We Really, Really Don't Need New Consoles

[DRTJR]

I am saving the capital to get a gaming PC and completely forgo the next gen of Consoles, (Sans the Wii U because I'm a Nintendo fanboy, and am proud of it.) and join the PC Master Race.

 

[Requia]

I'm wondering how would a console advance in areas other than the graphics department. Going all out on a controller isn't one such area, the Wii and the WiiU both prove that. Whoever answers me that question is a hero.

The RAM increases are actually pretty important. Level design is bounded by it at present, so the increase allows devs to build bigger maps, or just maps with more NPCs in them. The RAM limitations of the consoles were bad even by the standards of 2005, and while 8 gigs is probably not necessary. It should be interesting to see what gets done once multiplatform games are no longer bounded by the current limitations.

 

[bug_of_war]

I think it's time for some new consoles. It may just be because of graphics and a few other minor things, but they stack up. I'd rather upgrade now and have a console that is only 30% better in certain areas than have video games stagnate because of fear that the console version wont be able to keep up. New consoles also give an excuse for new IPs, and while like Jim Sterling I am opposed to doing things different for the sake of them being different, I can't let that stop myself from accepting new things. Embrace the future, or get lost in the past.

 

[Mosstromo]

I really, really, REALLY agree.

 

[TheAsterite]

Wait, so what's the point of consoles then? I'm honestly asking, I'm a console gamer myself. PCs just have a constantly growing library of games, but with consoles not having to start from scratch is just an added sweetener? "Buy our new console, there'll be games for it eventually." You're actually going to defend that business model? What is it that consoles offer because I don't use mine as media devices. Music, movies, social networking or internet browsing? My PC does all of that for me.

If you don't like the new console, don't buy it. Also don't buy it later when there are games for it and it starts to become popular. No-one is forcing you to buy it.

Like I said before, people like you are just entitled. What's the point of buying any console when it just comes out when you still have the old one? "Buy our new console, there'll be new games for it eventually but in the meantime you can play the old games you have on the console you already have AND our new system. Isn't that great?"

 

[Atmos Duality]

...the WiiU is already doing a fairly good job with its gamepad while still young.

I can only assume you meant that it's doing a "fairly good" job at nothing right now.
After the Christmas Madness wore off, sales for the WiiU plummeted to Virtual Boy levels.

Nobody wants one, because there's nothing on it.

It's dead in the water.

And as long as the multitude of console exclusives exist, sticking to PC (or any one console for that matter) will not give you the ultimate gaming experience.

So, what is the "Ultimate gaming experience"? Can we even define that?

 

[The Random One]

Finally someone who is both sensible and paid to write on the internet. You are absolutely and unerringly correct, behatted sir. This console gen will be the last one, and soon it will be 1984 all over again.

Maybe then I'll have the time to play Planescape Torment.

 

[mechalynx]

I really, really, REALLY disagree. Like Yahtzee once said, I'm white enough to afford a PC and several consoles. Missed out on WII because it simply wouldn't work out in my current living environment (basically a shoe box). I see no problem having diverse systems. Saying we don't need consoles is like saying there is no need for different cell phone brands or something akin to that. Next thing he says is that there's no real need for different operating systems and we would all be happiest with a Mac. Fuck that, I want diversity on all levels.

Maybe I'm old fashioned. I love my PC, but I love the ability to just relax in front of the TV with a decent platformer, that I feel works best on a huge screen. Yes, I've heard of Steam's Big Screen, but I'd rather not shuffle my PC around the apartment. And while backwards compatibility would be ever so nice, it's a lot less of a deal breaker than some of the rumors flying around about the next gen consoles.

 

[El Portero]

Welcome to the glorious PC master race, Yahtzee. We saved a chair for you.

You do realize that he's the one who coined that term in the first place, right? He doesn't need your damned chair because he's been sitting in his own reserved spot since before you probably even joined. Hell, if it weren't for his obvious long-standing interest in Nintendo games, I'd assume he never even touched a console before the PS2 era. And given that he said he played Super Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker before Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, that may still be true.

