#generationwhat

New Post has been published on http://www.gamerzcourt.com/what-happened-to-xbox-this-generationwhat-happened-to-xbox-this-generationxbox-360/

What Happened to Xbox This Generation?What Happened to Xbox This Generation?xbox 360

We now sit in the midst of the eighth generation of video game consoles, and we find ourselves in a very different place than we were in the previous, seventh generation, at least in terms of which console is selling the most units. As of now, Sony’s PlayStation 4 has sold over 70 million units and is on track to sell more units than any of the three major consoles of the previous generation did by the end of this year. It may not catch up to the PlayStation 2’s 155 million, but it will almost certainly do the next best thing and outsell the original PlayStation’s 103 million by the end of this generation. Microsoft’s answer to the PS4, the Xbox One, sits somewhere around 30 million, which isn’t terrible in a vacuum, but when compared to Sony’s numbers, appears dismal.

Most gamers are pretty familiar with the success of the PS4 and the mediocrity of the Xbox One by now, but in 2014 when this was all coming to fruition, it was really quite remarkable to watch. Sony beating Microsoft in such a decisive, unquestionable manner so quickly was a bizarre thing to see, considering how Sony started out the previous generation with the pricey PlayStation 3. This massive shift of power, as sudden as it was, didn’t just fall out of the big blue sky. It came from lots of different factors, one of which is Microsoft’s multiple blunders with brand identity and completely self-inflicted wounds with their reputation at the very beginning stages of announcing Xbox one’s existence and specs.

“Sony beating Microsoft in such a decisive, unquestionable manner so quickly was a bizarre thing to see, considering how Sony started out the previous generation with the pricey PlayStation 3.”

In the early 2000’s Sony was riding high off of the success of one of the most successful video game consoles of all time with the PlayStation 2. Xbox and Gamecube didn’t exactly do poorly, but PlayStation was the first on the scene, would play DVD’s unlike its competition from Sega and Nintendo, and they had a massive library of games from day one thanks to seamless backwards compatibility with PlayStation one games, controllers, and memory cards.

If there was ever a time for a video game division of an electronics company to have their vision blurred by the fog of arrogance, it was then. By the mid 2000’s the Sony PlayStation was launched and it was certainly a beast to behold. The original sku had backwards compatibility with PS1 and PS2, four usb ports, a suite of card readers, and it could play blu-ray discs; sony’s video format which was currently winning the war with HD-DVD. The problem was, Sony was charging an arm and a leg for their new behemoth. The 20 GB model was $ 499 while the 60GB model was $ 599. Both of these models were way out of the normal price range for a video game console, and sales showed that with very soft numbers for the next two years.

Sony also bungled the response by releasing new versions of the console that all had different features taken away, and it soon became a mess and difficult to explain succinctly. People didn’t know what model of PS3 they needed, and it was often so confusing that employees couldn’t recite the different options accurately. On top of all of this, Sony wasn’t prepared and did a poor job at responding to the criticisms. It wasn’t until several years later that PlayStation was able to finally crank out some system-selling exclusives, revamp their marketing, simplify their message, and catch up to the Xbox 360 that ended up spending most of the seventh generation running away with a lot of the casual gamers that the PlayStation 2 had cultivated for so long. Bottom line? Sony got lazy.

“It wasn’t until several years later that PlayStation was able to finally crank out some system-selling exclusives, revamp their marketing, simplify their message, and catch up to the Xbox 360 that ended up spending most of the seventh generation running away with a lot of the casual gamers that the PlayStation 2 had cultivated for so long. Bottom line? Sony got lazy.”

The PS3 was an excellent system, but they didn’t want to work to make it affordable, and were reluctant to relinquish their attitude of being on top so they could get to the necessary work of earning their customers. This is almost an exact mirror to what ended up happening at the end of the seventh generation and the beginning of the eighth. Sony was in a place where they were ready to fight again. They knew they had a lot to prove and wanted to do it. Conversely, it was now Microsoft’s turn to be arrogant and sluggish to deal with issues. The success that the seventh generation had brought them put them essentially in the exact same head-space that PlayStation was in at launch time for the PlayStation 3.

