The video game industry continues to evolve as it approaches a new cycle. Next month, competing video game corporations Microsoft and Sony will release their next consoles, Xbox One and Playstation 4, on Nov. 22 and Nov. 15, respectively, promising even further evolution.

As consumers on both sides of the oft-termed “console war” await eagerly, the current generation of consoles chugs along, creating the highest quality games ever produced. Many consumers no longer play video games to best someone’s high score (although that aspect still exists). Consumers are submerged in an interactive world they can control.

Video games actually illicit emotions from the player, drawing them into the story. In “The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim,” each character the player’s avatar interacts with has a name and family unique to that character. Additionally, specific characters of the game react independently when the player is away.

Such games are a far cry from the eight- and 16-bit side scrollers that filled the arcade centers in the 1970s and 1980s. In the modern era, even the side scroller has been subverted to reveal a deeper story than face value. Over the past 40 years, the video game industry has evolved more rapidly than any other medium. It has advanced from eight-bit side scrollers to blocky third-world platforms to movie-like experiences, and it continues to evolve. Video games released only a couple of years apart can seem drastically different.

It is hard to say what the future holds for video gaming. Some critics seem to believe mobile gaming will eventually overtake video game consoles. Some even believe the upcoming consoles will be the last generation from corporations Sony and Microsoft. Whatever the case, video games will continue to evolve and expand.