Zero Punctuation: Next Gen Buyer's Guide

[faefrost]

Wouldn't it be nice if corporations actually were made to suffer for acting anti-consumer? And just to be clear, I classify anything as anti-consumer if it is meant to benefit the corporation (i.e. releasing new hardware with the purpose of stealing all the profits away from retailers from used game sales), and greatly inconveniences the consumer or vastly changes the way in which consumers purchase / enjoy products in a negative fashion.

Next gen, don't buy it.

Well Microsoft did crash the PC market by 30% with Windows 8, and the return rate at retail on Windows 8 products is so obscene that their OEM partners want Balmers head mailed to each of them in a small box. So they are feeling quite a bit of anti consumer suffering. Just apparently not yet enough to have given them cause to rethink the whole XBoned endeavor.

 

[TheUnbeholden]

Mr Q - "Anybody know the phone number of a company that can send dozens of theme park mascots to a person's house for a day or two?"

And by theme park mascots I assume you mean Escorts right?

Thats exactly what I was thinking.. great minds think alike.

 

[TheUnbeholden]

XD. What gets me about the lack of games on the Wii U is... Context.

OK, admittedly, it's now 5-6 months after launch, and very little new content has shown up.

But... The Wii U launch lineup was 20 games!

Do you know what the N64 launched with? 4 games. The gamecube wasn't much better. Nor was the Wii.
The same can be said about the 3ds too, although that was more of an obvious problem. (But the 3ds has recovered from that pretty well so...)

For that matter, at this point I doubt either the PS4 and Xbox One will have all that many games at launch...

It just seems like an odd thing to pick on, all things considered.

Maybe they will have 15 titles at the end of the year (which is still less than what Wii U launched with!).

Also EA won't be developing games for the Wii U because they refuse to use Origin (the very program Yahtzee hates and with good reason). So it is a really odd criticism.

If you have nothing to review don't make premature reviews about things you barely know anything about.

Talk about the Wii U is alright because that is already out & talking about X-bone is fine because of their presentation conference and the stupid advertising and restrictions controversy.

And as for PS4, He was merely commenting on a announced PS4 feature, that was more like nitpicking really.

 

[C117]

And still, I'm going to buy myself a WiiU. Because I need my Super Smash Bros., dangit...

 

[WarpZone]

Regarding the "hold something I like hostage" metaphor-- they're already doing that. Remember Halo 2 multiplayer? Every single Xbox game that requires a centralized server in order to function will one day be shut off. So maybe they're hoping that when our Halo 4s and Borderlands 2s stop working, we'll buy a new console because we have no other choice.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they've already installed, through mandatory compatibility updates, malicious code that deletes all our singleplayer saves the moment they decide the era of the Xbox 360 is over. After all, why even allow us the option of playing the Old Hotness, when they're so desperate to shove New and Busted down our throats?

 

[head desk tricycle]

I think that God created Playstation and XBox fanboys so that the old Sega fanboys have someone they can feel superior to.

 

[ooreilly]

If a console has one game which you believe is worth the cost of the console and the game and you can happily afford it then you should but it. This way not only do you get to play the game you want but the big companies need to sell many games for their consoles to make up for the loss when they sell the console to begin with and this way you are beating the system kind of.

 

[Edl01]

I tend to give Sony the benefit for seeming to have announced the console with the most avoidable/ignorable new "features" (heavy scare quotes) of the three. But I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop- to find out that Sony is also, as has been hypothesized, planning on taking an axe to the used game market, or plans on interrupting your gameplay to show you advertisements, or... whatever nightmarish anti-consumer malevolence a clever marketing department can come up with that challenges my own limited imagination.

No. Sony aren't having DRM, they confirmed it. I have seen it said a million times and yet people still like to suggest that it might.
I am just going to stick with my PC myself, wait for the first year of the new consoles to pass and see how they do. If any of them still look worthwhile then I'll but them.

