Next-Gen Console Watch

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Max is in the host's seat, and is joined by Ryan McCaffrey from Podcast Unlocked, and Logan Plant from Nintendo Voice Chat. With the holidays fast approaching, we take a look at the end of year and early 2027 lineups from each of the major consoles. Nintendo had their big reveal of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake gameplay, while PlayStation and Xbox are kicking things off sooner with Wolverine and Gears of War: E-Day, respectively. And next year sees God of War: Laufey and Fable dropping practically on top of each other, while Nintendo just announced a huge open-world Kirby game and Metroid Ravenous for the Spring. Who will you be supporting with your dollars this holiday season? Vote on our poll on IGN.com, Spotify, and Discord. Join us on Discord https://discord.gg/uRvkrfAws Offer available through participating retailers only. 18+ only.Following purchase, product must be installed on system where coupon code will be redeemed. Void where prohibited. Residency and additional limitations apply. Full offer terms at www.amdrewards.com/terms. For more info on the game bundle go here: https://www.amd.com/en/where-to-buy/bundles/onimusha-game-bundle.html https://www.microcenter.com/product/708178/hp-omen-max-45l-gt23-0170-gaming-pc Presented by AMD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Max, Daemon, and Ryan take a look at what last week's huge GTA 6 gameplay footage didn't tell us. Everyone is marveling at how amazing the game looks and runs on a regular PS5, we can't help but wonder how it'll look and play on a PS5 Pro, and probably more importantly, how it'll perform on an Xbox Series S. There's also the GTA Online component—of which Rockstar has said very little—and who is taking over for Lazlow Jones on Chatterbox FM? Plus we have last week's poll result and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com, Spotify, and Discord. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Daemon and Ryan are joined by Game Scoop's Sam Claiborn, and the trio look ahead to next week's gamescom trade show. The biggest gaming trade show in the world is set to feature looks at Gears of War: E-Day, Fable, Final Fantasy 7: Revelation, Control: Resonant, and more. But there could be some surprises, such as maybe, HOPEFULLY, a look at Grand Theft Auto 6 to coincide with the Netflix preview also dropping next week, and although it's not officially announced, Nintendo's Ocarina of Time remake is being released later this year, so maybe we'll see a new teaser. Plus we have last week's poll results and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com, Spotify, and Discord. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Daemon, Max, and Ryan look foward to Fall 2026, and some of the biggest gaming questions we will we'll have some answers to. With console prices up across all three major systems, will retailers offer any kind of holiday discount? Is there room for any other game after GTA 6 drops? Will the Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake be the next $80 game from Nintendo? And can Gears of War: E-Day be the first-party hit Xbox desparately needs? Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Daemon, Max, and Bo break down Bo's recent op-ed about the death of the $500 console. With RAM shortages, supply chain issues, and general inflation wreaking havoc on the games industry, is it time to consider $1,000 or more for a gaming console the new normal? And if that's the case, can we expect an industry crash similar to what befell video games in the 1980s? Plus we have last week's poll results and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week we look at a first-party showdown that hasn't ocurred in many moons: two major games, God of War: Laufey from Sony, and the Fable reboot from Xbox, will drop within about a week from each other. This is all thanks to GTA 6's shuffling of release dates, which had every publisher scrambling to either avoid that game's date, or fill a void left by its vacancy. Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This Daemon is joined by Ryan McCaffrey from Podcast Unlocked, and Brian Altano from Beyond! to discuss the continued criticism they've faced since announcing the end of physical game media production. The fans have been letting them know how they feel in the comments of every YouTube video and social media post made since the announcement. But despite the anger, Sony will likely stay the course, and will stop producing games on disc in 2028. And though gamers may gain shelf space, they lose in something more intangible. Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Daemon, Max, and Ryan assess the dumpster fire that is this current generation of gaming consoles. With the 1-2 gut punch of PlayStation not supporting physical media in a couple of years, and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announcing yet another round of layoffs that will stretch into next year, things have never truly looked so bleak for the games industry. But is all hope lost? Plus we have a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we got the surprise announcement from Sony that it is ending production of PlayStation discs in early 2028. So in 18 months, going forward PlayStation will be an all-digital ecosystem. Your existing discs will work in your PS5 if it has a disc drive, but the PlayStation 6 will presumably not play discs at all. We expect Xbox's Project Helix to go the same way. And so, it falls to Nintendo to carry the torch for physical media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All three platforms have held their big summer showcases. They’ve laid out their plans for the rest of the year and into 2027. So it’s time to survey the results. Who had the best showcase? Who has the best game lineup? On this epsiode of Next-Gen Console Watch, we dive into the Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo showcases. Which one did you like the best? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Epic Games unveiled the sixth generation of Unreal, appropriately titled Unreal Engine 6. Rocket League will be the first game to get the UE6 makeover, but certainly not the last. Daemon, Ryan, and Max take a look at some of the biggest franchises that will very likely make the jump to UE6—even if many games haven't taken full advantage of Unreal Engine 5 yet. Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week, Daemon and Max are joined by Nintendo Voice Chat's Logan Plant and Podcast Unlocked's Miranda Sanchez to give their predictions on the summer's big gaming showcases. Both Xbox and PlayStation have showcases in June, and Nintendo can't be too far behind with a new Nintendo Direct. So what do we think will be there? Some real Wolverine gameplay? A closer look at Halo: Campaign Evolved or Gears of War: E-Day? Or maybe Nintendo will make our dreams come true and confirm the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake. Plus we have last episode's poll and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week we dive into recent reports saying Nintendo's shareholders want the company to raise the Switch 2 price. It's no secret that Nintendo's stock price has plunged in the year since they've released the Switch 2, despite their new console having a stellar launch and strong, if slow, holiday sales numbers. Current economic conditions have made the Switch 2 even mor expensive to produce than before, and Nintendo has so far been eating the extra cost, which in turn has been eating into their profits. But can a price hike really be beneficial for Nintendo? Should they hold the line with price in hopes that software sales pick up the slack? And has it really worked out for Sony and Microsoft, who have also raised their hardware prices in the five years since the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S have launched? Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! Xbox's new CEO is already making moves to course-correct the company's direction. Last week's leaked memo from CEO Asha Sharma has been proven true, with Xbox dropping the price of the Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass plans. Daemon, Ryan, and Max go over what's different with the new plans, what led the company to this decision, and what changes could be next. Plus we have last week's poll results and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. IGN YouTube Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week we discuss the leaked memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma regarding Game Pass' price. She agrees that Game Pass has become too expensive and Xbox must find some way to make it a real value for players. But what does that mean? Take away features? Plus we have last week's poll results and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. YouTube Spotify IGN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Ryan is joined by IGN's Community Lead, Jada Griffin, and the host of Nintendo Voice Chat, Logan Plant. The crew looks ahead to the rest of 2026 to see if there are any more surprises left from the big three console makers. Recent rumors and leaks about a Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake and a new Star Fox game have given us pause to think that there's more up their sleeves than they've announced. Is it time for a new Persona game? Is the next Uncharted on the way? How about a follow-up to Halo Infinite? Plus we have last week's poll results and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. IGN YouTube Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Daemon, Max, and Ryan peer into the future of gaming, only to see the same consoles we're playing today being used possibly years from now. With all models of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox having received several price hikes over the years, and with world events and economic factors keeping the prices of nearly all goods high, it looks like true next-generation gaming maybe delayed for the forseeable future. What can Sony do to bring costs down? And is this an opportunity for Xbox to gain relevance with gamers, now that the base PS5 and Xbox Series X are roughly the same price? Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. IGN Spotify YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Ryan and Max are joined by Logan Plant, host of IGN's Nintendo Voice Chat podcast to talk about the Nintendo Switch 2's Year 1, and what we're expecting for Year 2. The Switch 2 has become not only Nintendo's fastest-selling console, but the fastest-selling console of all-time, with more than 17 million units sold in less than a year. Mario Kart World has a nearly 1:1 attachment rate with the Switch 2, Donkey Kong Bananza was a hit with critics and fans, and Pokémon Pokopia is having an Animal Crossing-esque viral moment. But none of these are Nintendo's major marquee franchises, but does the Switch 2 even need them right now? Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Daemon, Max, and Ryan are joined by IGN's senior tech manager, Bo Moore, to discuss Nvidia's reveal of their controversial DLSS 5 update. The footage caused a stir on the internet as the tech clearly is doing more than just enhancing performance relative to resolution, with many accusing Nvidia of using the equivalent of "AI TikTok filters" on character models. We break down what we think the tech initially set out to do, and what this means for the PS5 and Xbox. Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! Microsoft is getting a head start on next-gen by officialling announcing the next Xbox, codenamed Project Helix. Of course, we have a ton of questions, but we've pared it down to six burning questions ranging from price of games to whether or not it will ship with a disc drive. Plus, we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices