Zero Punctuation: Exclusives Showdown

[Crimsonmonkeywar]

Apologies, I was quoting you in a vacuum, without reading the context derived from the person you were quoting(his argument seemed like flamebait to me).

Side note: I do most of my gaming on PC as well and I understand your viewpoint however, I'm presenting a viewpoint from the perspective of a person who has no interest in technology itself, but merely in the media that the technology provides. I feel this is an extremely common viewpoint and that understanding it will help us to be more inviting to people who are misinformed and base judgment on the platform on stereotypes.

To clarify the point I was making about perception and whatnot...


Backwards compatibility and multitude of other uses PCs have is lost in this comparison but, people being as they are, will focus on comparing the ability to play new releases.

If you put $400-500 more on your system, you've then spent $900-1000 on it which people will jump on and complain about the expense. You've now spent more than a launch PS3 in order to keep up.

Also, I was not trying to downplay the merits of the PC platform, I was just trying to explain how public perception of the platform has created exaggerated barriers that people can't overcome because they've convinced themselves they couldn't succeed in the first place.

So upgrading is great for us but the very idea of opening up the PC case scares many people who convince themselves that the'll likely break something if they tried to upgrade the system themselves. The actual difficulty is irrelevant and these people merely find it easier to buy a console that will play all games made for that system, guaranteed.


We are getting to a point where consoles are actually teaching people PC concepts that can potentially start easing people's worries over the platform(people have grudgingly accepted that they need software updates from time to time and bugs/glitches are a 'gaming' thing rather than a 'PC' thing). As digital gaming becomes more prevalent in the console market, we'll see a push for hard drive upgrades that will have to be physically installed. Though, on the other hand, many will probably pay someone else to install it rather than do it themselves, sadly.

No worries, I did the same in another post.

To your point, I agree. Personally I think that if SteamMachines don't take of, traditional consoles and gaming PC are going to go the way of the dodo. As I've stated(more times than I should have haha). It's about the games and where your friends are. The tech helps, but I think that eventually Tablets and Phones will catch up to both and put each side on the same level playing field. Especially if the components are modable.

Even then, I believe those will eventually be replaced by streaming. If the traditional games industry can last to that point. Users want simplicity, and as the point of diminishing returns increase with graphics and ai, and all types of games move to that space. PC gamers will ease into the fold as well.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

I'd say it's less, "oh look, the Glorious PC Gaming Master Race actually happened" and more, "oh look, the next gen consoles committed suicide."

Well, that's certainly a logical conclusion to draw from the new consoles having record launch sales, while PC sales are declining. Sure.

If you're content with a product so long as someone's making money, I've got a lovely bridge to sell you.

Did you even read my post? It was not about the quality of the consoles it was in response to the comment that this generation of consoles has "committed suicide" - and record sales would be a weird indication of the death of consoles and the victory of the PC.

 

[Evonisia]

I'm a pc player. I own some consoles (Super Famicom, Game Cube and PS2) but this gen isn't for me.
In first, the exclusives titles are weak and bland (and Dead Rising is just a timed exclusive, nothing more).

Dead Rising 3 was funded entirely by Microsoft so no, it's not. At this rate it wouldn't surprise me if MS funded future instalments to the series, too.

 

[J.McMillen]

I swear I remember "The Glorious PC Gaming Master Race" was meant to ironic. However, it seem to have instead been one of those strange moments like when The Onion predicts the future.

I just want to know when they are going to release a 'Zero Punctuation' "The Glorious PC Gaming Master Race" t-shirt.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

Well, that's certainly a logical conclusion to draw from the new consoles having record launch sales, while PC sales are continuing to decline. Sure.

Declining? Please do link me to your quote, because last I checked it was a multi-billion dollar platform with Steam alone reporting more concurrent users than consoles as well as an online userbase only surpassed by Sony, but please. Do show.

Here you go:

http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24065413

What about "PC Sales are declining" is not true? Just because it's a multi-billion dollar industry does not mean it isn't in decline. The Roman Empire was once the most powerful on Earth - that didn't stop it from falling.

I'm not saying it from any kind of bias - these are just the facts - console sales are increasing, while PC sales are decreasing. There's no getting around that. Yet, for some reason people around here aren't aware of these facts and keep declaring consoles dead, when it just isn't true.