 

[plainlake]

His criticisms of the PS4 seemed rather forced, IMO. He basically talked about optional features as if they were manditory, and gave no credit to it not needing to be online to play games, not blocking used games, and already having some strong exclusives lined up. (Such as Infamous Second Son, a series he really likes) But whatever, bashing things is what pays his bills.

^Leader of Yatzhees personal stalker club^ Anyway, everyone here that cant PC because money/stupidity/active personal life is going to buy PS4 or Xbone, sad but true.

 

[Dragonbums]

He's complaining now and says that people shouldn't buy the next-gen console, but he already has a WiiU and he will get an Xbone and PS4 for his reviews, if not for himself.
I agree with him, but I'd like to see people taking a stand - especially known game critics.

Consoles have held games that I like hostage before, but I never got those consoles because I know that I shouldn't have to use multiple gaming platforms - I have one, my PC, and that's enough.

That's the equivalent of telling a Graphic Designer to stick with Photoshop CS4 and not get CS 5, 6, and 7.

It's his job to review games, and to tell consumers about the products they already have or are about to own. He can't do his job if he doesn't have any of the next gen consoles. That is integral to keeping him on top of his game. I'm pretty sure that if he was a commentator, or had some sort of other occupation as opposed to reviewing games across all systems perhaps he would be able to do that.

 

[Doom972]

He's complaining now and says that people shouldn't buy the next-gen console, but he already has a WiiU and he will get an Xbone and PS4 for his reviews, if not for himself.
I agree with him, but I'd like to see people taking a stand - especially known game critics.

Consoles have held games that I like hostage before, but I never got those consoles because I know that I shouldn't have to use multiple gaming platforms - I have one, my PC, and that's enough.

That's the equivalent of telling a Graphic Designer to stick with Photoshop CS4 and not get CS 5, 6, and 7.

It's his job to review games, and to tell consumers about the products they already have or are about to own. He can't do his job if he doesn't have any of the next gen consoles. That is integral to keeping him on top of his game. I'm pretty sure that if he was a commentator, or had some sort of other occupation as opposed to reviewing games across all systems perhaps he would be able to do that.

This analogy won't work. A graphics designer needs one program to be able to perform certain tasks - not several similar programs. A game critic can have one or many gaming platforms to review games for. A game critic who does one review per week won't be able to review every possible game anyway, so even sticking to one platform would provide him with enough games to review. He could take a stand and not get an Xbone at least to show that there's a red line that no console maker should cross, and hopefully others will do the same.
There will be enough good (and many more bad) games for the PC, PS4, and the WiiU (perhaps not that last one. We'll see). The Xbone won't be missed.

 

[Justin Harris]

So far from what I heard, both PS4 and Xbox1 are going to try and kill the used games market, and both are incredibly invasive. So if I /DO/ get a Next Gen Console, it's going to be a Wii U. I already skipped the PS3 because I hate sony for hating its consumers. I have no problem telling Microsoft to Bite it and switching to Linux instead of Xbox 1 and Windows 8.

 

[BrainBlow]

So far from what I heard, both PS4 and Xbox1 are going to try and kill the used games market, and both are incredibly invasive. So if I /DO/ get a Next Gen Console, it's going to be a Wii U. I already skipped the PS3 because I hate sony for hating its consumers. I have no problem telling Microsoft to Bite it and switching to Linux instead of Xbox 1 and Windows 8.

Where the hell did you hear that about the Playstation? It's the exact OPPOSITE! The PS4 is NOT being invasive, and it EMBRACES used games!

 

[taltamir]

Regarding the "hold something I like hostage" metaphor-- they're already doing that. Remember Halo 2 multiplayer? Every single Xbox game that requires a centralized server in order to function will one day be shut off. So maybe they're hoping that when our Halo 4s and Borderlands 2s stop working, we'll buy a new console because we have no other choice.

You do have another choice, you can play better games made by better companies

 

[WarpZone]

Regarding the "hold something I like hostage" metaphor-- they're already doing that. Remember Halo 2 multiplayer? Every single Xbox game that requires a centralized server in order to function will one day be shut off. So maybe they're hoping that when our Halo 4s and Borderlands 2s stop working, we'll buy a new console because we have no other choice.

