With the impending release of the XBox One and PS4, millions of hardcore gamers are salivating with anticipation to spend their hard earned money on either (or both) systems. With that said, many are on the fence about when to jump ship from this generation to the next. Given the expense for both systems, along with past console launches, there is reasonable cause for concern if you’re thinking about being an early adopter. If you’re thinking about waiting a bit, here are some valid reasons that’ll support your decision to keep your money in your pocket for a little bit longer.

1. Faulty Hardware.

Does anybody remember the PS2 disc read error? The red rings of death for the Xbox 360? And the yellow light of death (R.I.P. to my 60GB PS3) is an unforgettable sin, right? While the Xbox One has a built in mechanism for cooling the system down, and the PS4 resembles the PS3 slim in terms of chances for overheating, new electronics are always a gamble.

2. Half the launch titles are games that will be available on current gen consoles.

Look. I get it. New system, new shiny graphics. Everything’s going to be sooooo pretty on your fancy LCD/LED/Plasma (and if you’re rich) OLED display. Fact of the matter is, you’re really not going to be missing out much by buying these games on the current generation of consoles. Usually during the first year of the “next” generation, when it’s not fiscally responsible for most developers to develop for such a small install base, whatever you’re going to be playing on the new consoles will be available for the current ones as well.

3. Gaming droughts.

With any new system launch, there’s going to be a lull in new titles. While it does seem killer apps will be found much earlier in the life cycle (Titanfall for Xbox One, Infamous: Second Son for the PS4) I’m betting history repeats itself. Once that “new car smell” has been washed off your respective system, you’ll simply either end up playing on your old generation consoles or tire of playing the same old games to death on your new one. If you’re buying new systems under the impression that new games will be coming out every month that push the hardware to the max…you’re sadly mistaken.

4. The features will be lacking.

Microsoft, at this point, seems to be regaining it’s foothold on the mixed messages they were sending to gamers. After a ridiculous amount of unpopular policies that turned a lot of hardcore gamers off, they’ve reversed or taken a softer stance on things they were trying to do. It took Sony a number of years to finally get PSN up to par and by all accounts, it’s still lagging behind Xbox Live. The feature set for the systems will be much different in a six to twelve month span. Gaikai features for streaming on the PS4 aren’t expected until sometime next year and only Microsoft knows what they’re going to be doing going forward. The systems released now will be MUCH different by way of new features next year. There really isn’t a need to rush.

5. Price drops, new hardware designs, and bundles. Oh my.

I know this is asking a lot, but think about it. What would happen if you waited an entire year to purchase the new consoles? The PS4 is releasing on November 15th with Xbox likely to release within the same window of time. As expensive as these systems are now, they’re going to be great bargains around this time next year. Black Friday is notorious for having great sales in terms of systems being bundled with games. Both current gen consoles have had several revisions over the course of their lifespan as well. Again, I know it’s asking a lot to be patient, but with this downward trend in the economy a little bit of patience can get you a much larger bang for your buck.

And there you have it. Five reasons why it might be more prudent to wait a bit before jumping head first into the next generation of gaming.

Peace.

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