Poll: Sony Pulls Out of the Console Race

[Xman490]

The poll is strange, since "hardcore" is not really defined. I assume that by "hardcore", you mean on the cutting edge of $200 technology. In that case, of course it's bad, as Microsoft would in that case has somewhat of a monopoly.
However, that is unlikely to happen. Even if Sony drops out, Nintendo and computers would still provide some competition, though not between highly similar products.

 

[Eventidal]

Sir, I am deeply offended.

Nintendo has as much hardcore as MS and Sony do, or even more. Look at Monster Hunter Tri. Look at Sin and Punishment or Kid Icarus: Uprising.*snip*

I agree but you did leave out Xenoblade Chronicles one of the most impressive and enjoyable games this generation (or any generation) there is also the last story coming out soon so hopefully that will be good as well and dont forget mario galaxy a rare game that has appeal to both hardcore and casual gamers.

Trouble with Nintendo wii is that there are a lot more casual games on the system so the `proper` games tend to get lost and bypass most peoples attention and now they seem to have dug themselves into a hole by trying to appeal to the casual crowd only to realise casual gamers dont really buy that many games and arent a sustainable primary market.

Anyway if for some reason Microsoft did become the only `hardcore` console on the market I would stop gaming as it would be a very bad situation for the market there needs to be competition and Microsoft can not be trusted to not screw over everybody as much as possible if they had a monopoly on the console market (or near to). Actually I wouldnt trust any company with a monopoly not to try and milk people as much as possible but out of the three console manufacturers microsofts dominance would be worst case scenario.

I can't honestly say anything about a game I don't have yet, now can I? I'd love to talk about how great Deadly Creatures is or Muramasa maybe, but I don't have those either. (though I have played Muramasa. Damn fine, difficult as hell game. Forgot to list that one in my post) There are plenty more I haven't played like Dead Space: Extraction, RE: Darkside Chronicles, Red Steel 2, the Conduit games, etc.

What likely caused the problems with the public image of the Wii is retailers. The good games you see on shelves are almost nothing but 1st party ones that everyone knows about. Anything else that's even a bit good gets scooped up by guys like me who know the system, and what's left is all the crap that nobody wants to buy, taking up shelf space, and the popular casual stuff that continually sells. I've searched high and low in every game store I go to when I visit one, and I rarely see the Wii's third party gems sitting on shelves.

 

[AnotherAvatar]

I too will never buy another Microsoft system. They've given us two generations of pure shit that will, with only the rare exception, break on it's own accord in a terribly obvious planned obsolecnc scheme (My Dreamcast still works after a bought it at launch, my original Xbox has been broken for years (before I got my 360) and two of the 360's I had died. Also I've never had any Sony system die on me.


To be frank, I think this is bullshit. Sony is not pulling out of the console race, they're just not rushing into pushing their shit out like Microshit. Past two generations have followed a pattern: Let your biggest opponents put out their system first and then build something better. They could be doing this, or they could just be focused on the Vita for now, but I seriously refuse to believe that with all the cash they've made in the market that they are going anywhere.

If this did happen however, I'd become a pure PC gamer, because fuck Nintendo for being absurdly childish these days (I used to defend them from this claim back on the Gamecube but with the Wii there's not much I can do. Even their mature games ended up childish: See also: Madworld. Not that there aren't good games, but they are few and far between, and because of the last gen graphics every game on the system I can't help but think I'd rather be playing on PS3 with move.), and just generally fuck Microsoft and everything their entirely greed based console production stands for (if you don't know what planned obsolesce is google it real quick, and then come back and try and tell me that's not what they're doing).

I mean, really, I play my PC way more than my PS3 even as it is, so again not a big deal, but I guess I would be a little upset because Microdicks would win by default, and they don't deserve to win anything.

 

[burningdragoon]

*stuff not about me*

The idea of a "one console future" isn't only one company producing consoles, but multiple companies producing the same console. Much like how DVD players work, or even somewhat like how there are many different companies making PCs, but they all run Windows. I look forward to that happening but I think we have at least 1 more console generation before it does.

To the main point, this isn't a process of elimination you know. Just because we haven't heard much about Sony's next console (other than, you know, the Vita) doesn't mean anything either way about what their plan is. Some pretty wild and not well backed up speculation in here.

That would be called a computer...

Yes, that's the point. The PS3 and Xbox360 (and the Wii) are already specialized computers. The "one console future" is having a generic specialized computer, called a gaming console (or more likely a "media player") that has multiple manufacturers each with there own, but they all will play the same games. Every game would play on every console.

Just because we already have "regular" computers that function like that, doesn't mean there isn't a place for a console version. If that was the case, we wouldn't have consoles in the first place.

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

Well, that might mean the PS exclusives would come to the Microsoft systems, which is nice. I always wanted to play Uncharted or inFamous without having to buy two new consoles.

 

[Siris]

I think my organs burst from laughter

 

[mindlesspuppet]

*stuff not about me*

The idea of a "one console future" isn't only one company producing consoles, but multiple companies producing the same console. Much like how DVD players work, or even somewhat like how there are many different companies making PCs, but they all run Windows. I look forward to that happening but I think we have at least 1 more console generation before it does.

To the main point, this isn't a process of elimination you know. Just because we haven't heard much about Sony's next console (other than, you know, the Vita) doesn't mean anything either way about what their plan is. Some pretty wild and not well backed up speculation in here.

That would be called a computer...

