Next-Gen to me means more than just new hardware. It is the possibility of something more. Realism is important for some games, but a "cartoony look" does not mean the game is not "next-gen". For games like F.E.A.R., Crysis, Gran Turismo, Forza, and other games that are trying to present "realistic" situations, photorealism and realistic physics are a must. For RPG's and platformers, photorealism is not expected. A high level of visual and audio fidelity is expected from high end hardware. I did not pay good money for the graphics and sound on my new hardware to look or sound like they came out of a system that is five years old. On this note, the Wii is not next-gen. It is a new concept and does a good job at what it was designed for. That is it.
Games should be fun to play. Otherwise, they are not games. The only rating that matters is, was the game fun? Would I enjoy spending a few hours with this game and not feel like I wasted my money? Gameplay is the core of all games. Even if you are not presenting a new concept, your game can be as good as or better than the other games of that type. Story on the other hand is important. You cannot present the same story without making it somewhat different from other games of that type. Zelda, Mario, and Final Fantasy seem to be the exception to this rule. Not all games need to have a great story to be fun though, sometimes you just need a game where you can shoot everything on screen. The old side scrolling shooters like Contra and Gradius are good examples.
Online experience is important in different ways to different people. Some people need the ability to get together with friends to play. Some people do not play well with others. Shooters need an online mode, but this should not just be online death match. There should also be the option for co-op story mode. On the other hand, every RPG does not need to be an MMO. Single player RPG's are still worthwhile. With some recent games becoming online only experiences (Warhawk, Shadowrun...) it seems that some developers are becoming lazy or they have just spent too much time on the online aspect that they can't meet the deadline to release a decent offline experience. This hurts the game more than it helps. I was really looking forward to playing both of those games, but now I won't bother due to the fact that they are online only. Shadowrun was an RPG and still should be.
As far as the download services are concerned, Microsoft got it right, except it should be free for Gold membership. The Wii has its Virtual Console going for it, but will need more than that to keep it going, like downloadable demos. The Playstation Network just doesn't have that much on it. There are some demos, some videos, and a few downloadable games. They just need more of that type of content. As far as downloadable games go, give me something more than just silly little games and rehashes of old concepts. Blast Factor is obviously trying to compete with Geometry Wars, and Super Rub-a-Dub belongs on the Wii. Unless you have never played Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Lemmings or are feeling nostalgic; Flow and Gran Turismo HD Concept are the only things worth downloading. The PSone games are a joke for right now, we need more.
Next-gen is here. The PS2 is going through its last year of original titles from big name developers, and the Gamecube and Xbox have already died. Maybe next year we will stop calling it next-gen. As long as game news publications still use the word, so will we. Xbox360 owners are already convinced that next-gen is here, PS3 owners just need to be shown some love. Wii owners, well, they'll get over it.
I don't hate the Wii. I just don't think it deserves the attention it gets. It is a Gamecube with a new controller. Nintendo should have released it five years ago. Maybe then they wouldn't have taken third place last time.
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