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Is it just me or has anyone else started thinking that game consoles are now to the point where the processing power just isn't an issue any more? I mean sure, it was a big deal going from NES to SuperNES (due to obscenely increased palette) to N64 (with true 3D graphics) to GameCube (really nicely done 3D graphics). But it just seems that the GameCube, in terms of graphics power, is still plenty. Same can be said about PS2 and XBox (though perhaps less for the PS2, the oldest of the bunch). It seems like we already have the processing power, we just need to figure out how best to utilize it. I fail to see how having three times the processing power in the XBox360 will make its games any better. And perhaps this is why I've always been a huge fan of Nintendo: they're always prepared to flog the dickens out of a piece of hardware to make it dance and sing like nobody else's business.
Microsoft seems to take a PC-Commodity approach to its consoles which I think will ultimately hurt the market. It seems to foster a "Higher Polygon Count = Higher Fun Factor" mentality which I can't help but see as being destructive. As I look back on gaming throughout my childhood, the gaming industry has always held a graceful balance between technical ability and creative ability. And now, for better or worst, the technical ability of this new generation is so far out there that I wonder just how game makers are going to utilize it. Honestly, I don't think we've really yet managed to harness the technical ability of this outgoing generation.
Or maybe I'm just being over-nostalgic (a claim I certainly wouldn't deny). If you look at my current collection of games, almost all the recent ones are new titles based on old franchises. I mainly use my GBA for playing the NES and SNES ports. But above all else, I'm just afraid we're going to be inundated with a whole lot of crap taking advantage of the processing power of these new machines without having even a shred of creativity in the game. I am afraid of formulaic video games.
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