My other problems are that the games I like playing, are getting fewer releases with larger gaps in between. Games have become boring reproductions of the same thing as last year. Not the first time this kind of trend happened, Street Fighter 2 had 20 versions of the same game where pretty much only the name was different. Super Street Fighter 2 Alpha 3 Turbo Tournament Edition anyone? Nah, dude, I'm going to wait for Super Street Fighter 2 Alpha 3 Turbo Tournament Edition 2 because it added in a different color option for all the costumes. That's about the same as Call of Duty 3: Modern Warfare 7: Ghost Dudes 2: The Generic Affairs. When the generic game releasing happened with Atari, Nintendo picked it up and saved console gaming from dying off by releasing the NES. When Nintendo was going to fail with the 64, Sony was there to pick up the slack and save console gaming with the Playstation which was already out and more than happy to pick up millions of disappointed Nintendo fanboys. I don't see anything similar on the horizon that I think might be able to fix the boring game problem. I may not pick up another console system for that reason, it looks like pretty much the same games getting released this year that I'm already bored of from last year.
I'd agree that the major franchises have become stale and I hate this regurgitation of yearly iterations that are no different than the prior. It annoys me no end when you read game journalists pining for yet the same game with better graphics. I also think that some of the most enjoyable game experiences have come from indie developers. I actually see huge potential in the new consoles which hasn't been achievable before for a business and from a graphics stand point, this is the way I see it from the info that has been released so far.
Xbox One: The main advantages will come from how developers interact with its required peripherals and incorporates them into gameplay, using the large amount of memory that has been devoted to these as an advantage rather than negative but it will be up to microsoft to ensure this happens. Developers are going to be forced to be more creative due to this though it could play out badly if third party don't like it especially if the public don't respond to the TV, Kinect and OS emphasis. I see a potential sidestep if they can monopolize on broadcasters rather than game companies and potentially gives them a way to reinvigorate there business model.
PlayStation 4: How flexible, simple and powerful the hardware is combined with what appears to be a business model aimed at allowing developers to do what they like and provide them with a diverse range of tools to do so. Oh and Gaikai. The main potential flaw I see is if they can not provide a store that efficiently allows consumers to access content and that they can not effectively put things like Gaikai to use.
At the moment I think I am going to pick up a PS4 first as I currently really like what they are doing not just with the PS4 but with the PS+, PS3, and Vita. Though it does depend if they release games I am interested in at launch. The Xbox doesn't interest me at the moment primarily because I would need to buy a crap load of extras I don't want to get use out of it, I do think bits of it are pretty cool. Like Davin said it looks like they are going after the bigger market of Google and Apple but totally missing the point, I think they should have dropped the xbox brand for the device and marketed it as a independent product and turn xbox into a premium version of the brand contained on the device that way they can market a new product with a different direction like Apple did with the Iphone whilst building on past success and target an entirely different market.
I'm most excited about the Oculus Rift though.
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