With the launch of Titanfall, people are once again saying that the next generation has finally begun. While I would argue the release of hardware is when a generation begins, Titanfall does represent the launch of a truly new IP for the next generation of systems (or Microsoft system, to be more exact). Every generation has "this" game, the game that people cite as a reason to upgrade and point to as an example of the leap that is only possible with new hardware. What makes Titanfall and this new generation interesting is that the demonstrable power gap between console generations is shrinking. It's indisputable that the PS4 and Xbox One have a major performance advantage over their older brothers, but it's not as easy as pointing to the difference between a SNES and a Nintendo 64. There has been some movement in terms of resolution and frame rates, but to the average person on the street this is not an easy sell.

In terms of gameplay and visuals Titanfall seems to be everything it promises, a fast paced, Call of Duty like shooter that focuses on movement and scale. Its gameplay looks and feels fresh but is instantly approachable by anyone that has played a first person shooter over the last 10 years. Visually the game looks fantastic and the universe design feels cohesive and rich. The excitement for the product is there, as is the media acclaim. The question for Titanfall isn't if it will sell, the question is how well will it sell itself and how effective will it be in moving hardware?

The easy sell job with exciting new console launches of the past focused largely on graphics. Mario in 3D was exciting and easy to tell apart from his flat and instantly-by-comparison drab 2D games. Video games playing at high resolution were easily distinguishable from their SD counterparts. The current crop of next generation games, Titanfall included, all play at 720p to 1080p resolution, which is well trodden ground for console games. While those who are video game devotees may be able to tell the difference in visual fidelity, your average consumer of video games is most likely not going to pick up on the difference. Even if they do, I think beyond the hardcore players, the prospect of a $500 price tag for a new game that looks better, but not mind bendingly better than last generation titles is a tough pill to swallow.

Being an exciting new exclusive title really helps move hardware, especially in the early days, however Titanfall isn't quite as exclusive as it may seem. Titanfall is available for the Xbox One and PC with an Xbox 360 port to follow in the coming weeks. Microsoft is in a bit of bind in this regard, as they have almost certainly paid a king's ransom to have this exclusive title, but I can't help but wonder if it would have been wiser to swallow their loses and launch as an Xbox One only game. When a game has this much hype it's hard to deny that it would move at least some consoles, and I think it's safe to say they would have moved even more consoles if that was the only way to play it. Now I can understand Microsoft's choice not to do this, as I'm sure they'd like to recoup as much money as possible from this deal, but it's a tantalizing opportunity that leaves me wondering how close this ever was to being a pure Xbox One exclusive.

Microsoft has made sure to talk extensively about the cloud and their Azure servers being critical to Titanfall, but for most consumers this has about as much meaning as blast processing; A good game sells itself on the right mix of gameplay, setting, story and visuals. I believe that Titanfall has done this and the question will end up being if that mix will be good enough to move a lot of consoles. The game clearly stands on its own two feet, but it seemingly has the weight of an entire ecosystem sitting upon its shoulders. Simply moving software units won't be enough to ensure Titanfall's legacy, it will have to move hardware.

Watch for April's NPD numbers to be a gong show of speculation and hyperbole by enthusiastic fans of all stripes.