Anyone Wondering where the Gaming Industry is Heading?

Lately there has been a ton of shit/weird news coming out... the ngage, the phantom console, some of the gamecube first party releases, the rumors surrounding the nintendo DS and speculation about new systems.

Back in the 32 bit era or 16 bit era there was always something to look forward to.. whether is was the amazing ps rpgs or the amazing first party n64 releases... there was always something that kept the industry interesting. Looking at what is coming up ahead and seeing the new releases and even the changes makes me wonder where everything is going. Anyone else feel this way?

There's nothing to worry about. After watching the Half-Life 2 video for the 1st time last night and expecting Doom3 to rule I'm hoping to see some big things after those releases. As for consoles I don't know. They've been flat for a while now.

Unfortunately '"GAMING" overall is going down the shitter quicker than I can squeeze out a chunk. *Sure there's some killer apps coming out on the newer systems like HALO 2, MGS Twin Snakes, MGS III: SNAKE EATER, KILLER 7, FABLE, and prolly some I don't yet know about. But for the most part it's generally all Bling, Bling and little in the way of substance. ---It's better to just RETRO it man. NEO:GEO/Mega Drive/Super Fami/PCE, and supporting collecting cool Arcade stuff. Until the next gen, trully becomes Next Gen, it's all a marketing ploy to suck you down to the marrow of your hard earned cash, for a quick fix and not a whole lot more.

Mercenary X99

I've been pretty fond of that quick fix as of late myself though. My KOF combo pack, Return of the King, Baldur's Gate DA II, and upcoming SVC Chaos for my PS2 are working out nicely. I've been throwing ideas around with friends about the next gen systems. When the Playstation/N64 era was around you could almost picture how the graphics and engines would improve on the new hardware. I can't even begin to picture how the next gen will look. Either way, I'm ready for some VR.

Down the tubes.

I'd like to see one of the bigger companies release a cartridge based, 2-D only console. They could charge like $50 bucks for it, and around $20-$25 for the games. I think it would sell very well, assuming they could get enough developers to make games for it.

One thing I do know, the current level of graphics will not be improved all that much until the general public upgrades their displays. The limit of your average television (sub $1000) has been reached.

I have been somewhat satisfied with the current consoles, but nothing has gotten me as pumped about gaming since the Dreamcast. I wonder if any console will get me that excited ever again..