This Console Cycle Will be Long....what will things look like? - RaychelSnr's Blog

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This Console Cycle Will be Long....what will things look like? Stuck

Posted on May 5, 2009 at 04:41 PM.

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By most all accounts, we are still 3-4 years away from the next generation of consoles which will arrive in 2012 or 2013. That means that the current generation of consoles will have been in operation seven years, which is a time frame that isn't too abnormal in the history of consoles.

However, that means that there will be no huge leaps in available hardware technology for console sports games to take advantage of in the next 3-4 years. So what are developers going to do in the coming years to keep things fresh on a yearly product cycle?

There are two things I think you will definitely see: more polished games in the little details and more robust online offerings.

I think you are seeing the beginning stages of it with this year's sports games, as developers are trying to focus on making their games more polished in the little details. Another thing I would definitely look for is the expansion of online gaming offerings with sports games. Really we have just began to scratch the surface as to what is possible with sports gaming and online.

So what do you think? Where is sports gaming heading for the rest of this console generation? Do you have any bold predictions?

Comments

# 1 travis297 @ May 5

I would like to see more tournaments online. I think it would be cool to enter tournys from you house. Have some kind of way where sponsors are involved and big prizes are given to the winners.

# 2 stlstudios189 @ May 5

I think that we will be seeing so many more little things to come with every game. NCAA and Madden both look outstanding this season. I think that we are turning a very bright corner in the history of gaming.

# 3 19 @ May 5

Agreed. I don't think the developers for these games have reached the maximum potential of either system. To me, as someone who grew up with an 8Bit NES, which still works from 1986, and I still play. If this "Next" gen is the final gen, then that would be fine with me.

# 4 R9NALD9 @ May 6

I still think there is a lot of resources available on the PS3 system, and though not as much but some resources available on the XBOX 360 as well. Since the PS3 is especially hard to code for there must be a lot of untouched potential especially in the sports games genre.

Games like GT5, GOW 3 etc. will come close to reaching the systems potential, but still I think the graphics, AI etc. we will see in 3 years time will blow our minds. I bet none of you thought the graphics of Black was possible on PS2? Look how awesome Black's graphics are compared to game earlier in the PS2's life cycle. As new technology is thought up, better coding mechanisms are discovered we will see quite some improvement in the games we play in 2013 compared to 2009.

# 5 WatchdogXC @ May 6

I'm looking forward to seeing devs get the most out of the current consoles and expanding on the little things that make video games in general so fun. I spent countless hours playing my NES because the games were just plain fun.

# 6 MattIntellect @ May 12

I think that this console cycle will be long.

# 7 CreatineKasey @ May 24

I think you are thinking similar to what I am. I think online features are the next step for sports games. 6 on 6 hockey sounds great, and I've enjoyed online leagues for 2 years now. Adding things such as larger online franchises, spectator modes.

Imagine a community where the champions of each separate franchise duke it out in a tournament for some kind of "ultimate online championship". Franchises hosted by EA, where we are set on a deadline to get our game in - would be awesome! Some may not like the idea of losing some freedom, but that's what'd make it possibly great. People couldn't just quit on you.

There are SO many great things that involve online communities that sports games could do. I hope they keep going in that direction... many other gaming platforms have.