A Year Of Game Changers
- Rob Hill
- Apr 19, 2016
- 6 min read
Change is afoot in the world of videogames and, by the time the year is out, you can expect the gaming map to be a wholly different place to what it was when it began. There will be three major additions to the gaming eco-system with VR headsets being made commercially available by Valve, Oculus, and Sony, there will potentially be a new Nintendo console at market (or at the very least it will be officially unveiled), and either one, or both, of Sony and Microsoft will have announced a strategy in which they detail their plans for a form of upgradable console. While 2014 and 2015 were slightly muted in terms of buzz, 2016 is almost overwhelmingly packed with things to talk about. However, through all the maelstrom of information and excitement, there remains a strong undercurrent of doubt and unease as to whether any of these new releases will succeed.
Virtual Revolution
The biggest, and probably the most newsworthy, of items is the introduction of VR into the consumer market. We have already seen the release of the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive (albeit with the caveat that many are yet to receive their purchases) and by October we will also have the PlayStation VR in our hands (or on our heads if you prefer).
In the run up to their respective release dates it was price that dominated talk. There is no denying that the high price point of the Rift (€699) and Vive (€899), along with the costs of having a PC capable of running games in VR, has placed them very much in the category of "specialist" or "enthusiast" hardware, but the general consensus seems to be that the tech works as described, and that is important. If VR is to succeed commercially, then it needs to do what it says on the box… i.e. immerse the individual in their virtual spaces.
There is a great deal of skepticism among the gaming public as to whether any of the experiences offered up by these headsets is worthy of being titled a game at all, but I think they are missing the point a little. If I am to convince my partner that there is some enjoyment to be gathered from donning an unwieldy face mask and visor for more than 30 seconds, then it is going to be the immersion that does it. Developers will find ways to make VR games enjoyable as their experience with the headsets and their control systems grows, but this is only going to be possible if the financial incentive to develop for them is there in the first place. And that is only going to be possible if there is large scale uptake of the technology.
Despite not having tried any of the headsets, I am fairly confident in the opinions of certain others that the technology is there, and I truly believe that the seeds are being sown for the VR revolution to succeed. However, the embarrassment factor that comes along with wearing these headsets in front of others, as well as other credible doubts over how to handle movement and other controls, remains and will no doubt prove a significant hurdle to overcome. But let us not forget, this is essentially the first iteration of this technology and as the years pass the hardware will no doubt improve and learn from its past mistakes.
Will VR succeed in 2016? I don’t know…I hope so. I, for one, am fully on board, but I think much will depend on how good Sony’s more affordable offering will be. E3 simply cannot come around quickly enough…
Enter the NX
So then we move on to Nintendo and their new system, the NX (code name). Details are thin on the ground at the moment, and probably little in the way of new information will be released prior to Nintendo’s June E3 Treehouse stream, but speculation as to what form the new console will take is rife.
Based on analysis of market trends and Nintendo’s own recent foray into the mobile gaming sector, as well as a revealing patent undertaken by Nintendo themselves last year, the consensus seems to be that the console will be both a regular system that can be played through the TV, and, perhaps more interestingly, something that can then be pocketed and then played on the go. How much of this speculation turns into hard coded fact is something we will have to wait a few more months yet to know, but if it is true then it is potentially very exciting. Nintendo are rightly lauded for their ability to innovate, and there is no doubting their credentials as a developer, but following on from the comparatively modest sales of the WiiU, the NX will no doubt be an important milestone for the company.
I have full confidence in Nintendo’s ability to deliver with the NX, but much will depend on their messaging. In a year of great change in the industry, it is important that Nintendo are able to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Based on the speculation, the NX is certainly doing this in regards the hardware and styling of the console, but that is only half of the battle. The Wii and Nintendo DS family became two of the top five selling consoles of all time because Nintendo were able to find the sweet spot in terms of marketing to a wider public than the traditional target audience. Whether they choose to aim the NX at the wider public again is a matter for discussion in itself, but even if they choose to focus more on the traditional market, and the successes of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One prove that, to a certain extent, demand is there, I believe the recipe for success is there.
Upgrades little consolation
This then brings us on to the final issue. If rumours are to be believed, both Sony and Microsoft have given a lot of thought to the idea of an updated version of their respective consoles. A story by Kotaku’s Patrick Klepek has lent a degree of credence to this, and breaking news from the website GiantBomb also seems to confirm that the plans are very much in Sony’s plans. Again, nothing concrete has emerged from either Sony or Microsoft in terms of confirming these rumours, or providing specs for any updates, but the feeling seems to be that this is going to happen.
As an early adopter of the PlayStation 4, I am unsure as to how I feel about this. Having spent €400 on my console less than two years ago, I am not sure if I am ready yet to then spend another similar amount to get the upgrade. Especially as I am almost certain to purchase a PSVR on release, this will be a huge amount of money that I will have spent should I decide to upgrade. Of course, Sony may choose to offer an easy upgrade path at a much more reasonable price point for those who already own a PlayStation 4, but without further news from Sony themselves the uncertainty and unease lingers.
The early indications seem to be that the upgraded console will simply allow for games within the PlayStation eco-system to run at an improved performance level and to be output at 4K (although it is unlikely that any games will natively output at such resolutions). It is highly unlikely that the console base will be split with certain games only working on one of the two versions, so that is some relief. However, the question remains… Is anybody really asking for this?
Sure, compared to the capabilities of modern PCs, the PS4, and Xbox One are a little underpowered, but the games we are being offered at the moment are still, on the whole, impressive. Do we really need that extra horsepower to bring games closer in line with their PC counterparts, or could we be better served by developers spending a little more time opimising their games in the first place?
I do not mean to sound overly negative about this potential change, because I am not. I am open to the idea of an upgrade if the price point is reasonable. The landscape is different to how it was a decade ago, and most other forms of technology (like your mobile phone for example) are well set into the mould of upgrades every two to three years, so why should consoles be any different? Either way the discussion is there to be had, and it will be interesting to see what comes out of this year’s E3 press conferences.
So yes, 2016! It is shaping up to be a year like no other. Will the landscape be recognisable once we come out the other end of it? Will gaming, in its current form, even survive? Well the answer is yes, of course it will. But there is no doubt that we are witnessing a sea-change in the environment and we have an incredibly interesting eight months ahead of us!
Roll on E3!
Rob is a Japanese/English translator and game blogger with CULTURETRANSLATE
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