Here’s why we need to leave the past console generation behind

This article's header image is a screenshot for Assassin's Creed Rogue. It's pretty damn good looking, no? There's just something about the nighttime sky that resonates with me. Plus, it's pretty neat to see our lead character overlooking the sea as a group of penguins gather and wonder just who the heck this guy is.

That's not the only gorgeous screenshot available for Rogue, though. Check this one out:

This ship is doing what the Titanic couldn't: telling ice who's boss.

Sign me up for this game immediately; I am pumped.

Hey, wait a second.

What's this? It's Assassin's Creed Unity, and it looks even better than Rogue does, thanks to it releasing exclusively on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

If there was ever a case for developers to stop releasing games on the PS3 and Xbox 360, this would be it. While logically, it makes sense to sell games on platforms that millions upon millions of people are still enjoying, it's time to embrace the generation at hand. It's not like these consoles are gathering dust; the PS4 has sold over 10 million units and the Xbox One over 5 million. That latter number should grow when games like Forza Horizon 2, Sunset Overdrive, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection release later this year. Plus, what helps consoles sell? Games.

Why would anyone decide to drop $400+ on a console just to play a game when it's also available for a system they already own? If the first year of the new console generation can be described by a phrase, it's "looking to the past." The combination of remasters and games releasing on both generations has been staggering thus far. This isn't something we saw with regularly when the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 launched. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion didn't release on the original Xbox, nor did Dead or Alive 4. Granted, we still saw Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter see a simultaneous release on all platforms, but this is an incredibly more common event today.

And again, I can totally see why developers and publishers are still doing this: they want to make money, and it's in their best interest to release games on a wide variety of platforms. Unfortuantely, the Wii U isn't included in this, but that's another story for a different day. Yet, I can't help but wonder: let's say you're shown images of two games.

I may be someone who doesn't prioritize graphics when it comes to evaluating video games, but there's no denying that second image looks much, much better. Aren't you going to buy the game that looks better?

Now think how much better it could have been if we weren't getting a past-gen Assassin's Creed release.