It’s always the same routine at the start of a new generation.
The tech buffs are out in full force, analyzing the hardware specifications until they’re blue in the face. Communities and forums explode with arguments and debates, all rife with a lot of statistics, initials and rampant geek-speak. Hey, I’m a confirmed geek, too, but I’m never involved in such debates.
I made the mistake of doing that years ago, back when the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis were vying for supremacy in the eyes of hardcore gamers. It wasn’t until a few years later that I sat back and realized, “Well, that was a stupid argument.” The reason is obvious, isn’t it? Without compelling software, it doesn’t matter what a console can do. The three Ps, as I like to call them – Power, Potential and Pizzazz – are meaningless without the games. The system becomes a very expensive paperweight.
The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One just arrived and let’s face it, the game selection is sparse right now. It always is at the start of a new gaming era. Therefore, gamers can really only argue about those three Ps. It’s why we’re seeing so many headlines focusing on each system’s potential, based on what such-and-such developer said. It’s great for generating discussion but it also creates widespread tunnel-vision. …wait, is that an oxymoron? No, I don’t think it is.
Seriously, why bother? Frame rate, max resolution; it means nothing without great software. Would we even be talking about this Tomb Raider Definitive Edition subject if the game wasn’t good? Would we even care? The instant we decide that the game in question isn’t worth our time, we stop caring about the power, potential and pizzazz of the console that runs it.
I’m not saying the three Ps aren’t important. However, nobody really believes that the PS4’s power advantage (if it even exists at all) will result in superior games for the next six or seven years. Even if great games come, it won’t be due to the system’s power; it’ll be due to the ingenious efforts of great developers. The added capability will be a nice bonus, I’m sure, but they still have to make that great game, don’t they?
The system could be the most advanced piece of technology on earth. It could fly me to Mars and back. If it doesn’t have any games I want to play, what good is it?
Published: Jan 26, 2014 07:59 pm