Things don't always go the way one plans. We had said that our first real post would be a review of Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham City, however big news from Europe necessitates another piece be written first.
A credible source has confirmed that the next Xbox and PS4 will both be presented at this year's E3 conference. No details as yet as to the nature of the reveal - be it just an announcement or actual presentation of the hardware - but the mere inclusion of these highly-anticipated machines alongside the expected presentation of the Wii U could make this an E3 to remember.
There are several interesting points to consider with this news. This announcement, coupled with a not-so-distant release date could be both strategically savvy and self-deprecating for Sony. Announcing and releasing the PS4 side-by-side with Microsoft's machine would nullify the head start that the Xbox 360 enjoyed at the beginning of this generation. At the same time though, releasing the PS4 soon could contradict Sony's 10 year plan of console support that included the PS2.
Nintendo has a lot on the line. With it's console just stepping into the HD generation, Nintendo was probably hoping to be up to par as far as hardware is concerned for a bit before the next generation of consoles began to show their faces. No doubt, this was the driving motivation for both Microsoft and Sony to wheel out their new hardware.
Microsoft might have the most interesting part to play in this production. Despite coming off their biggest sales week in November, it is telling that Microsoft is still worried about losing its footing; still not being entirely confident in their place in the gaming market. Set to likely finish third in the overall console sales race for this generation despite its head start, and facing a relative dearth of first party exclusives in the next year apart from 343 Studios experimental foray into the Halo universe, Microsoft has a lot to lose. The new kid on the console block has garnered a lot of support through just one and a half console life cycles but the launch of its next console could prove to be a pivotal juncture in Microsoft's gaming excursion.
However this plays out, we'll be here to keep you up to date.
Special thanks to ign.com.
Cheers!
Well, it seems that 2012 is the end of the world! 3 consol releases in 1 year would cause couch potato-fication of the whole world!
ReplyDeleteI hope that the balance of power stays the same dispite all these changes. the market is stronger and more diverse with three major competitors and loosing any of them to poor sales would see the market a little less exciting.
It seems to be a delicate balance of power but the give and take of ideas and profits benifits us all (this next gen will all be HD, motion activated blueray wireless that can make you coffee!)
All I know is that i am glad Games of all Names is around to keep me updated!
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ReplyDeleteAs exciting as this news is for gamers everywhere it should be noted, though, that E3 will feature the 3 new consoles, but as yet, there are no concrete release dates slated for any of the systems.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the balance of console power is concerned, the promises of capitalism are certainly on display in the gaming world. With so much at stake for each of the major console companies and arguably more at stake for developers, this atmosphere of competition is forcing companies to showcase their best work to achieve the lion's share of the market.
Conversely, perhaps this competitive arena is working against the gamer? Maybe companies are taking strides more directed at making profits instead of releasing the best gaming experiences (the two, sadly, are often mutually exclusive). Take for example the shaky releases of Sony's Move and Microsoft's Kinect. Both of these devices were clearly released (and released too early in their development cycles) to gnaw at the deathgrip that Nintendo's Wii had applied to the market. With so many units (excuse the pun) moving, Sony and Microsoft had little recourse left than to emulate the Nintendo juggernaut and release them before they had any strong software support. As such, a large possible market, the motion-control market, has been left somewhat disillusioned and skeptical about the technology.
Thoughts?
Welcome to the blogosphere! First of all, is that rifle on your background used for hunting. . . Game?! Bada-bum!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I'm not up to par on the market competition these days. It seems like anything, developing the potential of motion control in games will take some time. There's definitely potential. But it will take some serious creative design to make it into something manageable.
Who will make the next big move? Who knows? It's fair GAME!
whoa! puns so much it hurts!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the rush to match a competitors product leaves several shortcomings in development, however the initial design and development is important,
With only two competitors , who knows if there would be as many advancements in the designs. if nintendo did not exist, what motivation do the other companies have? although there are many poorly crafted improvements, i feel that competition speeds up the development of new improvements.
whatever the case may be, Bring on E3! how much are tickets and is it coming to Lansdale>?
just read that sony deny all claims of ps4 release this year. PR agent quoted as saying "we have always had our eyes on a 10 year life cycle for ps3, currently there are no workings on altering that plan"
ReplyDeleteThis is true, ign.com has reported that a Sony executive has debunked the rumors of a potential PS4 reveal at e3 this year. However, e3 is still many months away and he may not actually know what Sony's plans are yet for e3. Of course there's always the chance that perhaps he does know and that Sony simply wants to pull the veil over consumer's eyes and keep it a surprise.
ReplyDelete