Teens Prefer Console Games

[Evil Smurf]

I like console games better I suppose. The Pokemon franchise is my favourite one.

 

[Studsmack]

Of course gamers are supporting AAA games. As much as the internet likes to vocalize the stale progress of innovation from the big developers and publishers, even less can be found in the social gaming space.

 

[chadachada123]

...What do you mean? The vast majority of release dates are decided by the publisher. You'd get the exact same thing with digital downloads if the publisher wanted (and has done, at least in respect to DLC).

Actually, the difference in release dates is an old pre-internet growth bullshit created by differences in US and Europe based on spending habits. In Us the assumption is that people get their paychecks on tuesdays and thus have more money in the pocket and are more willing to spend it (so new games release on tuesdays) while in Europe they somehow deduced that the spending is most frequent on Fridays (as in "I need something to do for the weekend, why not go out and buy a game on the way home).

In this case the people who are the middleman actually had the most influence (as in: retailers). The retailer actually do hold a lot of power over the publishers (stoopid reliance) and so DD has to suck up to (guess how happy GS would be if we Europeans would be able to get Dishonored and XCom on Steam since yesterday while everyone who wants a physical copy has to wait until friday?).

And the final question: If the publisher really had the total freedom to choose between a worldwide launch or regional launch where the piracy rate outside of the first reagon skyrockets (Dishonored already has a cracked XBox version and of course PC version, XCom as well. If I would not have any kind of standards I could be playing those by now) which one would they prefer?

So yes, I have to wait 3-4 days for Dishonored, XCom and both Pokemon games because publishers don't want to piss off ShitStop and other highstreet retailer.

Oh, not only that. But I also am allowed to enjoy watching a popup every now and then disclaiming that my buddy is playing Dishonored now. Or XCom...

Huh, fair enough.

I still prefer discs/cartridges for non-PC playing, but damn, I've rarely admitted this: I was told in respect to retail sales. I never knew or thought about it. I'm...I'm never wrong. I need to think about this.

 

[Covarr]

Not only that but your computer turns obsolete after a couple of years. Yeah, a console does too but I'd rather spend, I don't know, 400 bucks on a console and be done with it than spend over $1000 on a console that requires a lot more maintenance.

I had the same PC for six years, and it used to cost me $300. It still playes almost everything, though sometimes I have to tone down the graphics settings until they look almost as ugly as on a console.

On topic: It figures. Teenagers are dumb, and AAA games are dumb too.

How on earth did my name end up on that quote? I didn't say that, that was Beautiful End.

P.S. Thanks

 

[The Lunatic]

I'm not surprised the social gaming bubble is leaking a bit.

I kinda wondered if people who were introduced to gaming via social games would go on to seek out AAA gaming platforms or whatever else you consider more intensive than social gaming.

Apparently they did, or lost interest entirely.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

That...That IS the most gloomy part of the article, though!

Over 50% of teens are perfectly alright with trusting Microsoft/Nintendo/Sony with their games as opposed to the classic disc or cartridge model that lets you loan it to friends (or sell it to others). And that's a damn shame.

To be honest, better than rely on shitty stores that find it perfectly OK to dictate differences in release dates across the world (a little pissed that 4 games I'm getting this week are already out in the US since tuesday and I have to wat up to the weekend in 2 cases and friday the others).

...What do you mean? The vast majority of release dates are decided by the publisher. You'd get the exact same thing with digital downloads if the publisher wanted (and has done, at least in respect to DLC).

Not true. Retail outlets are the ones who set dates for release in most instances. They strong-arm publishers into choosing a date that suits them or they don't carry the game. That's why different regions have different release dates. TB has gone over this a few times in his Mailboxes, I believe.

As far as the article goes, as a teenager (18) I've found myself spending less and less time on my consoles and spending way more time playing on my PC. But whatever.

 

[vxicepickxv]

So, to summarize:
Teenage boys prefer high-quality games with meaningful choices over cartoony 'Skinner boxes'.

-Never- would've guessed. :|

Call of Duty has choice and meaning? It's just a very pretty skinner box.

I'd play more Facebook games if they weren't almost all crap. I've been gaming for around 24 years, and the only FB games I somewhat enjoy are Tetris Battle, You Don't Know Jack and Risk: Factions, all of which are based on full PC/console games. Once I realized that 'Ville games and the like have no negative consequences, and therefore have no challenge, choices became meaningless. I enjoy SimCity, but in the FB version a terribly planned city will function just as well as a meticulously tweaked one, just not grow as fast. Why -not- put an elementary school next to a prison? FB-Sims don't care!


Also, what the hell are digital downloads? Unless you have a device that transfers audio from radio stations onto a vinyl record, there's only one kind of download.

