Top 10 annoying things about next gen
So here we are, supposedly in a new generation of console hardware while there are still new releases for the last generation. For a market that is supposed to be all about “next gen”, we still see a lot of releases for the Gamecube, the Playstation 2, and the X-Box.
Here I am all pumped and ready for the next generation and I still haven’t bought an X-Box 360. Right now there is no value add. No $20 games to try out the titles I’m just not sold on, not many titles at all, and really not feeling the pull to spend $400 on something that I will play less than older consoles I still own.
What’s a gamer to do?
Here are the top ten silly, frustrating, and stupid things about “next gen” right now
10. - Still waiting for Next Gen to arrive
When the X-Box 360 hit the market I thought “It’s here! It’s here!” Boy was I excited. With the last generation of the console wars clearly won by Sony I was ready to see how the new competition was going to shape up. So far it hasn’t shaped up at all. Microsoft has their team on the field and the other two teams are still in training camp.
9. - Letting Microsoft define the Next Gen market
Microsoft has a ten mile head start in a fifty mile marathon. That means there is still plenty of time to overtake them, but that’s still one hell of a lead. No matter how you look at it, Microsoft has essentially placed the next generation on their terms. Everyone else has to play catch up.
8. - Stupid name changes
With Nintendo’s revolutionary ideas, revolutionary control, and an approach to the console market that leverages their position as a smaller, more flexible, and more innovative company they had the perfect name for their console. Instead they decide to change the name to something that will inspire pee jokes for the next ten years. Brilliant, just brilliant! The best part is realizing the person who came up with the name “Wii” probably makes more money than I do.
7. - $60 games
With Microsoft facing little competition, they can charge whatever they want. Gamers have been complaining about the high cost of games for awhile, and raising prices doesn’t seem like a smart move to me. After all, it doesn’t matter how much a game costs because the price is pretty much fixed upon release, so the amount of copies sold means everything. Even so, the next gen market is still small so Microsoft needs to get the most for each game it can. Besides, it’s not like anyone else is out there fighting them. Expect this trend to continue till after Christmas when all the consoles are released and retail hits their usual yearly sales slump.
6. - Microsoft’s Multiple Personality Disorder
Probably not Microsoft’s fault really, but it is fun watching titles getting released on the X-Box 360, the X-Box, and PC all at the same time. I need the 360 why?
5. - Who needs backwards compatibility anyway?
It was the mini-trend we hardly knew. Once we saw the PS2 could play Playstation games it seemed like we had a sure thing on our hands, especially with Microsoft being the kings of backwards compatibility with Windows. Alas, it seems all for naught. A major selling point for alot of these consoles would be the ability to still play all your own games, but for whatever reason the development teams just couldn’t figure it out. I still wonder if the 360’s compatibility problems are as bad as people make it out to be, but gamers are clearly not satisfied, and Sony’s mewlings aren’t building any confidence.
4. - Chasing Nintendo
You can’t just ignore changes in the industry, but it sure is fun watching these two megacorporations scrambling to keep up with Nintendo’s ideas. Of course it’s one thing to respond to change, it’s entirely different to come up with new innovations of your own. Nintendo is playing smarter this generation, will they keep it up?
3. - Cost between consoles and computers vanishing
$60 games? Expensive peripherals? Consoles being released at a $600 price point? Anyone notice that desktop computers just continue to go down in price despite becoming ever more powerful? Consoles still have a lot of advantages over PC’s, but the most powerful incentive of console games is weakening.
2. - Dual price SKU nonsense
“You can buy our system or you can spend $100 less to get a castrated system. Wow! Are we a great company or what?”
1. - Sony’s Alternate Reality
No matter how you spin it, we still just want a game console first. Go push your format war somewhere else.
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October 9th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
10. - Still waiting for Next Gen to arrive
Well it is here, if you have an Xbox 360. I am loving mine, which I got in June. I admit there was basically not much for it for a while but there’s plenty of must-play games on the platform now. A few less if you’re an avid PC gamer. Kameo, COD2, Oblivion, Dead Rising, Saint’s Row, the list keeps getting better and better. While there is still not a “sytem seller” for it, there are several really nice games.
9. - Letting Microsoft define the Next Gen market
I don’t see how this is bad for gamers. MS has done a good job of putting pressure on Sony and Nintendo. I seriously doubt Sony and Nintendo would have a good online strategy yet were it not for Microsoft’s Xbox Live.
8. - Stupid name changes
I’d prefer Revolution also but meh, whatever. I just want to play it.
7. - $60 games
Not that big of a deal. Most of the games are falling in price over time, so just be more patient. You can get plenty of great 360 games for under $30 if you are frugal. In fact, the most I’ve paid for any of my 360 games is $55.
6. - Microsoft’s Multiple Personality Disorder
This is other vendors hitting all three platforms so it’s hardly MS’s fault. What is annoying about this is that the 360 version of the sports games are coming with fewer features than the Xbox 180 version. THAT is fucked up.
5. - Who needs backwards compatibility anyway?
Sony and Nintendo are both claiming full 100% backwards compatibility on their new consoles. Wii will play GameCube games you can even plug your cube controllers in it and just pop in the disc. PS3 is supposed to be able to play PS2 AND PS1 games. We’ll see, hopefully this is not a lie, because that is a really handy feature. The Xbox 360 plays about 30% of the Xbox titles now. There’s still a lot of really good games I’d like to see working, and maybe eventually they will.
