Were Expectations Simply Too High for the Next-Gen Launch Titles?

Historically, launch lineups for new video game consoles are lackluster. Some will argue that there are a few exceptions; for example, the PS2 launched with no fewer than 26 titles, including Tekken Tag Tournament, SSX, Summoner, DoA2: Hardcore, Smugglers Run, TimeSplitters, Unreal Tournament, Ridge Racer V and Midnight Club. That may be the best launch lineup in history, in fact.

For the most part, though, we don’t see many memorable titles for the launch of a new system.  The PS3 really only had Resistance: Fall of Man, and the Xbox 360 had a few decent titles like Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero, but that’s about it. Despite decades of historical evidence, it seems gamers expected a lot more from the launch software for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. … Either that, or the games really were that underwhelming.

So, what happened?

TWO new consoles in the same year… the same month, even! WOW!

This may have contributed to the skyrocketing expectations throughout the year. Although the near-simultaneous launch of the PS4 and Xbox One obviously doesn’t have an impact on the software, it did serve to amp up excitement.

For the first time in the industry’s history, we were going to get two brand new powerful consoles, and they were both set to launch within a week of each other. That’s just plain loony. It really is. The anticipation started to rise in January and it just kept rising after every successive announcement.

Hence, even though it’s illogical to say that hardware launch proximity can change our game expectations, the overall excitement was higher than ever.

Launch game previews made us drool, and BIG third-party titles

Well, they did make us drool. Killzone: Shadow Fall looked drop-dead gorgeous, as did Forza 5. The undeniable appeal of the quirky and accessible Knack made old-school gamers stand up and take notice, while we kept seeing great footage of games like Dead Rising 3. Additionally, we were promised Watch Dogs for both the PS4 and Xbox One, and that got delayed; Driveclub for the PS4 was delayed as well. In brief, based on what we saw throughout 2013 in terms of preview material, it’s no wonder that we expected more.

Plus, the scheduled third-party titles – Watch Dogs disappeared, but there were many others – couldn’t be any bigger. With names like Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed and Battlefield, you just couldn’t go wrong, right? That’s three of the best-selling franchises in video game history and all were getting new installments for the next-gen launches. Totally awesome, right?

Not really. They were shinier versions of games we saw a few weeks earlier on the PS3 and 360 and, in fact, many started to realize that such titles weren’t specifically designed for the next-gen platforms. The games made exclusively for those platforms are what interest the core gamer; such titles help to justify an expensive purchase, and they also hint at the system’s future capabilities. Killzone: Shadow Fall did indeed look unbelievable but as it turned out, it was just a solid, entertaining shooter. Nothing like previous entries, unfortunately, and even a little dated in terms of gameplay.

Knack fell well short according to most, as did Dead Rising 3 and Killer Instinct. Forza 5 was the lone AAA exclusive for both next-gen launches and no matter how you slice it, that’s disappointing.

Look to the future. It’ll make you feel better.

There’s no point in judging new consoles based on their launch lineups. That’s just silly. We all know that both the PS4 and Xbox One will deliver many fantastic experiences over the years. So, while our expectations may have been too high, based on the aforementioned factors, we need to remain grounded. You bought one or the other (or both), and you’re not happy with the currently available software. Oh, take it easy. Deep down, you know the games are coming. Speaking of Deep Down, that’s one of ’em.

It’s tough to deal with dashed expectations. On the other hand, in retrospect, it’s easy to see how our expectations got so high, and why we shouldn’t be overly disappointed. The launch situation just conspired to put our anticipation level through the roof. Now that we’ve all calmed down, we can look to the future with eagerness.

Lots of games coming!