Just like Sony before them, Microsoft had an expensive console with a plethora of features that were largely unnecessary and only served to bloat the price and muck up the mission statement of the machine. Adding extra fuel to the fire, despite lots of nearly unanimous criticism of the upcoming Xbox One, Microsoft failed to respond appropriately and even took a tone of resentment towards their audience at first. It took many years for that damage to be repaired, some would argue that their still repairing it, and meanwhile, thanks to Microsoft’s many avoidable mistakes and Nintendo’s unappealing Wiiu, Sony had taken this generation completely away from its competition.

The big difference between the similarities of the seventh and eighth video game console generations is that Microsoft still hasn’t completely followed through with the redemption campaign that Sony was able to pull off ten years ago. The Xbox One has been out for over four years and the list of exlcusive games is still one of the shortest in recent memory. Most of the multi-platform games perform better on the PlayStation 4, so it would have made a lot of sense for Microsoft to crank out some exclusives, but here we are and other than a few titles and an HDMI input that serves very little purpose, there’s not much you can do on an Xbox One that you can’t do as well if not better on a PlayStation 4.

“Some signs of an about-face for the gaming giant are present though, with the recent applications of games pass and some very consumer-friendly practices in backwards compatibility- the PlayStation 4’s weak spot.”

This is a major component of what got Sony across the finish line with the last generation in a respectable place. Even though Sony didn’t win that generation, they finished strong. Due to Xbox still struggling to give gamers reasons to buy their machine over Sony’s or Nintendo’s, it is not looking like they are going to finish the eighth generation in the same way. Until those reasons materialize, Microsoft better get used to second or even third place going forward.

Some signs of an about-face for the gaming giant are present though, with the recent applications of games pass and some very consumer-friendly practices in backwards compatibility- the PlayStation 4’s weak spot. This may be too little too late for the current generation, but it has potential to grow in the future. If Xbox can elaborate and expand on these features and compliment them with an army of exclusives for their next machine, I’m certain they can catch up to Sony if not overtake them in the future, but as of now, Xbox still has quite an uphill climb ahead of them. As we have learned in this generation though, history certainly repeats itself, so perhaps Microsoft’s Xbox is poised to really surprise us soon.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to GamingBolt as an organization.

Domanda n.65: “Se nei prossimi mesi prendesse piede un movimento per mandare a casa l’attuale classe dirigente, parteciperesti ?”

Not the excessive sweating is good or bad, but sweating is totally important to body temperature regulation. Did your mom even bother to consider that? PS. I agree with the HIPA comment, you’re an adult, that doc should back off w/o u there.

He told her flat out that she will get tired of...

oh I completely agree with you.  Klaus was letting her go for her.  For him.  For them.  It was really beautiful character development on the part of Klaus.  Caroline is the first person he's allowed to leave him.  He's given her his blessing, and realized he can't be a part of her life right now.  He has let her be on her own.  He still believes she'll end up at his door.  That she won't leave him forever.

Actually I love how the parallel between 3x20 and 5x11, mostly because for once Caroline is truly acknowledging and accepting the gift of being a vampire.  That she has forever.  That she wants to see the world.  She wants to experience life.  She wants to go to college and be normal for a while.

Klaus has opened her eyes so much, has pushed her to think about what she truly wants, what will make her happy.  So I think that is why all the Klaroline scenes tonight were so important because Caroline wasn't truly honest with him but herself as well.  She may 'hate' herself but she acknowledges what she feels for once, that there is something there, and she longs to explore it.  She wants to explore those feelings. That is why that kiss she initiated was such a huge thing because she didn't have to kiss him so passionately and intimately, she could have pulled away quickly and left, but she didn't.  She stayed.  She stroked his face while he was precious.  She drank in his presence.  She looked truly happy with him.  She was beaming, for heaven sakes, for the first time we really saw a soft and loving Caroline around Klaus.  She completely dropped her walls, and let him in, and relished in the moment of being with her.  She's falling for him.  The intimacy she showed wasn't just someone who wanted sex.  She wanted much more.  She wanted all of him.  Even just of very long few hours ;)

She wasn't thinking about her friends.  She put herself first with Klaus during their encounter.  All Klaus has wanted from her was to admit that she felt something, that there was something there between them.  Take away who he is, or the fears of what others may think, and put aside her own internal fight.

