Is this console generation the worst? \ stacker news ~gaming

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257 sats \ 18 comments \ @stack_harder 24 May gaming

I can't help but feel that this console gen is just objectively worse, and I think Fiat is probably to blame, because so many things are just a bit shitter and just a bit more expensive.

I started thinking about this yesterday when my friend was telling me to play Space Marine 2, to which I said, 'I still don't have a PS5', and he was like, 'It's been out 5 years already'.

Now, I had moment of silence because, it has somehow been half a freaking decade and yet it feels like 2 years. But nonetheless.

So in 5 years, how many new exclusives are there? not many

And to cap it off, they have actually increased the price. Fiat fuckery at it's finest. At no time in history has a console increased in price, outside of the slim versions / improved versions.

Now, think back to year 5 of the PS4 and the enormous amount of games we had.

So now I'm just supposed to buy endless versions of up-rezed The Last of Us and be ok with it?

My friend counted that 'that's just how it is now, people pay for a more premium experience.'

But there's a difference between doing a RE1 remake (which I will immediately buy) and having Ghosts of Tsushima on PS5 being way more expensive and just slightly better.

For that money, I am going to demand a lot more than just a bit better. My day-1 PS4 works fine. Now Nintendo will be doing something similar on Switch 2, and I sure won't be buying Tears of the Kingdom again, but Nintendo has been pulling this move since forever.

The economics of gaming

The way it looks to me is that game development is now so expensive that game studios are more risk-averse and can't risk going big on something new (outside of Indie gaming).

And now a generation is conditioned to Game Pass and the mentality of 'I don't pay for games, I'll just wait for it to arrive on Game Pass' and long-term, I can't see that being a great tendency.

Could Game Pass be something that is actually detrimental to the future of game development?

What do you gamer stackers think? I am overthinking it?

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35 sats \ 7 replies \ @Riberet 25 May

In my opinion, this is the worst generation; at least something redeemable from this generation is the Nintendo Switch. We'll see if the situation doesn't worsen with the arrival of the Switch 2 and its possible outrageous prices.

10 sats \ 6 replies \ @stack_harder OP 26 May

i do enjoy how long they milked the switch. i will be happy to upgrade to switch 2 maybe a few years in when we get some games, won't be buying an up-rezed ToTk or botw tho.

32 sats \ 1 reply \ @Hodl117 27 May

tbf, the S2E of Tears of the Kingdom is a $10 upgrade, not a full repurchase, and you get integration with the phone app and a sharing method for ultra-hand creations, which I will be using to download people's crazy creations into my game. Also, it's the improved framerate that is the biggest graphical upgrade, for me, not up-rezing.

I will also not be purchasing it at launch and will wait for more fun joy-con colors than the launch dark gray. I would miss the neon controllers of the S1. The main reason I'm waiting, though, is because it costs so much, and I need to save up for it...

8 sats \ 0 replies \ @stack_harder OP 28 May

i get it, but i think after putting so many hours into it on switch, i don't think I would be up for taking on the task again for like a decade lol

14 sats \ 3 replies \ @Riberet 26 May

What price do you think they will launch the console and the video games? Many people speculate that they will reach $100 at launch.

10 sats \ 2 replies \ @stack_harder OP 26 May

I think maybe 80 dollars, if they get up to 100 US for a first party, it will be interesting.

i actually looked at the inflation-adjusted price of games before #895609 - so i don'#t think 60 and 70 is necessarily unreasonable. after all, we can still buy second-hand games and sales are pretty regular on anything non 1st party Nintendo

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Riberet 26 May

Yes, I totally agree, 90% of the games I buy are second-hand, I'm almost never willing to buy any video game at launch, $70 already seems like a lot to me to pay $90 or $100, only to see it the following year second-hand for $30 or even less...

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @stack_harder OP 26 May

yeah, especially when you know that most games get pretty aggressive sales and deals, black Friday etc

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32 sats \ 4 replies \ @gnilma 31 May

If you're really passionate about gaming and want access to a wide catalogue of high quality, well made games, you would have gone PC many many years ago.

2025 was actually excellent for gaming, with some very good games released, and it's only end of May of this year. I played Monster Hunter Wilds, Schedule 1, Split Fiction, and Expedition 33, all excellent games, with Expedition 33 being a masterpiece IMO. Also heard really good things about Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, but i did not play it, so don't have an opinion. And the PS exclusive don't seem to matter as much anymore, because all those PS exclusives eventually come to PC. You just have to wait a bit for it to be released on PC. Personally, I'm looking forward to June 11 with the release of Stellar Blade on PC.

Also, I think only XBox and PlayStation seem to be in decline. Nintendo had been killing it with the Switch. Yes, I'm a long time Nintendo fanboy (fan-old-man by now), but objectively, they have the catalogue of quality first party exclusives to back up my claim. Not to mention the large amounts of indie games also available on the Switch. I've already preordered the Switch 2 Mario Kart World bundle and is excited for the console's release. Mouse mode seems like a game changer for FPS games, really looking forward to Mario Kart World, and the new Donkey Kong game looks like a blast to play. I think gaming is in a great state if you focus on the good quality stuff. Just tune out the garbage and focus on the good stuff.

50 sats \ 3 replies \ @stack_harder OP 1 Jun

I was mainly thinking about consoles, and I would say if ps5 and xbox are in decline, it would confirm my feelings that this console gen is weak, apart from ninetndo.

as for pc gaming, I don't have any issues with it or anything, I just can't afford to buy an expensive gaming PC. i do play a bit of stuff on steam etc, but mainly older rts games

32 sats \ 2 replies \ @gnilma 1 Jun

Which older RTS games do you still play? RTS games are a lot of fun! I spent most of my highschool days and early years in college playing RTS games.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @stack_harder OP 1 Jun

i just finished up playing all the dawn of war games and expansions, last year i did command and conquer 2 and 3

might go back to comand and conquer generals next , i might have a go on the remaster of age of empires 3 as well, that was another favourite.

i still think the graphics hold up, especially on laptop and not a super fancy screen

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @gnilma 1 Jun

I've never play the dawn of war games. I enjoyed playing RTS games too, but it was way back when. Played Red Alert, Age of Empires 2, Warcraft 2, StarCraft, Warcraft 3. The last RTS I played was StarCraft 2.

0 sats \ 4 replies \ @senf 24 May

Why would fewer exclusives be a point in favor of this generation being the worst?

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @stack_harder OP 25 May

the lack of new IP is one component of the whole picture, new IP or at least new etnries in established franchises has been the norm since gaming began.

at least gta 6 will be out soon - 5 years after the launch of the ps5.

i should also say, this issue is more of a console issue, if you're on PC it's a different story

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @senf 25 May

New IP doesn't need to be exclusive, like GTA 6 isn't. Make a great game, and sell it wherever people will buy it rather than limiting it to just one place to try to drive hardware sales.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @stack_harder OP 25 May

i didnt say it had to be exclusive, that being said , Nintendo would be toast without its IP.

in 5 years and a price hike, i expect more than a ps4 game with better loading times tho

32 sats \ 0 replies \ @senf 25 May

I took your reply to my question about exclusives to imply you were also talking about exclusives.