Yes, that's the point. The PS3 and Xbox360 (and the Wii) are already specialized computers. The "one console future" is having a generic specialized computer, called a gaming console (or more likely a "media player") that has multiple manufacturers each with there own, but they all will play the same games. Every game would play on every console.

Just because we already have "regular" computers that function like that, doesn't mean there isn't a place for a console version. If that was the case, we wouldn't have consoles in the first place.

If different companies started making the 'same' console, that means hardware would be different, even if it maintains the same specs. This means developers wouldn't be able to optimize games for all the makes of said system. Which means, this hypothetical console's power would be vastly under utilized, as PCs are today. The advantage consoles have over PCs is that developers are creating for specific hardware, thus it's easier to get more out of it.

Such a thing would not exist, because if different companies could make their own version they would try to one up the other by raising specs. If specs vary, then some consoles would not preform as well as others, if at all.

What you describe is a gaming platform that works over a variety of hardware. Again, it's called a PC, more specifically Windows.

 

[GoaThief]

Let's face it, we don't need new consoles right now anyway.

I strongly disagree, both the PS3 and 360 are retarding progress - at least Microsoft are aware of this. Maybe it's a case of Sony literally not being able to release a new console at present, I am sure brand strength will see them safe for the foreseeable future.

 

[Lilani]

I lend no credence to rumours. I'll believe it when I see it.

Same here. The Playstation is a HUGE part of Sony. They have a lot of people and money invested in it. They can't just "opt out" of the console race without some serious changes in their company structure and business model.

 

[Rheinmetall]

I'm sorry but Sony is third...in your dreams. And honestly I can't understand why a gamer would want a serious competitor like Sony to pull out. I can't understand this logic. I would say the more the merrier.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Sony may be third but unless there hemorrhaging money I doubt if they will pull out and lose their market share. Making a little money is better then making nothing and having to close one of the parts of your company.

 

[Reaper195]

'No plans for a new console' right now doesn't translate to 'there will never be another Sony console.' Let's face it, we don't need new consoles right now anyway.

Agreed. What we need are better games. It's not hard to come up with an original story. There doesn't even need to be many gameplay changes from other games. Red Dead Redemption was basically GTA4, only with horses instead of cars. Extremely little was changed from GTA3 to 4. The Halo games have actually downgraded what you can do. The only reason we ever need new consoles is because we reach out graphical limitation. And I like to believe that a majority of gamers would buy a game with average graphics but with an original story, deep characters and decent gameplay, than a FPS (That plays exactly like CoD) with as much hype as CoD, piss all characters and a story that makes no sense, a four hour long single player mode with multiplayer, and looks photo-realistic graphics.

 

[Volafortis]

I don't want any of the companies to pull out of the market. Competition is good, as it forces companies to stay on their toes and actively try to compete with each other.

I also enjoy seeing how some a lot of these comments have devolved into fanboys defending their console of choice.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Hahahahahahaha. I just came to laugh at the idea that Nintendo can't/never was hardcore. There is reason there is a whole slew of games that are known to be of the order of difficulty Nintendo hard.

Now to be on topic since I came no Sony most likely won't be pulling out and there have not been many rumours. It was even their original plan to stick with the PS3 for awhile after the next gen starts which while not ideal is possible.

 

[Jaeke]

Wouldn't be that bad. I'm sure every person here has some sort of Microsoft device. Honestly who cares, all Sony and Microsoft ever did was prove that stupidity=$$, and, i also have both a 360 and a ps3 but im a 360 fan, never really like the feel to the PS3.

 

[Yopaz]

I don't like Sony. They have done stupid mistakes like storing unencrypted personal informations ready to be snatched up by hackers, their attitude both towards their competition and their customers make them look like asses.

However the less companies are involved the more control they will get over the market and I don't want to see Microsoft getting more power than they already do. They got a lot of influence on the PC front making us upgrade OS for every new DX version is one example. I don't want to see them get more control over the console market too. If they have enough opposition they will have to fight for their customers and fight to get their support and approval. If Microsoft and Nintendo becomes the only companies and Microsoft got the more powerful console developers will pick that system for their biggest titles which will give Microsoft too much control for my taste. I would love to get Sega back on the console market just to get more healthy competition though that's unrealistic with their recent failures and lack of funds. Not to mention DreamCast which didn't make it...

 

[Mallefunction]

Competition DRIVES innovation. With only Microsoft leading the way, the industry is doomed to stagnation.

 

[Brian Hendershot]

If this happened, I don't think Microsoft would abuse their power too much. That being said, I think it would be a bad thing if Microsoft was the only console on the market that appealed to "hardcore" gamers. The console war was stupid yes, but at least it encouraged a little bit of innovation on Sony and Microsoft's part.

 

[Atmos Duality]

I would recuse myself to the PC completely.

I hope you love Linux, because the Microsoft Anti-Trust charge expired not long ago.
Meaning that you can expect MS to go right back to that forced integration bullshit that landed them in hot water to begin with.

(specifically; Windows Explorer code being directly integrated into their Internet Explorer; Imagine not only being unable to uninstall the liability that is IE, but IE becoming the Shell of your entire OS. Otherwise, stick to W7/Vista/XP or find a good flavor of Linux fast.)

 

[aba1]

It won't happen since Xbox has the least support of the three while they all have a place in the race here (North America) in places like Japan Xbox can't even get off the shelf to the point they won't even sell the system in stores.