4. - Chasing Nintendo
Nintendo is also a risk taker which Sony and MS are not as much. The Wii could be a megaflop if their newfangled controller ends up being crap. Until the public really plays it, I think this is still a possibility. I’m willing to take a chance, though, and will be an early adopter of Wii.
3. - Cost between consoles and computers vanishing
Inflation. Higher production costs. Consumers demanding more and more features and better and better graphics. HD resoultions require a lot beefier hardware and a lot more time to do the artwork. If you don’t like that stick with Nintendo, they’re still going to be very affordable this generation.
2. - Dual price SKU nonsense
Yes, this is the ultimate clusterfuck of this gen. I can’t believe they are letting marketing do this shit just to be able to claim a non-existant price point. This is insanely stupid.
1. - Sony’s Alternate Reality
We’ll see. This may end up what ultimately saves the PS3, if developers truely are running out of space on DVD to do what they need to do. If the games on Sony’s platform end up with way better, cooler movies like the difference between the Xbox and the Cube, then it might pay off for Sony. As a HD movie format, however, who really cares. I am not replacing my DVD player with this.
October 9th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
What I really hate is Xbox 360 games getting released with fewer features than the versions getting released on the original Xbox. Madden 07 on teh Xbox 360 lacks fantasy draft and an actual franchise mode, both of which are on the PS2 and Xbox versions. And now Splinter Cell: Double Agent is featuring on and offline co-op modes on Xbox but not on the 360. They say it’s because the original Xbox version doesn’t get “Spies vs. Mercs” multiplayer mode. Guess what, I don’t care. I want co-op missions, and this means I won’t be buying Splinter Cell: Double Agent.
October 9th, 2006 at 8:03 pm
Good post. Lots of legit stuff here. I particularly like your number 1.
As excited as I am for the prospect of the PS3 and great looking games in the pipeline, it still gets me T’O'd everytime I think about how they are using us gamers to establish their proprietary movie format. Everyone calls it a trojan horse. I say bullshit. The trojan horse was a sneaky move. This thing is like if the Greeks told the Trojans, “Hey guys, there are a bunch of greek soldiers in here, but we know you want this horse so damn bad, you’ll come and get it anyway. HA!”
And then the trojans, say, “Um, yep”.
I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to say “Um Yep” at launch or wait a few months for more games to come out.
Yes I’m a hypocrit piece of crap. I know.
October 10th, 2006 at 6:55 am
Number 6? Totally MS’s fault… er.. responsibility. It’s all a matter of market positioning and they’re actively re-engaging the PC market. I expect that thanks to XNA we’ll be seeing a lot of simultaneous releases.
As far as titles also being released for the ol’ Box, well those games were more than likely in the pipeline before the 360 was available. MS has actively shut down new development for the original X.
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October 10th, 2006 at 9:27 am
The only one I have a problem with is 3. I thank the gaming gods every day that America does not have an open market on games. Can you imagine how much some of the more rare games would be if EB/Gamestop could price them (New Super Mario Bros. Oh that will be $50)
October 10th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
Next Gen versions of current gen games is annoying, as are the sequels which don’t exactly play that much better than what’s around.. And no doubt alot of the new games will be the playing it safe movie tie’ins which naturally happen to be rubbish 99% of the time. Of course paying more for them doesn’t help either. Nor does the fact the games now cost more to produce so less and less risks will be taken to make more imaginative games.
In a nutshell what you see around now is what you’re gonna see tomorrow only more expensive. I mean come on Fear? magazines raving about this being on the 360 and PS3, while the PC just goes and gets itself an expansion to the original for less money.
Now when the N64 came out that was truely next gen compared to what was around then, Mario 64, Wave Race, and Pilotwings 64 all made me go wow. Not one game of this next gen business has come close doing that. Oblivion, was interesting but that was out on the PC first anyway, and gets dull real quick. Ghost Recon advanced warfighter? Ok, again PC, again nothing special.
However I think I’ll just continue upgrade my PC for now.
October 10th, 2006 at 12:37 pm
#3 isn’t quite accurate. I’ve moved away from PC gaming ’cause the cost of a new video card to keep up with the latest games has gone from a few hundred to CDN$600 or so, and if you really want to fly, go SLI for 2x$600 !?!?!
That combined with upgrading your cpu/mobo every few years is a LOT more costly than buying a $600 console every 4 or 5 years.
The Xbox 360 looks amazing on my 50″ DLP HDTV. Way better than any PC game will look on my aging 19″ CRT
It’s also a lot more comfy on my couch than my office chair.
All the money I’m not spending on PC Hardware upgrades can go into games.
Price of games too high? Rent. Want to own? You can trade in what you finish and wont play anymore.
Buy on Ebay, not EBGames… peripherals and games… Get smart with your consumption and console gaming is still WAY cheaper than PC gaming.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
Er. And the 50″ TV *didn’t* cost a lot of money? SLI isn’t really a necessity. And as for upgrading to keep up with the technolody.. Well, you don’t HAVE to always be cutting edge. My 7900GTX is awesome now, and plays games that look way better than my 360 produces.
But, a year from now, when it’s out of date, and better looking games come out.. Games will still look as good as they did a year ago. And that’s still better than my 360.
