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

[Sarge]

If I loved weeb games quite as much as you, I'd probably think it was the best thing ever.

[Exhuminator]

If I loved weeb games quite as much as you, I'd probably think it was the best thing ever.

That's a fair point.

I fear the Vita weeb train will run out of steam (as far as west releases are concerned) by the end of 2017. Oh well, a damn good weeby run it twas. Thankfully many weeb games get PC ports so I can still get my fix going forward.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Wii U: B - Certainly not the biggest library, but it managed to have a library that really shines through on its own in an era where consoles are becoming made increasingly irrelivant by the rise of PC gaming. The number of all-time bests Nintendo put out for this thing is just astounding to me. The only reason I don't mark it higher is because of their bad marketing initially and the third-party abandoment of the platform.

Xbox One: C - Microsoft is kinda where Sony was last gen, except now they're where the 360 probably should've[i/] been. The 360 was amazingly popular (here in the States at least) for no good reason, so far as I could tell. The original 360's (the white ones) had appalling build quality and a serious shortage of worthwhile exclusives, factors that would've sunk any other console, and yet people just stuck with it (Because Halo and Gears?). Now the Xbone has good great build quality, but that lack of exclusives is still there. Microsoft really blasted off their feet with poor marketing moves when it was coming out, and now there's really nothing they can do to fix it. In fact, it almost seems like they're discouraging people to buy an Xbone with how many exclusives they're bringing to Windows 10 as well. It's not a bad console, but I don't really see any reason to own one when PC's and PS4's exist.

PS4: B - The PS4 is really knocking it out of the park when it comes to making a console worth while with games. In this era of PC gaming, the PS4 has a really remarkable amount of quality exclusives that make it stand out from the Xbone and even the PC in a very important way. The reason it's just a B, though, is baaaad build quality. It's been more or less fixed (at least I hope) since launch, but bad controllers and console issues have plagued the thing since the start. To be fair, Sony saw the writing on the wall that customers only cared about the 360 being cheaper and not built better than the PS3, so they stole a winning strategy. I'm still not convinced that Sony knows how to do any kind of gaming marketing effectively. Microsoft handed them market success on a silver platter with their always-on Kinect and game-sharing nonsense, so all they had to do was not do anything tremendously stupid.

[Xeogred]

We are about 3-4 years into this gen. It's an interesting contrast because ~4 years into the last gen is probably about when I made the jump from the 360 to the PS3 and never looked back. I then realized that the PSX was the best, the PS2 was the best, and the PS3 was the best, so I finally made the right choice at the start and stuck with Sony. No regrets. MS has fumbled so hard this entire gen that it's laughable and I personally kind of see the writing on the wall with the end of that brand being near. Granted I want competition to be strong and stick around, but despite a lot of love for the Xbox and 360, if the brand disappeared down the road I wouldn't shed any tears at all and it wouldn't resonate with me much as it did with SEGA's downfall.

I made a lot of mistakes last gen and there was a bigger influx of games, so there's a lot of regrettable purchases and rentals. This gen I feel like I've rediscovered the stuff I know I will love, along with Japanese games kind of regaining their ground, it's been a fantastic ride and one of the best gens ever to me.

The Wii U was also amazing and kind of rekindled my love for Nintendo. Even though I know there's still a ton I want to discover on the Wii. That will be a big task to dig through. The GCN on the other hand I don't care about outside of Metroid Prime. And the N64 is a nostalgia bomb of love, but still nothing compared to the PSX in the long run for me... and a big step down from the SNES. But wow I loved the Wii U, despite its limited library.

Don't have a Switch yet but it seems awesome and sales wise is already halfway to the Wii U's lifetime sales. Golly gee wilkerburgers, who knew a new name that really differentiates itself could be the game changer? The casual gamers and families out there now know that the next console after the Wii is out! ...

Xbox One- F
Wii U- B
Switch- B
PS4- A
SNES- S+

[Sarge]

If I loved weeb games quite as much as you, I'd probably think it was the best thing ever.

That's a fair point.

I fear the Vita weeb train will run out of steam (as far as west releases are concerned) by the end of 2017. Oh well, a damn good weeby run it twas. Thankfully many weeb games get PC ports so I can still get my fix going forward.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in a lot of them, too, but I think I have a combination of RPG burnout and needing something amazing to hold my attention. This means I don't prioritize the weeb as much.

