Consoles in 2017 Offered Amazing Choice

2017 was a really great year in gaming with three strong console platforms all filling their own niche. Playstation 4 delivered on the games bringing a constant barrage of incredible exclusives. The Nintendo Switch brought complete portability for regular console games. Finally the Xbox One with the power of X delivered on actual 4k gaming. All three of these consoles are a pleasure to own and while money is limited for most I imagine a number of folks have a couple places they enjoy gaming. That could be with consoles or perhaps PC and mobile devices. Whatever the case, it was a generally strong and interesting year as platforms matured. I really don't think there has been another time where we've had such a varied selection of games across multiple platforms that each do their own thing.

With Playstation we got some of the best titles of the generation and possibly ever. Horizon Zero Dawn was our Game of the Year, a beautiful title with an expansive world. There was also Nioh; Nier: Automata, Persona 5, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Tales of Berseria and that's just naming a selection of the many games. I'm sorry if a favorite got missed here, there are many and I only placed the ones that were at the top of my mind. It was insane on that platform and looking forward there really are no signs of the releases stopping with everyone else playing exclusives catch-up. I think, at least for me the Nintendo Switch was the most surprising aspect of gaming in 2017. At launch I wasn't sold, the reveal was terrible and after the WiiU I had an extreme anxiety about this console.

Nintendo truly went past expectations selling millions of the device and delivering not only a steady first party line-up, but some fascinating third party games. I would have never thought I'd see big Bethesda games head over to it and there's now amazing potential with the platform. It fills that void of wanting a regular gaming experience you can take anywhere. Phones are starting to get there, but not quite at that level as the Switch is a constant technical feat. I love it for movie screenings as I queue up a game to review and get that time in while I'm waiting, I know others love it for travel or work with it providing the perfect option. There was also the two big hitters, Odyssey and Breath of the Wild which certainly grabbed everyone's attention.

Xbox went a different route this year aiming to gain the best performance being the best visual place to play games. I was given the incredible chance to review the console prior to launch and it's amazing. I'm someone that loves when technology pushes boundaries and the design of the Xbox One X is simply stunning. It's silent, delivers on 4k experiences with a number of native titles and it showcases a beautiful future for gaming. Sure, there needs to be a better first party offering and that will hopefully come in time. For now, any updated third party games look best there and with the addition of the blast that is PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds it looks like the console is gearing up. For those with base hardware, the games still run fine with players enjoying all the titles the higher model has. That includes Xbox Backwards Compatibility (360 & Original), all releases and support for the various digital programs.

Whatever console platform players chose to game on, 2017 offered amazing choices. There was a place for an amazing line-up of games, another that allowed natural portable gaming for big titles and a powerful one that brought the next step in resolution with 4k. I thought it was generally a fantastic year in gaming with all platforms delivering different types of games in unique ways. With the constant changes in gaming, the following year should most certainly be an interesting one since 2017 was so great.

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