Zero Punctuation: Exclusives Showdown

[Sonder Saunters]

Barry, make a remix of that.

Also why would you buy a console at launch anyway? There isn't enough good stuff on them things to keep me around right now. I waited a year before I picked up a Wii U, but I should have waited another six months. I probably won't pick up PS4 or XbOne for a good two years.

 

[FallenMessiah88]

I think it's a bit to early to say that you shouldn't choose consoles if you wan't to play "the best video games". When the WiiU came out, it didn't exactly have a killer line up either, but now a year later that has all changed. I think the same thing will happen with both Xbox One and PS4. Even the PS2 didn't have a whole lot to offer when it first launched.

 

[mrdude2010]

Looking at some of the planned features and DLC, does it seem to anyone else that we're just not getting our money's worth? I mean, the comparison between Forza 4 and 5 is a bit of a tip off. It's like half the content for the same price. The graphical upgrade really isn't worth that.

 

[t850terminator]

Guess I'll stick to my PC/PS3...
And since I can't find the Metroid Prime Trilogy anywhere in stores, guess my Wii stays buried in the closet...

 

[Dr.Awkward]

Look at all the sniveling fanboys butt hurt about the PC master race thing. It's like if something isn't said with complete dripping sarcasm then it couldn't possibly be meant as a joke. Lord help you people if you ever decide to read Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy, you'll probably end up taking it so seriously your entire body will follow your head as it recedes up your ass and then you'll pop out of existence.

I can't help but think of a metaphor at a time like this. It's like people on the Titanic sneering at the folks who claim that the life boats are a better alternative to staying on the bigger ship. Yes those life boats might be smaller and you'll have to row them yourself, and we sure did stick our noses up at them once before, but now we shall indeed sing their praises because they are the only safe way to go compared to the alternative of sinking into the frozen depths of the atlantic. But no, keep sneering, folks, saying we're so smug and douchebaggy for wanting to not die, call us the "life saving little boat master race", a phrase we might have joined in saying with just as much condescension, but I imagine it shall be hard to judge when you're sinking into the depths (of mediocrity and being taken advantage of as a consumer) while we float away above water watching you flail and try to convince us it's not actually all that bad when you've already been reduced to an icicle.

I'll just be here playing Recettear [http://www.carpefulgur.com/recettear/], the greatest game ever made in the history of ever. Enjoy Knack, I'm sure you wont get bored with it inside of a month and find there's nothing else to do with your expensive brick of a console.

Because you're not judging already, right?

And you're CERTAINLY not being more condescending than every console fan in this thread combined, right?

Times like this, I hope the "lifeboat" that I'm on sinks, just so it takes the rest of us sorry sods with it and puts us out of our monocle-adorned misery.

Well, I guess you could take a cold swim and join the "doesn't give a fuck anymore" boat that I'm on...

 

[Caiphus]

Unfortunately, this is like saying "More people are working from home" and then giving me a graph showing declining car sales.

This shows a decline in off-the-shelf prebuilt computers. This doesn't account for:

1. Workplaces turning more to tablets
2. Gamers are increasingly choosing to build their own parts
3. People are increasingly finding that they don't need a new computer to play games
4. We're fresh off of a newish OS launch, and current Windows 8 computers haven't packed it in yet, meaning consumers don't need to buy a new one.

A more relevant statistic would be PC game sales over the years, or the number of new Steam accounts (since Steam has gotten so ubiquitous).

Indeed. For every source there is a counter-source:
http://www.techspot.com/news/52070-pc-game-sales-hit-20-billion-last-year-no-signs-of-slowing.html

Laptop sales are increasing, PC gaming market showed 8% growth this year etc etc.

Frankly, it's in all of our interests for the gaming market to do well, whether it's the console market, the PC market or (preferably) both.

 

[t850terminator]

Moral of the story: "PC or Console, in next-gen, EVERYONE LOSES!!!"

 

[Something Amyss]

Also why would you buy a console at launch anyway?

Same reason people post "first" in comments sections, I imagine. They want to be the first on their block to have the new shinies.

I think it's a bit to early to say that you shouldn't choose consoles if you wan't to play "the best video games". When the WiiU came out, it didn't exactly have a killer line up either, but now a year later that has all changed. I think the same thing will happen with both Xbox One and PS4. Even the PS2 didn't have a whole lot to offer when it first launched.

But the thing is, right now, it's true. Well, okay, maybe not entirely, but people are looking at the new consoles to see which has the best games, and they don't. The last gen still has better games and for the most part, PCs can play both the old games and new games.

It's also ridiculous to champion a system because it might totally have awesome games in the future. I mean, I'm sure there will be good games in the future, but to champion any system as the best one to get at the time because there will probably be good games?

And, I mean, the last gen should indicate something. Microsoft came off strong with exclusives and support, then it tapered off. By the end of the generation, Sony had a lot more exclusives and support, a better (if poorly designed) marketplace, etc. Microsoft only bothered with exclusive displays again when it remembered it had to pitch a new generation.

Any new console is a gamble. Nintendo's just starting to get good.

Unless you want bragging rights, there's no real point to a day one console. Or week one. or month one. Maybe by the end of the first year.

But here we are, here and now. Which new console is better? Depends. Do you need a cable box?

