For those who have pre-ordered a PS4 or Xbox One, good for you! If you’re the impatient type of gamer who wants to get on the ball for everything, then I can’t really stop you. If you are the type of person who likes to get new things, but doesn’t really play a game enough to merit its expensive release price, or doesn’t use their new console enough before the price lowers; then please continue reading.
Do you play it enough to justify the price you bought it at?
I’d like to first make a disclaimer: I have a horrible habit of spending a lot of money on games that I rarely play immediately; I usually rack up a huge library but have no time to play it immediately before the price gets cheaper. That’s why I have only invested in games on sales, primarily Humble Bundles that rarely have repeat sales, and occasionally Steam sales if it’s a very, very good price. Instead of hurting your wallet every time a big Steam sale happens (Halloween, Winter, Summer), consider if you will play the game in the next month. If you can justify the time you play with the price you bought the game at, go ahead! Otherwise, wait. You’ll save more money with this mentality.
The same goes for a console: if you don’t see yourself using it more than a few times a month, I’d say you should wait until the console gets cheaper, or an excellent bundle comes along.
Your current generation consoles are still going strong… support will continue for a few more years
In 2006 (seven years ago) the PS3 was released; in 2005, the Xbox 360 was released. The gap between the current gen and the new one has been the longest in a long time, but for a good reason. The current generations are quite powerful with huge audiences; even though the graphics are not at its peak compared to high-end PCs, both of these devices will be supported for a few more years. Microsoft spent their first 15 minutes of their E3 presentation reassuring customers that the Xbox 360 was still a priority, and Sony says the PS3 will have a 10-year lifespan.
Don’t be quick to throw out your console yet. I’ve still got the first release of the 40 GB PS3 (gotten as a birthday present – otherwise I would have waited for the Slim version) and it’s going strong (although a few years ago I upgraded the hard drive to about 120 GB).
Games available at console launches are unimpressive… plus most of them are developed on multiple platforms
Unless there’s a game you are dying to play as soon as it gets released (some Playstation ones vs Xbox ones), or you are obsessed with the best graphics possible, you should wait until more exclusive titles are released, or until developers stop making games for the current generation (Nintendo did a great job of making their customers upgrade to different handheld systems because of the games released on them). A lot of highly anticipated titles will be released on the next generation (Watch Dogs, Metal Gear Solid V, Halo: Spartan Assault).
You will likely face hardware problems in the beginning… or miss out on awesome upgrades
Remember the Xbox 360 history and all the issues it faced with the red ring of death? Plus Sony is already looking into reported PS4 hardware issues. Over years, companies will continue to upgrade these consoles; Sony has traditionally created slim versions of their consoles 3-4 years after the original console launch. The wait is usually worth it because you get more upgrades and better bundles (plus special edition ones if you’re interested in that).
These are the biggest reasons why you should hold off on a new generation console. You can read more at Mashable, Lifehacker and WeKnowGames.
Featured image by MariaKoch on DeviantART