Plus, I didn’t have to spend £2000 on a TV, either.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
Yea gaystation 3 loses already some does the pii
October 10th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
nice list, don’t agree with a lot, but we’re all entitled…
i just wanted to say in response to Haanz (myself, being part of the console camp), spending $3000 on a TV makes more sense FOR ME than spending it on PC hardware. believe it or not, that big tv can be used for more things than just games….like, oh i dunno….movies? ever cram 6 friends around a computer monitor for 2 hours? not too comfy
plus…Gears of War looks better than any PC game i’ve seen….and Bioshock looks just as amazing on the 360 as it does on a $3000 gaming computer
October 10th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Somehow I don’t think a 7900gtx looks better than a 360. The G80 will be on-par with the unified shaders, which imho, is the silver bullet in next-gen architecture. The PC can’t do the real-time blur that the 360 can do and your Nvidia (and mine) certainly can’t do AA+HDR like Oblivion supports.
But Haanz, good point about the L2000 TV. It’s a bit much even for people who love TV. And that might be the end of that discussion for most. However, in yank-land, our government is requiring digital TV in 2009 so it’s not really a complete waste of money. Instead of buying a $5 box to convert analog to digital, you could toss that whiney flickery 1950s CRT tech out the window. Of course, you have to pay to play.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:55 pm
Also, I love it when people say they’ll not buy the PS3. Just wait until the reviews (assuming good reviews) about “PS3 game impressions” or “Cool PS3 feature” or “PS3 firmware update”. The net-peer pressure is not to be underestimated.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Jeez… How negative can you get?
10. Hell yeah this is next gen! Don’t judge a whole console by launch titles from EA. It seems like you gave up in January or something, and didn’t get to see how awesome Xbox Live turned out, the new games coming up, and the little steps MS is taking to win the “war”.
9. This is not annoying, just a fact. Someone’s got to be first!
8. “Wii” sounds retarded to Americans, but sounds a lot better in Japan.
7. This is not greed on MS’ side, but the added costs of developing a next-gen title.
6. Like you’ve said, there’s still a market in current-gen consoles, so developers will of course reach out to as many wallets as possible. There’s loads of Xbox 360 exclusive games if you haven’t noticed. I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t notice, as you seem quite narrow-minded (oh no he didn’t!)
5. Next-gen games takes time, and EA rushes things, as always. Blame it on EA, not “Xbox 180″. FIFA 07 has a serious lack of leagues compared to the other versions. This is because of the new graphics engine. EA would have needed another year to get all the players back.
4. I’m sure you’re talking about the PS3’s Sixaxis. A lot of people think Sony just stole the Wii’s controller. Like Sony themselves have stated several times, the Sixaxis’ motion-sensing was planned way before the news of the Wii’s motion-sensing. I hate defending Sony, believe you me, but this should be obvious. You can’t make a motion-sensoring controller in just a couple of days!
3. The prices of high-end PC’s still have to drop a whole lot before it can rival the price of a console.
2. I don’t see the problem. It’s called choice. Can’t pay the 399? Then pay 299 for limited experience.
1. Games on the 360 are around 4-5 GB. Dos size mean quality? No. Graphics don’t necessarily take more place. This is something I’ve talked a lot about, but I won’t say anything more to someone who probably dismisses any arguement challenging his own. It’s in people’s nature, however, the ability to be stubborn.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
I definately think the PC’s have there place but they are a bit more expensive to keep up with. Consoles are able to squeeze more power out of whats there cause all the hardware is the same and a PC game has to made to scale of a variaty of configurations. So I am not going to disagree that the PC has more potential but what it comes down to is the games you want to play and how much you want to spend. I have both and my wallet hates me for it.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
You’re complaining at $60 a game? Wow! In the UK (and it’s pretty much the same across western europe), Xbox games RRP at £50 - that’s almost exactly $100 at the current exchange rate - that’s normal. Outside of cities they’ll generally sell for £45 ($90), and if we’re lucky we can get them at £40 ($80) from online retailers or the major supermarkets; however if we had new releases at £30 ($60) I’d think it was a miracle rather than something to complain about.
Seriously, $60 is nothing in comparison to what everyone else in the First World pays. Count yourselves lucky, trust me.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
I have started to post something clarifying my points about 5 times now but everytime someone has added something else to the discussion. I think some of what I said may be overlooked in the rush to reply and I guess I’m ok with that since the back-and-forth that has resulted has been pretty interesting.
I do want to point out though that I am mostly looking at the next gen market more from a business process standpoint than an end-consumer standpoint. Granted, some of these could be seen more from the end-consumer standpoint ($60 games for example) and some really apply to both. End-consumers generally don’t care if Microsoft ends up defining the market or if games are released across 5 different platforms. In fact, a lot of these “annoyances” are good for the end consumer.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:59 pm
People saying you have to spend $2000 to get the hd picture? You can use your damn computer moniter to get the hd for the 360 and I bought my 26″ HDTV for $150 not $2000… sheesh think before you post
October 10th, 2006 at 2:59 pm
Mikael: “I’m sure you’re talking about the PS3’s Sixaxis. A lot of people think Sony just stole the Wii’s controller. Like Sony themselves have stated several times, the Sixaxis’ motion-sensing was planned way before the news of the Wii’s motion-sensing. I hate defending Sony, believe you me, but this should be obvious. You can’t make a motion-sensoring controller in just a couple of days!”
