This Gen ... 10 Years From Now

[Keatah]

I definitely don't think it'll just be 'thrown away'... we aren't at a point in society where nostalgia doesn't work yet. Today's kids will be tomorrow's adults, wondering if they can still play their old 360s and PS4s and such. The only really interesting possibility I see this run-around is, if the storefronts go offline completely, could the demand for games to be released on disc go up as people realize they could lose their whole collections to a bad hard drive? Or will we just see a lot more old units getting hacked to run pirated files? It's gonna be interesting either way.

 

Beg to differ, nostalgia is here and working. It hasn't yet cast its influence over the moderns games and gamers. It will come. Be active. And then leave.

 

It's a sliding window. And in terms of the VCS we're just past mid-day. Soon the shadows will be falling on this land and daylight will be dawning on the next generation. Already the colors of fall are showing and some are packing it up for the long and risky winter.

Edited September 18, 2016 by Keatah

[Flojomojo]

It's totally a sliding window. Hollywood gives lots of clues. Blair Witch remake comes to mind, but there are probably many others. 90's music and fashion is 100% retro now. I'm starting to understand my parents' annoyance at "50’s day" and "60’s day" dress-up events when I was a kid in the 70's and 80's. "They just wore regular clothes," they'd say ...because I seriously doubt their real-life peers looked like costumes from Grease or Hair.

 

Game nostalgia is distorted by the limited sets of what's able to be licensed right now. Those Atari remake consoles really should have Berzerk, Defender, Space Invaders and other old faves.

[Mord]

 

Beg to differ, nostalgia is here and working. It hasn't yet cast its influence over the moderns games and gamers. It will come. Be active. And then leave.

 

It's a sliding window. And in terms of the VCS we're just past mid-day. Soon the shadows will be falling on this land and daylight will be dawning on the next generation. Already the colors of fall are showing and some are packing it up for the long and risky winter.

 

I do think the nostalgia will be more cynical when it comes though as they'll have to deal with:

 

1. None of the digital games being available.

2. None of the DLC for physical games being available.

3. The physical games being unpatched. (There are some games that had gigabyte day-1 patches.)

4. Some games, while having a physical release, are online only and thus still unavailailable.

5. Some DLC, even if you already have it, will stop working when the consoles are pulled off their networks. (Online-startup checks to validate purchased DLC.)

6. And of course, games that are mostly-multiplayer will feel quite bland with their servers taken offline.

[Keatah]

I'd say more frustrating and tedious. Much like how the new consoles are right now

[Mord]

I'd say more frustrating and tedious. Much like how the new consoles are right now

 

At least we'll be able to say the more notable points of this gen will stand the test of time.

 

We'll have to wait and see if the consoles themselves also stand the test.

[negative1]

 

That's how I see it too- people finding cracks and workarounds for the digital content. Perhaps someone will invent some sort of USB key to trick the system into thinking an online database is the proper online store, allowing direct downloads of ripped ROMs. Kind of like a mutated version of the everdrive.

 

I definitely don't think it'll just be 'thrown away'... we aren't at a point in society where nostalgia doesn't work yet. Today's kids will be tomorrow's adults, wondering if they can still play their old 360s and PS4s and such. The only really interesting possibility I see this run-around is, if the storefronts go offline completely, could the demand for games to be released on disc go up as people realize they could lose their whole collections to a bad hard drive? Or will we just see a lot more old units getting hacked to run pirated files? It's gonna be interesting either way.

 

the only reason i see games disappear online is when the licensing issues run out (gauntlet, robotron 360, paperboy, etc on xbox 360).

 

otherwise, if they can keep selling the games, and now thanks to backwards compatibility, they will never disappear.\

 

also, since the xbox 1 added backwards compatibility, and there likely won't be anymore future consoles from microsoft or sony.

 

all future games should work on the xbox one, and ps4.

 

 

later

-1

[Rick Dangerous]

I will be hoping I didn't unplug my 2TB external hard drive from my Wii U in the wrong order deleting a decade of updates and downloads....wouldn't be a big loss though would probably just stick to dreamcast/gamecube/xbox/ps2 generation for my "modern" gaming needs. Haven't bought a Wii U games in at least a year. Actually many of my pS3 greatest hits don't require updates and should play fine so maybe those as well. For me though, never had a XB360, and similarly have no interest in the XBone or PS4.

