Why is the Last Generation Already Being Left Behind?

With the Bioware announcement that new Dragon Age: Inquisition DLC won't be available for PS3 or X360, GamersFTW discusses why the last console generation is being left behind so much earlier than the genration before it.

[EchoFyre]

Honestly it's about time, devs should be solely focusing on getting the most out of next gen consoles and disregarding any time spent developing their games for older systems. Gamers have had plenty of chance to upgrade by now so hopefully this trend will convince those clinging to their old systems to finally upgrade.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Yup. I finally upgraded from a PS3 to PS4 on Sunday and am loving it :3

[Fro_xoxo]

congrats, welcome to the new-gen.. enjoy. :)

[4Sh0w]

...already being left behind?

pfft how old are these last gen consoles???...they've been supported plenty compared to past generations.

[Master of Unlocking]

What about people like me who've had some real problems with the past gen of consoles and are wary of buying the new one so soon? Even if I had the money to buy a PS4 right now, which I don't, I had my original 60GB PS3 die on me back then, and even after paying a whopping 150€ to have it repaired, it died on me again a year and a half later. I had to fork out an additional 300€ to buy one of those (back then) new 320GB PS3 with GT5 so I could still play all the fantastic PS3 library.

It is running fine but I don't know if I'll be able to play my system 20 years from now, like I can my Neo Geo AES.

So I think I'll wait a little longer to buy a PS4. Kinda bummed to see the rare few games coming out for the PS3 in 2015 though. Metal Gear Solid V the Phantom Pain is pretty much all I can see.

[Yukes]

The last generation went on for a long time - too long in terms of hardware advancements - and now that we're a good couple of years into this generation it's frankly about time developers attempted to harness the full capability of current gen without dumbing down for compatibility with the previous gen hardware.

[uth11]

10 years not long enough for a console generation?

[Master of Unlocking]

Thing is, 10-year-long lifespan is what Sony committed to, but we're not on the PS3's 10-year anniversary, and already the games coming out for it, nevermind the exclusives, are very few and far between.

The system came out in Nov. 2006 in the US & Japan, and March 2007 in Europe, so there should still be games coming out for it in March 2017 if I'm not mistaken.

[Scrupuless]

Do you doubt that there will be games made for ps3 in 2017? Didn't they just stop making games for ps2 like 2 years ago. I don't they promised the ps3 would be the go to machine for then years, simply that they would have some support for it a minimum of 10 years. Which isn't really that long to begin with, never understood all the credence people gave that claim. Of course they are going to support their system for as long as they can profit off of it.

[Volkama]

Because it is hard to fit the resources required for a modern game into <512MB RAM without serious compromise to the design.

[curtis92]

I always use the pc version of deus ex vs. the ps2 version as the perfect example of compromising because of ram.

[GamerGabs]

It's always sad to see games coming out for consoles that you don't own (I don't have a PS4 or XboxOne) but these newer consoles have been out for a good year now and are deserving of the latest titles. Companies have to make the shift from old to new at some point, and this timing seems about right. Before they perfect the VR tech, they are moving people to their new consoles that can handle it, thus not asking people to buy both the headset and 'newer console' at the same time.

[Kribwalker]

The Xbox 360 will be 10 in November, definitely time to retire

[mochachino]

Because it went on far too long in the first place.

New consoles should release every 5 years.

New games in existing franchises should release on both gens for the first year or so then taper off rapidly to fully utilize the newer hardware imo.

I have no problem dropping $400 every 5 years for a console. People spend mclose to that on their phone every 2 years.

[Zeref]

As long as its BC*

10 year cycle I can deal with no BC. But with a 5 years cycle BC is a must!

[jobboy]

Simple...because new consoles are already struggling performance wise to keep the expectations high in comparison to pc games.

[Spotie]

What silly people have those expectations?

[SteamPowered]

No offense to consoles, but they simply cant compete with PC's in such a fluid market. PC tech gets better every 3 months, and with modular designs, you can upgrade your PC anytime you can afford it.

Consoles are built to be affordable. Bang for buck, if you will. A console is doomed from the start if they expect to keep up with Pc.

[jobboy]

yes this...and, on topic, here people are arguing why last gen consoles are left behind.....

[NarooN]

PC tech gets better every 3 months? Lol not really. You get a new generation of CPU's from Intel every 2 years basically (new architecture, not die-shrunken refreshes) and a similar cadence with AMD; in terms of GPU's, AMD's GCN launched in early 2012 and its last upgrade to the architecture came out in 2014 with GCN 1.2 (Tonga, and now Fiji) -- Nvidia's Kepler arch came out in 2012 and its successor, Maxwell v1 didn't come until mid-2014, etc.

Outside of that, it "gets better" every 3 months only if you refer to extremely minor things like upgrades to RAM or minor refreshes like that.