Couple of days? Wii’s controller was revealed at TGS 2005, on September 15, 2005. PS3’s “SIXAXIS” was revealed at E3 2006, on May 8, 2006. That’s almost 8 months. You telling me it’s not possible to put a tilt sensor in a controller by then? Ha.
If it was in the plan’s all along, then why not announce it at E3 2005, or TGS 2005? Sony’s SIXAXIS was a responce to Nintendo’s Wii and an excuse for lack of rumble (which Sony refuses to pay to put in it’s controller).
The Warhawk (which was the only game at E3 that used the SIXAXIS’ tilt function, was admited to been added in only weeks prior to E3 by a developer.
It’s not like it makes it any less of a system, but just face facts. Sony tried to steal some of Nintendo’s thunder and it backfired on them.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:59 pm
10. Still waiting for next-gen to arrive
People aren’t waiting for Next-Gen to arrive. They’re waiting for virtual reality…hehe. Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but honestly people are expecting the same leap in digital entertainment that took place last generation. You have to admit, there was a much larger gap between the PS2 and the PSone than there is between the PS3 and the PS2. As far as gaming technology is concerned, we’re getting awfully close to the top of the bell-curve. Graphics can only get so impressive, until you then just mimic reality altogether. But then what? The next evolution in gaming won’t be in terms of graphics, but perhaps some new innovation (e.g. holographic images, virtual interaction, etc.)
9. Letting Microsoft define the Next Gen market
This is in no way a bad thing. Last generation, Xbox was technologically the most advanced console on the market. I don’t know why having them set the bar for the next-gen consoles is a bad idea.
8. Stupid name changes
Completely moot. I don’t care if they called the new system Joey’s Nut Sack. If it plays well, I could care less.
7. $60 Games
Annoying? Yes. Necessary? Unfortunately, yes. You don’t get to have high production values without paying high production costs. And this unfortunately reflects on the consumer. Like it was previously stated, it’s not too big a deal for the frugal consumer (hi, how are ya?), but in truth, video games are for people with disposable income anyway. If you’re barely scraping by on $7 bucks an hour, and have a family of 4…uhh, maybe video games aren’t for you. Just like how Ferraris and $400/hour hookers aren’t for me.
6. Microsoft’s Multiple Personality Disorder
The only people who are really bothered by this are the console fanboys. No one else cares that Microsoft is releasing games on both the PC and X360. However, in terms of games for the Xbox that come out for the X360 and cost more than their Xbox counterparts, I’m not too crazy about that. But then again, how much longer is Microsoft going to be making games for the regular Xbox? It won’t last much longer.
5. Who needs backwards compatibility anyway?
I agree with this one. I think Microsoft completely underestimated how essential (at least in the first year of a console’s lifespan) backwards compatibility is. It’s a brilliant concept because you’re going to have a fairly limited number of release titles, so let the consumers bide their time with the games from the previous generation console. Nintendo and Sony have a one-up on Microsoft in this area.
4. Chasing Nintendo
I don’t know, “chasing Nintendo” seems a bit disingenuous since Nintendo is currently in 3rd place in the console race. I don’t want to say anything too callous or overzealous, as we have yet to see how the Wii performs, but I’ve always thought of Nintendo as playing its own game. It’s not really a competitor for Nintendo and Microsoft. Nintendo has a very loyal and dedicated niche market. I just don’t see Nintendo has being the mainstream of entertainment, however. Microsoft and Sony are kind of like the mega-blockbusters movies, and Nintendo is more like the independent market. I think, they’ll always be the ones pushing the envelope in terms of innovation, and Microsoft and Sony will draw upon those successes. But ultimately, I think the battle is between Sony and Microsoft.
3. Cost between consoles and computers vanishing
Well, ultimately, what you’re seeing is the convergence of the PC and console markets. This was inevitable, though. With the advent of current technology, which seems to revolve around communication between systems, the inclusion of the gaming market was inevitable. I mean, we’ve got phones with MP3s, phones with cameras, cameras with video, etc., etc., and all these things are able to connect to your PC and communicate with one another. It’s the modern age. So let the consoles become like computers so that you can tap into that market. With the upcoming Windows Vista and Live Anywhere, I’d say Microsoft knows exactly what they’re doing.
2. Dual price SKU nonsense
Totally. What a load of shit.
1. Sony’s alternate reality
Yeah, tell me about it. Whenever Kaz Hirai starts talking about future-proofing, I want hit him in the face. “We’ve future-proofed the PS3 for the next 10 years.” Are you a fucking moron?! How the hell do you know what the future holds? Hey, buddy, while you’re at it, how about future-proofing my liver for the next 30 years. {What can I say, I like to drink.} But whatever. Let Sony dig its own grave if it wants to. It’s just frustrating to watch them do it, and then to be so cocky and arrogant about it.
And finally…
I think the biggest annoyance I can think of, is how Sony and Microsoft are pushing (and maybe even subscribing themselves) to the illusion that HDVD and Blu-Ray will take off the way that DVD did. That’s completely ridiculous. DVD wasn’t simply just better quality video. It changed the way we watched movies completely. By adding menu screens, chapter selections, and special features, DVD revolutionized how we watch movies. HDVD and Blu-Ray are simply better quality players, but that’s not enough for the average consumer to replace his entire DVD collection, and it certainly isn’t much of a selling point for the average gamer….not when you’re asking for $200 more than your competition (Sony).
