NooBTooB Forum

Well, we are about a week out from the most interesting E3 of the last few years. What are folks predicting? Hoping for? Fearing?

Nintendo has run for cover and the Steam Box will not be there. (Although testing of actual Steam Boxes has been rumored to start in July.) Sony and MS have both held early events, so how many surprises can there really be?

Will we actually get clarity on used games? My bet is that it'll be five bucks to play a used disk. More than that really changes the model, for rational adults anyway. If MS and Sony do not have the same model for used games, that will be very significant, but that is unlikely. Sony has already said PS4 will not require an internet connection, but that does not mean they can't require you to link up if you want a used disk to run.

Games games games. That is what both are promising. Sony has already shown some gameplay. The fact that Jonathon Blow is going with Sony feels significant for indies. Sony has had more exclusives lately, so much so, they are often forced to resort to montages. With Sony, everyone is expecting The Last Guardian to resurface. That and Agent have been eternal promises that may end up as vapor ware. MS said 15 exclusives, 8 new IPs. Beyond Halo, Gears, Forza, Crackdown and Alan Wake; I don't know many MS franchises. The Wake guys are doing a new IP, so that leaves many blanks for me. Maybe others know better. Of the 8 new IPs, we don't know how many are actual Triple AAAs, how many are fifteen dollar jobbies, and how many Kinect Sesame Street and the like. If it ends up being 5 or 6 Kinect titles, that would be very disappointing. The last few MS presentations have been "You didn't buy the Kinect yet? Well I hope you really really like early Call of Duty DLC, asshole." I hope this does not end up being "You now have to buy a Kinect and here's what you're getting, asshole."

I am worried that MS may just buy some exclusives, from third parties, which is just plain bad for gamers. Do you want people investing money in new first party games, or investing in restricting consumer access to games that are already going to exist? Anyone who is actually a gamer, or understands anything about consumer economics can only root for one of those answers. It may be MS interest to buy third party exclusives, but it will never be in yours or mine interest. If they paid off Bethesda to not put Fallout 4 on Sony (stunningly unlikely example) I would feel very trapped. Either I have to buy an Xbox or invest in a real gaming PC.

Hey speaking of actual games, exclusive or otherwise, what are people dying to see? Fallout 4 leads the charge for me. My three favorite franchises may be Bioshock, Fallout, and inFamous. We already know about Sons, so maybe we can see some gameplay for the new inFamous. Uncharted 4 would be nice, but I hope it looks like the kind of leap we saw from 1 to 2. The jump from 2 to 3 was much less impressive. Speaking of whacky surprises, if Sony announced Fallout Vita, I would be both excited and pissed off. Great, now I gotta buy a Vita.

I wonder what the subscription services will look like and cost in the next generation? PS Plus has turned into a helluva deal in the last year. I hope they continue something like it. Hell, I hope they continue it as is, I am paid up to 2015. Is Xbox live going to crank up to twenty bucks a month? Is that service going to change? I think not, but what do I know?

Are there going to be any real surprises? The big surprises I was hoping for were on content, and the recent conferences would have been where they would do that. I just can't think of anything that I am really hoping for. It would be very nice to be shocked, of course.

The upcoming generation is going to have more inertia than any generation before it, for the reason of identity. Achievements and trophies have created a quantifiable gamer identity that did not exist before. I am trying to let go of plats, but I really want to hit level 20. I am sad to say how much that sways me for a PS4. I know many people here, whose desire to keep adding to their Xbox gamer score will play big role as well. I have been trying to look at my own inertia more critically. If these consoles cost six hundred, require subscriptions to use, and make used games non-cost-effective; I hope I will have the strength to see Valve comes up with. I want an excellent gaming experience in the living room, with the lowest overall cost over time.