Console Wars

[te72]

Pot, your kettle is black...

 

Just kidding Jake. I didn't realize fanboys were still a thing. Even back in the 16 bit days, my friends and I had different systems, but we all played games and appreciated that we could experience the range that was available.

 

What was the point of this thread again?

[Data]

Pot, your kettle is black...

 

Just kidding Jake. I didn't realize fanboys were still a thing. Even back in the 16 bit days, my friends and I had different systems, but we all played games and appreciated that we could experience the range that was available.

 

What was the point of this thread again?

 

The purpose of this thread is evaluate the progression in technology, objectify the gaming market and speculate on the future of home console gaming by extrapolating from the facts.

 

Plus it has always been of great interest to see what the filthy console peasants are doing.

 

[daven000]

The purpose of this thread is evaluate the progression in technology, objectify the gaming market and speculate on the future of home console gaming by extrapolating from the facts.

 

Plus it has always been of great interest to see what the filthy console peasants are doing.

 

 

Too bad the PC gets cuckolded by the console peasants when all the PC developers make all games - even for PC - based on console specifications, and all that extra horsepower of the PC is largely ignored.

[Data]

Too bad the PC gets cuckolded by the console peasants when all the PC developers make all games - even for PC - based on console specifications, and all that extra horsepower of the PC is largely ignored.

If that we're even true, it would explain why those games are 2 generations behind.  Are you typing on a playstation?

 

[te72]

Eh, as long as I have a means to play Worms games, I'm good either way. Search me, but I don't think I care what everyone else is playing... I tore apart and built a car this year. I learned the basics of welding, and have started making some simple art with metal. I'm debating making an attempt at learning guitar, to see if my fingers are good for more than picking my nose.

 

Yet here I am commenting in a random thread about gaming hardware... strange.

[Sean697]

The power game is a sham. The GameCube was more powerful than the PS2 but that didn't help Nintendo beat Sony. Nintendo has largely ignored the powergame and instead gone for innovative features with their hardware to make them interesting. Which is fine by me. So I'll tend to have one Nintendo console and whatever the most powerful alternate game console is. I have a PS4 (Now a Pro) and a Wii U. I'll surely upgrade to the Switch. PC gaming is never as good as console gaming. Though I have a gaming PC. I've found that FPS games are superior on those platforms, the are inconvenient and convoluted for console genres. (I'd say strategy stuff and war games superior on PC as well.)

[Sean697]

I guess we'll see in January but the Switch will sell people on an affordable price and interesting features that can't be replicated elesewhere. And Nintendo exclusives. Whether those features are for you is one thing. But I don't think it's realistic to expect Nintendo to compete on a pure horsepower level with Microsoft or Sony. It's not going nor ever was goin g to happen.

[Data]

I guess we'll see in January but the Switch will sell people on an affordable price and interesting features that can't be replicated elesewhere. And Nintendo exclusives. Whether those features are for you is one thing. But I don't think it's realistic to expect Nintendo to compete on a pure horsepower level with Microsoft or Sony. It's not going nor ever was goin g to happen.

 

Only Japanese people will buy it come March for their daily commutes.  It will have to drop to $169 in the US before it sells. 

People would sooner buy a 3DS because at least there is some games.  

Nintendo is going to have to start downsizing.

[Sean697]

I'll buy it. Because it will let me play things that I can't on my PS4, like a new 3D Mario game. I think a lot of people will buy it.

[kitsunebi]

Only Japanese people will buy it come March for their daily commutes.

I just want to chime in and say that despite the popular notion espoused above, I almost never see teenagers or adults playing portable game systems on public transport in Japan. Children, yes, but despite what people in America might think, older gamers keep their secret shame hidden for the most part lol. Part of why the DS/3DS are so successful isn't so much that they appeal to all ages, it's that nearly every single child of both sexes between the ages of 5 and 14 in the entire country owns one. Seriously. I can ask a classroom of 30 kids how many of them own a pet and get about 5 hands raised. Ask how many own a 3DS and I will get between 27-30 hands raised.

[daven000]

If that we're even true, it would explain why those games are 2 generations behind.  Are you typing on a playstation?

