Actually, if it counts, then yeah. The DS had some amazing exclusives.
I remember picking up a used copy of what I thought would be a normal platformy game, but turned out to be one of my favourite dark horse games (Wario Master of Disguise).
In fact hat seemed to happen with most of the games I picked for it on a whim.
And I the 3ds keeps impressing me, it might be this gen too.
Actually, if it counts, then yeah. The DS had some amazing exclusives.
I remember picking up a used copy of what I thought would be a normal platformy game, but turned out to be one of my favourite dark horse games (Wario Master of Disguise).
In fact hat seemed to happen with most of the games I picked for it on a whim.
And I the 3ds keeps impressing me, it might be this gen too.
Actually, if it counts, then yeah. The DS had some amazing exclusives.
I remember picking up a used copy of what I thought would be a normal platformy game, but turned out to be one of my favourite dark horse games (Wario Master of Disguise).
In fact hat seemed to happen with most of the games I picked for it on a whim.
And I the 3ds keeps impressing me, it might be this gen too.
As of now definitely. I've been doing nothing but playing 3DS games! Keep switching between pokemon X, New Super Mario Bros., and Kirby Triple Deluxe xD
And it was Amazing for the price I got it at (2$).
The drawing controls were a bit awkward, but the gameplay was solid and I found the wario style humor very fitting for the story.
Basically it's greedy mario running around with a magic disguise-making wand in order to steal things, then Inadvertently saving the day as usual.
Haven't played in awhile though so Take my recommendation of pretty good with some anti-nostalgia salt.
The DS was a strong contender. It had great titles, and its only competitor was a complete joke (PSP).
But I don't count the handhelds because that's a foregone conclusion every time (Nintendo), and it's not really fair to compare the handheld games to the home dog consoles. The huge drop in processing power combined with the needs of being portable require a different design philosophy.
Not better, not worse, just different. Different isn't implicitly bad, right?
Financially, the Wii "won" the last "console war" by a landslide...for Nintendo.
But for gamers, it was by far the weakest platform since it had an absolutely horrid lineup gagged by a mountain of shovelware. The exclusives were the same exact self-derivative stuff we've come to expect from Nintendo, and uniquely, this was the generation that finally made a lot of folks sit down and say "This <Mario/Zelda/Etc> game isn't technically bad at all, but I've seen it all before."
Outside of Nintendo's offerings, it is a wasteland of poor quality. (this is the point where people regurgitate their list of favored games; usually a list of JRPGs with one or two quirky action titles that the greater market didn't really care that much about)
There is a reason why the Wii crashed a solid 2 years before the rest of its competition, and the reason is that it succeeded so wildly financially that Nintendo got lazy and ceased production of the only games that propped the console up.
A mistake that has since became quite evident with the failure of the WiiU.
Ah, finally. Here's one of the REAL contenders.
The 360 started out strong and ended strong.
So strong that I'd be so bold as to call it the default system, the baseline of which the previous generation is measured. I feel confident in saying this, because of the ENORMOUS LIST OF GAMES that were developed on the 360 and ported to PC. Directly. As in "blunt force trauma" directly.
Holy fucking SHIT am I tired of seeing Xbox 360 controller button assignments in lieu of keyboard overlays on PC games.
It's completely and utterly unacceptable. Imagine if I ported a low end game to the 360 and just left in keyboard assignments. Well technically I couldn't it wouldn't make it past M$'s 360 Quality Control standards, and rightly so because IT'S FUCKING UNACCEPTABLE. For once, I'd actually agree entirely with Microsoft.
DirectX (or accurately, DirectInput) knows what keyboard maps are. It's a standard over 15 years old.
PLEASE FUCKING USE THEM DEVELOPERS. It's just a mote of effort that makes a HUGE difference. You're supposed to be professionals, so please ACT LIKE THEM.
Anyway...if that rant didn't make this evident, the 360 was a big deal. It basically cuckold mainstream PC game development outside of the MMO (*blech*)and real time strategy genres. If you've played a big name title on the PC in the last 7 years, chances are good it was developed for the 360 first.
That said, there were two glaring weakness of the Xbox 360.
The first being its HILARIOUSLY common failure rate. Over half of all 360s eventually self destructed due to Microsoft being too cheap to provide a proper source of ventilation for the GPU. Red Ring of Death was so common, it self-memed.
The second, well, Kinect. As a game controller, Kinect is an even bigger sadder joke than the Wii's waggling.
Every serious attempt at making a Kinect game has ended in absolute failure because Kinect fucking sucks at anything more complex than outline recognition.
Leaving only a tiny handful of functional dance titles as its legacy...or that would have been its legacy if not for Microsoft's horrible fixation of forcing Kinect 2.0 (same shit, different box) on the market with their equally ill-conceived Xbone, but that's another topic entirely.
Oh boy...
If the Xbox 360 started strong and stayed strong, the PS3 started FUBAR and...well ended surprisingly strong actually.
The PS2 DOMINATED the previous generation. It wasn't even close. And it dominated for all the right reasons: Strong library, improved visuals and not a wink of any gimmickery or buffoonery on Sony's part in sight...then Sony let ALL of that success go straight to their head.
