The future of console gaming

Bryancd · June 07, 2013, 02:28:22 PM

The real big future money is in portable. Game consoles are trojan horses now to become total home media centers.

KingIsaacLinksr · June 07, 2013, 02:37:35 PM

Core gaming is likely to swap back to PCs. As it is, the disadvantages are starting to outweigh the advantages of console gaming. Casual gaming is going mobile and I don't see that changing anytime soon. That is, until people get fed up with the iOS freemium market which based on Zynga's poor performance lately, might come true sooner than I thought.

Tis a sad state of affairs.

X · June 07, 2013, 03:10:39 PM

I'm already excited to get my first Xbox One. None of the stuff that was mentioned affects me in any way what so ever. I'm always online on my XBOX and I don't sell and rarely lend my games out.

I think that people are overlooking the forest for the trees in this as well. The reason that Console games stay expensive is that they are trying to recoup the losses to the second hand market. If you have noticed the Xbox marketplace in the past, new games are showing up there sooner and with some nice price breaks within the first month.

I really don't think that these policies will affect the vast majority of console gamers in the slightest. If your system can't connect for a few seconds to do a check, then you probably don't need to buy an internet connected entertainment system that is built for the cloud in the first place.

I think that at the end of the day, pricing is going to be far better with this system than with the current generation and I like that.

KingIsaacLinksr · June 07, 2013, 03:26:55 PM

Quote from: X on June 07, 2013, 03:10:39 PM

I really don't think that these policies will affect the vast majority of console gamers in the slightest. If your system can't connect for a few seconds to do a check, then you probably don't need to buy an internet connected entertainment system that is built for the cloud in the first place.

I think that at the end of the day, pricing is going to be far better with this system than with the current generation and I like that.

1) I've had weeks where the Internet shuts down for days. I live in Eugene, OR, one of the supposed technologically advanced cities in the state of Oregon. The Xbox One wouldn't work because of the Internet Provider's incompetence. (Which happens to be Comcast. One of the worst and yet most dominate ISPs in the USA.) And I'm in a best-case scenario. My hometown has some of the worst ISP practices thanks to a monopoly going on there. Internet can be slow/flaky/down for days or weeks on end. At least with my PC, I can still play a good chunk of my games even if the ISP suddenly decides to cut out. And I'm in a best-case scenario. I know too many people that have poor to non-existent internet where they live.

Also, you're placing a ton of trust in Microsoft that their servers will stay up and running for the next X amount of years and will never falter at any time you want to play games. As we've seen with many companies in the past year: Blizzard, EA, CCP and too many to count, their servers fail. Especially when a new game launches (SimCity 5, Diablo 3, etc). I'm glad you feel secure in trusting MS because I sure wouldn't be after the year we've been having.

2) This is all based on assumptions. As we've seen when publishers get solo control over their games, the prices tend to inflate. (EA's Origin is the perfect example. Full control over their games and they cost way more on Origin over a longer period of time than anywhere else).

Jobydrone · June 07, 2013, 04:02:47 PM

We've only just recently seen some sales and more competitive pricing on the Xbox live marketplace. For YEARS their prices have been stagnant and ridiculous. Games you can get at Target for ten bucks sat for years at 40 or 50 bucks for no apparent reason. I hope the trend of sales and special offers continues but with the kinds of concessions we're seeing now to big publishers I don't think it looks like its happening.

ChrisMC · June 07, 2013, 04:35:30 PM

Many of us complaining may end up buying one anyway, I'm including myself. BUT I won't be rushing out to get one. I was in the first wave of 360s back in 2005, and I have been through FOUR X-Boxes in that time due to three RROD and a disc drive failure. They botched the hardware on the 360, and they charged me for the repairs, until they got all that bad press of course. Meanwhile, I have a PS1 from 1996 that still works to this day, and I played the hell out of it.

I love my 360, love the games, nut I'm in no rush. If something I hear blows me away, I may budge.

X · June 07, 2013, 08:51:22 PM

Quote from: KingIsaacLinksr on June 07, 2013, 03:26:55 PM

1) I've had weeks where the Internet shuts down for days. I live in Eugene, OR, one of the supposed technologically advanced cities in the state of Oregon. The Xbox One wouldn't work because of the Internet Provider's incompetence. (Which happens to be Comcast. One of the worst and yet most dominate ISPs in the USA.) And I'm in a best-case scenario. My hometown has some of the worst ISP practices thanks to a monopoly going on there. Internet can be slow/flaky/down for days or weeks on end. At least with my PC, I can still play a good chunk of my games even if the ISP suddenly decides to cut out. And I'm in a best-case scenario. I know too many people that have poor to non-existent internet where they live.

