-party output. Good thing there's much more to find than just that.

 

[PendekarRajawali]

At least the games are still better than today’s hollywood movies quality.

 

[T-0800]

I've been gaming since the 70s. Hipster doofus.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

Er.....

2024 Releases:

• Hades 2
• FF7 Rebirth
• The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered (PS5)
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• Palworld
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Tekken 8
• Persona 3 Reload
• Helldivers 2
• Pentiment for Switch PS5
• Unicorn Overlord
• Horizon Forbidden West + Ghost of tsushima (PC)
• Rise of the Ronin
• Paper Mario Thousand Year Door
• Dragon's Dogma 2
• Stellar Blade
• No Rest for The Wicked
• Sea of Thieves (PS5)
• System Shock Remake
• Multiversus
• V Rising
• Elden Ring: Shadow of The Erdtree
• Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance
• Luigi's Mansion 2 HD
• Frostpunk 2
• Final Fantasy XIV DawnTrail
• Black Myth: Wukong
• Space Marine 2
• Metaphor Re:Fantazio
• Assassin's Creed Shadows
• Indiana Jones: Great Circle
• Avowed

I think what you've mean is that there was no game that made a huge impact on the world this generation, but Baldur's Gate 3 exists.

Nobody said there arent games. Point is the most talked about games are literaly cross-gen titles. For PS5 its Horizon FW, GOW Ragnarok, GT7, Spiderman 2.....Cyberpunk got a new life this gen but its a last gen title. Its like Im playing the same game but in 4K. For example from this list Id say 65% is average at best or worse. Point is we keep getting bloated open worlds, battle royales, safe sequels with minimum innovation and definately way less new IPs. In general a lot of the sequels are just bland and I think we are getting way more remasters/remakes than on the PS3 which says a lot about playing it safe.

 

[FewRope]

We should have never left the 128 bits generation