"The Gameplay Doesn't FEEL Next Gen"

This is a common complaint I keep seeing cropping up in reviews for PS4 and XB1 games, and I don't really get it.
Like a person will say "inFAMOUS Second Son LOOKS next gen, but the gameplay feels like it came straight from the PS3"
What significant differences would the gameplay have on a next gen console? All I can think of is maybe running at 60 FPS, but that's definitely not what ALL of the reviews are talking about.
But yeah, I don't get it, a next gen game isn't allowed to play like a last gen one? We're not exactly looking at the difference between a Nintendo 64 and a Gamecube here

 

And for the last time, it's NOT next gen if it's ALREADY OUT.

 

Star Trek: The Current Generation

 

I would say where the consumers are what matter the most. When next gen has 10% of current gen's users, we can start thinking about calling it current.

 

That's different because it's telling the story of Star Trek's next generation, which doesn't exist yet in real life, if it ever would have in the first place. In the real world, it would be better to call the PS4, XBone, and Siren the new generation, not the next one.[DOUBLEPOST=1396123976][/DOUBLEPOST]

It's still not next. It's "new." When I'm about to buy a computer to replace my old one, it's my next computer. When I have already bought it, it's my new computer.

 

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soooooo, what's supposed to amount to a next gen gaming experience compared to what we have now? A floating TV screen?

 

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"next-gen" is an ambiguous term for projecting expectations. it doesn't have a real meaning, it's only used to compare to a predecessor. the 3ds is the "next gen" ds. "next gen" has nothing to do with when it was released, but rather how the advancements are perceived and expressed when compared to the archaic ds.

 

It makes sense to use the term next gen from a critical perspective. These are promising you a next gen experience, and should be weighed as such.
It's talking about a promised concept, pubs are trying to offer a 'next gen' experience. That promise exists in a time frmae BEFORE the next gen was current, and should be assessed as such

 

Well when we stop using controllers, then maybe it'll be next gen?

 

So Kinect?

 

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Kinect was too broken. I'm talking full room camera cover.

 

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I've always hated this type of next-gen syndrome. I know reviewers expect that because the console has more power that we can do more things... but I was really hoping the seventh generation, with all its simplistic and "retro" style games, had finally taught us a lesson that both types of games can exist on a console as long as they bring joy to the player.

The early days of the Xbox 360 always bugged me a lot. There were games like Blue Dragon which really embraced JRPG conventions and ended up making a really expressive game, and almost a dream JRPG. The game we all imagined those times we played Final Fantasy VII and refused to acknowledge they looked like Lego people. It was a great example of what current tech could do. And then it was called mediocre and bland and not next-gen enough. I get it, around the same time Dead Rising came out- a game that physically could not exist on old hardware, but not every game needs to embrace the new hardware like that, especially when companies remove backwards compatibility. Sometimes it's just nice to have something to play.

This mentality of "not-nextgen enough" has been dreadfully harmful in the past. Just take a look at the Saturn's library in Japan compared to America. That's not because the Saturn sold like crap in America, that's because SEGA of America had a bully in charge of approving games for localization and REFUSED any game that wasn't fully 3D. I remember Working Designs had to fight tooth and nail to get the few games they did get on the Saturn released in the states.

 

I don't really care what generation a game is from to be honest. If it is developed properly and isn't plagued with the "yearly release cycle" trend that most games get ruined from. Then its good by me, of course if the story, music, controls, and the game itself is terrible then of course I won't like it. But to me there is only really so much you can do on a "next gen" console within the first year or so.

 

What happened to the good old days (god I feel old saying that) when a great game could come from the beginning of the console? Gaming is sadly not what it used to be. The old joy of playing a new game is gone.

 

I know there's plenty of videos on YouTube, specifically from IGN, to support this claim but time for some anecdotal evidence... I TRIED THE NEW KINECT AND MAN IS THE THING JUST CONVENIENCE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH.