Usually around this time in a generational shift you'll hear a lot more then I seem to be hearing about how media entities will be handling the next gen. Or at least how frantic they are that the next gen is almost on us. I don't really know why this time is any different then others; the only theory that sounds plausible to me is that this year has been pretty relaxed, and will allow these entities to organize their time and resources a little better. But that can't really be too true seeing as how publishers are still trucking on releasing their big yearly fare with little regard to the flow of generation. Time isn't really stopping just because this is coming.
Or maybe it's just that the media has learned from prior experiences; but somehow I doubt that, because it's still a stressful time none the less.
Or maybe they're just downplaying it to save face. I don't know.
Either way, being a non-entity, I'm probably better able to form my plan on the fly, instead of needing a strict structure. Except I like a strict structure, so I've come up with one any way.
I've got a PS4 pre-ordered with Killzone: Shadowfall. I'll do my best to get impressions and thoughts on the system in the days after I receive it.Which, because I've ordered from Amazon, means sometime a week after launch -possibly the best time too, as the servers will be slammed trying to get that Day 1 update at launch, and I won't get much of anywhere while that happens.
Any sort of review I do of the system will probably come without a Quicksheet, but I haven't decided yet. The idea of a flat score for hardware seems silly to me, but the Quicksheets sliding scale system may actually be a benefit. But in a world where things can be patched in and out of a system (like said Day 1 patch...) it maybe unfair to score the system in any way, since the system could evolve past the hardware, and most sites wouldn't bother keeping up with that outside of firmware announcement posts -so why should I reevaluate the system every update, if they aren't going to?
That said, I'll do my best to play through Killzone: Shadowfall in a timely manner, while still making the most of it, and getting a review up for it.
Some would probably say "Well, thats not the only game coming. Why not more games?"
Well, I'm one guy with a very limited budget, and it's right before Christmas. I've saved all I could, and have a few tricks up my sleeve, to get the most from my purchase (which doesn't begin and end with the PS4 and Killzone: Shadowfall), but I'm also a single human being with a limited schedule. Even if I were financially capable, or simply connected enough, I wouldn't be able to cover so many games at once, myself.
I will try to get games when I can though, it will just take some time. So no worries there. Since one of my resolutions in the next gen, aside from trying out more multiplayer, is to really try to ditch achievement hunting so I can actually play more games instead of spending far too much time hunting through one, this should mean I'll play more and have a smaller backlog. PSN+ will allow me to play more because of its free games program.
Speaking of PSN+ being as awesome as it is, they're giving members 2 games for free at or around launch: Resogun and Contrast, which I'll also be making the most of by trying to review. (I'm terrible at SHMUPs, so Resogun should be a blast..)
All that PS4 talk aside, I'm not getting an Xbox ONE. It may happen one day, but it won't be any time soon unless I hit the lotto or something. I'd love to say my choice wasn't partly made up of things having to do with all the poor announcement stuff (Which feels like it was years ago now. Time is weird.), and just the general way Microsoft's carried themselves this generation across a lot of topics (Which I could go into at great, ranty, length, but choose not to).
Yeah, some will say Sony' been pretty negative lately with the PS4 FAQ, and what the system can't do, but I don't feel like it's been so negative that it'll really detract from what I want to do with the system: play games. None of those negatives are things that can't simply be patched in. So even if I was worried about them, I'm not too worried about them. But that's probably an article for a different time.
It is, however, largely due to the price and having to choose between two systems so close together. If they were spaced out by even 6 months, this conversation could have possibly been different.
Plus, there just isn't any exclusives to the ONE that call out to me. Well, okay, thats not totally true, Dead Rising 3 does, but 1 game really shouldn't sway a huge purchase like this. But I could care less about Ryse, especially because of its focus on microtransactions (something I don't believe console games should have). And I really could care less about Titanfall till I actually get to play it. To me it doesn't look unlike anything else we've ever played. Right now, to me, it's just a brown shooter that happens to have giant robots in it too.. Not really very exciting for a long time Anime fan.. More: been there, done that.
The only exclusive-to-Xbox game series that would get me twisted up, if I missed out on it, would be Alan Wake. But Remedy is working on Quantum Break (which looks interesting enough, but I'm not keen on the TV show aspects), and I don't expect them to be working on, let alone finishing, another game for a long while.
Overall, I'm just not a huge fan of exclusives, period. None this gen really captured me like Alan Wake did, but I didn't join this gen for Alan Wake. In fact I came into this gen looking forward to FFXIII (.. Yeah..) and what would go on to become Metal Gear Solid: Revengence (.. Yeah..)... Neither of which were locked to a single system. Was I sad I missed out on Metal Gear 4, having decided on an Xbox 360 (because of a long drawn out story regarding a Wii and money issues)? Yeah. Am I slitting my writs over it? Nope. So I could probably be okay for a while without some of these exclusives, even any possible new Alan Wake.. And if that Alan Wake were to make it to the PC sooner then 2 years after it's initial release, then all the more better: I don't have to spend $500+ for the privilege to play it.
So thats really it. It may sound simple, but it really isn't. More thought needed to go into it then one would expect, and the execution is still something I'm concerned about achieving, even as a simple backwoods blogger with no readers who, realistically because of that, has all the time in the world to write what he wants.
Oh, and also, can we please just move on from calling the next gen, "Next Gen," please? We've called almost this entire current generation "The Next Gen" and... It holds no weight when you use terminology like that for 6+ years.
Really, lets get creative!
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