Poll: Sony Pulls Out of the Console Race

[Quiotu]

*snip*

Remember when we all used to play games because they were fun?
Before there were leaderboards, achievements, gamerscore, trophies, prestige, unlockables, etc. we all played games because they were fun to play. Nowadays when I fire up MW3 I ask myself, "is this even fun?" and it might be for a while. But when the game starts to get fucking stupid with laggy hosts who go 28/2 or sniper frog, or the same douchebag that uses a modded controller with an MK14, then I just turn off my xbox or play a different game.

I still sometimes get the urge to play Fire Emblem on my DS or Ogre Battle 64. Why? Because the game is fun!
I had fun playing Runescape before I got into WoW and I'd still play Runescape now (the game is really fun) if it wasn't so incredibly grindy that it reminds me of boring times in WoW. It is really sad when I'd rather play super basic flash games on addictinggames or newgrounds over my "top of the line, best graphics ever, hyper realism" games that are brand fucking new.

I'd kill to have a game that looked decent to alright that had a killer plot and fantastic gameplay.
I don't give a fuck about how good the foliage looks if the characters have back stories like piss and the gameplay is just another recycled game from the 90s.

I think you're overgeneralizing. For every CoD, there's a Mass Effect. I think there's games out there specifically catered to people who want to play competitively online, others that want to co-op, and yes there's still plenty of single player experiences out there. Mass Effect 2, Bioshock, the Uncharted games, Catherine, Assassin's Creed, GTA4... I had a lot of fun with these games, and I don't particularly care about online or trophies or even DLC.

You don't have to like EVERY game, or every feature, or every genre. But the online capabilities of consoles lately has given us more diversity in games, and that's a good thing as long as what you like is still out there. Only a few genres have really suffered lately, and that's mostly due to PC games suffering (RTS, flight/space sim). CoD and Battlefield are around because they're popular, people play them... and you disliking that kind of game doesn't stop them being a viable product. I don't mind those games being around as long as I still have games like Witcher 2 and Deus Ex to play, and neither should you.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

You are really grasping at straws here and you are so one sided I really don't see a point in arguing with you anymore.

I brought great examples to the table and you refuse to acknowledge. Not sure what kind of bubble you are living in.

Yeah, you brought three examples, I explained how I'm not convinced by them, and you're just giving up. All that does is re-affirm my point. Explain to me how buying exclusives helps the industry, tell me about how Sony pioneered in the rhythm and music genres when outward appearances make it seem like 3rd parties did it. As for PSN, it's kind of a wash. Sure, it's nice having a free online service, but at the same time I can't really imagine how Sony had any choice BUT to make it free. It's really down to speculation at that point; you might think they would have made it free anyway, I think they would have charged if Microsoft hadn't beaten them to it. Only one who can really say for sure on that is Sony themselves.

 

[Lunar Templar]

I just want to play video games, I don't want to be involved in these games of "how much will the gamers let us get away with."

like removing reverse compatibility so they can charge again for games we already own.
yes Soul Reaver was good, -.- no, i don't want to pay you again so i can play it, i OWN THE DISK.

that was one of the things that pissed me off, still have my PS2, my PS3, pawn shop. not to mention all the 'day 1 dlc' or 'online passes'. yeah, um, no, i want to just PLAY the game, not plug it in and WAIT while shit i shouldn't have had to down load, downloads -.-

 

[Varanfan9]

Won't effect me as I play Nintendo and computer games. So I guess bad for everyone else but I will be fine.

 

[AgentCooper]

You are really grasping at straws here and you are so one sided I really don't see a point in arguing with you anymore.

I brought great examples to the table and you refuse to acknowledge. Not sure what kind of bubble you are living in.

Yeah, you brought three examples, I explained how I'm not convinced by them, and you're just giving up. All that does is re-affirm my point. Explain to me how buying exclusives helps the industry, tell me about how Sony pioneered in the rhythm and music genres when outward appearances make it seem like 3rd parties did it. As for PSN, it's kind of a wash. Sure, it's nice having a free online service, but at the same time I can't really imagine how Sony had any choice BUT to make it free. It's really down to speculation at that point; you might think they would have made it free anyway, I think they would have charged if Microsoft hadn't beaten them to it. Only one who can really say for sure on that is Sony themselves.

Buying exclusives only really helps to move consoles. I never said it was great for the industry just to have exclusives to any degree.

I used maybe a lack of terms for music and rhythm games and they did introduce PaRappa the rapper for the Playstation back in 1996.

Also, from wikipedia

"The 1996 title PaRappa the Rapper has been deemed the first influential rhythm game, whose basic template formed the core of subsequent games in the genre. In 1997, Konami's Beatmania sparked an emergent market for rhythm games in Japan."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_game

 

[Wayneguard]

I swore, after my 3rd rrod xbox, that I would never again buy another piece of microsoft hardware. I truly hope Sony comes up with something that can compete with MS.

 

[Woodsey]

PC r teh 4 lyf.

I really couldn't care less.

Nintendo are a waste of fucking space.
Microsoft seems to have no first-party developers (of any merit), or even exclusives really at this point.
Sony has Uncharted. So I guess they win. (Can you tell I regret buying my PS3 yet?!)

But... bleh.

 

[TehCookie]

I'm curious if there is a way to tell how many unique customers sales each got. The 360 sold a lot more but I seem to find a lot of comments like this.

I swore, after my 3rd rrod xbox, that I would never again buy another piece of microsoft hardware.

I wonder if you didn't include people replacing consoles if the 360 would still beat the PS3.

