Why you shouldn’t rush out to get a next gen console

Well, it seems the pre-order situation for next gen gaming hardware is a bit of a dog’s breakfast right now. At least where Sony and Nvidia are concerned. We’ve yet to see what the situation will be like when Series X/S and RDNA2 sales go live.

Of course, I think anybody with half a brain could have seen this coming. Scalpers always run to snap up stock for popular products. Which is easier now than ever thanks to cheeky tools that do all the work automatically. Regular consumers don’t stand a chance. Unfortunately, the games hardware industry and retailers don’t seem to quite understand the concept of “one per customer”. Putting bottom line for the next quarterly earnings report before customer satisfaction once again.

There’s obviously a rabid fever out there for these consoles. One which has surprised even me, then again I’ve been off social media for most of this year. However, I think it’s rather foolish to be tripping over each other to get these systems at launch. I certainly won’t be, and here’s why you’d be far better off waiting too, rather than rushing to get the newest shiny right now.

Most games will be cross generation

Both Sony and Microsoft are committed to cross generational games. Pretty much every launch title for both systems will be getting a simultaneous release on the PS4 or Xbox One. In fact, it seems like most titles will be for the foreseeable future. Sony themselves have said they plan to support the PlayStation 4 for at least another four years. So while the next gen hardware certainly has some pretty big advantages, its not like you’ll be missing out on the latest games. Plus, many of these titles can be upgraded to versions for 9th gen platforms, so you shouldn’t need to double dip down the road.

New hardware inevitably has bugs

First run hardware will inevitably have problems associated with it. I’ve crunched some of the numbers, and I expect both these consoles will run hot and loud. The PS5 in particular, with its higher clock speeds, concerns me. Which is probably why the thing is so bloody large. There’s likely a huge heatsink inside there to keep that power hungry SoC in check. And well, we’ve had a lot of fun with hot hardware (not the website) in the past.

You’re generally better off waiting for hardware revisions that fix these issues. Take it from someone who’s owned a lot of first run consoles. So called “slim” models are almost always better.

The Games are more expensive

The industry seems pretty gung ho about raising game prices to $70 USD. Which if you live in Ontario like me, puts them up over $100 CAD with the Horseshit Tax. I guess all those microtransactions still weren’t enough for this greedy industry.

I know you can claim that games offer a lot better value per dollar versus say a movie, but that’s still a lot of money for a single entertainment product. Especially now with Communist Orchestrated Viral Infection Disaster related job losses and recessions around the globe. Seems a lot of gamers conquer. So it’ll be interesting to see how early adopters react to the price increase. In the mean time, you’ll be able to snatch up a lot of last gen titles cheap.

You probably have a huge backlog

If you’re anything like me, you probably found yourself collecting games that you just never got around to playing or finishing, for one reason or another. Well, now’s a good enough time as any to start cracking into them. Especially with winter coming, and everyone being stuck at home due to the damn CCPVirus.

A lot of stuff in my personal backlog are longer form titles, which I just don’t have enough time for with work and other priorities. In theory, I wouldn’t need to buy any new games for at least the next year without running out of something to play. I got Game Pass recently too, so there’s even more to keep me busy.

Buying from scalpers only encourages them

Are you so desperate for a next gen console this Holiday that you’re willing to pay hugely inflated prices to eBay scalpers? STOP. Don’t do it. Put that keyboard down, go outside, take a walk, and think about how you were about to make a huge mistake. If you want to plop a silly amount of cash on a gaming product, go buy yourself a PC. Seriously, at least those are worth it.

Buying off scalpers only encourages this unethical behaviour, and hurts your fellow gamers. You don’t want to be that guy. Don’t allow yourself to be scammed because you couldn’t wait for a few months. No video game is that important.

Wait for trusted reviews

Companies make a lot of claims about what their systems are capable of. Unfortunately, products rarely live up to the hype. Both consoles will likely be good, no doubts there. The question is whether they’re actually worth your time and money right now. Are the new games actually good? Do they really perform at the stated high frame rates? How loud is the console? Do the SSDs load as quickly as they say? Are the promised services functional? Which is why it’s always a good idea to wait for independent reviews from trustworthy sources over blindly spending your hard earned money.