Has this generation of gaming finally begun? –

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S were both released at the beginning of the pandemic, which had various consequences ranging from hardware availability to hampered game development. The latter has never really been the same since and many people have become accustomed to working from home and there is a reluctance in many places to actually return to a physical workplace – despite many companies claiming it makes development more efficient.

Added to this is the explosion of what we now know as live services. Huge games with more content than anyone could possibly need, designed to last us at least a year, requiring huge amounts of resources and resulting in games that are largely untouched (a majority of the content in these games is never used by those who bought the title). Then we can also add the fact that today’s advanced technology itself has significantly increased the resources needed to develop games, as Nintendo itself recently admitted.

So, is this a doom ‘n gloom chronicle? No, not at all, quite the opposite in fact. I just want to lay the groundwork for why I reason the way I do. In summary, few would argue that we have had a very poor first half of this generation. Not only are there very few great games, they are not optimized for the new generation’s hardware and are largely released for PlayStation 4 (where Sony states that half have not yet been upgraded) and Xbox One.

In short, looking back over the past four years, the picture for consoles is not a happy one, either quantitatively (with the possible exception of indie games) or qualitatively, and few seem genuinely enthusiastic about the amount of microtransactions/season passes that have washed over us in the wake of the live service trend. But. it wasn’t a doom ‘n gloom column as I said. Because I think things are about to change for the better.

While it is summer and the gaming world is basically at a standstill, a very exciting fall awaits us. Microsoft had a very nice Xbox Games Showcase last month and is also targeting Gamescom. Just a month later, Nintendo and Sony are set for the Tokyo Game Show, where Sony is also speculated to have its own big event and also celebrate 30 years of PlayStation in December.

And there is no doubt that Sony has games in the pipeline. Studios such as Bend, Sucker Punch and Naughty Dog haven’t even released a new game for PlayStation 5 yet, and for several others, next year (we know Sony has indicated they won’t have any new games in their biggest series before April 1, 2025) will be three years since the last release. In addition, there are many indications that Sony has a new, more powerful version of the PlayStation 5 in the works, which of course will have to be released with a game that shows why we need it. Sure, it may be a drier fall than PlayStation gamers are used to, but there will be a lot happening, a lot of talk – and then there’s Astro Bot and Lego Horizon Adventures (also to Switch).

Nintendo, on the other hand, has fed us mostly made-up scraps over the past year, but we officially know they have a new console around the corner and have already waved Metroid Prime 4: Beyond under our noses. People like to say that Nintendo stands on its own and doesn’t compete with others, but at the end of the day, many people choose to buy a Switch 2 or something else. Nintendo has to have good games too, and I would be very surprised if there isn’t a new 3D Mario (or possibly Mario Kart 9 ) in the months after release. Plus, they’re loading up with The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Super Mario Party Jamboree and Mario & Luigi: Brothership – so Switch owners are going to have a great fall.

Even Xbox owners finally have a reason to be happy. After an unseasonably long drought since 2022 given Microsoft’s size and capabilities, things are starting to pick up. Recently, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II arrived, and in the fall we can look forward to the trio of Avowed, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, on top of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 which will be played by half a dozen people since it is included with the Game Pass. I also want to make a case for the Castle Crashers -inspired Towerborne coming in 2024, followed by a 2025 with Fable and South of Midnight and probably at least two of Gears of War: E-Day, Perfect Dark and State of Decay 3. Then there is Doom: The Dark Ages, which is also coming to PlayStation 5 and will help set the bar high for console graphics.

Not to mention third-party games, which are also teeming with great titles in the near future such as Star Wars Outlaws, Visions of Mana, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Monster Hunter: Wilds, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, and of course Civilization VII. Just to name a few.

In short, it’s been a slow and tedious generation (relatively speaking, look at what started the previous and previous generations and you’ll see), and the threats to the console as a concept have increased. But there is quite a bit to suggest that we are now on the eve of some sort of turnaround. Being a gamer is going to be a lot more fun in the coming years, with more and more interesting projects to choose from. And that will be true starting next month.