The 8th Generation of Console Gaming: A Prediction.

I haven't even watched E3 but I think I have enough of an idea of what's going on so here goes.

     Microsoft is becoming more confident and thus more greedy. They're experimenting with what will work and what's too far and in the gaming industry that's just a bad idea. Knowing how dumb some consumers and/or Halo fanboys are, the Xbox One will not do spectacularly in sales but won't be all for naught since it'll make enough money. Microsoft will continue to pump out average to mediocre Halo entries and run the series into the ground with merchandising. Microsoft will suffer to a degree due to the loss of potential income because many gamers worldwide are not at all pleased with Microsoft's new business model.

     Sony will most likely dominate this generation again with the PlayStation 4 since they are at least moderately aware of their consumers and the economy. The PS4's cheaper price tag in addition to larger indie support will possibly lead to the PS4 being the console of the 8th gen. Metal Gear Solid V along with the other strong titles announced, like Destiny and Infamous: Second Son, will do well because they will and Sony will reclaim their throne which was taken from them during the PS2 era. That's a best case scenario. Worst case scenario is it's just a repeat of the PS3: a great console with great games but no killer apps like the ones that Xbox 360 had. PSN will get disapproval for its addition of a subscription but it won't matter in the long run since it's still a cheaper alternative to Xbox LIVE and PSN now has more features than its PS3 counterpart.

     Nintendo will continue to be Nintendo. More Mario, more Zelda, more SSB. Nothing new will come and we'll get the same old rehash of the same old games. Consumers will still buy Nintendo products because why the hell not? Pokemon X&Y will do well. The 3DS will most likely be more popular than the WiiU since an unimpressive and small library of games for the console leads to less than optimal sales figures. Nintendo will suffer to a degree from Ubisoft pulling their license as less incentive is offered to non-casual gamers. WiiU will be the least successful of the 8th-gen consoles.

     The other innovations that aren't by the Big Three will be forgotten as usual. While interesting, the Ouya's current game library leaves much to be desired, with the only titles worth mentioning being Final Fantasy III and Organ Trail: Director's Cut. The other consoles like the Retron5 will do as well as usual but still not reach mainstream. The Steam-Box, if it comes this gen, will not do as well as hoped because majority of Steam users are PC gamers whose computers can handle the games they would buy, and Big Picture mode, while a perfectly solid addition to Steam, isn't taking on as hoped.

     This is just a prediction mind you, but I have a feeling it's an accurate one. Of course, only time will tell... here's to Q4 2013.

Retro Gaming and Collecting.

     The picture above is my Super Nintendo. By the time I was born the SNES was going downhill and making way for the N64 and PlayStation but I picked one up last year anyway. I've poured a decent amount of time and money into my collection of video games, which is currently approaching two hundred and fifty games. Do I play them all? Well... yes and no. My SNES here is an interesting story in that vein that I'll probably recall further down the page. To the one hundred PC games I have, I'll merely say "Steam". That should answer your questions.

     I'll get around to them. Eventually. Maybe.

     But to be honest this post is not so much an explanation or review as much as it is a personal account of why retro gaming/collecting in my opinion is so enjoyable.

Why retro?
     This part is simple enough: they're fun. I play and purchase any games I deem to be fun. Halo 3 is fun. So is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which is over 20 years old (and getting a sequel this year!!!). Also nowadays Triple-A gaming is going downhill as Call of Duty, Halo, and Assassin's Creed dominate the market, leaving other fantastic titles like Deus Ex and Dishonored buried. Other modern gaming titles prove that the market is running out of ideas and is starting to hit a point at which quality levels out and things start getting generic. Retro gaming has loads of quality titles (Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger, Double Dragon, etc.) that give us tons of variety both in genre and theme. They are also the most iconic. In my opinion the greatest of all the consoles are the grizzled elders like the PS2 and Super Nintendo.

What constitutes as retro?
     Retro, as far as I'm concerned, consists of any gaming console that is no longer in production. This includes the PS2, which died this year, and the original Xbox, which was discontinued in 2005 upon the 360's release (games for the original Xbox continued to come out until 2009). The PS2 may seem pretty modern, and you're right, but remember that the PS2 was introduced in 2001. That's twelve years ago. Final Fantasy X in my opinion is old enough in the gaming industry to be considered retro, as is Battlefront II, which is eight years old. Others may disagree with my definition of retro gaming, but in my opinion that's a solid line between the old and new.

Why collect?
     Collecting is a hobby. Some people collect stamps, some collect coins. Coins are pretty, and stamps are damn expensive if you find the right ones, but game collecting is interesting in that the thing being collected has both monetary and entertainment value. And it's cheap. You can pick up most PlayStation games at The Save Point (local retro store/arcade) for an average of $1-4. NES and SNES games, as well as games for Mega Drive, Saturn, and Dreamcast, fall around that general value. Same goes for GameBoy games, which can be even cheaper in some instances. That being said, things can get expensive. Very.Expensive. Don't believe old games can run expensive? Try snagging a copy of Final Fantasy VII for PS1. Or a copy of EarthBound for SNES, a game that runs $200 minimum. Popularity equals value in the gaming market. A Link to the Past, a game I was blessed with finding in a SNES lot at a flea market, runs around $40 used, more expensive than Modern Warfare 3 and around the same price as Black Ops.

Tips for anyone who wants to either start a collection or build on one:
- Don't worry if you're not in a financial position to collect en masse. Be patient and wait for the big
  ticket items, or just grab a game here and there every once in a while. You don't have to have a
  large collection, just a good one. The only reason my collection is so large is holding on to my
  games from childhood combined with really good luck and a few years of small purchases when I
  had the chance.
- Flea Markets and Yard Sales are great places to look. The only reason I have
  a Super Nintendo at all is because I stumbled on a family selling stuff for cheap. I got a free 1980s
  GameBoy, 35 SNES games, and all the controllers and power/video cords for around $25. The
  console was garbage so I grabbed one offline for $30.

Fun pic: I'm in the middle of a Legend of Zelda paintjob for that battered SNES in the top picture. Here's what I have so far!

No detailing yet so it looks a little bling-tastic.