The PS3's launch was fucked up. Yes, they "sold out", but only because they produced so few PS3s. And then they stalled.
Yes, the PS3 was incredibly powerful for its time, but a nightmare to develop on because of how wildly different its architecture was compared to any other console. It was also EIGHT HUNDRED USD (AVERAGE) AT LAUNCH. Sony was convinced that the Playstation Brand was worth that much to gamers...
...It wasn't. The PS3 lagged firmly behind everyone even with its list of exclusives for a long time solely on that insane price. It FINALLY caught up with the 360 five years into the last cycle thanks to several price cuts and a particularly controversial point (see below), but the last few years of the PS3 had it mirroring much of the 360's launch schedule and then some, making it the superior system overall.
As for dark/pathetic moments, the PS3 had its share those too. Starting with Sony's arrogance at launch and the incredibly awkward E3 conference that has since become a meme-punchline ("Giant enemy crab...attack weak point for massive damage." etc)
Then there was the Other OS scandal, the first instance in game history where the manufacturer actually removed an advertised function post-sale at the threat of discontinued functionality for future games. It's DRM at some of its ugliest; being used as a tool to coerce more favorable market conditions for Sony solely at the expense of the legitimate paying customer.
An act that in a sane world, would have generated enough outrage to go to court...and to be fair, it actually did though there was little to no coverage of the case by the gaming press. (including the Escapist) There was a ruling update in January of this year, though as expected in the gaming world, consumers' rights is a laughable notion by default.
"Hacktivism" against Sony surged in the months following the Other OS removal, including a hack that bypassed Sony's efforts, but the piece de resistance came when PSN experienced one of the largest breaches of security in the history of breaches. Total compromise of pay data. Only through the wonders of encryption were we (and especially Sony) spared a financial disaster.
After that, I think Sony realized that they had to stop taking their prior success for granted and changed their strategy.
While not every move was a step forward, their attitude did change for the better overall; change that would arguably save Sony itself when the PS3 division became the only one making a profit, and practically giftwraped the PS4's success in the start of the next gen console war.
Lol. No. The PSP is only a contender in that it exists.
This was a waste of development.
When the Vita was announced I had hoped Sony had learned their lesson and that this would FINALLY offer the market a handheld whose sales aren't bootstrapped primarily by Mario and Pokemon. But with the utter failure of the Vita, the cycle is complete.
The PSP had the power to offer 3D games, but was crippled by its lack of a second analog nub and shoulder buttons; pushing it right back down into Nintendo's arena, one which they have dominated for over two decades. PSP is a dead end development, and it makes me sad more than anything.
PC. No, really.
(but if you only want a console choice, then PS3)
-The Wii can barely be called a gaming system of its generation, given that it's literally just a supercharged Gamecube with worse controls. I don't give a fuck that it made Nintendo a ton of money. Nintendo making fucktons of money off of gullible folks who didn't know what shovelware was doesn't mean shit to gamers, and it doesn't help push the medium of gaming forward at all.
But don't take my word for it, just look at all that progress the WiiU isn't making.
-Aside from its alarmingly frequent self-destructive habits, the Xbox 360 would have been the clear winner, but Sony's change of heart and subsequent policy altered their fate considerably.
-It took the PS3 a while, but in the end it caught to to and eclipsed the 360. It really was the superior system even if by a nose and late in the race. It's close enough that I wouldn't bat an eye at anyone claiming the 360 was better.
But the real winner at the end of the 7th generation console war was PC. No question.
Not because of what the consoles did, but what they didn't. PC experienced an enormous surge in popularity in the waning years of the previous generation primarily due to the Indie revolution creating new and interesting games that the AAA market was unwilling to even consider due to their fixation of only making console-centric blockbusters.
All those years of waiting, all that untapped demand, it finally found the point of least resistance on PC, and just let loose in a huge torrent of kickstarters, indie projects and releases that in turn is spurring on bigger productions. (for good and bad alike)
How bitter it must feel to be a AAA giant today. The same bloated publishers who treated PC as the platform for contemptible pirates, something only worthy of their table scraps at best, are forced to recognize PC lest their coffers run too low. Time to adapt or die, AAA.
...Though as the recent controversy of Watch Dogs has revealed, apparently some publishers are adapting, and will stoop to new lows just to try and preserve the waning console status-quo. Oh progress you fickle *****.
Actually, if it counts, then yeah. The DS had some amazing exclusives.
I remember picking up a used copy of what I thought would be a normal platformy game, but turned out to be one of my favourite dark horse games (Wario Master of Disguise).
In fact hat seemed to happen with most of the games I picked for it on a whim.
And I the 3ds keeps impressing me, it might be this gen too.
As of now definitely. I've been doing nothing but playing 3DS games! Keep switching between pokemon X, New Super Mario Bros., and Kirby Triple Deluxe xD
And it was Amazing for the price I got it at (2$).
The drawing controls were a bit awkward, but the gameplay was solid and I found the wario style humor very fitting for the story.
Basically it's greedy mario running around with a magic disguise-making wand in order to steal things, then Inadvertently saving the day as usual.