Just as they were walking in the woods, they were flirting and smiley. And gah.  I did love how they chased after each other because it was so fitting to their relationship.  Klaus always chasing after, and tonight, she stopped running.  

She got to be selfish for once.  Klaus proved again tonight that he would put her first.  He'd let go of his revenge again for her.  He sent Rebekah to save Matt.

Caroline had told him that he never tried to understand those around him, that he always got in his own way, his actions had consequences. He has shown over and over again that he respects her for just being her, and values her opinions but most importantly, learns to be unselfish because he values her happiness than his own.

There were so many parallels in their scenes tonight.  Aside from my initial negative response when Klaus said he was letting her go, I realized, it shows much Caroline has impacted him. This young vampire has opened his eyes too, and brought out his humanity, and what it means to still feel human.  How he's evolved so much because of her.  He realizes, as he did in 4x23, she will come to him when she's ready. They both understand she's not ready yet.   I really respect Caroline for realizing yes, she has feelings for him, which are so new and confusing and really overwhelming, that she needs to just be herself for now.  She needs to learn what is to be Caroline Forbes, the strong and ageless vampire.  

From her reaction to Klaus' saying he was leaving her alone for good and he was never coming back, Caroline's face is heartbreaking.  You just see the surprise but the crushing disappointment as well.  She looks lost and devastated when he tells he's never coming back to Mystic Falls.  Then she steels herself, and flippantly tells him 'good,' trying to brush off the emotions which were previously written all over her face.  It was a nice bookend / nod to her reaction in 4x21 when she's hurt that Klaus didn't say goodbye and she didn't care that he left for a new life and was going to forget her.  Klaus has been a constant in her life for two years, for very bad and good reasons, but it hits her that he will be gone for good.  She doesn't want to miss him.  To care that he or be hurt by the idea, that he would forget her and she wasn't important to him. Her open reaction to Klaus' declaration about leaving MF and her behind for good is honest and speaks to what Caroline's really feeling.  She's not masking her emotions in that moment.  (That's why I think her comment about her future plans not including him at all was more self preservation and push him away.  The line about 'hating herself' fits with her comment about the future because deep down, like most feelings and emotions tied to Klaus, she does picture him in her future.  That there is a part of her who wants Klaus to show her the world; to be with him.)  If Caroline truly hated him, she wouldn't been so hurt and upset when he agreed to leave her behind for good, that this would be a permanent goodbye if she wanted that.   

What was most amazing about 4x23 and this episode was while Caroline might have been skeptical of his motives about a dying Katherine, she has accepted his feelings (when just two seasons ago she told Tyler she was certain that he didn't have any), and understanding how much he does love her.

I do believe again, that not now, but as she evolves more, that the day in the woods and graduation will have a big impact on her, and she'll truly understand the enormity of what Klaus has now done for her twice.  He has given up his ingrained need for revenge.  He has relinquished power he has over Tyler and Katherine because Caroline's happiness (her smile) means more than his own need to strike back and protect himself.

I saw tonight, unlike Julie's BS, not as a ending.  I saw it as a prologue to the true beginning of their eternal life together.  In two seasons, Klaroline has evolved so much, and their story has been so beautiful, heartbreaking but really wonderful to watch.  We are seeing two very different people who find themselves drawn to one another for reasons they can't understand, but yet can relate to each other, they see the good and bad in the other, but they still have found a way to deeply care about each other.  

Klaus has learned to love again.  To understand that the true meaning of love is to let go, to have faith in the other.  Caroline wants to see the world with new eyes.  Mostly, she wants more than a small town life can offer her.  Like Klaus told in 3x11, Caroline knows there is a whole world out there waiting for her.  She's slowly becoming more accepting of truly being a vampire and the grey world she's part of. 

You don't give an amazing couple like this an endgame scene, then seven months later, say their reunion tonight was a 'goodbye.' 

Tonight was a beginning.  Klaus is all about keeping his promises ;)  The most important one is being her last.

I had thought about picking it up and your grade a rating tipped the scales. I totally don’t regret it. I am really impressed with the level of detail that was put into the movie.