Will Xbox 360 replace the Saturn as THE shmup console?

[AppliCotton]

Hi,

I was just reading a lot on various forums about Cave's future. Cave says Mushi HD is their last game on the Xbox 360, and users have noted that Akai Kitana really pushes the Xbox 360 hardware. Then there's DDPSDOJ, which has everybody wondering out loud: some say they go back on their word and port it to the 360, others that they'll port it to the PS3, while more forward-looking users see a Wii-U or PS4 port in the future.

And that's crazy. PS4. We're already getting used to thinking next gen and, at the same time, the current gen definitely appears to be winding down. Which got me thinking. Ten years from now, when we look back, will the Xbox 360 have dethroned the Saturn as the shmupper's console par excellence? You know, like the Saturn did the PC Engine?

Plenty of space for really nerdy arguments. Both systems (or all three counting the PCE) were niche consoles in Japan. But whereas the Saturn had a wide variety of shoot 'em ups from many different developers, the Xbox 360 was for the most part a predominantly Cave (or at least bullet hell) affair. That would be a strike against it if Cave weren't, well, Cave, that is, by far the most represented company in the shmup forum's top 25. On the other hand, the Xbox 360 had a near monopoly of the shmup genre in its generation, whereas the Saturn had to share some of the spotlight with the PSX.

And so on and so forth. Well, have at it. And if anybody who follows this stuff and reads Japanese can toss in their two cents about the future of Cave and DDPSDOJ, that's be awesome too.

[ZenErik]

I don't think the Xbox 360 will ever be THE shmup console, but it most definitely already is THE CAVE shmup console.

[AppliCotton]

I don't think the Xbox 360 will ever be THE shmup console, but it most definitely already is THE CAVE shmup console.

Yeah, I figure it will eventually come down to how people feel about Cave. Me, I love Cave. But on the other hand, theme with variations does not equal variety, which is why I also love my Saturn.

[Majors]

Ten years from now, when we look back, will the Xbox 360 have dethroned the Saturn as the shmupper's console par excellence? You know, like the Saturn did the PC Engine?

I agree, PCE->Saturn->360 for shmup console. But each had games for system technical abilities, each will be remembered. I do not see any "dethroning" in the coming decades.

[dsheinem]

Funny, I consider a PS2 as THE shmup console (especially given its PS1 backwards compatibility)...