Mid 8th gen report card. What are your grades/thoughts

[Segata]

We are now mid 8th generation. Some can argue Switch is 9th or still part of 8th. So far what are your thoughts on each console if you have any.




Microsoft Xbox One. Released in 2013. Currently 29 Million sold Approx. Approx 1176 games. Hardware offers Kinect,Xbox One S and soon Scorpio.


Nintendo Wii U. Released 2013. Discontinued 2017.13.5 million consoles sold. 736 games.


Nintendo Switch. Released 2017. Approx 5 million sold in 2 months. 217 known games.




Sony PlayStation 4. Released 2013. 60 million sold. 1655 games approx so far. Hardware also offers PS Camera,PS4 Slim,PS4 Pro and PS VR.


===============================================================

Xbox One- C+ I have to be honest. There is so little on Xbox One I am interested in. The one game I had huge interest in,just got announced for PS4 and localized. I can play some XBO titles on my aging PC. Killer Instinct runs fine. Phantom Dust HD awesome. Ori is great. I know there is a lot of hype for Scorpio but without more compelling games the hardware does nothing for me. Phil Spencer did turn it around and XBOS is a nice improvement. Then he cancels Scalebound the one game that could have made me buy a XBO. XBO is much better than it was in that reveal in 2013 but seems it's just too late.

Wii U- C- I almost want to give the Wii U a D. The Wii U has awful hardware for developers. It's a mess. It's dated. It's typical of Nintendo hardware to be stuck in the past. The marketing was HORRIBLE. It had long droughts. So why not a failing grade? That's because it had some outstanding 1st party games. Some great indie support. It gave me Bayonetta 2,Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE,Xenoblade Chronicles X,The Wonderful 101,The Legend of Zelda breath of the Wild,Splatoon,Hyrule Warriors.Mario kart 8 just to name a few. What small library it does have is pretty good. Had it had Wii music or party games taking up most the 1st party space like Wii..I would give it an F. The 1st party output saves it form a failing grade.

Switch- B+ Switch is only 2 months old. It has solved about every single issue Wii U had. Modern hardware. Easy to develop for. Reaching out to 3rd parties. Clear and aggressive marketing. A lot of games in the first year. The only issue so far with Switch is the online. Nintendo still sucks at this. Worse yet they want to charge money for it. So far the one glaring issue with it. I won't dock it for no browser or Netflix. They said that would come later. It's early yet and has time to improve.

PS4- F...nah just kidding easily an A. You could see this coming. Sony capitalized on the mistakes of Nintendo and MS. They made some of their own this gen but nothing big enough to stop the beat that is PS4. Even i fnot a huge fan of Sony's first party games you can still enjoy the amazing 3rd party support. This generation PS4 has the best library overall. I absolutely love this thing just because of the games I have. My only issues are DS4 needs better batt life. I have issues with PSN being spotty. I wish it had a 3rd USB port.Overall tho I love the PS4. I don't think it's any mistake why PS4 is selling so well.

[Exhuminator]

I don't own any of these consoles yet. I see no need personally. I already have huge libraries for older platforms which I'm still struggling to make dents in. That said, I'll eventually get a Wii U and PS4, maybe a Switch. But anyway some quick thoughts:

Xbox One = F
Microsoft really dropped the ball with this. They went from 7th gen leader (for the hardcore crowd anyway) to 8th gen dud. Many mistakes were made. There's just no compelling reason to own this thing versus a PS4, unless you adore Forza and Halo I guess. There's probably a few other exclusive to care about, but I don't care about them. I never plan to own a One.

Wii U = C
From a hardware design the Wii U never excited me. I mean I never asked for a Wii Tablet. Pretty drastic lack of third party support just murdered it. However there's a dozen or so good exclusives worth owning, so I'll buy one of these one day.

Switch = ?
Too early to cast a verdict yet IMO. Though thardware does not excite me here either. This thing is basically a more powerful Vita. However, as a handheld gaming device the Switch has potential merit. Provided enough quality exclusives are released, I might buy one of these and just treat it as a handheld.

PS4 = A
Sony got everything right, great architecture, controllers, and aesthetics. Also a healthy dose of Japanese exclusives. If you were only going to have one modern console, this is the one to have. You get to play your Western games and your Japanese games all in one place. I plan to buy one someday for the exclusive weeb titles.

Also you forgot to mention HANDHELDS. Handhelds matter damn it!

