The gaming industry desperately needs this next generation of consoles. You see it whenever you demo a game as beautiful as Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag on next-gen, and you see it so obviously in the most current sports games. Developers have squeezed all they can out of the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, and it's time to move on.
But don't be so sure that it's time for you to move on just yet, dear gamer. The Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 are certain to rule the 2013 holidays, and there's the whole preorder push, and there will be lines wrapping around corners at local GameStops and Best Buys for each release. I've spent time with both consoles, and while it's early to say for sure (demos always take place in ideal and flattering situations), it's certainly easy to be impressed with each one.
Thing is, I'm not completely sold on the release libraries that will accompany these machines. From Day One, you can expect a plethora of games for the Xbox One and the PS4, but that doesn't mean you'll get a whole ton of value.
Here's the thing: For the most part, developers seem to be handling this generational jump much as they handled the Wii-to-Wii U move. At the moment, most of this winter's key titles - think Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4 and Madden, to name a few - will be released on both current-gen and next-gen consoles.
Quiz devs, and you'll find that, aside from graphical adjustments, there will be little different between the Xbox 360 version of, say, Ghosts, and the One version. The next-gen version will look absolutely stunning, with far more lighting effects, stronger details and added tesselation, but the gameplay will be almost completely identical.
It's a tried-and-true approach, a way to keep current-gen gamers happy but also deliver a game on next-gen, and it's solid. But in this era of multiplayer, then, it almost makes sense to enjoy, say, Ghosts on current-gen instead of next-gen, at least this year.
You'll have the exact same campaign, the exact same multiplayer experience, and some very good -- but not did-you-see-that-great -- visuals. On top of that, you'll get to enjoy a thoroughly rich online experience, sharing the Battlefield 4 battlefield with that monstrous online community of current-gen gamers instead of a next-gen user base that won't be as large from Day One.
And now that several of the most intriguing next-gen projects -- including Ubisoft's Watch Dogs -- have been pushed back, can it hurt to wait just a bit? In the meantime, you can play Batman: Arkham Origins and Grand Theft Auto V and Beyond, three key titles in this console generation's last hurrah.
I'm not saying that you must wait, and I'm definitely not saying that the next generation of consoles won't be worth its weight in Christmas sales. Right out of the box, the One promises to enhance your TV viewing experience (although there may be early foibles, if you recall the Nintendo Wii U), and the PS4 will have a rich environment of its own.
But I am saying that, if you're a gamer on a budget, or a kid with a birthday in February, or the kind of person who plays only Call of Duty, it might not hurt to milk your current-gen console just a little bit more, while the online ecosystem of the next generation matures just a little bit.
Because while the next generation of consoles has plenty to offer, the current generation has one more holiday, too.
A FRANCHISE CHANGE FOR SPORTS TITLES TO THINK ABOUT
Just in case you didn't see it, NBA 2K14 on next-gen consoles looks amazing. Unlike some developers, 2K is going all-in on crafting a completely different version of its NBA game for next-gen consoles, featuring all the lifelike visuals and improved lighting effects you'd expect on a new console, plus more.
There will be GM personalities in franchise mode. There will be Points of Emphasis. And there will be contextual shooting.
One thing that won't be there (at least not that I've heard): A way to carry over your franchise from year to year. It's never been in a sports game before that I can recall, but as franchise modes grow deeper and deeper, I increasingly wonder if it could be a good - perhaps necessary - idea. Play a 162-game season in MLB The Show, play every minor league game, and one season could easily drag into the release of the following year's game, right?
So why not include a function that lets you transfer that franchise you spent a year building, with its roster and all, into the following year's game, where you could continue that franchise with any new controls, new features, and the like?
There could be logistical and programming issues holding developers back, but as franchise modes grow deeper and as gamers become more invested, it's certainly something worth pondering.
KYRIE GETS DOWN WITH SKULL CANDY
Cavs star Kyrie Irving is a big gamer. But, apparently, he's only allowed to game with Skull Candy headphones on.
Irving, of course, has a deal with Skull Candy, but awhile back, he was somehow photographed wearing a different company's headset. So Skull Candy made sure that would never happen again.
"They sent me a care package," Irving said.
The bright side, of course, is that Skull Candy's new line of gaming headsets gets the job done. The highlight of the line is easily the comfy, wireless PLYR1. The PLYR 2 is also solid, and the wired SLYRs, while far from high-end, do a solid job for a $79.99 unit.
TURBO BOOST
The fall gaming lull is over. Starting Friday (Batman: Arkham Origins), it's time for a series of monster releases. Watch for Battlefield 4 and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag on Tuesday . . . Underrated add in the iPad Air? A 128GB version, which should leave more than enough space for music, movies and games . . . Why, oh why does XCOM: Enemy Unknown still not have touch controls on the PC? If it did, it would be an absolutely magical experience on Sony's Vaio Tap 11 hybrid PC . . .
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