Xbox Reveal

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Xbox Reveal

So what happens if Sony does do something equally dumb? Does everyone run back to the PC space?

I hate to be "that guy" but personally I haven't seen the appeal of consoles for a long time. At the price point they've gotten to, you could maintain a PC good enough to run any game you put on it for the same amount of money it would take to stay current with just one company's products. If you were going to invest in multiple consoles per generation, you could put all that money in one box and get better performance than either would give you. If the appeal is the living room space, you can have that just as easily now with a PC as well, and it actually does only do everything. All the features Microsoft is so proud about putting on their new Xbox have been on the PC for ages. Plus it has an extreme degree of backwards compatibility, has zero hoops or barriers for indie developers, and at least the possibility of picking up a piece of software without some absurdly draconian rights management system ...

I've been saying this to an extent for a while, but with the catch that you really can't get Nintendo's stuff anywhere else. Pretty much everything else worth a damn could be played on PC or handhelds. Yes, there are Sony and MS's first party IPs (well, okay, just Sony's) but they're really not endearing or even endure on the same level. The only platform holder outside of Nintendo that I could say has started to build IPs on that level is actually Valve. People are still talking about Half-life 2 and Portal. Hell, that portal gets crossed up with retro games in so many fan tributes just speaks to how endearing that game is and how well it will endure.

They're not of the same mind-share as company, but they show the same level of care for their games while the rest of the industry seems to have become a parody of itself. There are really only a handful of major and minor third party studios and publishers I could even say cared as much.

The way things are going, I probably won't jump on next gen consoles at all and if I do, its just Wii U and PS4. Or just Wii U and a PC for home gaming.

I think this next console generation may be the last. The leap in power is meager at best and the whole business model is due for a big change. It won't be free-to-play that changes the console industry, either, as we've seen what AAA publishers do to that.

[Firewind]

Re: Xbox Reveal

I've been saying the same thing since the 360 and PS3 came out really. Especially now, there's nothing that a Console can do that a PC can't also do. The PC will also be cheaper, play older games and is highly portable given how powerful laptops are becoming now. Your standard desktop replacement Laptop will play most modern games. it might not play them well but you can still play them.

As for Nintendo, a recent Dorkly comic actually summed up nicely why I think they should just stick to handhelds:



I'm not writing off the Wii U here but with Microsoft dropping the ball, they should be doing what Sony is doing and showing us why we should be buying their console instead of sitting around and blaming non-domestic markets for a lack of sales.

[Icemage]

Re: Xbox Reveal

So what happens if Sony does do something equally dumb? Does everyone run back to the PC space?

I hate to be "that guy" but personally I haven't seen the appeal of consoles for a long time. At the price point they've gotten to, you could maintain a PC good enough to run any game you put on it for the same amount of money it would take to stay current with just one company's products. If you were going to invest in multiple consoles per generation, you could put all that money in one box and get better performance than either would give you. If the appeal is the living room space, you can have that just as easily now with a PC as well, and it actually does only do everything. All the features Microsoft is so proud about putting on their new Xbox have been on the PC for ages. Plus it has an extreme degree of backwards compatibility, has zero hoops or barriers for indie developers, and at least the possibility of picking up a piece of software without some absurdly draconian rights management system ...

If Sony makes a bunch of blunders with the PS4, that would mean all three console manufacturers would have failed and the entire console market pie shrinks as people get fed up with a business model that no longer serves the needs of the consumer.

Console gaming has always been about accessibility and convenience. Upgrading a PC isn't that difficult, but it's more hassle than many people are willing to put up with. There are settings you have to twiddle, and then always the game of Russian Roulette of which GPU do you have on any given title, depending on whether the developers focused on Nvidia or ATI chipsets. A lot of people don't know you can use a standard console controller with a PC, too, and KB/M is not optimal for a lot of game types (great for FPS, most puzzles, RTS, but horrible for action brawlers, fighting games, stick shooters/shmups, etc. ). You have a single unified storefront, a single unified friend list, a standard messaging system, a consistent achievement/trophy system for comparing with friends and potential new friends, and a more or less ironclad guarantee that the software you buy is designed especially to work with the hardware you have, no matter when you bought it.

I play games on both PC and console,but it would make me sad to close a chapter of my life that's been around since the 1980s in the Atari era.


Icemage

- - - Updated - - -

I've been saying this to an extent for a while, but with the catch that you really can't get Nintendo's stuff anywhere else. Pretty much everything else worth a damn could be played on PC or handhelds. Yes, there are Sony and MS's first party IPs (well, okay, just Sony's) but they're really not endearing or even endure on the same level. The only platform holder outside of Nintendo that I could say has started to build IPs on that level is actually Valve. People are still talking about Half-life 2 and Portal. Hell, that portal gets crossed up with retro games in so many fan tributes just speaks to how endearing that game is and how well it will endure.

They're not of the same mind-share as company, but they show the same level of care for their games while the rest of the industry seems to have become a parody of itself. There are really only a handful of major and minor third party studios and publishers I could even say cared as much.

The way things are going, I probably won't jump on next gen consoles at all and if I do, its just Wii U and PS4. Or just Wii U and a PC for home gaming.