Consoles were never, ever built to "compete" or "keep up" with PC, so I'm not sure why people still parrot that stuff these days.

[Mrveryodd]

I'm batman and i say no

[Rookie_Monster]

X360 is in its 10th year so I don't know how much more can developers do. You still want cross gen games? Don't think so.

Having said that, even though the x360 will be left behind in terms of getting more games, it is not forgotten and the legacy will go on on the XB1 with BC. People with their large Library of X360 games can just move forward with new and better games while also can still relive the classics or replaying the entire trilogy of Gears before Gears 4 if they chooses to.

[ninsigma]

Seriously?? We've had so many articles about how we should move on from last gen. No that it's finally happening you're asking why it's happening so soon!? It's about time it was left behind.

[isarai]

Because it felt like it was lasting far too long and devs were just beyond their limit with the consoles. EVERYONE was just so ready to move on

[Josuey]

Cuz its time we get new experiences not possible on old hardware

[Master of Unlocking]

I'm still waiting to see that. Bloodborne, for example, could've been a PS3 game just as easily as Assassin's Creed Black Flag was.

[Josuey]

Horizon, witcher 3,dying light,no mans sky,dead rysing 3,uncharted 4,fallout 4 already proved that,those games cant run on those old consoles.
Bloodborne cant run on a PS3 either, even the PS4 has hicups with it at times.

Seriously people move on the PS4 is much better than the PS3.

[DaGR8JIBRALTAR]

Because its time baby....

[Lonnie18]

Yes it's overdue, let's move on now.

[saposaposapo]

Gen 7 also enjoyed more time than any gen ever before. Tbh, I won't miss the many problems games suffered because of the consoles limitations. Gen 8 is so much more prepared to handle these problems.

[Emme]

If You stick to 30 fps.

[DualWielding]

Easy because PS4 and Xbox One adoption rate has been faster than PS3/360 was

[MeteorPanda]

a year of support and to finish of the games that were still in development..it's not so bad, Why would devs create stuff for the ps3 when the 4 in comparison is a lot easier?

[NeverHeavyMan]

Already being left behind? I've seen more cross gen titles in the 8th generation than any previous and I've been around since the 2nd. It's about TIME those consoles are let go.

Keep this in mind - the Wii U launched in 2012, it's already mid-2015. The 360 launched in 2005. What does this say? It's BEEN time to move on!

[FlexLuger]

I think its partly down to the fact that last gen ran four years longer than it should have. there is no last bit of performance to squeeze out of them , yet their tails have long exceeded their prime years. so there is that.They had a good run. But their time is up.

[Fro_xoxo]

I don't mind.. My XO will be backward compatible this fall..

You can drop support all you want.. New gen console should be able to play last-gen games at least by one gen backwards.

It really is time for devs to focus on new-gen consoles.

I mean, we're about two years into the new gen already..

[DialgaMarine]

Because it's holding back the current generation. We're finally starting to see games really push the PS4 and XBone, and it's because fewer devs are putting any emphasis on last gen hardware. PS3 and 360 are still online and there are still games coming, but their libraries are complete. You can get a PS3 or 360 and enjoy thousands of games instantly; you don't need new ones. If you want the new ones, get a PS4 or XBone.

[coreyweb]

Um.....because it was like 10 years old. And......you know. Running on barney rubble hardware? And it's time to move on?

[SouljAx360]

Because it's time to move on to better things. No more holding back the games to get them running on super old hardware.

[FallenAngel1984]

I want to see the 10-year plan with PS3 and 360 successfully own out. No need to completely drop support for them when there's still an active userbase.

[arbitor365]

because last gen was the longest generation in history and it needs to just die already. We are talking about decade old hardware, people

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Because it started 10 years ago, and this generation is 2 years in already. C'mon now. Stop acting like this is new in the technology world. Move on or just be content with knowing what comes with old equipment.

[Elda]

Because it's time to move on though I still have my PS3..playing South Park:SoT & KH-2.5 also use it for Hulu,Netfix & other stuff while I use my PS4 for just gaming.

[NoDriX]

I have PS4 but i love my x360, it´s more sexy.

[iTechHeads]

Because PS3/360 owners have moved on to PS4/XB1. There's a higher active install base/market on next-gen consoles than last-gen.

[guyman]

It's almost two years into this generation, in case you forgot which year we are in, it's 2015

[porkChop]

Because the last generation went on far too long, and both gamers and devs have grown tired of it. It's time to move on. Software sales on last gen systems have dried up. People are either already playing on current gen systems or they're saving up for a current gen system. If there was any significant money left on last gen systems, they would be getting more support.

[Sy_Wolf]

The better question is why wasn't it left behind 5 years ago.