I would have tended to say it is worth waiting for the first wave of greatest hits versions come out, but with how fast games go on sale, just pick up the console when there are 5 games you want to play and they are at prices that are acceptable to you. Maybe give microsoft consoles an extra 6 months to verify there is nothing super wrong with them at the time of release though (if you don't like endless RMAs anyway). Ultimately, the price of a console dropping by $100 for waiting a couple years is a minor point compared to the amount of money spent on the platform.
And, if you are financially responsible, I suppose waiting to clear out your back catalog before moving to a new system is the sensible thing. Though I would tend to just divide between new and back catalog titles instead.
Financially, at the very end so you can get the best SKUs at the lowest prices and many of the system's best games will be sold new at budget prices, while many of its dud AAA titles and more obscure quality titles will have been rooted out by the gaming public, allowing you to effectively ignore the lenient review sector of games journalism.
Emotionally, at the very beginning so you can essentially grow along with the console and feel closer to its mistakes and successes, as well as get wrapped up in the hype cycles and feel more invested in the console. There is higher risk reward with early adoption, but you can get greater satisfaction out of being "in the moment" if money isn't such an issue for you.
I prefer early adoption and going along for the ride, but I didn't get a PS3 until late 2008, a SNES or Gameboy Color until late in their cycles and a PS1 (Crash 3) or N64 (Goldeneye) until a little later as well. The only system I've gotten early was the PS2, which I saved for all summer in middle school so I could get on launch day. I still have fond memories of Smuggler's Run to this day as a result.
In the past I've picked up new game consoles after their first price drop.
I usually go by either a price drop or when the game library makes it irresistible. I've found most of the time these two factors occur around the same time.
Always 2 years in, it's when the actually good games start coming out that don't feel like launch game designs, and the tech is becoming familiar. That way, 2 years in, AAA titles start to pick up rapidly until the end of the console cycle, happens every time. Also, 2 years in there are usually console redesigns, and pretty much every software flaw is ironed out.
Depends on if theres a huge multiplayer game you want to really play. For instance, you can't find people playing stuff like The Outfit, Bioshock 2, the community is slim for Shadowrun, and you can't even play Chromehounds anymore.
I would all ways recommend waiting until there are at least 10 games that you really want to play that you can't because you don't have the console. But this is different for everyone. I bought a Gamecube near the end of it's life cycle and had an awesome time. But I probably missed out on a lot of early cycle excitement because of it. I usually buy all the consoles at launch now. But hey, that's just me.... Also, not buying a Wii U. So I guess I'm breaking my own trend. LOL
Day one. That's when it matters the most, at least to me. Afterwards, you pretty much won't care for the launch titles you might have missed, since their quality will be way below current standards. There's no buzz for a console two years later, and as a gamer, I just can't wait years to play my exclusives.
But hey, if you're patient, then wait. If you can, that is.
It just depends on the games. In my opinion the last launch that had a good amount of quality games to buy day one was the Gamecube. Most of the time though I won't buy a system if it doesn't have any quality games (I never bought a PSP due to lack of software). There really isn't a time limit per say. For instance, I am going to get a 3DS soon but didn't buy a DS until about 4 years after the launch.
I think launch is a pretty horrible time to buy consoles no matter which way you slice it. You're getting what will almost definitely be the worst version of the console, for the most money, to play only a couple of games that never even fully utilize what's good about the hardware, there's basically no advantage, it's just sheer impatience. You guys can feel free to quote this to me next year when I'm raving about my new ps4 however.
Depends on if it's the first console of the generation for you or not. I picked up the xbox360 about 6 months after launch but could have gone up to a year. Didn't pick up a PS3 until about 3 years after launch when there were enough exclusives to pique my interest. It really depends on the games but I'll want to be onboard each generation within a year. Since this generation has gone on so long I'll probably het on board as soon as the next xbox or ps is out
I think after the first price drop, im not planning on getting any of the new consoles right away unless a exclusive really lures me in. For what new consoles cost compared to what hardware is actually in them i think id rather get a new video card or just some ammo for my ar-15..
Got 360 at launch and didn't regret it at all (they've probably replaced it 5 times all without any charge). Waited on PS3 until right when they launched the slim. Never used it much other than the occasional Blu ray and the Uncharted series.
I also waited about a year on the PS2 and got a Wii at launch, which was used exclusively for Wii Sports bowling for a couple months, then never again outside of Mario Galaxy.
I have a huge backlog, but I'll probably end up with the new Xbox near launch regardless (I'll never have a capable enough PC to go that route)
If you only play console then day one is probably going to have some wow factor. I doubt the new consoles are going to do much for me when I've been playing the likes of BF3 and The Witcher 2 on ultra.
I'd say I'm going to wait 2 years, but then again that seems really pointless because I won't even be in the same country and I can't take any of my consoles over to where I'm going due to voltage differences.
I might just stick to PC gaming for a few years until I have a permanent residence... (buy new power supply, take PC to other country, profit)
Pretty much right up front, if it's an actual primary console (of course Wii and Wii-U and handhelds do NOT count).
For PCs you should wait 24 months after the console comes out then buy all near top-of-the-line parts to make sure it can run all console ports at full speed and higher settings. But if a new processor comes out after 25 or 26 months, you should wait a little longer and get those instead. Getting the latest generation parts is extremely important.
Log in to comment