 

[Evonisia]

I'm a pc player. I own some consoles (Super Famicom, Game Cube and PS2) but this gen isn't for me.
In first, the exclusives titles are weak and bland (and Dead Rising is just a timed exclusive, nothing more).

Dead Rising 3 was funded entirely by Microsoft so no, it's not. At this rate it wouldn't surprise me if MS funded future instalments to the series, too.

Wait so you're telling me they can fund a 3rd installment of a Capcom game but they can't be bothered to give Double-Helix the money or extra staff members needed to not pull this "free to play" BS with Killer Instinct? Yeah I think I can say Microsoft is garbage now.

I don't want to wait until March and pay a microtransaction to play as my old main Fulgore, Microsoft and I wouldn't have to if you went to a bigger company than Double-Helix in the first place.

Yeah publishers lie through their teeth about their money 'woes'. It's really annoying. That or MS has so much faith in Dead Rising to carry their console that they've diverted their money to it.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

Given that PCs are used for far more than gaming, your comparison there is hogwash. PC sales have declined because many people who used pcs for light apps like social networking can now do so much more readily on mobile devices. People are buying more PCs than ever, it's just that many of those "PCs" are in the form of a "phone" or "tablet". With the massive boom in PC game sales, which is the actual metric we would use to track pc gaming growth or decline, it can hardly be said that pc gaming is declining.

Speaking of hogwash - a tablet or a phone is not what people are referring to when they say "PC" - especially in the context of gaming. We're talking about desktop and laptop PCs here - and that's what the industry statistics are referring to.

The simple fact is that the phones and tablets do not run the games that people are talking about when referring to gaming and the "PC Master Race." Do you really believe that the people here proclaiming the superiority of the PC as a gaming platform are referring to Android or iOS devices?

 

[Skeleon]

My grimy PC basement is on the 18th floor.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Here you go:

http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24065413

What about "PC Sales are declining" is not true? Just because it's a multi-billion dollar industry does not mean it isn't in decline. The Roman Empire was once the most powerful on Earth - that didn't stop it from falling.

To be fair, just because PC sales are dropping doesn't mean PC gaming is dying.

The reason PC sales are in decline are because non-gamers are moving to tablet devices which fit their needs better. PC as a gaming platform is actually rising. The total number of Steam accounts grew by 30% up to 65 million this year, and doesn't show any sign of slowing.

Of course this doesn't mean consoles are dead, sales all-around are going up as gaming is becoming more mainstream and there are more customers in general. Which is good for all of us.

 

[MegaManOfNumbers]

First: Yahtzee, you have the harmonizing voice of an angel.

Second: I'm honestly surprised he didn't make a Wii U joke.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

I'd say it's less, "oh look, the Glorious PC Gaming Master Race actually happened" and more, "oh look, the next gen consoles committed suicide."

Well, that's certainly a logical conclusion to draw from the new consoles having record launch sales, while PC sales are continuing to decline. Sure.

Sure. http://apcmag.com/10-reasons-why-the-pc-isnt-dying.htm

So, how does that article (which is an opinion piece, not based on hard data) - show that this generation of consoles has "committed suicide"? That's the argument I was responding to. I never said that PCs were going away - I was simply stating that the data so far shows that consoles haven't suddenly gone away with this generation.

I'm really not sure what causes people to make these twisted arguments with no basis in reality.

 

[Rodolphe Kourkenko]

Dead Rising 3 was funded entirely by Microsoft so no, it's not. At this rate it wouldn't surprise me if MS funded future instalments to the series, too.

Ok i was wrong, thank for rectify me, i read somewhere that it was a timed exclusive and my interest in this game is sooo big that i never checked it later ^^.

So: I'll check next time.

To come back on topic, i'm not even planning to buy a PS4 or an X1 but, seeing everything from the outside, like Yahtzee, i would be more interested in a PS4. Just because it's less restrictive and since i swear a lot when i play online, i would be banned faster than the light speed ^^.

 

[Crimsonmonkeywar]

snip

Seeing as someone's already come back with a response. I'll tackle the other remark.

It seems that people often mistake the notion that the 'PC is a superior platform' as a subjective one of opinion. When most state that it is from the technical side. There's not a single "technical" point that consoles have over it's PC brethren. Save Kinect and PS EYE.

