I've been thinking about this for some time, but the poor sales of the 8th generation gaming systems and the lackluster reaction that Microsoft's big reveal of their upcoming machine, the terribly-named Xbox One X (previously codenamed Project Scorpio), got at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3 for short) has really brought home to me the question of whether we even need new video game consoles anymore. Let me briefly make my case on that:
If you think about it, there are two main reasons why people buy game systems: for 1) bigger games, and 2) better graphics. Let's face it, everything else -- motion controls, virtual reality, etc. -- is a gimmick. None of it ever winds up changing the way the average gamer plays or experiences video games. The two most substantive, permanent reasons why people buy new game systems are for bigger games and better graphics. But do we actually benefit from either of those things anymore? I don't think we do! Here's what I mean:
1) BIGGER GAMES
The interactive world of the average AAA adventure video game is already getting too large. So large, in fact, that it can't be navigated without the player being given some disingenuous form of detective vision (perhaps a special superpower or technological wonder device that lets you see arrows on the screen pointing you to your next destination) just to find your way around because you can no longer memorize the in-game landscape with enough traversals.
Furthermore, the focus on increasing world size is starting to negatively impact the quality of storytelling. The ultimate example I would point to in this connection is the largest video game world that has ever been made: that of last year's No Man's Sky. How intimate an experience would say that was, traversing a universe with literally trillions of nearly identical planets just for the purpose of cataloguing more species? All emotional capacity and frankly diversity was lost to the game's sheer scale. When you make games that enormous, character development becomes impossible: the individual is inevitably swallowed up by the vastness of the universe they occupy. Do we really want all our major video games to become No Man's Sky?
2) BETTER GRAPHICS
For a staggering price tag of $500, the upcoming Xbox One X will offer players an improved visual experience...that you can't even see without a 4K television! The vast majority of gamers (myself included), however, are still using 1080p TVs. You see what I'm saying? When the average gamer has to buy a new TV ($500) just to see the graphical improvements that a new console (also $500) offers them, I think it's safe to say that such an upgrade is no longer worth the astronomical cost, even if state-of-the-art realism is a relatively big deal to you.
What do you think? Are we actually, substantively benefiting from new gaming machines anymore?