October 10th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
At the very least, Nintendo is going in a new direction, and Microsoft has delivered a console with some good games. You can make fun of Microsoft all day long but they are the ONLY console who is out already.
PS3 has lost a lot of faith with their non-hype hype. Let’s see what they actually bring to the table, but for every negative about Microsoft, Sony is worse in that area. It’s sad when Sony has lost their mind, and Nintendo doesn’t play, the only semi sane player is from Redmond. (Well main headquaters, since NoA is there too)
It’s sad when anti-Microsoft Programmers sing the kudos of their console.
October 10th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
I don’t agree with 99% of your post. We are in next-gen. Actually, it’s current-gen for those of us with a 360 and a library of great games. How can you say that the versions on the original Xbox are better than the 360? Can you even play Dead Rising on an original Xbox? No. I always dismiss the next-gen haters like you because I feel that you’re either too cheap or too poor to purchase a new console. You’re probably the type that states that you will wait until the price drops before you buy a 360 or PS3. Well, if you have such a problem with the prices, then don’t blog about it.
I personally love my 360 because of the great experience I get that I couldn’t possibly get on an original Xbox or PS2. Xbox Live and gamercards and achievements are just a few of the things that keep me hooked.
Oh, and you will never be able to buy a PC at the price of an Xbox 360 and play games that look as good. Not possible. Fear takes a high-end PC to play with all the graphical detail turned up. My $400 360 will be able to do the same thing and I don’t have to worry about drivers or anything like that. I just pop it in and play.
Anyway, quit your bitching and join the current-gen.
October 10th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
Yes, the 7900GTX looks better and smoother than a 360. And it is perfectly capable of high amounts of Anti-Aliasing (AA) and High Dynamic Range (HDR) rendering. Far Cry for the PC makes use of HDR and it was around before Oblivion for the 360 was available. With the new patch Oblivion on the PC supports AA and HDR at the same time too. (not sure what the issue was there, but it wasn’t the capabilities of the video cards)
And tilt sensing controllers have been around for years and years. I bought one for the PC years ago bundled with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. (maybe it was Pro Skater 2) The axis sensing isn’t as impressive as the Wii’s controllers ability to sense actual position instead of just the tilt of each axis.
That said I still enjoy the hell out of my 360.
October 10th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
Hmmm…I never said I hate next-gen, in fact I am very excited about it. I had the opportunity to buy a 360 last year but ended up using the money to help out some friends in need.
Anyway, the point is this was not a love/hate post and I’m not a big fan of binary thinking. I’m not a “hater” by any means. I’m looking at the big picture and how the market is starting to form.
October 10th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Well, I like Nr. 2 the most.
Especially the 360’s “CORE”-Model is a piece of NONSENSE to me.
Why add a Hard-Drive to a console when you can’t take advantage of it because you can’t be sure everyone who owns the system has a HDD in it?
Ship a game only for owners of the expensive version?
Your “pool’o'potential customers”(tm) would shrink down a bit, wouldn’t it?
So most of the 360 games won’t use the HDD just because of the F**ckin’ CORE-version…
Who made that decision?
October 10th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
US$60 games?
Here in mexico, new games cost even $1,000 pesos that’s US$90 I wish the games here were so cheap.
October 10th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Im still waiting for new gen to come.
New gen consoles used to be giant leaps.
Remember those gigantic leaps.
Pong -> Atari
Atari-> Nintendo
Nintendo -> Super Nintendo
Super Nintedo - > Nintendo 64/Playstion
Nintendo 64/Playstion -> Xbox/PS2 here the change wasnt that gigantic.
October 10th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
I don’t get number 4. Sure, Sony copied Nintendo when they announced motion-sensing controllers, but what did Microsoft do to copy Nintendo? You can’t say Xbox Live Arcade, especially considering that that’s been around since before the Xbox 360.
October 10th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
Microsoft is talking about developing a motion sensitive controller for the 360. It would be dumb not to, so I’m not really knocking them or Sony for following the trend. It’s just fun to see the little dog be the trend-setter and the two big dogs trotting along behind.
I think of the new consoles, Nintendo’s will have the greatest impact on future generations even if they come in 3rd place again.
Assuming they don’t blow it
October 10th, 2006 at 6:09 pm
Hehe, I’ve been enjoying “next gen” for nearly a year now. I keep asking why magazines and website still call it “next gen” when it’s been around this long. I’ve been LOVING my 360.
October 10th, 2006 at 6:31 pm
I think they’ll keep calling it next gen until we see another console released and fewer games being released on last gen.
Really it’s kind of confusing because we have “next gen” and “last gen”. Uh…so we have a past and future but no present? Sounds like the premise of a bad sci-fi movie.
October 10th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
The whole issue with backwards compatibility is actually a bit more complex than the notion that the Microsoft engineers just couldn’t figure it out. With the PS2 (and PS3), as well as Wii backwards compatibility, it is relatively easy since the newer consoles essentially include the additional components of the old system’s hardware that are required to run the old system’s games.
