Early console adopters

Gummy Panda

So i'm sick with a bad head cold or manflu (doctors note says flu) and reading NeoGAF. Good thread on there about early adopters of consoles and would they do it again after this gen.

Now the only system i bought on launch this gen was a original DS i imported from the US using Lik-Sang. Xbox 360, I could be considered early adopter as i bought just after xmas when the stock was more available. PS3 didn't buy till 40GB uncharted pack. PSP was bought after that as PSP-2000 model.

Looking back on this gen, I've don't think I'll be buying the next console till 1-2 years into its life and even then I still might not. I'm not impressed with home consoles this gen and if next gen is the same, I'm out.

Handhelds are a little different. I'd be wary if they're very big as most likely a hardware revision is on the cards but if they are the quality they're now then i will be buying them day 1.

So did you early adopt this gen and/or can you see yourself doing it next gen?

Tyranax

I waited until Christmas '07 before getting my Elite, which bricked after just a year and a half, absolutely shocking performance. I was lucky to get a DS Lite the previous Christmas as a present, and I think that since the demise of the PS2, the DS has the best gameplay available, pound for pound, and is miles ahead of anything else this gen. That illustrates just how poor home consoles have been this gen. I waited because I want breadth of games on my console. Good gameplay experiences across a wide variety of genres. Looking at my 360 library, although I think that the games I have are good, they do not stack up to the PS2 at the same stage, at all. In fact, it's an embarrassing comparison for the 360.

Going on this gen's experience, I will not be adapting early the next one. Why should I? Poor variety of games, and perhaps reliability concerns as well. I know some people have to adapt early, but you have no responsability to. It's up to the companies to make the games, and make sure that the console is bloody designed properly.

mayordenis

Tyranax wrote: »

I waited until Christmas '07 before getting my Elite, which bricked after just a year and a half, absolutely shocking performance. I was lucky to get a DS Lite the previous Christmas as a present, and I think that since the demise of the PS2, the DS has the best gameplay available, pound for pound, and is miles ahead of anything else this gen. That illustrates just how poor home consoles have been this gen. I waited because I want breadth of games on my console. Good gameplay experiences across a wide variety of genres. Looking at my 360 library, although I think that the games I have are good, they do not stack up to the PS2 at the same stage, at all. In fact, it's an embarrassing comparison for the 360.

Going on this gen's experience, I will not be adapting early the next one. Why should I? Poor variety of games, and perhaps reliability concerns as well. I know some people have to adapt early, but you have no responsability to. It's up to the companies to make the games, and make sure that the console is bloody designed properly.

For everyone who has a bad story like yours there's someone with polar opposite, I'll say I've had nothing but great things to say about the current gen - I've had several xbox's (none broke) all served me very well - 3 ps3 none had any issues (bar heroine addicts stealing one) a Wii, DS and PSP and bar the PSP I've had an absolute plethora of top quality games.

I've seen the real dawn of online console gaming (FU DREAMCAST) (<3 soz) and one of my main regrets is that I waited about a year to get a xbox and if I had of bought it earlier I wouldn't still be playing catch up.

The Wii and DS both broached new ideas, which the mainstream have now taken and run with, **** it I even have an iPhone which has a serious amount of decent fun games - my confidence in gaming right now is high enough that if the next gen squared were on the horizon and closing in fast I would be finding a way to screw gamestop into giving it the cheap.

Josey Wales

I don't think I'd be considered an early adopter. I bought an Xbox 360 about a year after it's launch as I realised that I wouldn't be able to afford a PS3 when it launched. I had gotten out of gaming but the promise of the new generation enticed me back. I was very happy with my 360 for over 18 months. I had some great games and I had my first online gaming experiences with Gears and PES 6.

I then got a Wii as we felt in the house it would be good for parties and we are right. We don't play it that much on our own but when we have friends over it is great to play Wii Fit or Wii Sports and especially Mario Kart Wii.

The I got bored of my 360 and as I was always a Playstation fan I traded in the 360 for a PS3. Never regretted it. Great blu-ray player, some great games (Uncharted, LBP and Fallout 3) and some great games coming like MW2, Uncharted 2 and Ratchet & Clank.

As for the next-generation I can't see myself getting into it too soon. I'm sure it is a few years off yet but as I get older it gets harder to justify purchasing new consoles. Although I plan on getting a PSP Go.

NTMK

This gen i adopted early i bought a 360, a PSP, a DS and a wii(albeit for my sister) at launch. ive had 2 RROD's and a E74 out of the box. Psp had a laser failure. The Ds got lost after 2 months. Ive had 3 ps2 (cooked the gpu in 2 of them) i even broke a mega drive Ive only have 2 consoles that never broke a 16 yr old gameboy still goin, the original xbox and the wii. So basically i will probably adopt early again.my only hope they dont fail as much.

djkeogh

I picked up the Wii on release day and played it religiously for the first 12 - 18 months. I picked up the 360 around the time that COD4 made an appearance and that was pretty much the end of the Wii. The DS still gets gameplay more than the Wii. The 360 has a great catalogue of games and I'm still working through the older games as well as still trying to keep up with all the new releases and quality XBLA games that are out there. XBLA in particular has been impressing me over the last 3 months or so with some quality releases.