If Sony pulled out it would be terrible. Sony may fail at trends, but that weakness is also it's greatest strength. Since they don't rely on what's popular their consoles have a long lifetime. For people who aren't interested in what's popular they have a much more diverse library, even if it does take time to build it up. I think the companies we have now are a great balance and if any dropped out it would be bad.

 

[Shavon513]

I don't own a PS3, and infinitely prefer the xbox, but a Microsoft monopoly would be bad news for console gamers. Just think of what they would try to get away with (and what they already do) if competition were no longer there to balance them. I'm think the extra cost of xbl gold as the main example here.

 

[Jegsimmons]

i assume this DOESN'T take PC into account.

hell PS3 and PSP weren't worth a shit no ways

 

[Funkysandwich]

It's not just graphics that need extra processing, it's things like physics and more importantly, AI. If a new console generation means AI that is more interesting to play against, then I'm down.

If things keep going like they're going, nex-gen games are gonna cost $69.99

Dude, I live in Australia, where a new copy of uncharted 3 costs $100. And our dollar is on par with yours. Games can't get much more expensive here. I had to get a dodgy import, and that cost $72, which is still more then what you consider to be unreasonable.

 

[Faerillis]

I like XBox and PS3, not as much as my PC mind you but fairly well. I would see it as a catastrophe if Sony stopped making consoles. Now, if Nintendo stopped making consoles and focused on games so I don't have to buy piece-of-shit consoles to play great games like Legend of Zelda I would be a very happy man.

 

[Kurea]

Competition breeds quality, so no, I don't think Microsoft having a monopoly on the "hardcore" market would be a good thing. We'd see even more CoD and Halo clones than we already do.

 

[efrafa_6]

I'd probably give up gaming all together if Microsoft and Nintendo were the only competition left in the market.

 

[jboking]

Sony's always slow though. They were the last major competitor to release a console this generation. If they're to be believed, they'll be the last to release a console for the next one too (they were very, VERY adament that it's a TEN YEAR PLAN, going till 2016). This is further "proof" that I think Sony will sell more. At the end of the day, Sony DID catch up to Microsoft, even if they didn't overtake them last year. If major support the PS3 lasts as long as the PS2 did, then it'll overtake the 360 (which I would say has actually been Sony's plan all along).

First: Think back to last generation. Sony released the first console of that generation and pumped out great games for it fast. Sony has not always been slow.
Second: I love the fact that there is a ten year plan, because it means I'll get more out of my PS3 before I have to drop hundreds of dollars. However, that plan did not work fantastically this generation and had Microsoft actually put more effort into their catalog and marketing last year, I don't feel Sony would have caught up. I solidly feel like Microsoft is already giving up on this generation and focusing on the next, which would make it easy for Sony to take over. It is like running track against an opponent who stops halfway to change his shoes.
Third: Hopefully the support for the PS3 goes as long as the PS2 did. [small]then I might actually GET a persona game on my PS3[/small]

I'd also say that, considering the fact Sony has been buying up nearly every developer that has made a good product on their system (they have something like 3 times as many studios as Microsoft) it's a good bet they'll make another console.

Of course, an argument could be made, I suppose, that their purchasing of so many development studios is a sign that they're going development only - but given their support of the PS3 and their release of the Vita, I find that hard to believe.

I was going to say exactly what you brought up. It is entirely possible that them buying up so many studios is because they plan on simply becoming a major developer/publisher. I think it is unlikely too, but I do acknowledge the possibility.

I also think that this is all conjecture. Hidden within your post, regardless of whether or not you'd admit it, is a subtle acknowledgement that the PS3 is also the worse console on the market. It's not. I personally think that we've gotten far beyond a discussion of which one's really better (if quality matters to you so much, buy a damn PC and get over it already), but to call the PS3 a bad system or to imply in any way that it's inferior (aside from numbers) is stupid.

So. Ungodly. Wrong. As it stands right now, the only consoles I own are my PS3 and my Wii. The Wii never gets used, and I would easily call it the weakest console of the generation, even if it did sell the best. I did not call or imply that the PS3 was bad. In fact, by bias towards Sony, I feel, became very obvious at points where I mentioned that I thought Sony would handle having a monopoly FAR better than Microsoft would. I'm a Sonykid and have been since '95. I want to see them do well. It's just that sometimes I worry about how they're doing. When all of the other major companies have announced that they'll be moving on and Sony decides not to, I get a bit worried.

I have a deep hope that Sony realizes some of the mistakes it did make with the PS3, though. It is fine to release a console late, but make it reasonably priced and make the launch line-up super strong. They're doing half of that with the Vita, and I hope the pull off the rest before they announce they're ready to move on.

I really, honestly, want to see Sony trample the other members of the big 3 next generation.

The only thing I'll admit is that Microsoft has a GREAT advertisement team.

Good lord, yes.

All of this being said - no, Sony won't drop out of the console race.

No. They probably won't. That's why I said this was simply a thought exercise, not doom-saying.

 

[XUnsafeNormalX]

Microsoft doesn't do "hardcore" games anymore. If Sony drops out we might see the end of gaming as we know it in a sea of CoD clones and Kinect flailing games.

 

[ToxicOranges]

This would be terrible. Not only would it cause a massive slump for Sony, affecting not only their games section but every other department, the games industry as a whole would be affected!

A severe lack of competition would mean MS could charge whatever the hell they liked and as gamers we would just have to either pay even more extortionate fees, or quite console gaming.

Also, a part of my childhood would die. I grew up with a playstation 1 and 2 under my telly. I don't want to see Sony stop making them