Ben-DutkaMaybe it's age. Maybe it's a shifting industry. Maybe it's my belief that the PlayStation 3 could last me until 2020 and I'd probably be fine with that.
I'm not sure what it is, but the days of becoming excited – I mean, excited to the point of giddy – for new systems may be gone for good. With all this talk of next-generation consoles, one would assume I'd be somewhat intrigued but the truth is, I'm fine with what I have. Furthermore, I believe a lot of gamers feel the same way.
Oddly enough, I was more than ready for the PS3. I was totally pumped for that thing, and I was pretty psyched for the Xbox 360, too. I don't really remember why now, but I was itching to move past the PS2 and Xbox, both of which sat on my entertainment center shelf for a good five years. No offense to Nintendo fans, but I left that company where it belongs back in the '85 – '95 period. Oh, don't take offense; I'll always love Ninty until the day I die; that company is the reason I do what I do today. The NES, GameBoy and SNES will always have a special place in my heart and will never be forgotten.
But anyway, getting back to the subject at hand- there's just something about the next generation that doesn't appeal to me. Maybe it's the belief that physical media may be left by the wayside (not immediately, but certainly in the future), or the sneaking suspicion that the industry's direction doesn't jive with my personal preferences. I've never been into multiplayer, I can't stand this virtual social explosion in general, and motion sensing and 3D may as well not exist, for all I care. Not that I've enjoyed various experiences with all those features at one time or another; it's just that I'm kinda set in my ways.
At the same time, I always love to see progression and advancement in this industry. I guess it's just that now, after so many technological leaps, I'm looking for something more creative and artistic, and I'm just not sure we need fancy new hardware for that. Maybe that's the reason I'm ambivalent. Maybe that's why when I see stories concerning the PS4 or Xbox 720, I just sort of frown and go, "…well, I don't have that feeling from the old days."
