Do you have a current generation console?

[Memory]

I'm curious how many people have actually bought a current generation console, because things definitely seem off with the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Most games right now are still playable on last-gen consoles, and besides RTX the graphical leap doesn't seem worth the upgrade this time around.

There have also been all of the manufacturing and shipping issues caused by the chip shortages and pandemic which have made the new consoles harder to come by, and yet according to Sony and Microsoft they're still apparently selling as good as or better than the last generation at the same point in their life cycle which seems strange to me.

Sony is definitely pushing more PS5 exclusives now, possibly because supply is starting to increase to meet demand, but the only game that interests me is the Demon's Souls remake so I still don't have much of a reason to buy a PS5. Especially not after they just announced a price increase. Their excuse is inflation, but to have a console go up in price after so many years instead of down is just absurd.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is pushing more cross-platform and cross-generation games. I can't think of a single Xbox game that isn't playable on both Xbox One and Series X/S. Maybe a few third-party games, but certainly nothing that's piqued my interest. It's great for players, which I'm all for, but has definitely reduced the need to invest in a new system so I wonder if it's hurting Microsoft or if the software sales make up for any decrease in hardware.

I don't know. I think this whole generation seems like a wash. But maybe that's just because I'm getting older and most games don't interest me anymore. The best new game that I've played in a long time is Inscryption, and that's a quirky card battling game with PS1-era graphics.

[Melooon]

I have an Xbox S/S (Never had a One), I know my uncle has an S/X (He had a One too) and about half my friends have PS5s (The other half are still on PS4s); so they are definitely out there.. although I suspect that the web revival community might be less enthusiastic about buying new consoles in general

I think the PS3-PS4 change over was the first sign that the distinctiveness of console generations was loosing momentum; it was a big jump but nothing like the PS2-PS3. That said, I think the big change in the current generation is speed over graphics, loading times are almost non-existant, quick resume of games is fantastic and updates dont seem like the pain they used to be.

However we are also in the middle of a wider cultural shift perhaps; I think people are starting to accept that you don't need great graphics to have a great game. People today will play a NES style game just as happily as a brand new AAA game; that seems like a shift from past decades where everything had to be the biggest and the best. I remember playing Minecraft in school in 2010 and people made fun of it for having bad graphics; yet kids today love it and don't even think about that.

As for the X/S, it feels more like an access terminal than a traditional console; it's just one way to access the games I have floating around in the sky somewhere. I know many people don't like that feeling (hence why most gamer friends have PS5s).

On the point os PS5s OMG IS IT HUGE AND UGLY; you'd have to pay me to have that thing in my space

[isopod]

Meanwhile, Microsoft is pushing more cross-platform and cross-generation games. I can't think of a single Xbox game that isn't playable on both Xbox One and Series X/S. Maybe a few third-party games, but certainly nothing that's piqued my interest. It's great for players, which I'm all for, but has definitely reduced the need to invest in a new system so I wonder if it's hurting Microsoft or if the software sales make up for any decrease in hardware.

I can't remember where, but I've heard that modern consoles are generally sold at a loss and made up for by sales surrounding them, like online subscriptions and exorbitantly priced games and controllers. This being the case, it's possible Microsoft actually benefits from selling fewer Xboxes and maintaining backwards compatibility with the old ones.

I think people are starting to accept that you don't need great graphics to have a great game. People today will play a NES style game just as happily as a brand new AAA game; that seems like a shift from past decades where everything had to be the biggest and the best.

Most games right now are still playable on last-gen consoles, and besides RTX the graphical leap doesn't seem worth the upgrade this time around.

I can definitely relate here. I'm not much of a console gamer, but after I bought my new computer with its shiny new latest-gen graphics card, I realized most if not all of the games in my Steam library ran fine or even just as good on the old one, and neither are especially "high-end". I think we've reached a point where even if you want to go for photorealism, graphical upgrades beyond what exists currently just don't make sense anymore. Even some games I would consider to have "good graphics" have shockingly low system requirements by current standards.

As for modern consoles, I could never really be bothered. I had an Xbox 360 once, but I mostly ended up playing Minecraft and Terraria on it in between having access to computers to play them on. Those two games in particular were really bad about cross-platform feature parity when I played them on the Xbox, and I think that shaped my perception of console gaming for a while afterwards as being just an objectively worse version of the PC experience. Even so, neither platform has had anything on it since that interested me enough to actually want a new console. I've got a Switch that I use exclusively to play Kirby and that's about it.

[Memory]

My partner and I share an Xbox Series S and it has really been one of the best investments we have made over the past years. Gamepass alone is worth it, and the price point is very low.

[Memory]

I think the PS3-PS4 change over was the first sign that the distinctiveness of console generations was loosing momentum; it was a big jump but nothing like the PS2-PS3. That said, I think the big change in the current generation is speed over graphics, loading times are almost non-existant, quick resume of games is fantastic and updates dont seem like the pain they used to be.

That's a fair point. Solid state drives are definitely becoming more ubiquitous as the cost comes down. I haven't actually used one yet, so I haven't experienced the difference myself.

On the point os PS5s OMG IS IT HUGE AND UGLY; you'd have to pay me to have that thing in my space

Hahah, yeah I agree. I might consider one if they release a "slim" model that isn't so gaudy.