 

[let's rock]

Moral of the story: "PC or Console, in next-gen, EVERYONE LOSES!!!"

How exactly is the PC loosing? A whole new set of steal sales just started, were doing better than ever.

 

[Dalisclock]

Enjoyed it, though I'm firmly in the PC gamer catagory because I have tons more games on the PC then I have time for so it makes no sense for me to buy a console.

Except....

I will be picking up a PS3 in the near future because there's a handful of games(God of War 1-3, Silent Hill 1-3 and the ICO games) that only exist on that console that will likely never be ported. And since the PS3 has backwards compartibility, which the PS4 doesn't.....

Not to mention the PS3's are going to be dropping in price soon if they haven't already.

 

[Something Amyss]

Looking at some of the planned features and DLC, does it seem to anyone else that we're just not getting our money's worth? I mean, the comparison between Forza 4 and 5 is a bit of a tip off. It's like half the content for the same price. The graphical upgrade really isn't worth that.

I seriously doubt that's the tradeoff. I doubt they're reducing the cars for graphical sake, when they can dole it out as paid DLC. I'm suspicious as to the nature of that DLC. Will they be real DLC, or will they be ODC like more and more content is?

Frankly, it's in all of our interests for the gaming market to do well, whether it's the console market, the PC market or (preferably) both.

Indeed, I'd hope for success overall.

Moral of the story: "PC or Console, in next-gen, EVERYONE LOSES!!!"

Well, the consumers lose.

 

[FallenMessiah88]

I think it's a bit to early to say that you shouldn't choose consoles if you wan't to play "the best video games". When the WiiU came out, it didn't exactly have a killer line up either, but now a year later that has all changed. I think the same thing will happen with both Xbox One and PS4. Even the PS2 didn't have a whole lot to offer when it first launched.

But the thing is, right now, it's true. Well, okay, maybe not entirely, but people are looking at the new consoles to see which has the best games, and they don't. The last gen still has better games and for the most part, PCs can play both the old games and new games.

It's also ridiculous to champion a system because it might totally have awesome games in the future. I mean, I'm sure there will be good games in the future, but to champion any system as the best one to get at the time because there will probably be good games?

And, I mean, the last gen should indicate something. Microsoft came off strong with exclusives and support, then it tapered off. By the end of the generation, Sony had a lot more exclusives and support, a better (if poorly designed) marketplace, etc. Microsoft only bothered with exclusive displays again when it remembered it had to pitch a new generation.

Any new console is a gamble. Nintendo's just starting to get good.

Unless you want bragging rights, there's no real point to a day one console. Or week one. or month one. Maybe by the end of the first year.

But here we are, here and now. Which new console is better? Depends. Do you need a cable box?

It may be true right now, which is also the reason why I'm going to wait at least a year before getting a new console. However, that's not what I'm hearing from Yahtzee. What I'm hearing is "Don't bother with consoles. At all. Ever.".

It's fine it Yahtzee wants to be a PC gamer now. That's his choice, but this "Glorious PC gaming master race" schtick has already worn out it's welcome.

I'm not championing any system. I'm just asking for a bit more of a respectful tone.

 

[Nazulu]

Wow! Yahtzee has still got it.

I had pretty much the same results when making my own observations, and they just make me want to play more classic games.

 

[Adventurer2626]

Yup...twiddling my thumbs until pcs = consoles. Hopefully this will be the penultimate console war then the gaming singularity will occur and we'll have a single home server that we'll use for everything...oh wait, cloud gaming technology. Yep it'll just be a screen and other peripherals. Bright future.

 

[TheUnbeholden]

You forgot the 4th way, the WiiU!

and he Forgot the 5th way... the Wii.

The most sensible choice for choosing which current console to buy.

 

[VinLAURiA]

I'll stick with PC and Wii U, thanks. A.k.a. the machine that you probably already own and already does everything the PS4 and Xbone does but better, and the actual video game console that still remembers that video games are toys.

 

[slysean]

To be fair I can't think of a single exclusive I want. I loved Infamous as a series, but I can't imagine how they are going to actually design a third game since the second one did completely end, no matter the ending you picked. So I can't help but get a Bioshock 2 flashback.

Isn't it obviously evil ending, war between conduits and non-conduits raging into the second generation.

True, However from the looks of the trailers I've seen Coles existence or any war. Even if there is some recognition of that ending; what made infamous so interesting was that when you played the sequel, it started at a point that allowed for both evil or good options to be taken into account, save for your "Karma" meter being different. If this does just go with the evil ending, then any choice you made in either of the two starting games seems... pointless.

 

[Clunks]

Personally I can't get on board with either XBone or PS4 because of the continued shunting of backward compatability. The WiiU might seem like the better option right now, but I still remember when the flow of Wii games I was interested in suddenly stopped dead and I could easily see that happening again. I'm a complete luddite and I find PCs incredibly daunting. All that is the bad news. The good news is I still have a PS2, a DS, an Xbox 360 and a Wii, a bunch of old games I still love playing and an entire army of undiscovered games from previous eras. I'm still spoilt for choice and I won't be running out of new experiences for a long, long time.

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

Frankly I think he was too kind to the XBox One. Ryse is loaded with micro-transactions, so fuck it. In my mind, it's a clean sweep for PS4.

Keep in mind, I'm not planning on buying any.