Would you ever consider skipping a console generation?

Just a random thought I had thinking about the coming generation. Not due to anything specific, just a curiosity. I am not sure what one would gain, except money and time perhaps. But either way, would you?

Are we talking about skipping buying consoles or skipping playing games altogether?

Yes. Why? PC/

@beachthunder: Well if you don't buy but can still play the games in another way, you're sort of still taking part in the generation albeit through other means. I don't necessarily imply you need to be on a complete blackout of what's going on in the industry, but at least completely skip gaming a generation.

And @zelsthat's very clever, but it's side-stepping the essence of the question.

Nah, I like games.
So having a PC and the consoles for exclusive games is always what I do.
Might skip out on the new Xbox though and then get a PS4 and just have fun with that and my PC (and the Vita)

After I got a job the whole money issue that I had when I was in school went away so that's never really an issue for me anymore.

Yes, as a matter of fact, I did skip the PS1 generation; so I guess I could skip another generation if I feel like it.

@zels said:

Yeah, I'm debating whether to even invest in this new generation of consoles, given that it seems easier than ever for devs to make competent PC ports of PS4 and Durango games. There's a chance they may still keep console exclusives off of PC (Halo, Forza, God of War, etc.), but otherwise it seems like damn near everything makes its way to PC, and at a more competitive price. I increasingly don't see why people buy Sony or Microsoft consoles when they could instead build a computer or get a friend to help them build one.

I mean, if this were the generation where Nintendo suddenly got their act together and went bananas, reinventing every series as if it were the Gamecube era, then maybe I would get a Wii U just to play this hypothetical mindboggling Zelda/Metroid/some actually new series. But if Link to the Past 2 and Wind Waker HD are any indication, Nintendo doesn't know what to do with any of its series and is desperately mining nostalgia, so for now I'm not particularly stoked to buy a Wii U.

Considering all the factors at play, I don't think it's crazy to think that the next generation of console hardware from MS and Sony could be on shelves for a decade before they have true successors released. I personally can't see myself possessing the restraint and strength of will to resist playing games for that long.

I'm not capable of building my own gaming pc and I'll want new games as they come out. So no.

I'm considering skipping this one.

never

This industry changes very quickly. In the time it's taken for PC to resurge again it could just as easily drop back to "PC IS DEAD". It's the nature of the console cycle and the nature of the gaming industry is that things could start trending in strange directions for a variety of reasons based on a variety of variables. It's possible PC could still be looking as strong in a year as it is now, the recent interest in things like the occulus rift, kickstarter and steams continued dominance all bode well for the immediate future, though with the shiny new consoles and franchises I predict it might be floating around third place for attention for the next few years.

If steam can keep building on it's big picture mode to deliver something as functional and attractive as what the consoles are offering though, it could really take a chunk out of Microsoft and Sony. With them holding off so long to deliver new consoles there's now a pretty sizable piece of their audience who are now confident and unintimidated pc owners. If the consoles don't push exclusives and sell the brand, they are at risk of becoming restrictive, out dated pc's within a couple years.

But who knows, maybe Nintendo will suddenly invent holograms or something and turn everything on its head again. Damn Nintendo.

I wonder if I honestly could. If I did I'd probably have to give up Giant Bomb as well cause the temptation of video game news coverage would be too much for me. Don't want to really do that now.

Just built a PC and unless the Xbox reveal wows me, im not gonna buy that. Not 100% sure on the PS4 though. I like Sony's exclusives.

I could swear there was a thread just like this one, not even a week ago.

If I had a kick-ass PC and all of Sony's IPs were suddenly available on the PC platform then yeah sure.

@rowr: Yeah, I doubt PC will really gain much more market share or anything, but given how the architecture of the consoles is changing to be in line with PCs, I expect PC releases to be more of a guarantee because it will take little developer effort (leaving only business reasons to prevent something from coming to PC).

When I say "I don't see why people bother with Sony and Microsoft", I guess I don't mean it, because I do see how the convenience will always be appealing. But if you're even remotely dedicated to gaming, it just surprises me that people can't be bothered to get someone to help them build a computer and then get games that are usually cheaper and usually look better (better resolution, frame rate, anti-aliasing, etc.). And the storefront/social features of Steam are just as good and in some ways better than Sony and Microsoft's equivalent, though the PS4 does have some new bells and whistles in terms of all of its streaming integration and sharing stuff (though Steam is increasingly doing that stuff as well).

The only two console generations I partook in with my own hard-earned money were the Gamecube and the 360. Before that, all of my console acquisitions were via family hand-me-downs and sheer luck in my parents buying me stuff. Other than that, I've always endeavored to own a decent PC (though only recently has that ever been a reality).

Given the length of time that has passed between the past two consoles? I'd surely prefer to keep current enough to enjoy modern games by owning at least one "current gen" console (in this age, defined between Microsoft and Sony). Gaming is a passionate enough hobby of mine that I've the cssh set aside for such extravagant purchases anyway. At least for the time being, until I have a family to support.

Probably not, they're too long with too many games that aren't on pc

Steam is not going away, with new consoles being simply streamlined/specialized PCs now, I see no reason to get into the console market when I already have a PC.

Nope don't think I could. I've had at least one system from every generation going back to the NES and pretty much always have a competent PC to supplement. It would be weird to skip.

