Looking Back: The Current Generation Nears Its End

by Louis Bedigian

The closer we get to seeing what's next, the closer we get to shutting the door on what has become the most remarkable gaming era. 

I remember the wait.  I remember the weather.  I remember the hockey game that preceded it, a game where I sat in the second row and watched the Red Wings defeat another team.  I remember the essay that I wrote afterwards, the essay that compared my emotion to the feeling of being stuck on a lifeboat after the Titanic sank.

All good things must come to an end.  The long-running Star Wars saga comes to a close on May 19th.  blink-182 recently announced that they were going on an "indefinite hiatus."  Acclaim no longer has the opportunity to release Turok 10 – or bring us a sequel to the highly underrated extreme sports game Aggressive Inline.

What we once knew, what we once loved, no longer exists.  Although we have much to look forward to, the beginning of our next gaming generation, the closer we get to seeing what's next, the closer we get to shutting the door on what has become the most remarkable gaming era.  It may not have had the most innovation, but it spawned more single- and multiplayer success stories than any generation before it.  Had it not been for Halo and Halo 2, we would remember this time as the PlayStation 2 era.  Thanks to Sony's domination, that's essentially what it became.

October 26th, 2000 turned out to be quite an adventurous day.  The hockey game prevented me from getting to Target until after midnight -- by that time there were already more than 15 people in line.  (If memory serves right, I was #17.)  There were several people behind me and only two of them walked away with a PS2.  At the time we didn't know any of this.  We didn't know who would get one, or even how many consoles the store had.

We didn't find out till they handed out tickets 30 minutes before the doors opened.  I was literally afraid.  It sounds crazy to think of myself as being fearful of not getting a new game console, but this was PlayStation 2, the sequel to the greatest console ever made.  As crazy as that feeling was, I had it.  And when I think of all the memories that would be made later on because of it, I understand why.

The excessive lines for PS2 struck fear in anyone hoping to get an Xbox or GameCube.  No one cared about those consoles at the time – this was the year 2000, remember?  Xbox was just a bunch of tech demos.  GameCube hadn't been fully unveiled.  It was all about PS2.  Again, Halo aside, that's what it's always been about.

No one could have predicted that Metal Gear Solid 2 would receive huge competition from (and eventually be beaten by) Grand Theft Auto 3.

Fun Fact: Jimmy Eat World released their fifth album, Futures, last October.  On the title track, Jim says he's "always believed in futures," and that he hoped “for better in November."  Clearly he could have been talking about the 2004 Presidential Election, but I think it's more likely that he was expressing his hope for a PlayStation 3 unveiling, don't you? :)

2001 brought big surprises from everyone.  Rockstar turned out to be a rockstar with the release of their breakthrough driving game Grand Theft Auto 3.  The game sold more copies than most rockstars sold of their latest record.  It was big, bold, beautiful, controversial, revolutionary, and an absolute joy to play.  I can't imagine where PS2 would be today without it.

I still laugh (as many of you probably do) at the fact that I spent more time playing the demo of Metal Gear Solid 2 than I did actually playing the final game.  Like the first MGS, the demo was the perfect video game trailer.  So perfect that the final product couldn't possibly live up to what we had already experienced, at least not entirely.

In October 2001, I got the chance to play all the GameCube launch titles before they hit the shelves.  At that time I wasn't too excited for the console -- I wasn't even certain that I'd buy it.  But I always get excited about playing games early, so I knew I had to go.

Unbelievably, the game that looked like kiddie crap turned out to be the game that hooked me the most: Pikmin.  Challenging, unique, and full of surprises, the two Pikmin kiosks were played (by the same group of people) all night.  Those who got the controller could not and would not put it down, preventing others from trying GameCube's best launch title.

That did it -- I had to have a GameCube.

The Xbox wait was considerably colder than the PS2 wait (and lonelier – no one showed up till morning!).  Waiting for GameCube proved to be most painful (it was cold and snowy), but since I was waiting for my cousin, he helped by sending hot chocolate and Macaroni & Cheese.

The wait for all three consoles, although not entirely necessary, proved to be worth it.  I'll never forget the joy I just had beating Resident Evil 4 for the first time.  I'll never forget the first time me and my friends delved into Halo 2.  I'll never forget the many, many times I beat the first Onimusha. 

Resident Evil 4: an unforgettable classic. 

I'll never forget the hundreds of hours I spent playing Tekken Tag Tournament, especially the day I beat my friends without even looking at the screen.  (I had just met my friend Ellen, and we were talking about things gamers don't usually discuss -- the real world.  I turned to her, continued talking, and let my hands control the game to victory.  I don't think either of us will ever forget the look on Craig's face.  Total disbelief.)

I'll never forget the music of Final Fantasy X, or the puzzles of ICO.  I'll forever cherish the moments I spent playing NFL Street Vol. 1 with my cousin.  There are dozens, if not hundreds of moments I could mention that are forever etched into my brain.

Fun Fact: When battling for long hours or leveling up, even the best music can get annoying.  The next time you're playing Final Fantasy X, try listening to Our Lady Peace's "Spiritual Machines."  You'll be surprised by how well the two go together.

As eager as I am for what's to come, a part of me wants to hold onto what we have for just a little bit longer.

What memories will be made in the next six years?  Gamers can expect RPGs to return in full force.  It might not happen overnight, but once Hironobu Sakaguchi's game hits Xbox 2, expect big sales and a million clones to follow.  Some of these clones will ultimately turn out to be unique, enjoyable games, hopefully bringing the genre back to its glory days.

Expect Bungie to take its time with Halo 3.

Expect Nintendo to release a touch screen-type device for their next console – maybe not at launch, but at some point.

Expect Rockstar to do something shocking with the Grand Theft Auto series.

Will Liberty City finally go online?

Expect Sony to push PSP-to-PS3 connectivity more severely than Nintendo pushed GBA-to-GameCube connectivity.

Expect Rare to continue down the path they've always taken, one that's filled with delays, but a few spectacular games.  (Conker will surprise everyone.  It's entirely different from the Nintendo 64 version.)

Don't expect to see Dual-Shock 3.  (Rumors say Sony is designing a new controller for PS3.  All signs indicate that this is true.)

Don't expect to see all three game consoles launch in the same year (it's a dream that isn't likely to happen).

Don't expect to see an arcade revival as many had hoped.

The next generation is going to be amazing, but I'm no longer in a hurry to get there.  There are still a lot of memories to be made with what we have, and I'm not about to let them slip by.

Hey Craig, you want a rematch? :)