What will gamers remember most about this generation of consoles?

Written by kube00, Erik Kubik Wednesday, 18 May 2011 05:00

This generation of consoles has been one of the most memorable for a lot of gamers. For many of us we finally had the means to go all out and buy everything. But with the announcement of Nintendo’s new console it's time to start looking toward the future. As gamers we have to ask ourselves what will we remember most of the big 3 this generation?

There’s both bad and good to be remembered. I’m sure most gamers will always remember the 360’s RROD and how almost everyone we knew had at least one 360 fail. Some of us had 3 or 4. Yet for the most part Microsoft admitted to their mistake and offered to fix them while extending the warranty. For owners of the 360 this was a win-win situation most of the time. We can look back and think about how well Xbox Live worked. Ignoring the plethora of 12-year olds swearing in Halo 3, the online play, game matching, interacting with friends, and utilizing media such as Netflix and HuluPlus showed gamers that the 360 could be the center of their entertainment world. And then there's Kinect... Love it or hate it, the Kinect's successful sales blew away Microsoft’s expectations. And who can forget the games and the multi-million dollar franchises: Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Halo, Gears of War, Alan Wake, Grand Theft Auto IV, Mass Effect, Red Dead Redemption and a host of others.

What about the Wii? Nintendo wasn’t content with being third like it had for the last two generations with the GameCube and N64. Nope, Nintendo introduced gamers and non-gamers to a new gaming concept, motion controls. All of a sudden Wii’s were flying off the shelf and everyone had one. It became the perfect console for a family. I think some of us will look back and question Nintendo’s success with motion controls. In some games the motion controls were terrible, while other games could have done without them completely. Nintendo also attempted to cash in on online gaming. The friends codes for online play was a good idea but it was executed poorly. I think most gamers will remember the Wii as having some of the worst games of the generation but at the same time having some of the best console exclusives: Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, Twilight Princess, Donkey Kong Country Returns, New Super Mario Brothers as well as many others.

Sony’s PlayStation, what will gamers remember about it? Well PSN getting hacked and user’s information becoming compromised will be something none of us forget. Gamers will remember how Sony removed backwards compatibly and the ability to use Linux from its PS3s. At the same time the PS3 pioneered the use of Blu-Rays, making the PS3 a good investment and a well rounded piece of entertainment equipment. Fans and critics alike will remember that online play through PSN was free. Furthermore, I think gamers will remember the PlayStation Move and the concept of Home as being interesting and unique, but never really taking off. But the PS3 will be remembered for having reliable hardware and having some great exclusives. Games like Uncharted 2, Ratchet and Clank, inFamous, Killzone 3, LittleBigPlanet, God of War III, MLB the Show, were just some of the great titles gamers got to play on the PS3.

Well readers, how will you remember this generation of consoles?