I have a device that transfers radio frequency signals onto a needle and paper, so I guess that might be considered an analog download.

I have no idea why they phrase digital download is written that way. It is just a download.

 

[NinjaSocks333]

As a 16 year old who owns a gaming PC, i find this sad but unsurprising.

 

[Something Amyss]

Of course, it's not all doom and gloom. 53.3% of teens have stated that they're ready to embrace digital downloads on their consoles of choice, which means that many younger gamers feel less dependent on the traditional brick-and-mortar retail system.

That...That IS the most gloomy part of the article, though!

Over 50% of teens are perfectly alright with trusting Microsoft/Nintendo/Sony with their games as opposed to the classic disc or cartridge model that lets you loan it to friends (or sell it to others). And that's a damn shame.

Unfortunately, ignorant consumers are abound.

To be honest, better than rely on shitty stores that find it perfectly OK to dictate differences in release dates across the world (a little pissed that 4 games I'm getting this week are already out in the US since tuesday and I have to wat up to the weekend in 2 cases and friday the others).

Well first off, it's not the stores that dictate release dates. More importantly, though, hasn't this happened with digital games as well? I'm pretty sure it's becoming more common, so you're basically putting off the problem at best. And adding in new region locking procedures.

So...Ummm...Yay?

 

[RandV80]

Not true. Retail outlets are the ones who set dates for release in most instances. They strong-arm publishers into choosing a date that suits them or they don't carry the game. That's why different regions have different release dates. TB has gone over this a few times in his Mailboxes, I believe.

As far as the article goes, as a teenager (18) I've found myself spending less and less time on my consoles and spending way more time playing on my PC. But whatever.

I guess that's called growing up?

Haha seriously though, I grew up on consoles through the first 3 gens but once I graduated high school and got my very first own PC (with help from a more tech savvy friend) I switched primarily to PC gaming. Only kept a PS2 around and later a Wii for JRPG's and Mario/Zelda/Metroid.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Well first off, it's not the stores that dictate release dates. More importantly, though, hasn't this happened with digital games as well? I'm pretty sure it's becoming more common, so you're basically putting off the problem at best. And adding in new region locking procedures. So...Ummm...Yay?

As I previously posted:

Not true. Retail outlets are the ones who set dates for release in most instances. They strong-arm publishers into choosing a date that suits them or they don't carry the game. That's why different regions have different release dates. TB has gone over this a few times in his Mailboxes, I believe.

Basically, publishers give retail outlets a specific date which they can't sell before. What usually happens, though, is that retail outlets hold onto them until their designated "new-release" day. In the UK that's on a Friday usually and in the US it's usually a Tuesday. These retailers then tell publishers to restrict digital downloads to their dates for their respective region, or they refuse to sell the games.

As retail becomes less relevant, this practice will probably die out because publishers don't have to deal with retailers.

If there wasn't consoles, I would never have gotten into gaming. I still wouldn't play games if they only came on computer.

Computers only seem to have the most boring games around.

I don't care how popular games on computers are; RTS's have nothing compelling or relate-able, MMO's are doing 3 un-involving things over and over (by CLICKING, cause honestly what could be more engaging/stimulating than that?) and shooters are only doing ONE thing over and over.

Thank Christ somebody came up with the idea to make computers just for games and truly exploring what can be done with the ingenuity of the human mind

Because multi-platform games don't exist, amiright?

 

[UrieHusky]

I'm sorry but. Isn't it obvious why? most teenagers can't afford a massive gaming rig so they get a console instead.

I'm baffled that this is an article because I would of thought this to be common sense.

 

[JagermanXcell]

In other news, the sky is blue.
Ok serious now, I am 17 years of age (a teen basically), and yes I do prefer console gaming. Thats not to say it doesn't have its problems. Especially since this industry strives off milking my blind angst driven counterparts with things like AAA multiplayer, online passes, and DLC. So yeah my generations fault I guess. Just felt like putting my input, overall this article was a tad bit obvious and unnecessary.

 

[Norix596]

You can only wring money out of knock-offs of Farmville for so long before people start wising up. That's not to say that all social games are this way; I've heard good things about the design of Echo Bazaar, but as I understand, for the most part my point stands for a very large share of the social games market.

 

[Strazdas]

...What do you mean? The vast majority of release dates are decided by the publisher. You'd get the exact same thing with digital downloads if the publisher wanted (and has done, at least in respect to DLC).

Actually, the difference in release dates is an old pre-internet growth bullshit created by differences in US and Europe based on spending habits. In Us the assumption is that people get their paychecks on tuesdays and thus have more money in the pocket and are more willing to spend it (so new games release on tuesdays) while in Europe they somehow deduced that the spending is most frequent on Fridays (as in "I need something to do for the weekend, why not go out and buy a game on the way home).

