Here we go, the ninth generation console is upon us and with her I'm not alone PlayStation 5 e Xbox Series X (flanked by the respective versions Digital) but also a long series of games that will introduce us to all the potential offered by next-gen. This specific generation, however, will be born with numerous unknowns in tow, among the various problems with pre-orders, numerous postponements of particularly anticipated titles and the impossibility of withdrawing your console in the store due to the limitations due to the pandemic of COVID-19. However, one of the points that has been most discussed in recent months is certainly that linked to exclusives, in particular to the peculiar situation that sees several flagship titles of branded consoles. Microsoft products e Sony come out for both old-gen and next-gen.
The (alleged) problems of the Cross-Gen
Let's make a small summary: if Microsoft immediately said it was open to the possibility of not abandoning the Xbox One user by publishing the new exclusive games on both generations (and the case Halo Infinite, in this sense, it is quite emblematic), Sony certainly caused the most stir. Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, a few months ago ai microphones di GamesIndustry International had stated that the company was determined to "respect" the generations of consoles with the release of exclusive titles. So, according to those words, it was reasonable to imagine that future PlayStation 5 exclusives would not be playable on PlayStation 4; and to a lesser extent it was so, given that the flagship exclusive of PlayStation 5 at launch, or the remake of Demon's Souls, will only be released on Sony's new console. This fate, however, has not touched many other titles initially planned only for the PlayStation 5, that is Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sackboy: A Big Adventure e Horizon: Forbidden West (the latter coming out in 2021).
A clear change of course that was strongly criticized by Sony users. What we should ask ourselves, however, is whether this choice by Sony (and also by Microsoft, which currently seems to continue to follow the same policy) be it truly absolute evil or panic has been created substantially for nothing. On the one hand, it is understandable to turn up your nose at the choice of releasing exclusive games on both generations, since the consequence of this will most likely be the limitation on a technical level of the titles in question (and the production problems behind Halo Infinite would suggest just that). On the other hand, however, there is always the risk of remaining fossilized on the usual speeches related to graphics, frame rate, particles, ray tracing and the like, losing sight of what generally should be the point on which every gamer should focus: games.
In fact, what would change for us players, playing Sackboy: A Big Adventure for example, if in-game we noticed more or less defined shadows? After all, regardless of the resolution, the game will be either great or bad on both versions regardless of mere technical issues. Also because the gaming industry has already reached the point where the titles are able to easily present details that touch the photorealism on a graphic level, and certainly at the dawn of the ninth generation it will be quite difficult (if not impossible) to immediately see substantial improvements from this point of view.
Why doesn't anyone think about games?
Another problem that some users may experience would be that related to the lack of motivation to buy a new generation console, considering the fact that many titles will also be available for the previous one. Why move on to the next generation if I can enjoy Halo Infinite and Marvel's Spider-Man Miles Morales on consoles I already own? Very true, and indeed no one forces you to buy the new consoles at launch, and from a certain point of view you should be happy that Sony and Microsoft have given you the opportunity to save five hundred euros. Buy a new generation console it is not an obligation, and companies have the right and the power to get their games out where they want. The only thing a user should expect is that the aforementioned titles are perfectly usable on both new and previous consoles; otherwise, the choice of whether or not to buy PlayStation 5 and / or Xbox Series X is up to our needs. But if your need is to have titles that show the maximum capabilities of the consoles right away, it means that, in no uncertain terms, you are wasting your money, because buying a console at launch is basically a investment, and just look at the first years of life of previous generations to understand how it has always been like this. The "real" next-gen always begins at least two years after its advent.
However, what many miss is that, although this time it was actually more "sensational", the policy of exclusive cross-gen titles it has already been adopted in the past, and one of the most striking examples is without a shadow of a doubt The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The branded masterpiece Nintendo, in fact, it didn't just come out on Nintendo Switch as many mistakenly believe, but also on the unfortunate Nintendo Wii U. It goes without saying that the game was perfectly usable on both versions and that the quality of the product was neither limited nor affected by its cross-gen nature. Similar fate also happened to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, published both on the GameCube that of Nintendo Wii, and even in that case the intrinsic quality of the product was not affected at all.
To conclude, therefore, the fact that an exclusive title is cross-gen it is not to be seen as bad for a variety of factors. The first is that Sony and Microsoft offer their users the possibility of being able to choose whether to switch to the new consoles and delay their purchase by making new exclusive titles available for both generations. The second reason is that the quality of the titles in question will not be affected because at the beginning of the new generation the differences with the previous one are still minimal. So that you want to enjoy the new titles with better technical elements it's up to you to decide, because we should be happy that, once in a while, we users are given the opportunity to choose whether or not to pass immediately or not to the new generation without feeling “forced”. For once we try to look at the glass half full.