With the Xbox 360, this was more difficult, owing to the fact that Microsoft did not negotiate for rights over the hardware that was included in the orginal Xbox. With the decision to switch to ATI cards over nVidia hardware, the ties with nVidia were broken, and so they could not include nVidia architecture in the 360. Therefore, instead of running games natively like the PS2 runs PS1 games, the 360 has to run original Xbox games through both software and hardware emulation… a much greater task.
October 10th, 2006 at 8:49 pm
“7. - $60 games
Not that big of a deal. Most of the games are falling in price over time, so just be more patient. You can get plenty of great 360 games for under $30 if you are frugal. In fact, the most I’ve paid for any of my 360 games is $55.”
I beg to differ. This is a major component of why I haven’t been purchasing games. It’s crazy that the same game for the other consoles is marked at $40 and I’m paying $60!!! I regret buying the 360 so soon. I should have stuck with a xbox. I was ‘wowed’ with the new graphics - but honestly, they aren’t giving me any reason to spend $60. I continue to rent games or play the few I have.
If MS really wants to sell console games, they need to sell them for $40.
October 10th, 2006 at 8:52 pm
A marathon is about 26 miles. That’s what makes it a marathon. There’s no such thing as a 50 mile marathon.
October 10th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
“Consoles still have a lot of advantages over PC’s”
Yea, that’s like saying cripples have an advantage over regular folk because they get their own parking space.
October 10th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Bitch bitch, whine whine.
October 11th, 2006 at 12:04 am
WHAT ABOUT THE FUCKING VERTICAL SYNC PROBLEM? That is number 1.
October 11th, 2006 at 12:51 am
Isn’t it all the scafs really that are complaining about the price of games? There is nothing wrong with the prices and they are coming down. I have had my xbox360 for months now and its probably the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. I have had no problems with it and its amazing.
October 11th, 2006 at 5:11 am
[…] Classé sous Jeux Vidéo Un classement réalisé par unfetteredblather sur ce qui agace le plus les gamers au sujet des consoles Next Gen : 1. Sony se sert […]
October 11th, 2006 at 7:38 am
[…] by Jason “Botswana” Cox I can’t begin to tell you how much traffic THIS POST has generated for this site. As a somewhat ill-though, poorly worded, and completely off-the-cu […]
October 11th, 2006 at 7:40 am
I was content to sit by the roadside and watch the traffic on this one, but I have to make a few points:
8. - Stupid name changes: Jason is right, the name change was and is, stupid. There is no song and dance that can change this obvious fact. He has said on numerous occasions that this is based on his business experience and professional opinion and not on his feelings as a gamer. It may make sense to some, but from a presentation standpoint, its a nightmare. I wouldn’t try to sell that name to one of my clients to save my life if I had “Revolution” behind me.
“The name makes more sense to the Japanese” - is a straw dog argument. If it makes more sense to them, fine, change the name in the Japanese market and tune your sales strategy to fit the US marketplace.This is not Japan. I see nothing wrong with having variations on your product presentation if it is tailored it to your demographic. I am certain the sales of Japanese “Wii” systems would be high from foreign customers because they can play games a different region and they would have the pride of telling their friends “No, its not a Revolution, its a Wii!”
Remember the circus over the import black PS1s a few years ago? If you were a serious, hardcore gamer, you just had to have one!
A name is very important because it offers an impression. A lot of people in the console market aren’t diehards and we forget that. They look at titles, box cover and names to generate their impression of the system. When we assume a name doesn’t matter we are putting forth the assumption that all gamers are experienced and knowledgeable on the product and that the billions of dollars spent on advertising each year is false. They aren’t. Parents buy these things like hotcakes at Christmas. I’ve helped more than a few people in gaming stores buy their kid a console for the holidays and I didn’t even work there. Casual gamers exist and just like any advertising force, name, style, and appearance matters a great deal.
On a side note. I ‘ve worked for Bandai of America and we will probably never see anyone at Nintendo bright enough to have a cross-market name change because the Japanese headquarters probably believes whatever is good in Japan is good in the rest of the world (a far too common idea in these companies). If foreign markets didn’t like it or understand the concept, then too bad, they were just too dumb to see the light. Bandai lived by this rather crass creed.
What struck me was just how damn good the Revolution name really was. Nintendo had a real winner and I was watching their approach with a great deal of interest. Then they held that silly news conference.
If you have to explain the impression of your product name and the reason for replacing a universally understood moniker like “Revolution” then you need to have the sales department pay for your head examination.
Ask people what a Nintendo Revolution is and I bet you’ll get a lot more people telling you instead of asking you what a “Wii” is. Nintendo needs to cash in on it’s cultural icon stance. Thye innovate in controllers and technology in many areas, but drop the ball with a name. I don’t get it.
If we want a real impression of sales, get out of the game store and off the web. Asking hardcore fans for a slice of mainstream thinking is bad polling. We know the features, the titles and the specs. A lot of people don’t. A lot of kids want to play “Mario” or the games their friends have.
7. - $60 games. I make good money. I don’t buy new games. Why? Simple, games aren’t uncommon or special anymore. They are comparable to DVDs in terms of mass appeal. DVDs are increasing in features and the price drops. I never have to buy new games because some people buy and trade them out like candy. Most diehard gamers I know buy used only because titles lose their value pretty rapidly on the market. If a game doesn’t sell well or isn’t popular, watch a $50 game hit $20 pretty darn fast. Few titles these days can even command full price after a few months. Cashing in on initial interest is key.