I know he coined the term, that's why I used it. The quote was from 'The Witcher' review in which he was making fun of PC gamers for preferring unintuitive controls. And no, while yahtzee has shown his appreciation for Steam's low prices, he's never outwardly identified himself as a PC gamer (Unless you count the Commodore 64... shut up).
Also, I'm not entirely sure what the order of Nintendo games he's played has to do with his opinion on PC gaming.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I think the glut of the current AAA scene is mostly due to developer hubris. They keep bragging about making better, deeper, more complex game worlds and gameplay, but they seem to never take a step and realize that all they've done is make things shinier. Of course devs will never admit that as they all believe they're making masterpieces and any compromise to their beloved vision is EEEEEEEVIL. Nintendo is the only publisher that realizes this and understood that in order to truly garner creativity and innovation you actually have to limit people

 

[solemnwar]

As an example, the size of things like cities in Skyrim. The engine simply doesn't have the power to match up what we see in game to what we were lead to believe it was like in the lore. To the point where much of the lore was rewritten in the intervening years to allow the limitations of the hardware. Riften, the massive sprawling mess of a city in the south? Sacked during the war, and only rebuilt as a shadow of its former self within the fortress walls. Winterhold, the huge city that stood on the site of where the first men arrived from Atmora? Fell into the sea. Whiterun, the massive trading hub made of several distinct districts? Yeah, you get the picture.

You know, I never understood why they couldn't do what they did in Oblivion. The capital, Imperial City, was set into different sections, separated by the walls. Did people complain too much about that or...? It still felt big (I get lost every goddamn time...) but it was cut up into smaller, more manageable chunks for the hardware.

 

[TheAsterite]

I have lived at 4 addresses in the past 2 years. I'll probably live somewhere else next year. I'm young, I'm in college and I rent. Moving is just part of my life It's not feasible to hold onto so many machines. Especially when another market offers the same thing in a more consumer friendly model. So you're not actually going to address the question I asked? "What's the point?" If console gaming offers the same experience but with more baggage, what's the incentive?

The point of console gaming was and always will be the exclusive games. That's going off history and current trends.

 

[FloodOne]

I have a decent gaming PC, and it's filled with plenty of great titles. But the PC market doesn't supply me with some of my favorite genres, i.e. JRPGs, fighting games, hack and slash and sports titles.

Sure, I can play some great WRPGs and some stellar FPS titles, but that's not enough for me, and I cannot subsist solely on indie titles. These days, you sound like too much of a bitter old man for me to take seriously anymore.

It's of note that there's no reason they COULDN'T supply those games you like to the PC, or Mac or even a Linux operating system. They just don't, or won't. They'll make excuses, of course, but all those excuses fall flat in the face of the success of enough PC titles small to ungodly large that it's pointless to try and say, "we can't/won't because _____" because they've all been disproven by this point.

Sweet, maybe Atlus will read your comment and put Persona 5 on the PC. And maybe NetherRealm will sell Mortal Kombat 10 on Steam. I might even be persuaded to try Origin when I can buy NCAA and Madden football on my PC.

But really, none of this matters because you said it all for me. They don't make games in these genres for the PC. I don't give a flying fuck what the reason is, because that's irrelevant to me. I do know that if I buy the PS4, I'll get my Personas, my Final Fantasys, my Mortal Kombats and my Maddens.

And your little rant about the controls... save it. I have a 360 pad for my PC, and I play awesome games like Super Meat Boy and Cave Story with it. Control isn't the issue, the products on the market that fit my tastes is my issue. Go petition Atlus and EA to get my favorite kinds of games on the PC, and maybe I'll think about switching over permanently. Probably not though, I have two kids and another on the way, doesn't seem like a fun family night gaming if we're switching spots on a computer chair instead of switching controllers with each other on the couch.

I have a decent gaming PC, and it's filled with plenty of great titles. But the PC market doesn't supply me with some of my favorite genres, i.e. JRPGs, fighting games, hack and slash and sports titles.

Sure, I can play some great WRPGs and some stellar FPS titles, but that's not enough for me, and I cannot subsist solely on indie titles. These days, you sound like too much of a bitter old man for me to take seriously anymore.

You should still be angry about this, if not moreso. It's basically the industry saying

"if you want to continue playing the games you like give us $500 for this new console."
"Oh what makes it different from the old one?"
"Well for one thing there's no games for it."

I've always been a console gamer. I have a 360, a Wii and a PS3 but I honestly don't see myself buying any new consoles and just putting the money towards a good gaming rig.

I already have a pretty good gaming rig. I built it last year, it plays Skyrim, The Witcher 2... pretty much everything new will run on it, and I own a lot of PC games. That's not changing the fact that I can't get some of the titles I want on my PC. If I have to buy a new console once every six years, that's fine by me. I would have to upgrade my PC along the same timeline to stay current, and probably drop the same amount of dimes to do it.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

I'm wondering how would a console advance in areas other than the graphics department. Going all out on a controller isn't one such area, the Wii and the WiiU both prove that. Whoever answers me that question is a hero.

The point would be that you don't have to advance the consoles, just keep pinging on developers to give what the majority of players actually want:

Games with solid game-play and good story telling, instead of "look, whoa loooook at these shiny new graphics we have, who cares if it is a miserable experience to play it, it looks pretty".

