Is it just me, or has the build up to the next-gen consoles been really, really boring so far? According to reports, both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are supposed to be out by the end of this year, and what have we seen up to this point? Logos, specs, controllers, and a tech demo. A very cool tech demo, yes, but a tech demo all the same.
What we haven't seen - at least in any substantial capacity - is a next-gen game in action. Microsoft got us all hot under the collar last week when it promised a big third-party Xbox Series X gameplay reveal... but that ended up being such a dud that the company actually came out and apologised for playing setting our expectations too high.
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I'd consider myself the kind of gamer that's super invested in the industry, so I obviously have some interest when Sony unveils the logo for the PS5 or Microsoft unveils the Xbox Series X specs... but even I have my limits. At a certain point, when we're still talking about the PS5's apparently godlike SSD and Microsoft continues to bang on about backwards compatibility while withholding any information on new games, you have to wonder:
Who gives a crap? Who gives enough of a crap to stay invested in this painfully dull drip-feed of information for this long? They've already lost me, and it's my job to care about this stuff. I keep thinking about the gamers who don't necessarily care about specs and hardware, the ones who just want to see what cool games they'll get to play. They must be wondering what on earth is happening. I know I am.
The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are supposed to be the most powerful consoles to date. Yeah, we get that. We've known for months now. Maybe you should show us what they can do. Show us why we should be excited for these consoles for reasons other than storage space and loading times.
It's time to see the worlds we're going to be able to explore, the characters we're going to meet, and the adventures we're gonna have. I'm not saying I need to see Halo Infinite and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, but we need something to get invested in. Something that helps give each console an identity beyond its specs and opening animations - which, by the way, are so similar it's not even funny at this point.
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I'm aware that this rant is coming just as both companies are, in fact, gearing up to show off games.According to multiple reports, Sony will be talking a lot more about the PlayStation 5 towards the end of this month/the start of June. We also know that Microsoft has big plans for Xbox Series X throughout July.
Even so, the way both companies have handled sharing information about next-gen so far has left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. I appreciate there may have been some factors that took a lot of things out of their hands - especially recently - but the thrust of these reveals from the very beginning have been so specs-heavy that it's like we've all forgotten it's the games that make a console - not the hardware.
Hopefully over the next few months we can start to focus on what really matters, and why we're all really excited about next-gen. After all, what's the point in having all those Teraflops to brag about if you haven't got anything decent to play?
Featured Image Credit: Sony/MicrosoftTopics: PlayStation 5, PS5, Xbox Series X