In this case the people who are the middleman actually had the most influence (as in: retailers). The retailer actually do hold a lot of power over the publishers (stoopid reliance) and so DD has to suck up to (guess how happy GS would be if we Europeans would be able to get Dishonored and XCom on Steam since yesterday while everyone who wants a physical copy has to wait until friday?).

And the final question: If the publisher really had the total freedom to choose between a worldwide launch or regional launch where the piracy rate outside of the first reagon skyrockets (Dishonored already has a cracked XBox version and of course PC version, XCom as well. If I would not have any kind of standards I could be playing those by now) which one would they prefer?

So yes, I have to wait 3-4 days for Dishonored, XCom and both Pokemon games because publishers don't want to piss off ShitStop and other highstreet retailer.

Oh, not only that. But I also am allowed to enjoy watching a popup every now and then disclaiming that my buddy is playing Dishonored now. Or XCom...

Sir, i applaud you, well said indeed.

 

[katsabas]

Like puberty, it's a phase and it will pass. This summer, I saw what a computer can do with Fall Of Cybertron and compared it to my PS3. For something built for a single function, PS3 didn't deliver nearly as much as a computer did when it came to frames per second. Pull something like that in front of a teen, he will think twice before spending another 60 bucks on a console game.

The only other drawback they could come up with is lack of a controller but MS has us covered so...

Like a said, a phase.

 

[gnihton]

As a 16 year old who owns a gaming PC, i find this sad but unsurprising.

Likewise.

 

[Sicram]

Misleading article title. The study shows that they prefer AAA games, not console games. Huge difference. Plenty of AAA games are on PC, and plenty of social games are on consoles. Angry Birds Trilogy, anyone?

P.S. Thanks

This right here. WHY do people forget so quickly to include the PC when talking about AAA games? Sheesh.

 

[surg3n]

Doesn't it boil down to cost at the end of the day.

My younger brother is a massive gamer, but he can't afford a gaming PC, so he plays on console, because all his friends who like gaming also can't afford a gaming PC. I'm betting MOST teenagers would rather have a kick-ass PC, they'd rather play DayZ and Minecraft and Diablo3, WOW, all those cool indi games that they can get for PC for pennies rather than paying 1200 M$ points every fricken time .
I know about 2 dozen people here will be ready on the keyboard with ''But you can buy a gaming PC for less than a console and blahdeblahde NO. To get a gaming PC that can cope with the new AAA games, you need to spend what you would on a console, on the graphics card alone. Spend an extra £50 on the graphics card, it'll last an extra 2 years before you need to upgrade again. It's no good doing it on the cheap, a cheap gaming PC is a contradiction. Teenagers are not satisfied by mid range gaming hardware, they aren't as forgiving as we had to be.

PC gamers are getting the games they actually want, console gamers are getting the games that publishers deem profitable.
For me, about 18 months ago I'd play Skyrim on the 360 pretty much ignoring the PC - nowadays, I don't even remember the last time I played the 360, or the Wii, or the PS3... I have played some LBP on the Vita, but that's different. The PC is my primary gaming platform for a change, and it's because of the PC-only games that I want to play, and maybe in part it's due to the relatively limited implimentation of Minecraft on the 360... I mean come on Mojang - if you guys cared 1 ounce about that port you'd hire people to do it in-house, not just pass it onto someone else.

Times they are a changing - a lot of the same gamers who suckled Halo3's teet have moved on - not everyone really even cares much about Halo4, not when there are so many enticing FPS games on their way or here... Borderlands2, Farcry3, Descension, WarZ etc etc etc. With M$ trying to ban Halo videos - well that's just another nail in the coffin for MrChief IMO. Bring the guy back from the 'supposed' death, then give him aids, that's what M$ has done. Are they trying to break the 360 market apart so it's easier to adapt to the 720 I wonder... like Halo4 on the 360 will be flawed, but Halo5 on the 720 will be the future of FPS gaming I bet, and they lift the youtube embargo, and show HankerChief's derpy face for once. I'm sure they pulled the same shit with Halo2. Now I know Halo2 was great, but isn't it strange how we go from wide open warfare in CE, down to pretty much cover based action in Halo2. As if to say, hey - if you want the big, wide open warfare, you need a 360... Ohh look at Halo3 with it's wide open warfare again, the 360 must be 3 or 4 miles better than the Xbox.

Phew - sorry for such a long, rambling post - just killing time until lunch .

 

[jezcentral]

....25.3% of teenage gamers, but now interest only 17.4% of them - roughly an 8% decline....

No, that's a 33% decline. Ouch!