The Silent Protagonist and The New Console Wars

I hate the middle ground.

That's where I am right now. In terms of consoles right now. I'm previous gen. I own a Wii and Xbox 360. I plan on getting a PS3 near in the future, and my PC is nowhere near new enough to be considered next-gen. However, thanks to the magic of the internet, I can follow the happenings of the newer systems and hear the worlds opinion of the next generation of video games.

I have no idea what to think anymore.

There are so many different opinions on the new systems. Critics that I'm unable to trust. User reviews that are terrifyingly biased. So many features that mean nothing to me but so much to others. The words "Social Integration" ring in my mind for the PS4. "Always Online DRM" for Xbox One. But oh wait, Microsoft back peddled away from that at E3. The systems were changing so much in the months leading to the release, so much so that opinions were flying everywhere. Then they actually released and opinions were flying all over the internet. Now however, I think the dust has settled enough to get some short history and some current opinions from a gamer trapped in the last generation. I just need to get it out there.

Where to start though? I guess the release of Nintendo's contender for the next generation, the Wii U, is a good place to start. Now technacly, just based on the time of its release, the Wii U, much like in the previous generation, would be the weakest in terms of power. However releasing as early as it did means it had an extra year to have games released for it and have sales make their move. However they had a big problem. Not the original price, because I think $350 for a console bundle that comes with a game is perfectly reasonable due to the fact that a game for it would cost $60 anyways. The problem was that at launch, there were no bloody games for the thing. Mario, Nintendo Land, and... well for 2012, that was basically it. The 3DS had the same problem at its launch, have no noteworthy games for it that weren't ports at launch, waiting to release all the good stuff until the fall season of that year. This caused sales to suffer for that system leading to a price drop of over $80 in less than a year of the system being released. Now the Wii U had some more noteworthy games be released before its big fall Nintendo wave, like Monster Hunter 3 Tri, Lego City Undercover, and Pikmin 3 in Spring and Summer respectively, but initial fall sales at launch suffered due to a lack of games, something we'll see later on. Its December now, and Nintendo really sitting pretty with a strong wave of games, like The Wonderful 101, Super Mario 3D World, and Zelda The Wind Waker HD, with even more released like Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Bayonetta 2, X, and Smash Bros still on the way.

Now about Sony and Microsoft...

Nintendo had the Wii U under its belt for a few months beginning to show its true colors and potential as more than just a Wii with a tablet. Sony and Microsoft had to jump onto the next generation before Nintendo got too far ahead. So Sony introduces the PS4. Problem was, no one knew what it could do. You could press a button to do social things with friends playing a game. And that was about it. We couldn't even see what the system looked like, only being able to see the strange controller, and being given reassurance that more info would come at E3. And not too long later, Microsoft announced the Xbox One. And the response was universally negative. No games announced, always online, Kinect always watching, no used games, and the only thing being worth it about it was that it could watch TV ladie-da. This right here was where it all began. Nintendo with a system with few games on it while Sony and Microsoft announced systems of unknown quality.

Flash forward to the big gaming event. E3. Where all the big games for the next year are announced, and the big three make their big move at the conferences. Since the topic is consoles, I won't talk about Nintendo's conference. No new system features were announced, and we already know how it went(SMASSSSSSHHHHHHH BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!!!!! WITH MEGA MAN!)
Sony made the move first, a whole day before Nintendo and Microsoft. And it was blown out of the park. We finally say the system in action, with game announcements of Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts III, and Batman Arkham Origins with exclusive content. But best of all: No DRM. No always online. Used games allowed. Basically everything Microsoft was doing wrong, Sony did right. The system was only $400 dollars, and for the next generation, was looking to be the big winner. When Microsoft showed the big One (See what I did there?), it was unremarkable to say the least. All previous problems still in effect, no big system sellers announced, and a hefty price of $500. Next thing we knew, E3 was over and Sony was standing on top as the clear winner.

Until the Xbox 180.

Not long after E3 and Sony's major win there, Microsoft went back and completely redid the Xbox One. No DRM, no always online, used games allowed, things like that. Bigger problems like a lack of games and a large price tag were still there, but problems that were repelling big Xbox fans away were gone, and fans slowly started shuffling back. At this point, a clear winner for the fall season was still Sony though so only time would be able to tell what would happen.