 

Are you sure? Because to me it seems PC gamers are the ones most vocal about how consoles are holding gaming back. It makes sense when you realize that a console's hardware stays stagnant for 5-10 years, and a game designed 4 years after the console's launch can look a generation behind what a contemporary fully upgraded PC would be capable of. Granted this isn't as much of an issue nowadays with console revisions like the PS4 Pro and Scorpio becoming a thing, but it's still somewhat of an issue nevertheless.

[Data]

Are you sure? Because to me it seems PC gamers are the ones most vocal about how consoles are holding gaming back. It makes sense when you realize that a console's hardware stays stagnant for 5-10 years, and a game designed 4 years after the console's launch can look a generation behind what a contemporary fully upgraded PC would be capable of. Granted this isn't as much of an issue nowadays with console revisions like the PS4 Pro and Scorpio becoming a thing, but it's still somewhat of an issue nevertheless.

What I'm saying is console's are oudated as soon as they are released if not soon after like in the case of the 360.  Also don't need anything like a "fully upgraded pc" to beat a playstation 4 pro.  An I5 and a RX 480 will beat it.  From there , I need to step up my graphics card.

 

And nobody is designing games around the PS4 Pro.  Sony should have waited for PS5.

[Sternosaur]

I guess we'll see in January but the Switch will sell people on an affordable price and interesting features that can't be replicated elesewhere. And Nintendo exclusives. Whether those features are for you is one thing. But I don't think it's realistic to expect Nintendo to compete on a pure horsepower level with Microsoft or Sony. It's not going nor ever was goin g to happen.

I agree, if there's one thing Nintendo has been known for, it's creating fun and polished games.  I would purchase the switch if only to play Breath of the Wild, I haven't been this excited for a Zelda game since the very first one.  Figure everything out for yourself and explore the world around you, THIS.. is the pure heart of zelda, not what ocarina of time set it out to be.

[te72]

I just want to chime in and say that despite the popular notion espoused above, I almost never see teenagers or adults playing portable game systems on public transport in Japan. Children, yes, but despite what people in America might think, older gamers keep their secret shame hidden for the most part lol. Part of why the DS/3DS are so successful isn't so much that they appeal to all ages, it's that nearly every single child of both sexes between the ages of 5 and 14 in the entire country owns one. Seriously. I can ask a classroom of 30 kids how many of them own a pet and get about 5 hands raised. Ask how many own a 3DS and I will get between 27-30 hands raised.

Quite interesting, I wouldn't have really considered it like that. Different culture there perhaps? I've seen plenty of grown adults playing games on their phones. Not too many that have portable systems though, certainly not as many do their gaming at home.

 

What I'm saying is console's are oudated as soon as they are released if not soon after like in the case of the 360.  Also don't need anything like a "fully upgraded pc" to beat a playstation 4 pro.  An I5 and a RX 480 will beat it.  From there , I need to step up my graphics card.

 

And nobody is designing games around the PS4 Pro.  Sony should have waited for PS5.

Man, the best part about PC gaming? Is that you have the opportunity to constantly tinker with your hardware, upgrading every thing that someone deems inferior. Don't get me started on the planned obsolescence, that's just the icing on the cake. I can't tell you how many times I've had my computer opened up to repair or replace components. I can tell you how many times I've ever opened a PS3 though, and that is precisely once, to put a larger hard drive in it. Didn't even need to, just wanted to.

 

Jake, I think you miss the point about why folks enjoy console gaming. We can come home, turn on the system, and everything works as it should, 99% of the time, if not more. It's significantly more reliable a platform (literally, any console platform), and most people I think would rather play a game than spend time tinkering with settings or drivers or hardware or patches, etc... Don't get me wrong, I understand the tinkering mindset. I had a perfectly good Toyota Supra. Then I tore it into thousands (not kidding) of pieces, cleaned it all off, found and fixed small issues, and upgraded a whole lot of things in the process.

 

So, don't misunderstand, I get where you come from, as a PC enthusiast. However, much like people like consoles so they can reliably play games, I prefer to drive my cars, rather than work on them. Even if efforts spent working on them makes them a better experience and me a more skilled owner.

[kitsunebi]

Quite interesting, I wouldn't have really considered it like that. Different culture there perhaps? I've seen plenty of grown adults playing games on their phones. Not too many that have portable systems though, certainly not as many do their gaming at home.

