by Peter » Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:19 am
I couldnt even give a rats ass on the next generation. The only thing thats had a profound effect on me from this generation is the complete uncertainty for the future of how games are marketed and distributed. I am more interested to see the change in general marketing and distribution of software given the global economy and the rolling out of steam/cloud/DLC. The things that are making me say "wow" at the minute is when i went into town the other day to buy Fifa only to find that Gamestop was not only shut down, but a brand new coffee shop was in its place, open and trading..... GAMESTOP WAS THERE 3 WEEKS AGO!!!!
So when i went round to Game, they tried their hardest to not let me buy just Fifa, they also pushed the limited edition branded controller, download points and pre order Black Ops 2 so i could get a free poster, to whit i declined. On my way out the door, they offered me trade in value for my umbrella since it had started raining, and they probanly would have gotten it on the shelf the second i left the shop, for 3 times the price.
All i am getting at is the only lasting effect i will remember from this generation, is the complete transformation in regards to the changing of the way we buy games. These are the last of the days when you walk down to the local Game and bought a disc. There may always be an option to do that, but as fewer and fewer of these shops become available, then the inconvenience really wont be worth it.