Your Most Wanted Next-Gen Feature

Vote now, vote now.

February 13, 2012

from IGN

The IGN next generation features wish-list struck a chord with many members of the community. Some commenters agreed, many didn't, but everyone brought plenty of suggestions, ideas, and counter-arguments to the table. The hodgepodge of passionate desires got us wondering: What is the single most important feature IGN readers want in their next generation console?


We've compiled the shortlist for the most popular, controversial, and out-there features IGN readers talked about, might be interested in, or outright demanded for the next generation. After reading and considering these entries, we want you to vote on theone ideal feature that tops your most wanted list.


Vote now, and report back to IGN.com soon to see the results.

This is just the beginning.

Focus on Entertainment

When it comes to your fancy-pants new home console, games aren't the first thing on your mind. They're a small piece in the big puzzle that is your all-in-one entertainment hub. Your ideal device is about helping families learn and laugh as much as it's meant to do anything else. The main priority is streaming a classic album you're excited about, keeping up on original programming exclusive to consoles, surfing the web, catching Conan live, and watching last night's Sons of Anarchy finale. You want nothing more than access to an endless library of things to do. Everything this generation started with regard to expanding home entertainment will be an ancient origin story. Your favorite thing about new gaming consoles will be that they're so much more than that. 

Carry Everything Forward

You're the kind of gamer content to play with whatever Microsoft,Nintendo, and Sony have up their sleeves so long as they don't leave you out in the cold. Graphics improvements, processing power-ups, and kickass new tech only matter so long as cool features don't inhibit your ability to play games you already own. Backward compatibility is a necessary feature for you when it comes to both digital and retail releases. In addition, your Gamerscore and Gamertag, Trophies and personal profile, and wallet funds should make a clean jump from this generation to the next without any hassle. When you boot up your brand new box, all your stuff damn well better be waiting for you when you log in. 

Digital Rentals and Streaming Games

Retail games are fine, but you'd rather not make the drive and have a physical box. Streaming a GameCube classic on Virtual Console or a hot new PlayStation 4 release straight from someone else's server is the way you believe games are meant to be played, bandwidth be damned. Day-and-date digital releases are as important to your next-gen experience as whatever other features you're anxious to see. In your eyes, the OnLive model is the way of the future – your Windows Phone and Xbox 3 will have the same access to the same streaming games. What's more, weekend rentals and paid trials are how you plan to pay for titles. After all, if you don't have a box to trade, you'd like to have an option to offset the $60 expense. 

Should touch and motion be the norm in controllers?

More Motion and Touch Tech

You can't wait for the Kinect to read your lips. PlayStation Move is the only way you ever want to play Battlefield again, and touch-screen controllers are obviously the next step toward the future of games. The iOS influence and the influx of Kinect capabilities in new releases isn't just a novelty – it's the buttons-free future you've been waiting for. 

Wireless Everything

If your next console doesn't have wireless HDMI and the option for Bluetooth controllers and keyboards out of the box, you'll have no part of it. Cables and things that connect have no place in your life anymore, and if the cost of the console goes up as a result it's a convenience you're willing to pay for. You dedicate chunks of your day to daydreaming about wireless cameras and Kinects, and crummy headsets connecting to the controller with a wire are beneath you. You have standards, and the first console creator to meet them deserves your cash. 

Social and Community Focus

You want to rub it in everyone's face when you unlock the Achievement for completing Call of Duty 79 on Veteran difficulty, and you want to do it everywhere. In-game Twitter and Facebook access is essential for your ego. Talking multiplayer tactics on AIM – because, come on, Microsoft's Messenger is garbage – and chatting over Skype is your most-wanted means of talking to friends. And wouldn't it be nice to track and compare game time with a built-in Raptr app? Yeah it would. 

Something is deeply wrong with this game pad.

Modifiable Hardware

Options is the name of the game, and you live for new tech compatible with your console. Not just sweet new headphones, either. The allure of PC gaming is strong, and you'd love to see the flexibility of a computer in your home console. You have the bank for a liquid cooling upgrade for your Xbox 3 and an intense desire to get more from Uncharted 4 with an improved PlayStation graphics card. Your Nintendo games will load much faster off a solid state drive, too, so you're definitely going to install one of those. Protecting and improving your home console is as important to you as the enjoyment you get out of it. Upgrading your own hardware guarantees you'll never need another one. 

Playable Used Games

The used game discussion brings out the most intense, emotional side of gamers because it's an issue that affects a lot of 'em. You're on the money-saving side of the fence, and game trades are how you afford to buy new titles both new and used. A console that doesn't play used games is a complete deal breaker – the Xbox 3, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Whatever absolutely must not limit your ability to enjoy.