I’m not saying they cannot command $60 for their games, but is it wise is the point being made. Not a question of “if”. Games are not special or a niche to the marketplace anymore. If games weren’t expendable, console prices would never drop to lure in more of a wider audience.
As for “renting” or “buying used” as an argument, thats dangerous. If people are waiting to buy your game used or are renting rather than buying, you are losing money. There is no profit in that for you as a company. If people rent your games and buy them used and conduct a booming trade, your prices are too high. They would do much better to sell more copies at $40 or $50. I don’t have any data to make this a solid case either way so all were are realistically left with is the balance between the two.
$60 might be a fad, who knows.
On a personal note, offering titles on numerous platforms that are available on the 360? Thats just a BAD idea any way you slice it unless you really feature the hell out of the next-gen title.
October 11th, 2006 at 9:22 am
I said” 7. - $60 games
Not that big of a deal. Most of the games are falling in price over time, so just be more patient. You can get plenty of great 360 games for under $30 if you are frugal. In fact, the most I’ve paid for any of my 360 games is $55.”
Steve said “I beg to differ. This is a major component of why I haven’t been purchasing games. It’s crazy that the same game for the other consoles is marked at $40 and I’m paying $60!!! I regret buying the 360 so soon. I should have stuck with a xbox. I was ‘wowed’ with the new graphics - but honestly, they aren’t giving me any reason to spend $60. I continue to rent games or play the few I have.
If MS really wants to sell console games, they need to sell them for $40.”
Some games are selling for $40. Some are selling for less. The games go down in price pretty quickly, you just have to be patient. The thing is, they know that most of the game sales are within the first few weeks, so they are jacking up that price to cash in on the initial rush. Frugal gamers never buy games then, they wait for sales or price reductions. I’ve got about 7 or 8 X360 games so far and I’ve paid an average of probably $40. That’s reasonable for such a new console, IMHO. I don’t buy the $60 titles, I just wait for them to come down in price.
October 11th, 2006 at 9:59 am
I’d like to throw in my two cents..
First of all, there are a lot of games that make me want to buy a 360:
Gears of War. Oblivion. Dead Rising. Superman Returns (which will have superior graphics & features to the console versions). Splinter Cell 4. Advanced Warfighter. Rainbow Six… and the list goes on.
I’m not alone in thinking that these titles are worth getting a new console for.
Second, $60 isn’t that expensive, and I don’t know why people keep whining about this. That was the average MSRP for N64 games back when they were still new, and I don’t remember anyone whining back then. You want expensive? How about paying $70 and $80 for a Super Nintendo game? That’s how much some SNES (and even N64 titles) use to cost.
Even if we’re talking about this price in context to CD games, it’s only $10 higher than what companies having been charging for titles in this gen.
Third, the whole PC argument is moot. It’s still more expensive to buy a pimped out PC than it is to buy a next-gen console, especially with Vista and DX10 around the corner; and you can’t conveniently play a PC game on your living room’s television either.
Finally, Nintendo can go bankrupt for all I care. Charging $250 for a deluxe Gamecube with a gimmicky remote and $50 for games being developed using Gamecube software engines? Disgusting.
October 11th, 2006 at 11:58 am
I’ll be waiting for the mod chips before I buy. No way in hell am I going to pay $50-$60 for a game that I can beat/finish in less than 10 hours. IF it’s good and IF it has some decent play time, then I’ll buy that game… and just rip the others.
October 11th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
So much for XBOX 360 being NEXT GEN!
I just read here http://www.xboxic.com/news/1752 that MS XBOX no longer wants you to play with your friends on your team in a ranked team game.
They dont know how to stop cheating, so now/soon you’ll be forced to play with people you usually try to avoid on XBOX LIVE.
October 11th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
Nice post — my responses are over on my Website (because I’m a Web traffic whore):
http://www.adamcreighton.com/blogs/gaming/2006/10/unfettered-blather-top-10-annoying.html
October 11th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
Most of this is wrong, probably because you guys don’t know the truth.
October 11th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
Microsoft being the kings of backwards compatibility with Windows
Where did this come from??? Windows backwards compatibility is rough at best, from 3.1 to 95, 95 to 98, 98 to NT/2000, all the way to XP. Microsoft is not the best software house, they are just the best at selling software.
October 12th, 2006 at 8:29 am
The reason Microsoft is the best at selling software is because they are the best software house.
You don’t make billions of dollars without doing something right.
October 12th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
[…] wn work but one of a Gaming Hobo blogroll member, Unfettered Blather. He wrote an article (this article), which has received a fair amount of attention and has been linked to via a fair few sites. […]
October 12th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
“Finally, Nintendo can go bankrupt for all I care. Charging $250 for a deluxe Gamecube with a gimmicky remote and $50 for games being developed using Gamecube software engines? Disgusting.”
Ouch.
I have pre-ordered my Wii because of people saying stuff like that (and I loved my DS, GameCube, N64, Gameboys, SNES and NES). I avoided 360 because of people saying it was gonna rock. Haw.
