Three Things To Watch In Gaming This Year
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May 11 2021, 2:05 PM
It's fair to say that 2020 was - at a great many levels - a year of the unexpected. And this proved especially true as we witnessed the strange and complex animal that was the rollout of the next generation of console gaming. Both the Playstation 5 and the XBOX Series X have been must-have items for gamers from launch but the combination of COVID, chip shortages and supply chain issues made finding either system like panning for gold.
Thankfully, it is now the year 2021 and with the PS5 and Series X now firmly entrenched in their nascent life cycle, we finally have some good things to look forward to. Here is a look at the three key factors that we think will define gaming on consoles this year.
Delays! Delays! Delays!
Let's get the bad news out of the way first. The delays that have lead to shortages of the PS5 and Series X aren't going away anytime soon. Analysts just this week came out and said that they expect these consoles to be hard to find going well into 2022. That means, if you're a hardcore gamer, you need to jump at the first opportunity you get to snag one of these babies. That might mean overpaying for a bundle given the current marketplace so it will be up to you just how bad you want to play Halo: Infinite or Deathloop later this year.
GamePass Changes The Game
The last generation has been Playstation's world and all other consoles sort of just living in it. Sure the Switch caught fire but when it comes to the powerful, serious gaming machines, the PS4 easily won the last war. This war, however, is shaping up to be different. While Series X is viewed initially as the more powerful of the two consoles, the thing that has changed the game for Microsoft this time around is the killer app known as GamePass. Ever since launch, gamers have raved about the value in the Netflix style gaming service on XBOX. With premium, first run games debuting on the service, it is quickly becoming THE must have feature of this generation and likely will force some sort of reaction from Sony. Will that mean an enhanced version of PSNow? This year might just tell the tale. Either way, make sure your internet speed is up to snuff as streaming is taking over.
NextGen Unlocked At Last!
While the latest generational jump has focused more on speed, haptic feedback (we love you, PS5 controller!) and immediate loading, this year should be the beginning of the unlocking of the true graphics power of the new consoles. Ray-tracing and other key new design elements of the PS5 and Series X will be fully deployed as the first slate of truly next-gen specific games start to hit the market en masse. If you can actually find one of these consoles, it will be a gamers dream. Now if they could only do something about those damn storage issues!
It's fair to say that 2020 was - at a great many levels - a year of the unexpected. And this proved especially true as we witnessed the strange and complex animal that was the rollout of the next generation of console gaming. Both the Playstation 5 and the XBOX Series X have been must-have items for gamers from launch but the combination of COVID, chip shortages and supply chain issues made finding either system like panning for gold.
Thankfully, it is now the year 2021 and with the PS5 and Series X now firmly entrenched in their nascent life cycle, we finally have some good things to look forward to. Here is a look at the three key factors that we think will define gaming on consoles this year.
Delays! Delays! Delays!
Let's get the bad news out of the way first. The delays that have lead to shortages of the PS5 and Series X aren't going away anytime soon. Analysts just this week came out and said that they expect these consoles to be hard to find going well into 2022. That means, if you're a hardcore gamer, you need to jump at the first opportunity you get to snag one of these babies. That might mean overpaying for a bundle given the current marketplace so it will be up to you just how bad you want to play Halo: Infinite or Deathloop later this year.
GamePass Changes The Game
The last generation has been Playstation's world and all other consoles sort of just living in it. Sure the Switch caught fire but when it comes to the powerful, serious gaming machines, the PS4 easily won the last war. This war, however, is shaping up to be different. While Series X is viewed initially as the more powerful of the two consoles, the thing that has changed the game for Microsoft this time around is the killer app known as GamePass. Ever since launch, gamers have raved about the value in the Netflix style gaming service on XBOX. With premium, first run games debuting on the service, it is quickly becoming THE must have feature of this generation and likely will force some sort of reaction from Sony. Will that mean an enhanced version of PSNow? This year might just tell the tale. Either way, make sure your internet speed is up to snuff as streaming is taking over.
NextGen Unlocked At Last!
While the latest generational jump has focused more on speed, haptic feedback (we love you, PS5 controller!) and immediate loading, this year should be the beginning of the unlocking of the true graphics power of the new consoles. Ray-tracing and other key new design elements of the PS5 and Series X will be fully deployed as the first slate of truly next-gen specific games start to hit the market en masse. If you can actually find one of these consoles, it will be a gamers dream. Now if they could only do something about those damn storage issues!
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