Truth is, that's not what needs to be debated. The games are. When you mention 'superior', even in sales(if you count the crappy mmo's and causal web-based games) it can be debated it's got one up.

So argue games, Like God of War(love that series), Uncharted, Forza, Gears, Halo, Ni No Kuni, Lost Odyssey, Mario. The community, your friends, types of users, number voice chating. The user experience, you go home and turn it on and boom, it works. Anything else to "elitist', of any platform even, comes across as an invalid statement and can and will be manipulated or corrected. Especially if you state stereotypes and media feed generalizations.

This very form is a testament to that.

 

[Darth_Payn]

This video was worth it to hear Yahtzee sing. Last I remember him doing that was putting words to the Deus Ex opening theme song. I only recognized that "Driving Aboot" one as the Doctor Who theme What were the others?

 

[Enizer]

I'm looking forward to the next generation as a gamer, because the consoles are now all so similar in hardware, this generation should see much fewer annoying exclusives, giving me, as the customer: more choice.

On the declining PC sales:
I make my own pc every few years, and in the first time ever, I forsee, that my two year old CPU, is only 20% slower then a CPU that would cost me at least around 400$(and that would require me to replace the motherboard and RAM as well, not included in that price), and that likely will NOT change in the next two years.
It's still completely overkill for any game I run.
I'm bottlenecked by my video card, more then anything, and if this keeps up, I will replace the video card more then once before I need to consider changing my CPU.

If other gamers are feeling this, then obviously this results in fewer PC sales, but however, does NOT result in fewer PC using gamers.

Many people who only use their PC for banking and light browsing now use a tablet, as they dont need a full PC.
However, I'm fairly sure artists(regardless of field) or heavy work PC users(like programmers) can't do what they do now, better, on a tablet.
Those jobs need screen size, the bigger the better, and often raw power and memory tablets will never provide.

And then when/if those people want to play games, and already have a massive PC, a lot of them will want to play games on that PC.

So no, while PC sales might go down, and some computing tasks are no longer easyest on a PC, that does not mean that the PC is suddenly going to have a seazure and drop dead.

Plus PC game sales reports are dead bullshit, like skyrim had more current online steam players then global PC copies reported sold when it was new(and i dont think steam has day one pirates, in online mode), but that's another topic for another time

 

[Foolery]

Yeah, enjoy your shitty ports and excessive digital distribution, PC gamers. Before anyone gets upset, I am one. Built a new rig this year. But I'd be a fool to say that they're the be-all, end-all for gaming machines. Is PC getting Sengoku Basara 4? Final Fantasy X/X-2 remaster? Drakengard 3? Nope. You buy a PC for the same reason you buy consoles. Exclusives. Titles built for the system. Torchlight II, Red Orchestra 2, Company of Heroes, Civilization, Total War, etc. The added functionality of mods and other customization is also great. Anyway, don't tout one system over the other. They're all different. Do whatever works for you.

 

[Sergey Sund]

Did the basement thing at the end remind anyone else of Plato's cave analogy?
If so, then you like over-interpreting video game criticism as well.
We should hang out.

 

[Enizer]

Yeah, enjoy your shitty ports and excessive digital distribution, PC gamers. Before anyone gets upset, I am one. Built a new rig this year. But I'd be a fool to say that they're the be-all, end-all for gaming machines. Is PC getting Sengoku Basara 4? Final Fantasy X/X-2 remaster? Drakengard 3? Nope. You buy a PC for the same reason you buy consoles. Exclusives. Titles built for the system. Torchlight II, Red Orchestra 2, Company of Heroes, Civilization, Total War, etc. The added functionality of mods and other customization is also great.

Pretty much this for me as a gamer, I bought a WII, because Zelda, largely, and I bought a PC, because I find messing with the hardware fun, and I just love steam sales
I did not buy a PS3 or an Xbox360, mostly because each of those only had only a couple of exclusives I kind of wanted, and that was an absurd price tag for so few games.
I did buy sevral xbox360 controllers for use with my pc though, because some games ARE better with a controller.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Since none of these exclusives are of much interest to me I say both consoles are a bit of a wash.

 

[heroicbob]

I really hate exclusives it sucks for the person who likes games from both platforms, dead rising got one PlayStation release and then never again.
Boy I'm glad that metal gear solid is a PC game too this time around too