Moving Forward

If history has taught us anything is that every five or so years a new console generation comes into. As gaming is pretty much a consumer-driven culture, nothing can really stay stable as long as people are willing to throw their money away.

Now that we are five years, going on six, into the seventh generation one has to wonder: Where do we go from here?
I see motion controls gathering interest. I see downloadable services like the Virtual Console and the PSN preserve games from obsolete platforms. I see sequels being made, old IP being dusted off and franchises being run into the ground. I see WOW players far easily willing to forget they have life. I see bedroom developers being given a lot of chance to come forward and show what they can do. I see a lot of invention but far less innovation. I see a lot of businesses and educational facilities taking notice about gaming where previously they showed little to no interest.

So yes, games are now more popular than ever and with such a victory, there is a lot of good and, at the same time, a lot of bad. But for me, I’m wondering where do we go from here? Gaming technology is always moving forward but is there anything left to do?
If anything, I believe that the current generation has proven that gamers have sense of preservation and will gladly keep on playing the same thing.
Examples:
- With the Virtual Console/PSN/XBLA, it is proven that people will gladly pay out for games they already have/had.
- Having Rock Band DLC compatible with future titles.
- Having XBLA profiles where people can share scores and what games they play seems more like a long-term move (kinda makes you wonder what scores will be like in ten years from now…….)

I see nothing wrong with preservation: After all if a game works then it can keep on working. Yet, with the idea of looking backwards, it kinda makes you wonder if so much has accomplished before, then is there anything left to do?

Ten years ago, Sega and the Dreamcast were on the way out, the Xbox was but a distant speck on the horizon, and the Playstation 2 had gotten off on a rocky start drawing more attention as a DVD player than a games console. Mass media attention was given to the development of a game called Metal Gear Solid 2, Everquest was ruling the MMPRG roost and the hundredth million Gameboy was sold.

So a lot can happen in ten years – I wonder what’s in store for the next ten…..?