You do have another choice, you can play better games made by better companies

There is no "better" in the next generation of consoles. There's only "which of these three is the least bad?" Sorry if I made it sound like the only alternative to 360 is an Xbone. What I meant to say is that we'll have no choice but to buy into the next generation of consoles AT ALL.

I mean, you can say "play PC," and I do, and it will evidently become my primary gaming platform in the near future, but the point is we have great games NOW on acceptable hardware that they've only managed to slightly ruin with this last year of bullshit. It sucks to lose that. It sucks that they're ending the current gen early and giving us a next gen with nothing to recommend it, only shiny new ways of fucking the customer over.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Well, Nintendo might have went all in with a 2 and a 4, but they just came out of it with 2 Aces and a King (Smash Bros, Mario Kart and Mario 3D World). Sony, however, already has 2 Aces and a King (Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts III, not being an XBOne), and are just waiting for their last card to see if they win. Either way, Microsoft is going to loose everything they had.

 

[catalyst8]

He is a critic not a reviewer. His job is to bash and pick apart stuff, not give a fair overview of things.

You seem to misunderstand the word. In a professional sense a critic is 'a person who judges the merits of literary or artistic works, especially one who does so professionally.' (OED 2013)

Peter Brook explains the role eloquently in this article: http://austintheatre.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/peter-brook-on-job-of-critic.html

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

A critic doesn't have to be "balanced".

Also Yahtzee is part critic, part comedian. Those of us who tune in to ZP on a regular basis are full aware of his bias toward "making fun of stuff".

Some of his points are valid, some are nitpicking for humorous effect. Which of his opinions fall into which camp ... well that's up to you to interpret.

Wikipedia is not a good source to reliably cite for anything. You made an incorrect claim as to what a professional critic is. Your error is confirmed by the Oxford English Dictionary which, as I demonstrated, gives a very different definition of the word than the meaning you claimed for it. Whether Crowshaw is a critic or not is irrelevant, the point is that that you're mangling English & refuse to admit it.

 

[deadish]

He is a critic not a reviewer. His job is to bash and pick apart stuff, not give a fair overview of things.

You seem to misunderstand the word. In a professional sense a critic is 'a person who judges the merits of literary or artistic works, especially one who does so professionally.' (OED 2013)

Peter Brook explains the role eloquently in this article: http://austintheatre.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/peter-brook-on-job-of-critic.html

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

A critic doesn't have to be "balanced".

Also Yahtzee is part critic, part comedian. Those of us who tune in to ZP on a regular basis are full aware of his bias toward "making fun of stuff".

Some of his points are valid, some are nitpicking for humorous effect. Which of his opinions fall into which camp ... well that's up to you to interpret.

Wikipedia is not a good source to reliably cite for anything. You made an incorrect claim as to what a professional critic is. Your error is confirmed by the Oxford English Dictionary which, as I demonstrated, gives a very different definition of the word than the meaning you claimed for it. Whether Crowshaw is a critic or not is irrelevant, the point is that that you're mangling English & refuse to admit it.

Fine. Yahtzee is not a critic then. Happy? Jesus.

The point is Yahtzee is NOT a reviewer. He doesn't give a crap about "fair and balance" journalism. Picking apart games and game systems is his job.

 

[Pearwood]

Been a while since I've thought Yahtzee is absolutely right. I really, really want Bayonetta 2, that is my only interest in the next console generation since they all seem to have started a dickwaving contest before any of them have anything to actually show.

 

[TheSchaef]

Another Yahtzee bash-by-numbers of Nintendo. Color me surprised.

The dearth of new releases post-launch is certainly not much fun, and it doesn't help that various Wii U exclusives are being delayed for the sole purpose of turning them into non-exclusives, but we picked one up on launch day and my entire family is playing games and having fun. I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to expect it to do.