The End of an Era: A History of the

END OF AN ERA A History of the Last Console Generation

words by: Marcus Yeatman-Crouch design by: Sahina Sherchan

This console generation will end with the release of the PS5 on November 19th, so we’ve compiled a timeline of big events and notable games from the 7 year tenure of the PS4 and Xbox One.

2013

Notable Titles (PS4/Xbox One): Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Forza Motorsport 5 (Xbox), Killzone: Shadowfall (PS4).

2013 is where we begin our journey. June’s E3 conferences is where we first laid eyes on the marvelous, mystical, wondrous Playstation 4 and Xbox… One? Yeah “Xbox One” was not what gamers expected and was met with a major focus on watching television and playing Kinect (RIP) games; safe to say it did not go down well. Sony on the other hand came out swinging with promises of ambitious continuations of fan-favourite franchises like Killzone, Infamous and Gran Turismo. So there they were, the next-gen; powerful, futuristic and ugly. I still remember to this day looking at the launch Xbox One and laughing because of how it looked like a VHS player spent a romantic night with a house brick, although I won’t let Sony off the hook here because the launch PS4 was a little too sharp and edgy for its own good too.

When the consoles finally released in November 2013, they were met with solid praise of beautiful new graphics and ambitious games, frankly just a solid upgrade from the PS3 and Xbox 360. However, issues soon arose from both consoles surrounding their disc drives. The Xbox had an issue of chewing up discs leading to a concerning grinding noise whilst the PS4 kept spitting them out thanks to an issue with the touch sensor resulting in accidental disc ejections - these were resolved through hardware revisions thankfully. Overall though these consoles saw pretty solid launches, there was no major drama and gamers were ready to embark on a new generation of gaming.

2014

Notable Titles: Grand Theft Auto V (Enhanced Edition), Dragon Age Inquisition, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Alien Isolation, Infamous: Second Son (PS4).

The extensive list of titles shows that this was the year that the Xbox One and PS4 really found their feet. Gamers were clinging on to the last gen thanks to the online powerhouse GTA Online; however as soon as Rockstar dropped the trailer for GTA V Enhanced Edition in June 2014, the Xbox 360 and PS3’s days were numbered. 2014 also saw one of the biggest controversies within the generation. When millions of gamers were ready to log on to PSN and Xbox Live on Christmas 2014 they were met with disappointment as all online servers were down thanks to a group of now infamous hackers named “Lizard Squad”. This was detrimental for players on both consoles as many gamers had waited until this Christmas to make the move to next gen due to the expanded game library and more accessible price. This was soon resolved and the next generation was back on track.

2015

Notable Titles: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Rainbow Six: Siege, Fallout 4, Batman: Arkham Knight, Bloodborne (PS4 Exclusive), Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox Exclusive).

This year seemed to be the end of the more experimental next-gen phase as many big publishers got past the cautious first year and embraced it as the ‘current-gen’. As you can tell from the notable titles, many are sequels to beloved games with entries into the Halo, Fallout and Batman Arkham franchises which really signifies how the big gaming companies embraced the PS4 and Xbox One as the home of gaming for the foreseeable future. Any gamer that was holding out for a truly stand out game library for next-gen had no reason not to commit to the PS4 and Xbox One at this point, as they both received some of the best received games ever in the forms of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, although Sony took the edge with Bloodborne, which was also met with critical acclaim.

2016

Notable Titles: Overwatch, Dark Souls 3, DOOM, Battlefield 1, FInal Fantasy XV, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4), Gears 4 (Xbox).

Another pretty solid if not fairly standard year for the consoles now entering the middle of their lifecycle. All the notable titles bar two are entries in fan favourite franchises, Overwatch began its worldwide domination of the esports scene on console and No Man’s Sky, well… we all know what happened there. 2016 also saw the long awaited hardware refreshes for the PS4 with a quieter and more affordable slim model and the PS4 Pro which was capable of 4K HDR graphics and a boost in performance.