In proper game development, graphics are suppose to be the icing on the cake, at most, 20% of the game.

Besides, on that icing the developer can use in cleaver ways to make up for not having the best engine, they can concentrate with aesthetics with that 20%

If gaming was about graphics, I wouldn't be buying up loads of old retro games, NES, SNES, and Gameboy, as I have been doing lately.

The retro market growing fast, and most retro games are going for ten dollar indie prices at the bottom and hundreds over current game prices. People don't pay prices like that just because they want to have it and look at it, they want to play it, and they love doing so.

Basically, if a console didn't advance graphically and control wise, but great quality games are still being produced for it, the majority of gamers will still keep buying games for the console, keeping it alive.

With the revival of the retro console markets with third party consoles, that is proof alone that you don't have to change and innovate to keep relevant/popular in the gaming community.

 

[Pebkio]

Here are some things I hardly think are prevalent but they apparently guide the thoughts of console gamers:

Backwards Compatibility - Yeah, this didn't use to be important.. but it is now. I don't know why people think that just because there was a time when there wasn't backwards compatibility, because the media on which games were distributed changed so often, that we don't have to care now, when everything is digital and easily portable. The PC community has been hard at work securing legal digital use of their old hardware, so why is it that you console scrubs have to buy a brand new copy every time there's a hardware update. Is it because you have no options available to you than to put up with what AAA publishers give you?

Video Game Crash of 1980s - Oh boo hoo. "My poor precious AAA industry, that regularly bends me over a chair, might die and that'll be the end of ALL OF THE VIDEO GAMES!" Thpppt.

Consoles are not PCs - Duh. We never said they were, just that's they're trying to be. They have you installing crap, patching crap, updating crap, changing the crap... I mean settings. It surfs the web. It plays movies. Now it's going to post stuff on Facebook. Consoles have been trying their damnedest to be just like PCs... and PCs are still doing it better. We're not arguing that they are PCs (that would be an insult to even the lowliest PC), but we are comparing them to PCs... because they're trying to compete with PCs. Do you see what I'm trying to get at? Don't get angry at us because Sony and Microsoft got into the ring.

---

Hold on, I just saw this and felt like responding:

Couch co-op.

PCs, phones, tablets -- all solitary gaming devices. Yeah, you can hook up online, but that's not the same as having your friends playing right with you. Or perhaps a couple of you can even play in the same room if you have multiple of these gizmos in the house, but most people don't. For most people, it's one person at each screen, and if anybody else wants in, they basically has to watch over your shoulder until its their turn.

The area where consoles can excel in, however, is in letting a household play together. And oddly, though Nintendo's the only one who's realized this, folks like Yahtzee bash them for.. well.. not being more like PCs. Hell, the Wii-U is specifically designed to enhance couch co-op. To give you something you just can't get on a PC. An asymmetric game with everybody in the same room. And they're the dumb ones?

I can take my computer, right now, hook it up to a bigscreen, run four usb controllers and we can play on a couch. Just because I like my machine in a corner of my room so I can chat on forums naked doesn't mean it HAS to be solitary.

I will agree, though, that Nintendo has it right in trying to provide what PCs can't... they're just stupidly focused on the controller.

---

What's are other things that don't matter? Oh yeah:

"I won't be able to play anymore <insert series/genre>s" - So? Find new stuff to like. We don't need Halo 5 to have a good space-adventure FPS. Also on the genre thing, you'd be surprised what you can find if you stop assuming and start looking.

The controller... - You just shut your mouth. If you're caring so damned much about what brand of controller you're using, than you have been tricked. Fooled. Bamboozled. A controller is merely a means to input user commands into software, not a defining feature.

 

[Pebkio]

The point of console gaming was and always will be the exclusive games. That's going off history and current trends.

What history have you been digging through? The history of gaming since the fifth generation? No, no that is wrong. The POINT of the gaming console WAS the ability to just put in a game and play. You didn't have to mess with settings, patch things constantly, or deal with bugs. You could just slot in a cartridge and starting jumping on koopas. NOW it's about exclusivity, but that only started when consoles started using standardized software media (ie. CDs and DvDs).

I've seen you make a lot of bad points here, but this one was just awful. It really shows your age. Also that you like to grab up buzzwords and HANG ONTO THEM FOR DEAR LIFE. Exclusivity was never the end-all-be-all of console gaming, it was just something that happened because cartridges weren't made the same.

I should know, I lived through the time when people took a look at a PS1 disk and immediately tried to use it in a PC. So to me, your precious "exclusivity" was what forced us to still use a console. It's good for console providers, but what's good for consoles isn't necessarily good for gaming.