The Future of Gaming | My Concerns

As a gamer, and game reviewer I've gotten to see the industry and industry offerings from all points of view. I've seen the good, and bad side of things. In this current generation alone I've witnessed what could best be described as a decline in gamer friendly business. Whether it be microtransactions, politics, pandering, poor online management, or the lack of a quality experience for the price there is an obvious trend towards not caring about the gamer. The industry big wigs, in their desperate search for continuous growth, have all but forgotten what made video games so great. They've forgotten who got them where they are. They've cut corners, ignored fans' pleas, and have done business in the worst sorts of ways. Their bottom line being the money to be made.

While everyone anxiously awaits Xbox Series X, and PS5 I sit skeptically by wondering when the hell Sony, and Microsoft are going to prove their subscription based experiences are worth paying for. In the lifetime of the PS4, and Xbox One both companies have been unable to make the online that gamers subscribe for a truly noteworthy part of the console package. None of them have addressed the growing player abuse/misuse problems, or the connectivity issues. PlayStation, in particular, seems content in inviting hackers, modders, lagswitchers, and cheaters to their platform. Their selection of gamer avatars speaks volumes in regards to this. The added fact that they don't have moderation options on console addressing things like hacking, mod usage, or lagswitching further proves that they are willingly ignoring one of their biggest problems. Throw in the moderation section which basically passes banning duties onto individual developers who themselves often times do nothing when it comes to the gamers who ruin other gamers' fun, and it's a recipe for disaster.

Microsoft's online multiplayer on the Xbox One was not much different. Dare I say it was on par with PC hacking as MS made the Xbox One to be more like a PC than a gaming console. From the looks of the Xbox Series X design it looks like they'll continue doing more of the same. Probably implementing a horrible dashboard UI that's more of a PC UI than the streamlined dashboard you get with a PS4 or Nintendo Switch. With little shown in regards to menu functionality, and features for both consoles my faith in Sony, and MS solving the real problems plaguing modern gaming wanes more, and more. For if they are willing to let the paid for PS4 and Xbox One experience falter in it's early to late life cycle what's to prevent them from doing the same for PS5 and Xbox Series X. With the pandemic delaying game production, and production in general being limited due to social distancing measures the two companies ability to maintain a steady release schedule, and updates to hardware are questionable as well. Personally I'd advise strongly against being an early adopter given the track record of the companies involved. Graphics may look brilliant, absolutely stunning, but at the end of the day two things matter above all else. Those things being the hardware the games are played on, and the gameplay of the games on that hardware. If Sony, and MS can't see this, and bank wholly on visuals to gain sales they've already lost in the game of games.