Haven't played in awhile though so Take my recommendation of pretty good with some anti-nostalgia salt.
PS3 had a horrendous start, but ended up the best by a quite a large margin to me. In fact due to all those small Japanese companies all now well and truly comfortable with the PS3 I believe we'll be seeing many more exclusives coming to the PS3 for many years to come (while Wii, and 360 get reduced to zero).
Wii slowed down in its interesting exclusives after a point, but had enough that it was worth picking up for me especially due to how cheap it was.
Xbox 360 had those JRPGs in the beginning that were for the most part all very mediocre, and thankfully in the case of those that were interesting they came to the PS3 meaning I could play them (Got Last Remnant on PC though).
Not everything else was a shooter...but it sure felt like it and I'm not a bang bang pew pew player (plus Microsoft did the stupid business move of having their "exclusives" on PC too which make no mistake is good for me and others...but isn't too smart of a business move).
The PS3, just by also being a Blu-Ray player...
The Wii, just for having better backwards compatibility...
I have nothing against the 360...
And... The DS had the better games while the PSP had the better music player...
In other words, EVERYONE's a winner in their own right to me... except PC, because they are on a different plane all together to even be compared to the consoles in question right now...
I wanted to say the WiiU, but you all know that I would be wrong since it doesn't have a big enough library of games to compete against the others.
I'm a PC gamer, but if I had to pick a console from the previous generation, I'd pick the PS3 because it has the most games that I personally want that aren't available for the PC yet.
Xbox 360 for me. As a console it was much more enjoyable to use in comparison to the PS3
Here is my experience of the PS3.
Boot it up, firmware update required... 1 hour later put in game, update required 1 of 3... 1 hour later, installing updates.... 20 minutes later, game install required.... 1 hour later finally fucking play the game.
On the games. I preferred to play multi-plats on the 360, I'm a huge fan of both Halo and Gears of War multiplayer so I spent the majority of my time on the 360.
You could argue that the PS3 has a greater variety of exclusives, and that's true. But personally, I find most of Sony's offerings to be boring trite.
Boot it up, firmware update required... 1 hour later put in game, update required 1 of 3... 1 hour later, installing updates.... 20 minutes later, game install required.... 1 hour later finally fucking play the game.
I'd use some more realistic numbers there if your want people to take that seriously. Waiting time is a valid complaint, but lets not overstate what they are.
Lot of people who really did not like PSP. I love it. I think it has a very good games selection. I've kept my PSP while my DS was sold after months of being a paperweight (seriously).
My pick is PC. It's still a legitimate gaming platform that I can play, so I never understand the distinction between a gaming PC and a console. PS3 and 360's games for the most part were ported to PC, and I like a customisable gaming experience.
I chose Wii simply because it had a lot of games I enjoyed. Three of my top 10 favourite video games are Wii games (Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Super Smash Bros Brawl, and Kirby's Return to Dreamland), and it also has backwards compatibility with Gamecube games, allowing me to enjoy another of my top 10 favourite games, Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door.
Other aspects of the Wii I liked include the controller options and it's system layout. For the former, I liked having several different options for my controller, and liked how motion controls were utilised in certain cases. I really enjoyed using motion controls in games such as Red Steel, Dragon Ball Z Budakai Tenkaichi 2 & 3, Wario Land Shake Dimension, and more. Sometimes it'd rely on motion controls, other times it would be smaller uses, either way I enjoyed it when the feature was simply utilised well. As for the layout, it was plain but simple, everything you want appears on the Wii menu before you.
If I had ever utilised the virtual console for the Wii I'm sure my opinion would have been even higher, given it'd have allowed me to play my favourite video game of all time more, Kirby's Fun Pack (otherwise known as Kirby's Super Star). So there you go, the reason why I voted the Wii as my favourite console of the former video game console generation.
Boot it up, firmware update required... 1 hour later put in game, update required 1 of 3... 1 hour later, installing updates.... 20 minutes later, game install required.... 1 hour later finally fucking play the game.
I'd use some more realistic numbers there if your want people to take that seriously. Waiting time is a valid complaint, but lets not overstate what they are.
Lot of people who really did not like PSP. I love it. I think it has a very good games selection. I've kept my PSP while my DS was sold after months of being a paperweight (seriously).
My pick is PC. It's still a legitimate gaming platform that I can play, so I never understand the distinction between a gaming PC and a console. PS3 and 360's games for the most part were ported to PC, and I like a customisable gaming experience.
Yeah, I don't get the major PSP hate, it had plenty of great games you could play on it. The only major downfall of it is that some of its better games weren't localized. However, it still sold 80 million units, and while for a handheld that isn't perfect sales, it's still pretty damn good.
OT: PS3. The 360 was good, and for gamers that only play on consoles I can understand that as a choice over a PS3, but as a hybrid person, a lot of the 360's "exclusives" also had PC ports, not to mention most multiplatform games were also on PC, so it really does just come down to the actual exclusives at that point, and at that point the PS3 wins it. Sure it was no PS2, but expecting that lightening to strike thrice(the PS1 sold like hot cakes too) is a little much.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
