The next generation of consoles....

Found an interesting article on Game Radar about the status of console gaming versus PC gaming.

Do you agree with the article or not?

I suppose computers might represent a big part of the future of video games. They have some advantages, including the following:

• It's possible to create and distribute freeware.

• It's apparently easier to use computers to create independent games and sell them online. The indie selections on XBLA and PSN aren't bad, but I hear they are relatively limited. I've only used Steam once and Gamersgate once, but from what I've read, it seems services like these are a big deal. Though I'm not sure how many people are actually making money from indie games...

• Few current consoles support the use of a mouse and a keyboard.

But at the same time, there are an awful lot of problems...

• It's nearly impossible to trade, borrow, or resell computer games.

• On nearly every console and computer, you can be assured that fans will break the encryption and create ROMs and ISOs. When the sales numbers of games for a system start dropping across the board, then companies stop making games for the device. This has happened with many of today's quickly-fading consoles. It could well happen for computers. How many ports to Windows have been cancelled because the company had no confidence in the market for computer games?

• Compatibility is a big issue with computers. While there have been some shameful examples of console games which freeze, and which require bug fixes, there is no need to check hardware specs with console games.

• If there is no reason to buy computer games in a box, then don't expect brick and mortar retailers to support the format. I have seen a decent selection of PC games at stores such as Best Buy and Fry's. But does the customer gain anything from buying a physical copy, other than nice packaging?

• Some computer games have frustrating DRM.

The Playstation3 and the X Box 360 have existed for a few years and still sell both hardware and software. The Wii is about to give way to the Wii U, and the PSP is about to be replaced by the Vita. It all seems to follow a predictable cycle. But the competition can change at a moment's notice. Sometimes the device which is expected to fail becomes a success, and vice versa. Remember how many people predicted the DS would fail? Remember how quickly iOS and Android devices became successful gaming platforms? Remember how people assumed that the success of mobile devices had doomed the 3DS?

There are innovative computer games. But if you take a few seconds and look around, you can find innovation on any platform which survived for more than a month.

One last note: the article suggests that people will seek and embrace unusual games. This is sometimes true. But from what I've learned from a huge variety of media, it's usually true that huge-budget blockbusters sell huge numbers. Until a series falls apart due to bad sequel or spinoff, loses its reputation from Capcom Sequel Stagnation, or gets Lost in Imitation, it will tend to sell. There's a few breakout hits made by people who defy relatively mainstream expectations. Arthouse and Widget Series style content occasionally makes money, but it's hit and miss.

edited 20th Feb '12 9:12:34 PM by dorkatlarge

I'm getting too old to work myself into a frenzy about fanboyism. I'll go where the games are.

Hey look, another article that conventiently tries to sweep under the rug the existence of downloadable titles on the Ps N and X Box Live, and therefore doesn't reflect reality. Yeah, how exactly does Journey fit into the "Developers can only be creative on PC" bullshit? Oh right, calling Ps N exclusives a "trickle" - when was the last really good Steam exclusive again? October? As opposed to the recent release of Malicious on Ps N?

edited 20th Feb '12 10:36:36 PM by TheatricalAndProud

The most recent release on a platform isn't really the same as the rate of releases.

I'm already a largely PC-first gamer, especially since 6th-gen consoles when PC games still weren't largely being treated as afterthought ports.

However, I don't mind consoles. I've got a bunch of retro ones already, since emulation just isn't quite like playing on the real deal.

The problem I see is that modern consoles are basically trying to become half-assed PCs with ridiculous overuse of Revenue-Enhancing Devices and far less functionality, instead of a simple plug-and-play experience like it used to be. Remember when DLC used to be free, sometimes included in a game patch, or you'd have tons of community-made maps to choose from? Those days are apparently gone, now that there are tons of people willing to pay $60 every year for what is basically the same damn game, plus $15 for each small map pack that gets released.

There are a few exclusives that might tempt me into getting an Xbox 360 or PS 3 (moreso the latter), but only when the consoles themselves become cheap for the models I want. Even then, there's not a whole lot of those exclusives; most are multiplatform games that shine best on PC, even four-year-old ones like mine.

Nintendo is generally the exception; they're trying to give me an experience I can't easily get on my desktop in terms of shaking up how games are played. Too bad their platforms tend to have other drawbacks, like a messed-up online infrastructure and how the Wiimote didn't have MotionPlus to begin with. (The pre-release trailers instantly made me recall Die By The Sword and its VSIM control mode, but only with the recent release of The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword has that potential been delivered upon.)

As for the Wii U...I don't know for sure. It depends on how they utilize that tablet controller. One of my other concerns is that even though they tout Wii controller compatibility, developers will focus too much on the tablet controller and not continue to think of possibilities for the Wiimote + MotionPlus + Nunchuk combo. For instance, IR pointer functionality: the tablet controller has it, but which feels more like pointing a gun or using a mouse to you: pointing a slab at the screen, or a remote?