I think this next console generation may be the last. The leap in power is meager at best and the whole business model is due for a big change. It won't be free-to-play that changes the console industry, either, as we've seen what AAA publishers do to that.

Oy vey. C'mon BBQ.

Nintendo aren't the only game in town with amazing IP. They have the oldest remaining exclusive IP, sure, and certainly with a ton of broad appeal, but Sony and Microsoft have powerful IPs in their portfolio (some of which are woefully under-used).

Microsoft probably has the weakest first party IP since many of their games also appear on PC, but they still control a lot of awesome exclusive IPs from their purchase of Rare (Conker, Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, etc.), and you're really selling the Halo franchise short by just handwaving it away.

Sony doesn't have a ton of ultra-powerful IPs, but that has always seemed intentional - they seem to like having balance in their software catalog, rather than focusing on a handful of specific IPs. They control a block of IPs that individually service important niches. MLB: The Show is the finest baseball game franchise, period. Gran Turismo is still the most beloved racing game franchise in gaming (despite having rather mediocre outings for the past decade). SingStar caters to a crowd that isn't served anywhere else. They have a laundry list of much more focused IPs that collectively get them a coalition of gamers that rivals or exceeds Nintendo's fanbase , lest we forget that the PS2 sold around 150M units.

Perhaps even more important than first party IPs, there are the third party IPs, some of which never make it to PC.

Nintendo IP > Sony IP > Microsoft IP, sure, but what was the last Nintendo home console that enjoyed full third party support? The SNES? You only have to take a cursory glance at the Wii U's software catalog and sales to see how little Nintendo's ultra-core fanbase has helped them, despite owning the best first party IP.


Icemage

[Firewind]

Re: Xbox Reveal

Seems relevant: The Escapist : Video Galleries : Zero Punctuation : Next Gen Buyer's Guide

[Malacite]

Re: Xbox Reveal

Speaking of Halo, the recent title update on 4 is FANTASTIC - they basically beefed up a bunch of the weapons and increased everyone's movement speed by 10% and it's had a dramatic reduction on kill times making it much more frantic and exciting. It makes me hate MS all the more too, for their shenanigans with Xbox One because I'm sure Halo 5 is going to be just amazing... but I'll have to force myself to miss it, because I can't in good conscience support Xbox One. I'm willing to tolerate a certain level of crap from developers if the the game is still fun, but only to a point... and Diablo 3 was really pushing it (There may yet be hope for the PS3/PS4 version, but I've totally given up on the PC - it's literally beyond saving because of the RMAH and 3rd party financial involvement).


I've always loved Sony for being willing to try new IPs, even if they aren't the best/don't sell like gangbusters, e.g. Legend of the Dragoon, Valkyria Chronicles, Legend of Legaia etc... Nintendo hasn't really pushed the envelope too much in recent years. That's not to say they haven't been creative with their existing stuff (Mario Galaxy being a great example) but I dunno, Mario and Link just don't have quite the same allure as they once did. I guess in a very ironic twist, Mega Man still has my interest tremendously because of Capcom's refusal to do anything good with the IP in so long - I remember around the time X7 came out I was starting to wonder if I should even bother anymore, and now it's been so damn long I can't wait to see what they have cooked up. That, and MM holds a special place in my heart ^_^

[Etra]

Re: Xbox Reveal

Spike's Xbox focus casts Nintendo's 'no E3' decision in a new light | Wii U

Something smells fishy. And I don't mean my vag.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Xbox Reveal

I had forgotten about Spike's deal about the E3 broadcast. That's pretty damn underhanded.

[Malacite]

Re: Xbox Reveal

I've often suspected that GameTrailers was sucking MS's D, and this kinda reaffirms that - at least somewhat.

The last 2 episodes of the bonus round were particularly disgusting, and of course that's one of their shows they actually air on spike so yeah...

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Xbox Reveal

Seems relevant: The Escapist : Video Galleries : Zero Punctuation : Next Gen Buyer's Guide

"Whereupon the flop cards were revealed to be a Joker, a Get Out of Jail Free, and a Magus of the Vineyard"

[cidbahamut]

Re: Xbox Reveal

I love his summary at the end. It really just ties everything together in such an unambiguous manner.

[Icemage]

Re: Xbox Reveal

I've often suspected that GameTrailers was sucking MS's D, and this kinda reaffirms that - at least somewhat.

The last 2 episodes of the bonus round were particularly disgusting, and of course that's one of their shows they actually air on spike so yeah...

Nah, it's just that they invited that Alex whatshisname douche who is a self-professed Xbox fanboy. He has no business being in front of a camera - ANY camera.

---

On the news front, Microsoft just can't get any breaks at all.

Today they cancelled their E3 roundtable media discussion. Probably so they could avoid answering the questions about DRM and used game sales that they've been dodging for the past two weeks.

There's also a fascinating rumor on NeoGAF (I say "rumor" but it's been confirmed by multiple confirmed insiders) that Microsoft is having production yield issues with their APU chip. Probably doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things other than maybe make Microsft lose a bit more money at launch, but the second part of the rumor suggests they're considering downclocking the GPU, possibly to deal with overheating issues or to keep the heat away from the ESRAM (which should run pretty hot).


Icemage

[Etra]

Re: Xbox Reveal

A Microsoft console over heating?

Never.