I don’t think people should care about the graphics, it’s gonna be FUN. Remember that thing, gameplay? MS shat all over THAT with the 360. If you wanna have fun on a 360, you need a 512k connection, an XBL account and a bunch of friends with both of those. I have not seen a SINGLE game that looks good enough to make me CONSIDER buying a 360. Dead Rising and Gears of War look OK, but the others you mention I’ve either beaten (GRAW and Oblivion, both on PC) or don’t want in any way. Wow, so they look good. That does NOT make them fun. Innovative gameplay, a good story or cool features make a game fun.
I’ll agree with you on the prices, though. $100 AUD is a bit much for games that COULD have played on the GC without the remote. But still, if they’re GOOD, then yes, I’ll pay $100 for them. I can’t wait for Zelda, SSB:B and Elebits. If I want the games cheaper, I’ll either wait for the price to go down or hunt for a pre-owned copy.
If this makes very little sense or has spelling errors, gimme a break. It’s 5:30 AM here and I’ve been up all night. Also, I’m not a fanboy… heh. I own an Xbox and I’ve had a PSOne, but so far, Nintendo rocks the most. Metroid Prime, Super Smash Bros., Zelda, Mario, all instant classics. Hell, if Wii DOES suck, I’ll trade it in and buy some Xbox or PC games. [/rant]
October 12th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
None of the games on the Wii look very appealing to me. I’m mildly interested in Super Mario Galaxy and Smash Bros. 3 (the latter of which ironically doesn’t make use of the Wiimote), but the rest of the game library makes the system look like a bigger, more expensive DS; and I don’t really have a need for a bigger, more expensive DS.
Also, I’m not a fanboy…
#1 sign someone is a fanboy:
When they heavily bash a system, heap gushing praise over another console, and then deny being a fanboy.
October 12th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
Well, I got owned.
Also, you have a point. There are only a few games that I’ve seen that look decent, most of the games are “gothic horrors” and stuff like that. Still, it’s definitely gonna be an INTERESTING system, you’ve gotta admit that.
October 12th, 2006 at 8:59 pm
Joseph Valencia: He didn’t bash 360 that much. He stated the fact that there aren’t many games that are good for it that you can’t get anywhere else.
My only attraction to consoles are games that don’t play well on the PC. So that knocks Gears of War, Halo, Call of Duty , and F.E.A.R. as reasons to get a console. If its an FPS, its much better on a PC. Plus, PC FPS’s have user created content so you don’t get bored of the game a week after you purchased it. If you shop correctly for PC parts, it can be relatively inexpensive. 1. don’t blow $1000 on an AMD FX cpu or a Pentium Extreme Edition. Those are just wastes of money. 2. Overclock your hardware. (just not to crazy amounts, 20% at most) 3. Upgrade your hardware during price wars. (duh!) 4. make sure you have an easily upgradable platform. 5. Tiered SLI or crossfire can streach the life of a system. (don’t go buy 2 high end GPUs at once, wait to get the other 1 when the next round of new GPUs are released) 6.Shop online, it just saves you so much money. 6.Ultra high end is for suckers. (example: 1 7800GTX set you back $600. 2×7800GTs set you back the same $600 but the 2×7800GT’s got much higher scores in benchmarks)
I’m getting a Wii simply because there are games on that system that I can’t play on any other system (Red Steel, SSBB, Metroid, Zelda) I won’t buy ANY 3rd party nonexclusive content for Wii. The controller simply won’t make up for the graphical loss compaired to my PC.
October 12th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
[…] es
October 10, 2006 on 3:25 pm | In Uncategorized |
Filed under: Culture Unfettered Blather explores 10 annoying things about next-generation console gaming. Other than missing & […]
October 13th, 2006 at 8:36 am
fumar:
As your six steps to smart computing show, properly shopping for and configuring an ideal PC gaming system is really complicated. By comparison, playing games on the 360 is simply a matter of shelling out $450 for the system+game, connecting the console to your TV, inserting a game, and hitting the ‘on’ switch.
The fact is, $400 is still damn cheap compared to what you have to pay to get a high-end gaming PC, and this doesn’t even take into account the potential price drops that will occur in the console’s lifespan. Also keep in mind that with those new DX10-compatible video cards coming around the corner, PC hardware is only going to get more expensive in the future, whereas the 360 can only get cheaper.
Sp3cial Person:
I didn’t expect that kind of response. Maybe you’re not all that bad after all.
October 15th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
alli have to say regarding bc is that there is only one reason for it on ms’s end, halo2…. still #1 on xbl…
do i want to hookup my xbox everytime i wanna play halo2? no
do i wanna just throw it in my 360 and play an emulated version? yes
some may say keep the other system hooked up, waste of time when the only xbox game im gonna play is halo, while im taking a break from lotr graw and bf2
i dont think its all taht important either. heck i had my ps2 and can only think of playin mgs on my ps2. but i do think that maybe a limited bc is of some value to us consumers.
that is all
October 15th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
“Microsoft is talking about developing a motion sensitive controller for the 360.”
That’s the first and only time I’ve seen any mention of that.
October 16th, 2006 at 7:40 am
Actually, Microsoft beat both Sony and Nintendo to the whole motion sensitive control thing. They developed a controller for the PC that you could interact with by tilting it. One of MS’s PRs even made a reference to the device around the time Sony unveiled the PS3’s ’sixaxis’ control.
January 1st, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Sorry folks. This one is over two months old and generates nothing but spam now. Shutting it down.