So it was the eve of November the 15th. The PlayStation 4 was ready to hit the shelves the next day. With the Wii U priced at a dropped price of $300, the PS4 at $400, and the Xbox One, set to be released the next week, at $500, it was finally time to see the next generation unfold. And then people played their PS4. Bricked Systems. No video signals, disc reading issues. PSN not working. Problems for the unfortunate that were given bad systems had to go through. And the Wii U's problem was in play. Exclusive games for the PS4 were largely just Knack and Killzone. Kanck was mixed and Killzone was just okay. So here we were, with a system we thought was going to be the day one winner blowing up everyone's expectations in one fell swoop. Disappointment was in the air, and it will take time for the PS4 to show that amazing shine it did at E3 again and impress us again now that its actually out.

But wait. There's more...

November 22nd. If you weren't out watching Catching Fire or patiently waiting for Zelda: Link Between Worlds or Mario 3D World, you were waiting for the Xbox One. Perhaps it would stand out over the PS4 after all, and be the surprise first victor of the next generation of video games.

Not likely.

Anything the PS4 did wrong at launch, the Xbox One did. Bricked systems, disc reading issues, and more, the only difference between being unlucky here and unlucky at the PS4 was that the Xbox One cost an extra $100. And if you got a functioning system, what would you play? Ryse is the only exclusive game I can think of on the Xbox One, and all the other games I can get on my 360. So the first round went to Sony, but that still doesn't mean they dominated like they did at E3. The shine for the big two competitors has dulled. Meanwhile, Nintendos pulling out all the stops this holiday season with Mario, Zelda and is capturing everyone while Sony and Microsoft make their move.

Only time is going to tell how this will play out. The PS4 and Xbox One will continue to be at each others throats while Nintendo sits back on its pile of money. PC will be placing bets on who will win while Steam makes its transition into the SteamOS. And truth be told, I have no idea how the next few months or even years will play out. My moneys on Nintendo however. It may be just because I've been playing Nintendo for the biggest part of my life, but it just seems to have the most games coming out for it. I have high hopes for Sony however. The PlayStation 4 showed so much promise at E3, and the PlayStation line of consoles have always impressed me. The Xbox One seems like a lost cause at the moment, so whether it makes a comeback is up to who wants to work with the system and what they make for it. And PCs will stay as PCs are.

Is this what the console wars were like in the 90s? Where it was Nintendo vs. Sega with the SNES and Genesis? In fact, was this what it was like seven years ago, with the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3? I can't remember anymore. If it was, it was nowhere near as noticeable. Thanks to the wonderful world of the internet, any and all opinions of these new consoles are very clear and can be viewed. And many are hard to ignore as they are all over the place. However many are biased, and feel like they are sloppy reasons to choose one system over another. But is that what I'm doing? No. I like to believe that I am largely unbiased as a "critic", and have good things to say about all systems of the previous generation. The Wii had games for the family, the PS3 had games for more "hardcore" gamers, and the Xbox 360 had everything else. Throughout this writing I have made note of the flaws with each system and their launch, as well as some of the positives. I just felt that amidst all of the all of the tweets, posts, and reviews, an opinion that remains largely unbiased with a good understanding of the recent months might leave an impression and help shed some light on the current Console Wars.

The original wars ended years ago with the deaths of Atari and Sega as console manufacturers and the rise of Sony and Microsoft. During the last generation tensions raised. Now it escalated to a full on New Console War. And there's no end in sight. The war is just beginning...

The Silent Protagonist knows one thing for sure. "War...war never changes..."

All images are the property of their original owners. If I could make this stuff, I'd have a different occupation.

Thanks to all who read this in its entirety. Making long writing pieces like this take more time than one might think, especially when juggling this with school and things of the sort. Also today, December 14th, is The Silent Protagonist's birthday! Just thought you'd like to know...

Also, the links page has been replaced with The Silent Protagonist's Content Hub World. In short, it's a more detailed links page with details of where you can find me, and how often I'll update where you find me. And speaking of updates, updates will occur there from here on out. Just click on that happy little button on the top there and go to the new page.