2017

Notable Titles: Destiny 2, Fortnite, Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)

2017 was a quiet year for the PS4. The Pro console was released the year before, so there were few hardware announcements from Sony, even more so because of the highly anticipated release of the Nintendo Switch, which dominated news for most of the year.

Xbox had a big year, with the release of the Xbox One X contesting the PS4 Pro on the market in late 2017. Despite this big hardware upgrade there were few titles to speak of from Microsoft, giving Playstation the advantage in exclusives for yet another year thanks to the acclaimed release of a new IP, Horizon: Zero Dawn. Possibly the biggest gaming event of 2017 was, predictably, Fortnite. The massive battle royale game dropped and amassed millions of players in a craze that is still going 3 years later. It absolutely changed the landscape for accessible gaming as a quickly established crossplay feature led to matches between PS4, Xbox, and PC, uniting the cross-platform playerbase like no other game before it.

2018

Notable Titles: Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War (PS4), Spider-Man (PSas4)

Possibly one of the best years for PS4 exclusives, 2018 gave Playstation gamers a rush with both the new God of War game in April and a first virtual web-sling in years for Spider-Man. Both games were massively popular, hence both have upcoming sequels for the PS5, and they headlined what was a dominant year for Playstation exclusives.

We can’t talk about 2018 without mentioning Red Dead Redemption 2, which released on consoles a year before PC, meaning PS4 and Xbox owners could explore this highly anticipated western sequel nice and early. The game pushed both consoles to their limits, with a gorgeous open world and incredible story that netted it a deserved award for best story at the Game Awards.

2019

Notable Titles: Control, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Days Gone (PS4), Gears 5 (Xbox)

Xbox managed to steal the console spotlight in 2019 with the announcement of the Series X, pipping Playstation to the post in revealing the next generation. They also ended their exclusive run strongly with Gears 5, the latest in the beloved franchise. It was a good year for exclusives, as the PS4 added another great story-based game to its repertoire with Days Gone, while both consoles were spoiled with some big releases like Control and the Souls-like Sekiro, which had gamers throwing their controllers into walls yet again.

2020

Notable Titles: The Last of Us 2, Ghost of Tsushima (Both PS4)

The age of the PS4 ends with two incredible titles - Ghost of Tsushima and the much anticipated, controversial The Last of Us 2. Both games are met with critical acclaim and their release in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic provides the perfect platform for people to engage with these immersive, story-driven games.

Shortly after these final exclusives are released, chaos erupts. PS5 pre-orders are sprung onto an unwitting public who scramble to get their purchase in, resulting in hundreds of websites crashing and massive in-person queues to place an order. It was a similar situation for the Xbox Series X, with sites crashing despite their 2 week’s forewarning of the preorder day. So, the PS4 and Xbox One generation ends with chaos, much like how it began. It was a good seven years, though, with some of the best games of all time, massive controversies, and huge shifts within the industry that saw both consoles never stray too far from the spotlight. The new generation is uncharted waters, with advanced tech and new exclusives awaiting those willing to wait patiently after the bedlam of release day. Things will change, but the console war looks like it will stay the same for now. Oh, and GTA V is releasing on its third console generation. Some things never change.

words by: Megan Evans design by: Sandra Mbula Nzioki

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The Sims and Finding Your Identity

Have you ever wanted to make decisions in life that you know are irrational, wild or unacceptable? Well, say no more. The Sims is the game for you. I found this game in my youth as many others did, which allowed you to make a character who resembled yourself but at the same time was wildly different from your own reality.

