I’m Apprehensive about the Next Generation of Consoles

It’s hard to believe that it has already been over six years since the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but alas time has flown by and we’re already on the horizon of the next generation of consoles, with the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 launching sometime later in the year. There’s always a widespread buzz and excitement prior to new console launches that nothing else in the industry can quite capture, and it’s not hard to understand the reason why: for all intents and purposes, it’s the future of the industry knocking on our collective door.

Despite this, I’ve always had a certain apprehension towards next generation console launches. Sure, I’m interested to see the new innovations and technical leaps that are brought to the table, but there’s always a concern that digs at the back of my mind, tempering my enthusiasm for the early days of console launches; the potential weak launch line-ups and the near-inevitable early lifecycle drought.

I think most would agree that the PlayStation 4 has had the larger collection of high-quality software throughout its lifespan than its direct competitor the Xbox One, but let’s take a look back at how long it took to get the ball rolling. When peering back at the now over-100-million-sellers launch line-up, it’s actually a pretty meagre selection.

There was a fair bit of variety for early adopters with a total of 26 available titles at launch, but very few of them were exclusive to next-generation hardware, and even fewer were of a truly exceptional quality (if any). All of the big industry staples such as Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed and Fifa were also available on the previous generation hardware, with the difference in quality being rather minimal (unless you’re a stickler for resolution).

What’s even worse is that exclusive PlayStation 4 launch titles such as Knack and Killzone Shadow Fall were mostly met with indifference by players, with the former only being remembered over time as a joke for how it failed to come close to the quality of the better 3D mascot platformers. Indie title Resogun definitely received its fair share of love and enthusiasm, but the arcade-y shoot ‘em up was hardly blowing anyone’s mind by showcasing things that could only be done on the (at the time) shiny new console.

The Xbox One’s debut releases didn’t leave much of an impact either. Its strongest launch exclusive was Forza Motorsport 5 which was a treat for racing fans, showcasing the power of the next-generation hardware. Players less enthused by the racing genre were left with rather mediocre pickings at launch: Crimson Dragon, Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome and the at-the-time barebones Killer Instinct.

Even systems in the past that had killer apps at launch, such as the Nintendo 64 with the revolutionary Super Mario 64, or the original Xbox that launched with Halo: Combat Evolved (the game that completely altered the landscape of console shooters) suffered soon after due to a lack of other software of the same quality.

All of this is to say that even if the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X launch with a couple of killer apps, what’s next? Single games can only last for so long, and even if a console’s launch is stacked with numerous high-quality next generation titles, that likely just means that the wait for the next batch of strong releases will be even longer.

It seems likely that the PlayStation 5 could have some standout titles day one, with a potential sequel to one of this generation’s big exclusives such as Horizon: Zero Dawn or the highly rumoured and speculated Demon’s Souls remake being there, but how long will it take for the wheels to start turning again after that? The first year or so was an absolute crawl for the PlayStation 4, with 2015’s Bloodborne being the first exclusive for the system to really turn heads.

It’s hard to get too enthusiastic for the Xbox Series X’s launch as well when its single confirmed launch title is Halo: Infinite, a game that will also be playable on the Xbox One family of consoles. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is also in development for the console, and is sure to garner a good amount of attention and praise when it finally releases, but as of right now we have no word on when that’s coming.

I have no doubt that both of these consoles have the potential to be massive successes, and I’m not here to dampen anyone’s excitement for their impending releases. Once more news starts rolling out about these systems later in the year and we get a glimpse at some of the titles that will be available exclusively to them, excitement and discussion is sure to rise. I just find it hard to be enthused by the early days of the next generation of consoles when history has shown that they can be a slow and barren wasteland of truly great new releases.