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Category:
Culture

The Underwhelming Next-Gen Console Conundrum Solved: Go Classic

I don't need anything fancy, I don't need whatever cool aid the next-gen fanboys are trying to peddle me. If my pensioner Mum can be happy with a last-gen console, why can't I?
Image of Mat Westhorpe
Mat Westhorpe
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Published: May 23, 2013 11:52 am

This article is over 11 years old and may contain outdated information

I was unmoved by the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One announcements. Skyping someone whilst watching TV is just rude and I have no desire to watch some stranger from another continent play a video game. I really can’t see the appeal of these new consoles. Everything I need can be done effectively and more cheaply with the current generation of consoles.

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Console gaming always passed me by, but as the previously well-defined boundaries between the various entertainment platforms found in our homes continue to blur, I’m thinking it is perhaps time to step out of my PC gaming foxhole.

I have always been one of those who mocked the “console monkeys” for their desire to be spoon-fed their simplified games with their chew-toy controller and their sofa-based entertainment.

But you know what: maybe they’ve been right all along.

Squaring the Circle

For years I have had a custom-built PC linked to my 42” plasma TV. We use it to watch TV and film, plan and book holidays, play music and even play the occasional game. But if I’m honest, it was always a bit of a square peg in a round hole—the mouse/keyboard controls were a little cumbersome for the living room and having an iPhone app and/or console controller hooked up made things easier.

Truth be told, my gaming tastes have changed too, stuff that requires a huge investment of my time just doesn’t find purchase in the life of a thirty-something self-employed father of a new-born baby. Having a knackered spine also makes prolonged periods sitting at the PC desk less than pleasant.

Too Old For This Sh..?

I can’t say I’m representative of every gamer, but I’m probably one of many first generation gamers who are desperately trying to cling to their childhood hobby whilst life makes other demands.

It really is all about accessibility, convenience and cost now.

All things considered, I think I’ll be buying a PlayStation 3, they’re quite reasonably priced now and will do everything my multimedia PC can do without making that whirring noise in the corner.

Retro gaming is the new black. Keep your social media gimmicks and long live the golden age of gaming.

Come to think of it, maybe the Ouya is onto something…

Post Tag:
next gen
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Author
Image of Mat Westhorpe
Mat Westhorpe
Broken paramedic and coffee-drinking Englishman whose favourite dumb animal is an oxymoron. After over a decade of humping and dumping the fat and the dead, my lower spine did things normally reserved for Rubik's cubes, bringing my career as a medical clinician to an unexpectedly early end. Fortunately, my real passion is in writing and given that I'm now highly qualified in the art of sitting down, I have the time to pursue it. Having blogged about video games (well, mostly EVE Online) for years, I hope to channel my enjoyment of wordcraft and my hobby of gaming into one handy new career that doesn't involve other people's vomit.