 

Oh, absolutely.  When I said portable game systems, I wasn't talking about smartphones.  It's totally acceptable to play a game on a smartphone.  But you aren't gonna see many people over the age of 13 playing a 3DS or Vita on a train, even in Japan, so the comment about playing on the commute to work doesn't apply.

[Data]

Quite interesting, I wouldn't have really considered it like that. Different culture there perhaps? I've seen plenty of grown adults playing games on their phones. Not too many that have portable systems though, certainly not as many do their gaming at home.

 

Man, the best part about PC gaming? Is that you have the opportunity to constantly tinker with your hardware, upgrading every thing that someone deems inferior. Don't get me started on the planned obsolescence, that's just the icing on the cake. I can't tell you how many times I've had my computer opened up to repair or replace components. I can tell you how many times I've ever opened a PS3 though, and that is precisely once, to put a larger hard drive in it. Didn't even need to, just wanted to.

 

The way I look at it, is to buy quality parts the first time.  I never need to fix anything, I don't overclock.

When a big upgrade comes along I have no problem selling my parts on fleabay, none at all.

Also when I get a new graphics card, I can enjoy all my old games once again at higher fidelity.

 

 

It's totally acceptable to play a game on a smartphone.  But you aren't gonna see many people over the age of 13 playing a 3DS or Vita on a train, even in Japan, so the comment about playing on the commute to work doesn't apply.

 

Smartphone are the absolute worst thing to play games on.  My thumbs cover most of the screen and it is hard to control without the feel of physical buttons.

 

I can't concentrate on a videogame in a moving vehicle or with people all around me otherwise I might consider it.

[kitsunebi]

Smartphone are the absolute worst thing to play games on.  My thumbs cover most of the screen and it is hard to control without the feel of physical buttons.

 

I can't concentrate on a videogame in a moving vehicle or with people all around me otherwise I might consider it.

 

I don't disagree - I've never installed a game on my phone, but I'm sure a dedicated game system will surely have better games.  But an SLR camera takes really nice photos, and yet a smartphone is still the best camera in many ways.  Why?  Because you always have it on you allowing you to take a picture whenever you like, whereas if you didn't specifically plan to bring the SLR with you that day, you're SOL.  People play games on their phones because they get bored and their phone is right there in their pocket.  No one would argue that phones have the best games.  But most people don't leave their homes each day with a plan to play a game later on and have the forethought to pack their portable gaming system, so mobile games are always going to be more popular because they're always available at hand.

[Data]

Look, if sales numbers aren't enough then you can look at the parent company's stock.

Microsoft is climbing, Sony is fading off and Nintendo took a big hit today.  Y'all better buy 3 or 4 of these machines on release because it's going to keep tumbling.

 

[kitsunebi]

Again I'm just playing devil's advocate, since I have no intention of buying any console from any company, but those charts don't mean much when applied to the arguments in this thread.  Unless you're seriously suggesting that video game consoles are the driving force behind the performance of either Microsoft or Sony's stock .

[Sean697]

Also Nintendos stock looks like it's on climb to me.

[Data]

Again I'm just playing devil's advocate, since I have no intention of buying any console from any company, but those charts don't mean much when applied to the arguments in this thread.  Unless you're seriously suggesting that video game consoles are the driving force behind the performance of either Microsoft or Sony's stock .

 

I see you didn't mention Nintendo.  Good idea because all Nintendo makes now is a handheld console and theme park.

What exactly does Sony excel at besides gaming consoles?  Like you mentioned, cameras are replaced by smartphones.

Sony is being outsold badly by Samsung, LG and Panasonic.  It certainly isn't being driven by music sales.

 

Microsoft has been bleeding cash. Some of their hardware is high class stuff but it certainly isn't selling. 

They gave most of their copies of Windows 10 for free.

Their stock is climbing for a few reasons

-The enterprise relies on windows server as well as client machines

-Believe it or not they have excellent customer service

-Their gaming sector is attracting younger people and game developers

[Sean697]

I feel like I'm stuck on a retarded Neo GAF thread. Where everyone anylyzes every little minuscule detail. I say just buy what you like. I know this thread is provactively titled console wars. But these arguments are silly.

