The iLL Panel is a series where the iLL Gaming staff pick their brains over topics related to the game industry. Given the nature of our staff, it can end up being either a mosh pit of fanboy nerdgasms or a bitter fight usually accompanied with death threats and all-out war (ok, maybe we’re not that extreme).
In this panel we discuss whether Next Gen on Consoles has really achieved all that it was promised to be and what does the PC gaming audience think of it. Taking Part in this Panel are Tathagata, Sahil, Anikait, Ajay and Chirantan.
What is Next Gen?
The panel starts with Tathagata asking what Next Gen means to everyone. While Anikait says an improved hardware experience through support for more technological advancements, Tathagata puts in his cynical view of it being ALWAYS ONLINE. For Ajay, Next Gen means the next version of a game rather than a new system. Sahil is of the opinion that limiting Next Gen only to consoles is too narrow a viewpoint, while Chirantan adds that PCs don’t really have Gens in console terms because there are newer parts available on a yearly basis. The overall consensus is that Next Gen represents the next generation of console hardware that is capable of powering new experiences never before seen on consoles. And these experiences are the responsibility of Game developers as well as the Console Manufacturers, since Gaming as a whole must evolve.
The Promises of 2013
Both the PS4 and the Xbox One got their grand reveals in 2013 and it was at E3 that year that the Hype train was in full swing. The Wii U had an early mover advantage, but then, it had a different target audience and positioning. Sony had opted for a more traditional approach making the PS4 look like an upgraded PS3 with extra features and an added requirement to pay a monthly subscription to the PSN for being able to play online. Their focus was on new exclusives, Indie games and teasing the appearance of the PS4. Microsoft was looking to do something different by trying to implement a system of locking games to your Xbox account so they could not be sold second hand. They were also trying to harness the power of the cloud and their focus seemed more on projecting the Xbox One as an entertainment system rather than a games console, which proved to be their undoing. After pressure from disappointed fans, Microsoft did many about turns to simply match Sony with a traditional games console.
For PC Gamers, the new consoles were a relief of sorts in that the similarity of the x86 architecture might lead to better quality PC ports and the updated Hardware would mean Developers would also push the hardware more on the PC to make games look even better. The final hardware specifications were rather disappointing because they were comparable to what might be a mid-range gaming PC at the time and as Chirantan pointed out to Anikait, the magic of Optimisation has its limits as per the capabilities of the hardware. One simply can expect a souped up and tuned Road Car to give performance comparable to a Formula 1 car.
Why Next Gen just won’t work in India
Next Gen consoles have embraced the Internet and are looking to maximise the Internet connectivity to deliver their experiences. Given how pathetic the state of Internet connectivity is in India, Ajay notes that most of these new hyped features are utterly useless to people here. The other stumbling block is the difficulty in doing marketplace transactions online thanks to strict RBI guidelines and the low popularity of Credit Cards. Some apps are not even available here. Ajay adds that poor pings affect features like Streaming and multiplayer, to nods from Anikait and Tathagata. The biggest hurdle perhaps, is the cost of new games, as Chirantan points out, and it’s likely to stay that way thanks to the vicious circle of there being low demand for next gen which leads to increased prices and the demand staying low because the prices are too high. This makes consoles a luxury commodity and makes the cheaper PC games a more attractive proposal. The unsaid factor in adoption of Next Gen is that Indians do have a knack for piracy and neither console has had its defences breached yet.
An iLL view of Next Gen
Tathagata asks everyone to articulate their view of what Next gen should be. He himself would like the publishers to spend more on Quality Assurance (QA) than on glitzy Marketing hype. Ajay would like consoles to be more affordable and having scalable visuals with multiple tiers of performance. So there could be a top end console model that can slug it out with high end PCs and a barebones model that has the same capabilities as a console from the previous gen. He would also like better use of the second screen experience on mobiles. Sahil would simply prefer Next Gen to ditch the evil business practices like microtransactions and to have capable hardware that can at least output games at 1080p and 60fps scalable to 4k and 120fps. Anikait would settle for cheaper games and better hardware. Chirantan will consider a console for gaming if all the games were built to work without any flaw at launch with downloads only for adding content rather than fixing issues. Companies would do well to give more time to QA and polish than to announce dates years in advance and patch broken games for weeks after launch. He would also like more convenient options to pay for game and media purchases such as a post paid monthly billing system that can easily be paid using cash or cheque. He agrees with Anikait on the need for region specific pricing for India since the standard of living is much lower here.
Marketing and Quality
The panel now discusses the emerging trends with Next Gen Games. Seamless Online sounds brilliant on paper, but in practice it’s just another glorified form of DRM that doesn’t really work with random strangers who are interested in doing their own thing. Having DLC on the disc you bought that is locked behind a paywall is another major gripe as Tathagata points out. Coming from an Advertising background, he finds the Next Gen Games having great marketing campaigns that build up a lot of hype and expectations about the game. And it is this that is the undoing, since a good gaming experience is ruined by not meeting the bloated expectations of the eager gamers who preordered it. The other harmful advertising trend that’s emerging is that multiplatform games are being marketed for only one console despite being available on the other. What is really ticking people off is that games are being released as broken at launch with large patches for a few weeks after release to fix the bugs. And the media embargo on reviews is usually lifted too late to warn people of these issues (Games media in India rarely get review copies before a game launches which delays their reviews even further). As of now, there aren’t that many exclusives for either console that utilise all its features, which further puts the burden on multiplatform titles to deliver. Remasters are another annoyance with companies hoping to make people pay for the same game just so it ruins on their new console without any real improvements to gameplay. The Next Gen version of GTA V is an exception to this with its addition of a new first person mode. Developers would be better of trying to set a release date after their game has entered the QA stage rather than building up marketing hype for preorders and then underdelivering on the promises. A polished experience gets better publicity through word of mouth as Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor did.
Conclusions
So, is Next Gen just Hype? Or has it delivered the goods? This is a highly polarising topic for the Fanboys as well as those who identify themselves with the Glorious PC Master Race. Anikait and Ajay feel they can trust Next gen to deliver sometime in the future since it’s barely a year since launch. Tathagata is disillusioned by his experiences and believes the marketing is hyping it too much, making it seem like “This is 4 the Marketers.” Sahil agrees that Next Gen is just a minor step forward and just Hype. Chirantan thinks it’s overpromised and underdelivered. But he sees this as an opportunity for the PC to emerge a better gaming platform with greater priority given to it by the game developers, especially if those disillusioned with the consoles move to it.
So what do you think of Next Gen? Tell us in the comments. Till next year, iLL out.
