biggest flaw in a console

[BolognaBaloney]

The unreliable nature of the Xbox 360. Honestly, I would pay assloads of money for a current-gen console as sturdy as, say, my old Gamecube. After hundreds, maybe thousands of hours of Smash and THPS on that little black box of joy, it still works perfectly. Take note, Sony and Microsoft.

Current technology is a lot more fragile, so if you want to play the shiny games, you have to put up with the risk of the console breaking...

I know, but apparently it's ridiculous to expect that once technology becomes more advanced, some of the time and effort put into creating said technology might be spent on actually making it durable. It's not just consoles either, it's tvs, stereos, computers, everything. Ridiculous.

Part of that is the fact that we live in a disposable society where you are supposed to be constantly upgrading technology and such, so things aren't made to last because that could hurt sales...

 

[Pendragon9]

snip

You make very good points there. I'll concede the part about the games. In fact, I think i'll check out some of those freeware games. Thanks.

Overall, I think that proves that we can all be mistaken about consoles, since they all have flaws and pros. Thank you for showing me that.

 

[johnman]

The fact that if you own a console you need to have a Pc anyway to do anything other playing gmaes.

 

[tyzzni]

wii - made for kids, not enough market
ps3 - tough to get online, got better over time, but not enough games for it
360 - red ring, by far

 

[sethisjimmy]

I think the biggest flaw in general is Nintendo's complete inability to get a handheld right the first time around.

gameboy - game boy color. We forgot color. Here's another game boy for you to buy!
gameboy color - gameboy advance. We gave you some new buttons, now give us money! Also, we made smaller cartridges for you to lose.
gameboy advance - gameboy advance sp. OH SHI! We forgot the lights! Buy another gameboy from us and we'll throw in a hinge for it
gameboy advance sp - gameboy mini (I don't know what this one is called). We made gameboy smaller and crappier! Buy it again!

DS - DS lite. It weighs less. BUY!
DS lite - DSi. Now with a camera, totally unlike every other portable electronic device! Also we moved some buttons around. Spend full price again!

So your going to begrudge them for being marketing geniuses?

true, but still...

 

[jthm]

You either used the stick, or the d-pad in rare instances and always the buttons. How does that equal 3 hand use?

Three hands are necessary to be able to reach all the buttons, the stick and the d-pad simultaneosly.

Yes, but there aren't any games that require the use of all the buttons, stick and d-pad simultanously (because that would be poor game design), so it's a non-issue.

No, poor game design is forcing the player to stand absolutely still if they want to do something crazy, like free-aim in an fps.

Okay, won't argue that as I tend to agree, however to the point we were on, the N64 controller wasn't poorly designed, it was just different but still entirely functional. Any game developer that tried to make you use all three areas on the controller at once would be a twit, but that doesn't reflect poorly on the system, just the design team of the game in question.

 

[Tharwen]

...and thats why I'm a P.C. gamer.

Okay, have you been answering the OPs question? No...
Have you contributed in any other way to this discussion? No...
Does this even have ANYTHING to do with the topic? No...

Well, obviously, you just felt to do some hating. But let me ask you: are you saying, with PCs, there are less (hardware/software-)problems than with consoles?
Please note I'm no fanboy. I use both consoles and computers.

i salute you both for such ridiculousness.

1. the 360 and ps3 are essentially home pc's with no keyboard. if you can't see that, then you're thick. (i try to avoid using sentences like the last one, but honestly, what's the difference?)

2. i'll just pretend the blue screen of death doesn't exist, and that keyboard controls are often confusing at first (not to mention the useless start menu & right-click menu buttons on every pc keyboard i've ever seen; do you have any idea how many games crashed on me because i accidentally hit the start menu button instead of alt? i have one keyboard where i popped those fuckers out with a screwdriver)

i've owned several pc's over the years--i still remember playing the original duke nukem--and haven't owned a console in over a decade because, well, i really don't care. my friends use their consoles the way i use my laptop, so i see no difference between any of the systems, other than you can generally take apart a pc and add parts a lot easier than a console. it's not something i do, but i know it can be done.

one other thing: you can usually just restart your computer and it'll work fine again. if a console has a software issue, you're SOL; hope the warranty's still good

Actually the right click menu button is a lifesaver when you have no mouse (like when some halfwit at school decides to 'improve' one of the PCs), though the windows key is one of the most common causes of death for me when gaming.

 

[ihitterdal]

The console wars, if they count. If not, the Wii graphics glitches (anyone else get the black lines? If not, this doesn't count) and the E74 error on the 360.

 

[Fallingwater]

The Atari 2600 had a trackball controller. It prooved absolutely horrible in all respects.

The Atari 2600 is a design that's 32 years old. They didn't even know what an optical controlled was back then. I'm fairly sure a trackball controller with current technology would be an entirely different story.

 

[cult-of-the-odd]

The N64 was my favorite system as a kid. However, its main flaw overall was their reluctance to use CD technology over Cartridge.

However, these days I can still play my N64 games when all my friends PS1 games are all scratched too much to be playable.

damn took my idea

 

[Darth Pope]

Sega Dreamcast was to full of win for the gaming majority to appreciate.

 

[Hiram88]

Red Ring Of Death.

That doesn't really count because it is coverred in the warranty.

It's like saying that bullets dont kill people because there are bulletproof vests.

 

[Darth Pope]

Other then the Red Ring, its Sega and their failure to support the Sega Saturn or Dreamcast in the U.S.

Those aren't even relevant consoles anymore

Blasphemer! For slandering the Dreamcast I shall shoot my eye beams at you!

 

[sln333]

Obviously the RROD. Since everyone knows that already, I'll pick the missing second analog nub on the PSP. Sony brings over all the controls from the PS2, but leaves out the one which controls the camera. Great work.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I'd say the fact that the developers seem to have forgotten that their consoles are supposed to be for GAMING. Listen to Sony and Microsoft brag about how you can watch movies and surf the internet and listen to music and shit on the 360, PS3 and, PSP respectively; and now Nintendo's gotten on that bandwagon with the DSi. WTF? I don't need my consoles to do all that shit, that's what I have a PC for!! Well I also play games on my PC, but the point is, a game console is for PLAYING GAMES, not all that other shit.

 

[Solytus]

I'd say that its either the red ring of death, or the PS3's removal of backwards compatability, though I hear Sony's looking into a way to put that back in.

 

[WaffleGod]

RROD

It's the reason I got a PS3 instead of a 360.

 

[AngloDoom]

Is there really any other answer besides the Red Ring o' Death?

All the other consoles may have problems, but a third of all 360's just randomly a'splode.

 

[Joshimodo]

Everything about the Wii, apart from Twilight Princess.

Nearly everything about the PS3 (especially the controller and games).

All the hardware faults of the 360, coupled with the amount of squeaky idiots online.