3DS = B
3D effect is take it or leave it, whatever. My one big complaint with the 3DS is its low resolution, it's just a paltry resolution for a device released in this era. I understand why Nintendo kept the resolution so low, but I still don't agree with it. Despite that, the 3DS ended up with a killer library, especially if you enjoy JRPGs and SRPGs, which I love, so I love the 3DS library. The system itself is fairly well designed overall, with an intuitive OS and functional controls. The bottom screen should have been 16:9 to match the top screen, that disparity has always bugged me. Still a great time.

Vita = B+
Sexiest most lovely handheld ever, held back by lack of western support and Sony giving up the fight way too early. Sure the rear touchscreen is derpy, but dat OLED front screen is amazing, and has a much nicer resolution than its immediate competitor. The Vita's library is awash in weeb games, and I love weeb games, so it's a hit for me. I wish Sony had produced more first party high budget titles for the Vita, as they promised "a console experience in a handheld", and with some of their games they delivered. But more would have been nice. The Vita is a survivor though, and is still getting new releases today, even in the west. Long live the Vita!

Edit: clarified 360 meaning

[Segata]

I always consider handhelds in their own generation. Also 360 was in 3rd place in sales. PS3 edged it out but Wii sold 102 million. 360 at 80 and PS3 at 84.

[Exhuminator]

Also 360 was in 3rd place in sales. PS3 edged it out but Wii sold 102 million. 360 at 80 and PS3 at 84.

I didn't mean sales-wise. I meant perception-wise. Every hardcore gamer I knew personally during 7th gen owned a 360. Not every gamer I knew owned a Wii or a PS3. And the 360's growth over the original Xbox was just tremendous.

[strangenova]

Xbox One - B
Great console with a lot of features that make it friendly at the consumer level.

Wii U - A
Best Nintendo console since the Snes. So many great exclusives, off tv play and local multiplayer experiences abound.

Switch - I'd like to try one

PS4 - Eh it's the Japanese Xbox One, so it's probably a B.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Xbox One - B it is a nice piece of hardware with some great online functions that are great for socializing and organizing with friends. Although the software is not a big draw for me. It is for a large group of people and I can not ignore that.

I would also like to note that phantom dust is not hd. The textures are the original textures and are not upscaled or retouched for higher resolutions.

Wii U - A+ Commercially the system did not fare well, but with my personally enjoyment, it was phenomenal. It has one of THE BEST 2D platformer ever in donkey Kong Country tropical Freeze, it had great Hd remaster in wind Waker and twilight princess. It continued the Nintendo tradition of couch co-op for a huge amount of its titles.

There are 15 games on that system that I feel are truly spectacular and that is enough to warrant the purchase. My wife and I could not have had a better time with the system.

Ps4 - A+ The library is there for the PS4. It has a something for everyone and has a great mixture of mainstream and Indy. It has VR with killer titles for it like resident evil 7. It has a lot of fun games and that is what is most important to me.

[Sarge]

I'm not sure how I feel about the PS4, even now. I think the platform itself is fine, but a lot of what is popular now doesn't appeal to me as much. Still, the move to a PC-like architecture helps it a ton, especially with getting indie ports. I can't say it gets a ton of playtime, but I like what I have put time into.

I will own a XB1 at some point. Not sure when. Maybe if Scorpio is compelling enough. I'm not a Halo fan, though, so that doesn't help me much.

Wii U had some fantastic first-party titles, so I hate that it did so poorly. It's not perfect, but dang if I didn't have some good times with it.

Switch is the Wii U done right. Still too early to make a call, but it seems on a trajectory to do better than the Wii U by a significant margin. Even though I don't play Pokemon anymore, when that drops the system is gonna go nuts.

3DS hit a lull, but it's still a solid platform.

Vita is... it's a system that I want to love more than I do. I just don't have much top-tier stuff that I want to play on it. The system is absolutely fantastic, though. That I call the Switch a sort of Super Vita is absolutely meant as a compliment.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Vita is... it's a system that I want to love more than I do. I just don't have much top-tier stuff that I want to play on it. The system is absolutely fantastic, though. That I call the Switch a sort of Super Vita is absolutely meant as a compliment.

Let me just say that I love Vita fans. I have never touched the system and am completely oblivious of what it has to offer, but you can not deny the persistent passion they exude. I root for that system just because they love it so much. Don't fret though sarge, your vita will find more and more love as the system fades and all the gems shine bright!

[Segata]

Vita is love. Vita is life. Now you know what console life is on.

[Exhuminator]

Vita is love. Vita is life. Now you know what console life is on.

Dude speaks the truth.

When someone as blasé and critical as me loves the Vita, you know it's doing something right.