How do you compare the current generation gap with the previous?

It's a little hard to say anything about possible innovation when the new consoles have only been out for a few months.

The way I see it, usually the excitement, interest and hype happens before they are out, with trailers, announcements, etc. Before trying them, before opening the box.

However I'm not noticing that with this generation, this may be a matter of my perspective or be there. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but before evaluating whether it is a good, bad (or none of the previous) thing, I would like to know whether it is a thing.

It's weird. We're not seeing an instant, profound leap in technology like has been the case in the past. Though, I'd argue that gap started shrinking between the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube and PS3/360/Wii generations. But it is more exciting in a way, because it has been so long since we've seen new hardware. The technology that is new and amazing this time around isn't the stuff that you can really see just looking at a game. Though, I imagine the more obvious stuff will come with time.

If we're talking strictly anecdotal excitement? Well, I don't remember the previous generation being too insane either, but I was just out of high school then and not really spending time with young people who blew their loads on trailers and the hype machine. I mean, people cared, but no more than they did about something like The Avengers or Dark Knight Rises. There were no divided lunch tables debating Sega vs Nintendo.

Personally, I'm a little more excited this time around because I'm a self sufficient adult and I'm able to buy things that interest me. I don't have to worry as much about saving up for a console or asking for one for Christmas. It's kind of allowed me to have a really honest perspective on the whole thing because I have no need to pick sides and no horse in the race. Whatever wows me, is the one I'd buy. And it's been really interesting watching the total fucking train wreck of a year its been on both sides of the aisle. In a weird way, it's kind of whoever fucks it up the least at this point.

As far as graphics go I think the gap has been smaller every generation since the 64 and ps1. In terms of genres and mechanics, that's not the kind of thing that happens overnight. We'll have to see what develops over the course of the next year or two. As far as services and neat new features go, it may not seem like much yet, but we're in a much better position to have new stuff roll out than we've been in the past. I think the Gaikai streaming stuff is potentially incredible, but we don't have that yet.

So basically "We'll see."

Too soon

Honestly we kind of got more than we deserved last gen. We got machines that cost hundreds more to build than we bought them for, and the huge gap in technology actually priced many mid-tier developers out of the market. This may seem like a crazy opinion to many but I believe the gap was too large last gen.

too soon to tell. right now we are getting last gen ideas and last gen assets repackaged.

I think we might see a pretty big step up in dynamic worlds and rudimentary learning AIs this gen. Give it a year or two.

It really feels like a stopgap solution to me. I seriously doubt either system will do well with 4k gaming.

It just feels like the PS 3.5 and the Xbox 540.

I'm actually much more excited for this gen of games than I was at the start of the last gen, even though I'm not exactly sure why. I remember when last gen started I could not have possibly cared less.

@l4wd0g: 4k gaming has basically no chance of being anything in the near future anyway.

@zeik: you don't think so? I was hoping 2-3 years before it's affordable. There's a good chance I'm wrong.

I just remember Larry Hryb making a big out the Xbox One's HDMI port (or was it the cable?) being 4k ready.

@l4wd0g: I think in 2-3 years the most hardcore will consider maybe possibly investing in it. It will have to gain a lot more traction than that for developers to legitimately consider developing with it in mind.

Timing wise it couldn't have come sooner. Hopefully this gen won't be as long as the last one, considering the tech is already meh.

I am excited mainly because I want to see what the Japanese devs what they will bring out.

@zeik: makes sense. They would need mass market adoption to make it fiscally viable. Probably not going to happen in the next 4-8 years given development times. I guess we'll see a bunch of upressed content. Hopefully it looks and plays OK.

i remember how revolutionary half life 2 was. that was a big jump in my estimation. Remember the barrel demo and how amazing that was? Nothing like that now.

To be honest, I think its about the same as the last generation gap. I remember thinking the latest games in the PS2/XBox lineup looked on par with many of the early games of the PS3/360 lineup. HD and maturity of the generation helped cement the idea that it was, indeed, a gap, but at the time, I was mostly unimpressed.

Something similar happened with the PS1 to PS2 gap. I don't think I have seen a large enough gap to be truly impressed with since the SNES to N64/PS1 gap.

That's a very good point. Not only they were losing hundreds on each sale, in the previous generation we saw horrible failure rates and very high prices in what was a strong fight between Microsoft and Sony to become the leader. Meanwhile the Wii was selling millions with a better profit margin due to different ideas.

In this case, they seem to be taking it easy on the technology and trying to add some ideas to make a difference, like kinect and integration as a very smart TV for Microsoft and a stronger focus on the social and online aspect for Sony.

IMHO, they will need to get some momentum (i.e. AAA exclusives) fast, before the steam machines arrive, or we will see a strong pricefight (I really hope to see it).

My excitement after buying new stuff lasts 24h at the most.

I've owned gaming systems since the SNES/Mario World bundle, and this is the first cycle in my lifetime that I haven't owned the console I'd decided to run with for the cycle on launch day. I still very much plan to stick with Sony and go with a PS4, but I just didn't feel like I needed it right away. Thanks to PS+, along with just the general high quality of the games that have been released on that system (PS3), I've still got a ton of stuff I'd like to play more of or for the first time. Hell, I'm on my third playthrough of GTA V and NBA 2K13 is still holding up over a year and 300 online ranked matches later.

But when the N64 came out and you saw Mario do a double jump for the first time, or the PS1 with that Resident Evil intro cinematic and taking baseball from cartoonish, arcadey Ken Griffey to polygonal, simulation Triple Play, or the PS2 saying, "fuck your free time, here's Smuggler's Run with its seemingly infinite wildernesses and the first football video game that actually kind of feels like football" that had me scrounging all my change over the summer for one. I could even see myself eventually lapsing on my March self-promise and waiting until the fall to see what happens there.

I started at "cleary less" and worked my way down to "about the same" after really remembering how it was.

There is a whole lot less graphical "wow"ing going on, but I almost think that's a good thing, since it means I gotta focus on the games and the mechanics themselves to get excited. That said, nothing on the new consoles is really exciting me. Strange to say it, but the only games I'm really looking forward to right now are Persona 5 and Drakengard 3 (saying the latter feels so damned wrong), and those are both gonna be on PS3. Elsewise, I'm looking at the PC market for my next gen goodness

So far I have no interest in owning a ps4 or One. Im more into the Wii U, but even it doesn't have me very excited.