[kitsunebi]

Microsoft is a non-starter in Japan, but will definitely be competitive in western countries, their main opposition being Sony.  For Microsoft to really pull ahead and put Sony squarely in second place, though, Nintendo really needs to succeed in Japan.

 

It's like this: Japanese game developers and most consumers don't really give a crap which system is more powerful.  Japanese game players want to own whatever is the most popular (it's a cultural thing), and game developers want to develop for the most popular system, period (since there is more money to be made).  As it is in the current generation, with the PS4 user base so small in comparison, Japanese game developers that in the past might have published games on Sony's systems are abandoning them for the far more lucrative 3DS.  Big budget franchise games are still being published on the Playstation, but lots of mid-tier to smaller budget games that used to provide the wealth of variety that something like the PS2 was known for are being lost to Nintendo.

 

If the Switch can continue that trend (and I'm not saying it will), then the Playstation games coming out of Japan will be mostly just those big-budget franchise games, many of which are multi-platform and will be available on Microsoft's systems anyway.  And if the games on both systems are mostly the same, then there really won't be anything more to consider than the technical specs when choosing between Microsoft and Sony, so all Microsoft would have to concern themselves with is providing the best hardware at a competitive price.  Meanwhile, Nintendo could continue to flourish in Japan publishing a wide variety of smaller-scale titles not seen on the other two systems.

[Data]

I feel like I'm stuck on a retarded Neo GAF thread. Where everyone anylyzes every little minuscule detail. I say just buy what you like. I know this thread is provactively titled console wars. But these arguments are silly.

 

Don't be upset with my harsh words about a toy game console.  I merely enjoy analyzing what is going on behind the scene.  It's guys like me why that advances the technology for the masses.

 

And I can't resist

 

 

It's like this: Japanese game developers and most consumers don't really give a crap which system is more powerful.  Japanese game players want to own whatever is the most popular (it's a cultural thing), and game developers want to develop for the most popular system, period (since there is more money to be made).  As it is in the current generation, with the PS4 user base so small in comparison, Japanese game developers that in the past might have published games on Sony's systems are abandoning them for the far more lucrative 3DS.  Big budget franchise games are still being published on the Playstation, but lots of mid-tier to smaller budget games that used to provide the wealth of variety that something like the PS2 was known for are being lost to Nintendo.

 

If the Switch can continue that trend (and I'm not saying it will), then the Playstation games coming out of Japan will be mostly just those big-budget franchise games, many of which are multi-platform and will be available on Microsoft's systems anyway.  And if the games on both systems are mostly the same, then there really won't be anything more to consider than the technical specs when choosing between Microsoft and Sony, so all Microsoft would have to concern themselves with is providing the best hardware at a competitive price.  Meanwhile, Nintendo could continue to flourish in Japan publishing a wide variety of smaller-scale titles not seen on the other two systems.

 

"Microsoft is a non-starter in Japan, but will definitely be competitive in western countries, their main opposition being Sony.  For Microsoft to really pull ahead and put Sony squarely in second place, though, Nintendo really needs to succeed in Japan."

 

Can you elaborate?

 

"Big budget franchise games are still being published on the Playstation, but lots of mid-tier to smaller budget games that used to provide the wealth of variety that something like the PS2 was known for are being lost to Nintendo."

 

Yea.  Americans and Europeans enjoy first person shooters which require bleeding edge performance while Japanese people more so like a different style of game.  Anime style, Dance Dance, and other pop stuff right? 

Japanese people get bent out of shape when a console is released anywhere but Japan first. 

The PS4 came out in US and Europe 4 months before it was released in Japan. They didn't like that.

The Next will come out in Japan 5 days before US so that should make them happy.

 

On a related note.  99 Xbox One units sold in Japan in the month of November.  For what MS pays to keep servers running, they should just give up. ?

[Sean697]

Possibly the only thing to get me to buy a Microsoft console is Cuphead. If it ever comes out. I've never owned one. I can't justify two consoles like the PS4 and the One that largely have the same games. Exclusive FPS games are not going to sway me. But significant VR might. Like if whatever Scorpio does with hololens is super good, I might buy my first Microsoft console.