 

I briefly enjoyed my PS3 (hooked it up for the first time in two years recently to re-play the uncharted games) but it's appeal was being a multi-media swiss army knife. It played 3d blu rays, media from USB Storage, and games. Now that their are smart TV's and PS4 has actually downgraded these capabilities and required online subscriptions, i just don't see the appeal. I enjoy a little light online gaming on my Wii U but i just don't do it enough to EVER justify paying for a montly subscription (XBox networn, PSN). So as long as those are required you can count me out because i'm old school and just a cheap bastard about it.

Edited September 23, 2016 by travistouchdown

[Nebulon]

I'm sure I'll still be playing the current crop of fighters and top-down shooters a decade from now.

 

Of course I'm sure I'll also see more than a few PS4 and XBOX One consoles in thrift stores with what looks like dried-up chocolate pudding wedged around the edges of the controller buttons and in the machines' cooling vents.

[Nebulon]

 

That's how I see it too- people finding cracks and workarounds for the digital content. Perhaps someone will invent some sort of USB key to trick the system into thinking an online database is the proper online store, allowing direct downloads of ripped ROMs. Kind of like a mutated version of the everdrive.

 

I definitely don't think it'll just be 'thrown away'... we aren't at a point in society where nostalgia doesn't work yet. Today's kids will be tomorrow's adults, wondering if they can still play their old 360s and PS4s and such. The only really interesting possibility I see this run-around is, if the storefronts go offline completely, could the demand for games to be released on disc go up as people realize they could lose their whole collections to a bad hard drive? Or will we just see a lot more old units getting hacked to run pirated files? It's gonna be interesting either way.

The trick you're describing will likely be a reality before long.

 

And in ten years, the whole PS4/Xbox One collection will fit neatly on a tiny sliver of crystal that a person from today might mistake for a piece of jewelry.

[Keatah]

The trick you're describing will likely be a reality before long.

 

And in ten years, the whole PS4/Xbox One collection will fit neatly on a tiny sliver of crystal that a person from today might mistake for a piece of jewelry.

 

Already there is a 2cm x 2cm memory chip that can hold 1TB. It's due for mass marketing 2Q'17. The industry sees 10x that density in 2019-2020. I bet they're lowballing it!

[Schizophretard]

What about mobile gaming? I could see the kids from now eventually tracking down phones, tablets, micro-consoles, etc. like we do with consoles. There will be those that seek out the popular ones(think NES) and those that seek out the more obscure ones(think Virtual Boy). For the ones they find sealed there will be debates about them sitting on a shelf or opening them because they are meant to be played. There will be vs. threads about which were the best or could have been the best and debates about rather Apple, Google, or Amazon saved mobile gaming while all sides get in a flame war with the guy that claims it was Microsoft. There will be those who keep around big bulky 1080p displays because playing a micro-console in VR just isn't the same. There will be emulation vs. original hardware debates. They will collect huge APK sets of games that have been cracked to work offline for free including free IAP's that are as huge as all of our app stores combined that fit in a storage device about the size of a dime but is still mostly full of free space. Their SD cards will be like our carts, floppy disks, tapes, etc. They will use SDK's and other developer tools for homebrews that they sell in community ran app stores. They will collect retro bluetooth controllers, mice, keyboards, headphones, etc. There will be a guy that promises to bring them back to simpler times by releasing the BlackBerry Retro Mobile Video Game System that will be caught putting an iPod in an OUYA shell and criticized for claiming that,"BlackBerry is back!".

[Newsdee]

I know some people collect older phones to keep a specific game which is no longer available in app stores.

 

Beyond that, it looks like piracy will be the only way to keep many online and mobile games. Perhaps the upside is that it will motivate people to do remakes of the good ones.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Newsdee

[Atariboy]

Imagine if streaming takes hold.

[Keatah]

Define streaming.. Is it where the game imagery is computed on the server and sent real-time to a handheld? If not - then streaming has been around for ages already.

[Atariboy]

I'm talking about services like Playstation Now where the processing chores are handled off-site, with your control inputs sent remotely via the internet and a video/audio stream delivered back.

 

What else did you think that I might've been referencing? Can't think of anything else relevant to the topic that I might've been alluding to, like disc streaming to load up an upcoming area in a videogame before you get there, eliminating a loading wait.

 

Obviously something like that is hardly an issue where our long-term ability to enjoy a particular game is concerned.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Atariboy