Some day, sure. Who knows where the console market is going to go. But Sony's amazing first party entries this generation have earned them my loyalty going into the next one.

I kind of skipped the PS1/N64 era for the most part. Only ever played Mario Kart and Super Smash Bro's.

I've considered skipping it many times but it hasn't happened yet. I'm also way more into PC gaming now then I was during the whole PS1 to PS3/360 stretch, so I'll skulk in the shadows for the coming generation and if there are exclusives or tech that interests me, snag a new console or two.

I feel like I have skipped generations before, but then I think back and realize I have owned one console from each Gen. I didn't play any PSX games until I got a PS2, but I did have an N64, so I guess I have never missed a single console generation. That is something I've never thought about before. I very nearly skipped the PS2/XBOX/GC gen, but ended up with both a PS2 and GC and a pretty big library of used games by the end.

I'm sure I will skip one someday, but I will most likely be getting a PS4 unless Microsoft can put out something that isn't the total mess I'm expecting from them.

It gets a little harder every year to justify the amount of money and time I spend on games, so sure, I could see myself giving it up for five or six years. I don't think I'd ever stop looking up game coverage though - I'd want to feed my addiction somehow - but if a generation of consoles ever looked like it just didn't have what I wanted in games, then I'd definitely at least give it up for a few years. I might be doing that with this coming generation. At least until I see a Bethesda RPG and cave just like I did with a 360. Hah!

I skipped the Wii/PS3/360 generation, so it's something I know I can do. I like my PC. If I find myself with enough excess cash, I might join in the console fun.

I won't skip out on my PC. But I'm already likely to delay or skip buying any consoles at all. Best case scenario is buying a PS4, two years from now at this rate.

Depends how many exclusives the big three acquire.

Never say never, but unless something dramatic happens in the industry or my life then no.

No I must have all systems from here to whenever.

Unless I can't afford it, I aim to own all major game systems, and own/play most of the quality games that I have time and money for. So no. Hell I'll probably even buy a Wii U one of these days. I may wait to buy games, but I plan on catching up and playing all the stuff that I really want to play at some point. I'm still catching up on old games now, so I doubt that'll ever happen, but I'll get a PS4 and next xbox and whatever and buy a ton of games.

No

I'm probably skipping this coming one.

Nope, great games come from all platforms so I'm going to experience as many as I can.

The generations are getting too long. This one started in 2005, and now in 2013 still have triple-A releases. Eight years is just way too long.

I skipped this current gen, have had consoles from 8-bit era to the PS2/Xbox one.

A co-worker is buying a PS4 and hes selling his PS3 and i might get that at the end of the year just so i can play The Last of Us though.

Other than that im quite happy with what PC gaming offers me.

No way in hell. It's a hobby I'm far too invested in at this point to not play absolutely any new games for what could be another 8 years, or even more with the upcoming generation.

I've got a gaming PC bro, and I've been riding the PC train for nearly a decade now. Literally the only reason for me to own a console is for exclusives, which I'll pick up 5 years from now when the console and the games are really cheap (I finally bought a PS3 six months ago, for example).

I always try my best not to buy into consoles but so far the PlayStation consoles have managed to get enough quality exclusives to win me over. That said, more and more Japanese developers are putting their stuff out on the PC and my interest in Japanese games has significantly declined over the years so the number of meaningful exclusives is dwindling quickly. Also i will never trust Console manufacturers to have the foresight of designing consoles that will make it possible to play the games i buy now in 20 years whether it be because of hardware design or online architecture. On PC i know that it's always going to be possible 20 years down the line, 6 computers and 5 OS later to play my games, even if it has to be the community that do the work to make it happen. That's what i hate about consoles. They have been so shortsighted in preserving their legacy and my investment. Screw this.

Like i said, considering my declining interest in Japanese games and the fact more of them are coming to PC and by extension the declining number of exclusives that matter to me i'm hoping the PS3 will have been my last console.

With the wide variety of games out there & where my friends are all over the place, nope. I might skip some games or one platform over another but happy with the console game platforms currently & excited for the next.

I did skip the first several years of PS2 gen. Not intentionally. Life was not pleasant for a while there.

No goddamn way! That's at least seven years these days! That's nearly a tenth of a lifetime! You might as well ask me if I'd consider not watching any movies for seven years or television. Sure, why don't I just go live under a rock? I can't see what benefit there is in depriving yourself entirely of something you enjoy, if it doesn't hurt anyone.

Moderation is good, of course. I don't actually play games all that often these days. Still, some of the best times I've had in the past year have been when I played games with my old college friends who live two thousand miles from me. I couldn't connect with them like that without games.

Well, I've skipped every DS so far, so when I get my 3DS I'm going to have a ginormous library of games to choose from. That's going to be fun.

Nope.

I skipped the ps2 generation and have no regrets. Since I was travelling for a few years I wasn't about to lug a console and a tv around. Around that time I had lost interest with newer games anyways.

Thats not skipping a console generation. That's playing PC.

PC gaming gets ALOT due to consoles. A huge amount of PC games are also console games. To actually "skip a console generation" would be to skip all multiplatform/ports. I don't know your PC gaming habits so i can't comment, but i can assume most people who use this argument buy plenty of ports/multiplatform stuff.

Clearly he means buying the console but never getting any games for it.