Since its inception, the video game has advanced far beyond a ball and a paddle. Nearly every game that is released today would have been impossible on yesterday’s hardware, but those advances have started to slow recently. Many of this generation’s most impressive games could have been developed for the Playstation 2 and would still look very impressive. Granted, we do have some games that really push the hardware of these new consoles. Santa Monica has stated that to render Kratos’ character model in God of War III, they would need the processing power of no less than four Playstation 2 consoles, and that number may be skewed by memory. Naughty Dog has also bluntly stated that Uncharted 2 couldn’t run on Xbox 360, let alone Xbox. Then again, Metal Gear Solid 3 was originally intended for the Playstation 3, but then became one of last generation’s finest titles. So, that begs the question, what has this generation of consoles accomplished?
The obvious answer would be online support. Each console now can connect to a broadband wireless connection right out of the box. The Wii is the only one that does not support a wired connection right away. The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 both have a robust online model. Players can chat, find games with total strangers, play games with friends no matter how far away they may be, and even video chat. Unless, of course, you are on Wii.
Achievements are also one of the first things that may come to mind. That little “ping” we hear after finishing a story, falling 30,000 feet, or by shooting three guys with a Spartan Laser is unmistakable. Unless, of course, you are on Wii.
Making wireless controllers the standard is another major advancement of this generation. Early wireless controllers worked by infrared, much like a television remote, but the Gamecube Wavebird revolutionized wireless technology for video games. Each system, even Wii, has no wires to leash players to their consoles.
Perhaps my favorite revolution of this generation is motion control. Before the moans and pitchforks come out, let me explain. Games have become very complicated. Ever since the SNES tripled the number of action buttons that were available on the NES, they have been added constantly, making games less approachable. Before, it was “this is move, this is jump.” Now, it is “this is to move, this is to look, this is to open your inventory, this is to use an item, this is to fire your weapon, etc.” Motion has allowed games to stay complex, but it also has allowed the complex action to make sense. Punching is no longer a complicated system of analog and button control, now it is just simply “punch.” Games can now reach a much wider audience thanks to streamlined, but still versatile ways of interacting. Especially of you’re on Wii, where it has had the technology for the longest.
The term has always been associated with better graphics and faster processors. With this generation, the industry has completely changed. Friends can play games again, more people can discover this incredible medium, and we still get the new flashy graphics of what we expect from a next-gen platform. Now that the newest generation of consoles is on the horizon, what should we expect? Digital distribution? Even newer ways to interact? We’ll just have to wait and see.