[Exhuminator]

I have a combination of RPG burnout and needing something amazing to hold my attention.

RPG burnout I can understand, as you've beaten a lot more JRPGs than me. Plus many of the weeb games on Vita are DRPGs and/or lean ecchi, neither of which are big selling points for your tastes. I'm hoping the Super Vita Switch brings you much love though!

[Sano]

I give the PS4 an A, I will admit I am biased though. I ride the Sony Pony; I've loved every console they've put out (including handhelds (excluding the PSPGO thingymajiger)).

The XBox One, I can't give a grade, I've never played one.

Wii-U, a give a solid B. Really good selection of games, but the gamepad controller is a bit of a turn off. I do have the pro controller (expensive controller too...).

Switch, it looks like a solid console given the few problems people report. I don't think I'll ever get one, but I wouldn't say no to a free one . As I have never played it I will refrain from giving it a grade.

[Melek-Ric]

It seems like some of you are grading consoles you do not own? I don't think that's fair. I only have an Xbox One currently so I won't grade the others.

Xbox One Grade B: I think it's a nice console with some unfortunate mistakes made its concept and planning. Dumb name, rough launch, but it's gotten much better in almost 4 years. Best built hardware MS has made. Reliable, whisper quiet with a great controller. Not as good software library as the OG Xbox or 360, but I have games on it I play a lot and UI updates/social features keep getting better.

I currently don't own a PS4 or Wii U/Switch because there's not a game I'm particularly interested in that's exclusive, but I might get a PS4 later for Gundam Versus because I loved those games on the PS2/GC.

[BogusMeatFactory]

It seems like some of you are grading consoles you do not own? I don't think that's fair. I only have an Xbox One currently so I won't grade the others.

Xbox One Grade B: I think it's a nice console with some unfortunate mistakes made its concept and planning. Rough launch, but it's gotten much better in almost 4 years. Best built hardware MS has made. Reliable, whisper quiet with a great controller. Not as good software library as the OG Xbox or 360, but I have games on it I play a lot and UI updates/social features keep getting better.

I currently don't own a PS4 or Wii U/Switch because there's not a game I'm particularly interested in that's exclusive, but I might get a PS4 later for Gundam Versus because I loved those games on the PS2/GC.

Yeah, a bunch of people like to look at the Xbox one from a distance and hate on it. I do not own one, but have friends who do and have played it myself. It is a solid system.

[isiolia]

PS4 : A-
Currently the best console out there for new games and purchases. Great variety, exclusives, and the best versions of multiplatform games short of PC.

On the downside, there's very little support for older games (there is a selection of HD emulated PS2 titles), and basically no support for older digital purchases. Mediocre support for media playback. Considering how excellent the PS3 tended to be here, it's a bit of a step back.
Value-added things like the monthly PS+ selections have progressively gotten worse.

Arguably, Sony is excelling in areas that promote new sales or licensing fees...and largely ignoring areas where they don't.

Xbox One : B
Has easily put the most effort into improving, and as a result, possibly the actual best platform on the market at this point (it certainly is in some respects, at least).

MS has been putting consistent effort into backward compatibility for 360 content, for instance, to allow customers to keep their purchases moving forward. Notably, no other console makers are making any effort to do that. The Xbox One S has 4K Ultra Blu-ray support too, where the otherwise 4k and HDR focused PS4 Pro does not. Games with Gold still routinely offers good titles.
I'm not sure how multiplayer stands up, since I tend to do that on PC, but I've seen some folks (like Gamestop managers) go with the XB1 for online multiplayer games and PS4 for single player.

Some of it might be due to trying to play catch-up, but MS seems to do more that's customer-centric.
Unfortunately, Xbox just isn't host to that many exclusives, and has not had a hardware advantage for multiplatform games. In a world where Sony wasn't doing so extraordinarily well in that regard, things might be closer (well, they are pretty close...in the US).

Wii U: C+
As a platform, it was poorly conceived and implemented. Except the obscene Pro Controller battery life, which is clearly the work of wizards. It does also double as an HDMI connected Wii, which is a benefit, though since it basically reboots into a Wii ROM it also splits the digital library...

The redeeming factor is that it was still far more capable than any Nintendo console prior to it, and got a great variety of (mostly) first-party published games that can't (or can't yet) be found anywhere else.