Rhyme

For the most part you buy a console for the games, if the games on release aren't to your liking, wait a while. I bought my Wii on release because of Zelda and that's the only console I've bought on release, simple as.

Retr0gamer

I'm with Rhyme on this. I wouldn't buy a console on launch unless it had games I wanted. I waited over a year before I got the PS2 because the games were terrible on it for a few months. I waited a year for the 360 for the same reason. I got a PS3 a year after it was released but it was a very bad idea. I got it when I was in America for 500 dollars and decided to get it since it was cheaper. I remember trying to find games to buy for it and realising I didn't want any for it. I got the DS at launch but that was a mistake as well. There really was nothing decent for it for about a year but it has really made up for it. I would have got a PSP at launch becasue it's launch really was fantastic but ended up getting one a bit later. Got a Wii at launch for zelda. Not really worth but gets loads of use at parties and launch day was great craic.

Have to agree about this gen being a massive disappointment. Other than the downloadable and portable games the main consoles really haven't been anything special apart from a few games. Japanese developers have either jumped ship to handhelds or are trying to make western games and failing on the main consoles other than maybe capcom. Western games have gotten a lot better but there's a lot of uninspired games from them. The PS2 is by far my most played console still.

Overheal

having not adopted anything new this gen i would not consider myself an early adopter. The 360 looks good but was full of fail; the PS3 still feels stupid expensive and theres nothing I really feel I want to play on it; the DS and the Wii are hands down the best but even still the Wii lacks some real meaty games; its Motion control was a dissapointment. PSP and its UMD scam just made me say No.

an awful gen. they should relaunch dreamast and make new games for it

CiDeRmAn

I used to be an early adopter, 3DO, PS, N64, DC, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, GBA, GBASP, DS, DSlite, DSi, GBMicro, PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, Wii, 360, I bought them all at launch, with multiple games for each, I seem to recall spending quite a few bob on the Xbox, 360 and N64 in particular...

That said, it is a mugs game, I mean who is ever going to be impressed except a bunch of folk you'll never meet on Boards?
If you just wait a little while they mot only come down in price, in most cases, but also preowned ones often crop up quite fast after launch and even more money may be saved.

Truth is, now a days, I simply can't afford to run out and pick up the latest thing, dipping into the "petty cash" or credit card.
Nope, purchases of consoles and games both are now planned, especially "big ticket" items like consoles.

So, if and when the next gen is announced, I'll probably start saving for the PAL release, not going to import anymore, now that really is a mugs games, I can't remember how much I spent on my launch DC, but it was a lot...

Sierra Oscar

I bought the PS2 pretty much on the weekend of its release, didn't really have any regrets . . . but nowadays I would wait a while before buying into anything. I think its the safest bet.

Retr0gamer

Hope you enjoyed Fantavision for 12 months because that was all that was worth playing on it.

Sierra Oscar

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Hope you enjoyed Fantavision for 12 months because that was all that was worth playing on it.

FIFA 2001 & Theme Park World!:D

I also have memories of playing Rayman 2 and Time Splitters . . . :eek:

I think UT was out near its release too. But yeah, not many games worth bothering with.

CyberGhost

Never been an early adopter of anything, I've bought very few things on the release date, never bought a console on a release date.

I usually wait a while and read the feedback, then I buy.

Though lately I find it kind of harder to hold off, dunno why, maybe I got infected by the consumer bug?

The last generation I had that I played a lot was PS1, bought a PS2 couple of years ago and but didn't touch it at all.

This generation is boring, since the consoles got enough power to run FPS games they've become really dull, the originality and innovation in games vanished, nowadays consoles are dominated by FPS and 3rd person games... which belong on the PC along with strategy games.

I wonder though, how long will this generation last? it seems that graphics have become "good enough" and there really is no push for something new, most people I know are happy with their consoles and want it to last as long as possible, no one wants to shell out 500-600 euro for a new console anymore.

Could 360 and PS3 really last till say 2015 with add ons like NATAL and that dildo thing for PS3?

CiDeRmAn

Fantavision,
One of my all time favourite ways to waste an hour or so.
That game was so under-rated, ok, so it was a glorified tech demo, but it was so fun to play, the 50's retro future style cut scenes were class too, which reminds me, must mention this in the "best cut scene" thread else where!

Gulliver

Had Atari 2600/7800, C64, Megadrive, Snes, N64, PS1, PS2, Saturn, Dreamcast, Xbox 360 DS and Wii.

Saved up for all of them after actually playing them elsewhere (except Ataris - Thanks, Santa!). Managed to get most second hand. However, saved up for the Saturn and got it at launch with Virtua Fighter (think this was the only game available for ages!) Got Virtua Cop and two guns on launch also. Enjoyed it immensely and felt great having a really new console. Was so disappointed that the Saturn wasn't supported that I've never bought anything even near launch since.