I often created characters who were supposed to look like me but then I would get carried away and start altering the Sim’s features to what I wish my features resembled. During adolescence, a time where anxiety is in abundance, I found myself comparing myself to the women I made in The Sims and thinking: when am I ever going to resemble this kind of perfection? My Sims character became a kind of safe haven, a chance to manifest a potential future Megan who dates handsome 20-something year old men with a nice beard, a ‘six-pack’ and the most toned physique you have ever see. The Sims was a chance for me to live a virtual life, without any consequences. I could build my house, but actually skip the years and years of debt that real life couples have to endure. I could use the ‘motherlode’ hack to receive a massive paycheque in seconds. It’s funny to think how exciting I used to find living an adult life in The Sims when I was younger, but back then it was like all my dreams coming true.

Through The Sims I could experience all of the luxuries and downfalls of adult life and if anything went horrifically wrong I could start all over again. The characters become a part of you, an embodiment or your desires and darkest curiosities. I had the choice to allow my anxious younger self to embody this powerful, sassy and courageous woman in the game that detracted from my real life worries.

the perfect (love) life... in the sims

The Sims and Growing Up

words by: Hannah Penwright

From the original The Sims, to The Sims 4 with as many expansion packs as I can afford - I’ve been playing some version of Sims for as long as I can remember. The opportunity to design the exact people I want to play as, right down to the smallest details like their posture and eye colour, and then make them do exactly what I want might be why people think I’m a control-freak.

Over the years, I’ve created too many alternate realities to count. Whenever I became obsessed with a new TV series (anything from M I High to The Big Bang Theory), I’d take fake ‘real life’ to the next level by making my own version of the cast and playing out my own storylines. My favourite version of life to create has always been making myself the main character. Call me self-centred, but I’ve always loved planning my own future. If I could, there’s about 15 different careers I’d like to have, with different relationships in my life depending on how full on my job was. I could try and live like that in real life, but I’d probably end up overwhelmed and alone, so I’ll stick to playing it out through The Sims instead.

Growing up playing The Sims means I’ve now been through a lot of the things I loved to make my Sims characters do, like finishing school, being in a relationship, and moving out. But it comes as no surprise that I soon discovered these milestones are a lot more complicated in real life. Flirting is much more cringey and difficult than pressing a few buttons, and you can’t make people fall in love with you. And, you can’t just click fast-forward when life gets boring, or quit without saving if you accidentally set yourself on fire.

Real life’s never going to be as simple as getting a job, falling in love, having two children, and living in the perfect house for anybody. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. The complications, the surprises, the real people we meet with real stories to share, and the mistakes we make are what make life worth living. And no, that won’t stop me from getting obsessed for two weeks straight with the game once every six months or so. But it won’t stop me from living real life to the full either.

The Sims and a Harsh Reality

words by: Catarina Vicente

The Sims was one of the first video games I ever owned. I was hooked from the first time I played it, and I zoned out for hours creating towns of original characters with their own backstories and plot lines. Eventually bored by the limits of the original game, I spent most of my own pocket money on expansion packs to give me as much liberty in the game as possible, but the more you play the more you realise how limited it is. The novelty of new expansion packs fades out, and you’re stuck with the same repetitive features, leading to a cycle of buying, boredom, and more buying. I spent endless hours creating characters and stories, and living as these fictional selves, that I never paid mind to the possibility of playing as oneself in the game.

All Sims players have played as themselves at some point, including myself, but it had been a one-time thing, that I had quickly grown bored of. The first time, with The Sims 3, I became embarrassed and went back to killing my characters to fuel angst for their tragic backstories. The second and most recent time, with The Sims 4, I spent hours creating my Sim-self as accurately as possibly, working to make the perfect job, house and life, but ended up with a feeling of unwelcome dread over the cyclical nature of her life, and by extension my own.

To what extent could I really have my dream life in The Sims? As I mentioned before, the Sims games are limited, if you play them for long enough: eventually you run out of things to aspire to, and the perfect life you create for your ‘simself’ seems empty. Sadly, it’s the same for relationships, and there is no expansion pack (yet) that widens the variety of interactions at our use. The escapist element and total control are addictive, but until we have platonic and romantic interactions that give us more freedom to craft our dream lives, The Sims series will leave much to our imagination.