The Ninth (kind of) generation of video game consoles
Returning to the ring
For the past four generations, it has been a competition between Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo and none of them fail to impress this generation.
By far the most popular console of the current generation, the Nintendo Switch has been around for a while. First released in March 2017 to replace the Wii U, which had been discontinued for about a month at that point, the Switch is a handheld console you can plug into your TV. The idea isn’t exactly new with the Sega Nomad and PSP having a way to connect them to your TV, but the Switch has done it the best out of all of these consoles. The Switch has lots of fun first- and second-party games, as it is a Nintendo console, and also a lot of third-party games, especially in comparison the the Wii U. Of course, the Switch has some problems. Its online is the worst in this race and it is not backwards compatible with any other Nintendo systems, but, it’s still a good console.
Sony is entering this race for the fifth time with the PS5. The PS5 is almost perfect with a couple of exceptions. It’s nearly impossible to get (spoiler alert, applies to all of these consoles), and it’s only backwards compatible with PS4 and PSVR, unlike the Xbox Series which is backwards compatible with all previous Xboxes. It first released in December 2020.
Microsoft is entering the ring again with the Series X/S. The place where the XSXS really shines is movies and TV. Out of the three largest manufacturers, Sony doesn’t have CBS All Access yet and Nintendo only has Hulu and Youtube. Yet, Microsoft has all of the major paid apps as well as some free apps and some niche apps. The main problems with this console are that all new games are available on PC through the Microsoft Store and Steam and whoever is in charge of Xbox naming should seriously be fired. It was released in December 2020.
Back in Business
After being out of the console market for almost thirty years, Atari is back with the VCS (not to be confused with the Atari 2600, which was first released as the Atari VCS). It has the Atari Vault with 150 retro Atari games, Antstream with over 1000 arcade classics, GameJolt with over 100000 indie games, the Chrome browser, and PC Mode, allowing you to run PC Games.
The VCS is currently out to its Indiegogo backers and will release for the general public in Spring 2021.
Kentucky Fried Newcomer
The most anticipated console of the ninth generation is, by far, the KFConsole.
It was first announced in June 2020, but it was widely believed to be a joke until it was officially revealed in December of the same year. It uses the generated heat of the components to warm chicken (I’m not making this up), it supports ray tracing, it has 4K, and an output of 240Hz. It will also have 2TB of SSD storage.
Console on Wheels
Tesla (the car manufacturer, solar energy company, and alcohol distillery) is putting their (other) foot in the door when it comes to video games. With the third version of the Model S hatchback and second version of the Model X minivan, Tesla introduced a completely redesigned interior. The new interior has an MCU (Main Computer Unit) with 10 teraflops of power.
According to the pictures, it can play Witcher III, Battle of Polytopia, Cat Quest, Fallout Shelter, Beach Buggy Racing 2 (a Tesla exclusive), Stardew Valley, and Cuphead. According to Elon Musk, it will run Cyberpunk. It will also play music and video (both features were carried over from the MCU 2, the former being carried over from MCU 1). The main problem with this platform is that you have to buy an $80000+ car in order to use it, but I can see it being a huge success if Tesla removed some of the car exclusive features (Maps), removed the built-in screen, attached some ports to it, put it in a plastic case, called it the Model C, and sold it for $400.
Who will win?
The only time that Sony has not won the console war was in the seventh generation where Sony made second with their PS3. This was because the Wii was a smash hit. The PS3 also overtook the Xbox 360.
And, I say that from what it looks like, we will see a repeat of the seventh generation. I say that Nintendo will come out on top.
Of course, this is for a generation that just started and consider that the Wii U was once the best selling console of the eighth generation. The was due to that console’s year head start. Only time will tell who will actually win, but I would say Nintendo, followed by Sony, KFC, Microsoft, Atari, and finally, Tesla.