So the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 have finally been eclipsed by newer, higher spec models.
It seems like only yesterday since the Xbox 360 was thrown onto centre stage as the dawn of HD gaming. There was just a gap of 3 and a half years between the original Xbox and the Xbox 360; which at the time caused a bit of an uproar.
It seems that Microsoft and Sony lived up to their promise of delaying any more releases of concoles for longer than previous. The launch of the Xbox 360 in 2005 is now so long ago that YouTube wasnt used to share it with the world because it wouldn’t launch until one month later!
The transition to HD graphics in gaming seems obvious in retrospect, but at the time it meant everyone would have to go out and buy an expensive new TV if they wanted to truly enjoy the Xbox 360. At the time, a tiny 23-inch Samsung HD set cost over £1,000 – another major annoyance at the time.
HD is now the norm in all forms of multimedia, and 3D – which was seen as the next step in entertainment – is falling by the roadside (again) quickly. In all honesty what really has changed since those heady days of 2005? Sure, processing power has increased – meaning richer depth in games, but what else? Seven and a half years have passed since the Xbox 360 launched and we are now left wondering if the longest, most prolific gaming generation ever has passed us by.