I'm actually surprised how small an unobtrusive the Series X is. My dad bought one a while ago and it's a lot smaller than I thought it would be.

My partner and I share an Xbox Series S and it has really been one of the best investments we have made over the past years. Gamepass alone is worth it, and the price point is very low.

I'm curious whether you had an Xbox One before and upgraded, or started out with the Series S because in my mind they serve pretty much the same purpose. I love using my Xbox as an entertainment hub and am leaning toward a Series X as a replacement when the time comes.

[Memory]

My partner and I share an Xbox Series S and it has really been one of the best investments we have made over the past years. Gamepass alone is worth it, and the price point is very low.

I'm curious whether you had an Xbox One before and upgraded, or started out with the Series S because in my mind they serve pretty much the same purpose. I love using my Xbox as an entertainment hub and am leaning toward a Series X as a replacement when the time comes.

We had a PS4 before that saw barely any use aside from video, but no Xbox One. The Series S was the first Xbox console in our household.

[Zusk]

Besides Nintendo stuff - which I always end up getting - I have sat out on getting any consoles during the last generation of consoles, was "almost" going to sit out this generation.

However, I really wanted a Steam Deck. My current computer is starting to fall behind in performance and its great being able to play stuff like Elden Ring and Hitman 3 that I can't normally on my desktop anymore due to how outdated it is...

[Memory]

Besides Nintendo stuff - which I always end up getting - I have sat out on getting any consoles during the last generation of consoles, was "almost" going to sit out this generation.

However, I really wanted a Steam Deck. My current computer is starting to fall behind in performance and its great being able to play stuff like Elden Ring and Hitman 3 that I can't normally on my desktop anymore due to how outdated it is...

I have been thinking about ordering a Steam Deck, but when I was looking into ordering one it would have taken six months to fulfill it. There are rumors that Microsoft will announce the Surface Studio 3 this year, so I decided to wait on that before I make a decision.

[Melooon]

Im gonna introject pedantically and say the steam deck is not a console. Its a mini pc And as for steam decks.. I don't really understand them.. like.. Iv never wanted to play PC games on the train.. and at home a normal pc/console is much better value.. but people seem to be into it!

[Swiftpaw]

I was thinking to myself exactly ":grin:omg:es the Nintendo Switch count?", I only really get the current Nintendo console so I can keep up with Pokemon and because I generally love Nintendo games. I've never really had a console or any other system besides Nintendo since most other things can be played on PC, Pokemon is one of my special interests, and hacking a 3DS at least is simple. I might look into a PS4 once it becomes obsolete.

The Steam Deck is tempting for me because my PC is failing with modern games and I prefer playing games handheld, but I'd never be able to afford it so unless a used market for it enters the picture I probably won't get one. It would be nice since I already have a decently sized Steam library.

[bythemeadow]

the only consoles i own are the switch and an xbox 360, and the switch is the handhold-only model so it barely counts lol.
i'm looking into getting a ps4 for a couple different games, and i would consider getting a ps5 instead if it weren't so expensive. that's the biggest thing for me for any console really, so i usually get them once they're already outdated and the price falls.

[Memory]

Im gonna introject pedantically and say the steam deck is not a console. Its a mini pc And as for steam decks.. I don't really understand them.. like.. Iv never wanted to play PC games on the train.. and at home a normal pc/console is much better value.. but people seem to be into it!

Well, it is a strong handheld PC, which means all the advantages of PC gaming in a handheld form factor, for a small price point, with a library bigger than any other console.

[Starstorm_X1]

My most current console is a Nintendo 3DS, so I'm really behind on the consoles. Especially since there was a brief time where I was too busy to game. Eventually, though, a friend gave me their old gaming PC, so nowadays, I'm doing most of my gaming on said PC. Admittedly, with how complex consoles are getting, if I ever buy one, I might only do it for specific cases (basically, any Nintendo console exclusive, some PlayStation exclusives that don't have PC releases, or any single-player game that has a physical release since there's not many physical PC releases anymore.) The market for what I call "consolized PCs" like the Atari VCS or Steam Deck, admittedly, is pretty interesting; besides being built for gaming and having a near-infinite game library, you can also utilize them for other things too!

[NullCertifier]

The last console I had was the Nintendo Wii, I guess that kind of dates me lol. My lady friend's a little younger, still pretty into it all, and she's still playing PS4 and doesn't plan on upgrading to PS5 anytime soon. I'm out of the loop but she says it's a waste of money lol. So I don't know, but I've been told...

[Memory]

The last console I had was the Nintendo Wii, I guess that kind of dates me lol. My lady friend's a little younger, still pretty into it all, and she's still playing PS4 and doesn't plan on upgrading to PS5 anytime soon. I'm out of the loop but she says it's a waste of money lol. So I don't know, but I've been told...

The more I think about getting a PS5, the more I agree with your lady friend. There just isn't enough to justify the cost, especially with Sony porting a lot of their exclusives to PC now. If the Demon's Souls remake ever makes it to Steam, that eliminates the one compelling reason for me to get a PS5.

The Wii was a great console though. So many of my favourite games came out of that era. If Nintendo spent a couple years just porting all of the best Wii games to Switch, I'd happily rebuy them.