Also, you're placing a ton of trust in Microsoft that their servers will stay up and running for the next X amount of years and will never falter at any time you want to play games. As we've seen with many companies in the past year: Blizzard, EA, CCP and too many to count, their servers fail. Especially when a new game launches (SimCity 5, Diablo 3, etc). I'm glad you feel secure in trusting MS because I sure wouldn't be after the year we've been having.

2) This is all based on assumptions. As we've seen when publishers get solo control over their games, the prices tend to inflate. (EA's Origin is the perfect example. Full control over their games and they cost way more on Origin over a longer period of time than anywhere else).

I hear what you're saying but all that means is that the XBOX One isn't for you. The entire platform is built for the internet connectivity, online downloads, and online features. If you don't have a stable internet, this isn't a product for you. Not every product is going to be made for every consumer.

Jobydrone · June 07, 2013, 08:58:09 PM

Quote from: ChrisMC on June 07, 2013, 04:35:30 PM
Many of us complaining may end up buying one anyway, I'm including myself. BUT I won't be rushing out to get one. I was in the first wave of 360s back in 2005, and I have been through FOUR X-Boxes in that time due to three RROD and a disc drive failure. They botched the hardware on the 360, and they charged me for the repairs, until they got all that bad press of course. Meanwhile, I have a PS1 from 1996 that still works to this day, and I played the hell out of it.

I love my 360, love the games, nut I'm in no rush. If something I hear blows me away, I may budge.

Yep I was in line on launch day at Walmart, left at midnight with a 360, Condemned, and Kameo. Also on my fourth or fifth console as well, I honestly lost count. I'm pretty sure I'll be picking up one of the two at launch and also pretty sure it won't be a Xbone, unless maybe if it launches first lol.

X · June 07, 2013, 09:06:42 PM

I've bought 5 xbox 360's so far. None of them have failed me except the dvd drive of my launch 360 and I simply replaced the drive a few years ago. I would have only bought 3, but I moved my daughter's and my xbox to the slim model and my wife still has the old model.

I haven't had any problem at all with my Xbox and only a small percentage of the people I know have had failures and that was after years of use.

Like I said before, I'm in for the One because it has the stuff that I want for my next system.

I'm also a realist. So what if Kinect is always on? I mean sure someone could in theory hack it to see what you are doing, but they can do that to the laptops and phones that I have and I haven't given them up either.

Jobydrone · June 07, 2013, 09:19:14 PM

I've had the opposite experience Chris, everyone I know that gamed on the original 360, before the slim with the falcon motherboard came out, red ringed. My launch 360 red ringed after three or four months, was replaced under warranty, then the replacement red ringed days after the warranty expired, so I then paid over $100 for Microsoft to send me another refurbished 360 that failed a few months later. I trashed that one and after a few months hiatus bought another (which almost caused a divorce when my wife found out). That one started the pre-red ring behavior (stuttering, freezing, and sometimes refusing to read discs) which being the expert I now am on RROD I immediately recognized, so I took it to GameStop before it broke and traded it in for a Slim model which I still have and works great. Totally absurd, but shows what an addict I am and how much I love the 360 in spite of its obvious flaws.

ChrisMC · June 08, 2013, 05:16:36 AM

Quote from: X on June 07, 2013, 09:06:42 PM

I'm also a realist. So what if Kinect is always on? I mean sure someone could in theory hack it to see what you are doing, but they can do that to the laptops and phones that I have and I haven't given them up either.

Well, with this Prism and NSA stuff...... :p

billybob476 · June 08, 2013, 05:41:03 AM

I'm only on my second 360 which I bought off a co-worker for 50 bucks when mine RROD'd. Still have my dead one in the closet.

Jobydrone · June 08, 2013, 06:08:15 AM

I think all this heralds changes in the way were going to consume all media, not just videogames. As digital becomes the standard, and physical media goes the way of the dodo, so will our ability to truly have control over what we own, how we acquire things, and what we do with them when we're done with them. I do have concerns, I think rightly so, when corporations make decisions that affect sweeping changes to the the way things are done that only benefit themselves and their select partners to the detriment of the consumer.

KingIsaacLinksr · June 10, 2013, 08:19:46 PM

http://sbn.to/11Syxxu

Looks like Sony will be winning the gamers over. PS4 is $100 less than the Xbox One, no used-game restrictions, no online DRM and a focus on games and great gaming, not live TV features. What Microsoft should have done. But I guess time will tell who's strategy wins in a few years.

Jobydrone · June 10, 2013, 08:28:56 PM

Yeah I was thrilled to see Sony say exactly what everyone wanted to hear, even down to the price of the system. If you look at it like a competition, Sony wins by maintaining the status quo. If it ain't broke don't try to fix it. They did kind of slip the news in that online multiplayer access for games is shifting to the PS Plus pay wall now, but that was pretty much expected. The PS + is a great service anyway, instant game collection is an amazing value.