So I read this piece by a guy whose opinion I hold in relatively high regard. It's about how expensive gaming is compared to other media, and it got me thinking.
"Let's compare video games to a few other media in terms how much of an ongoing investment each entails.
First, the novel. An avid reader has only to go to the store and purchase his favorite authors' newest books as they are published.
The radio. The listener has only to buy a radio and plug it in at a place where he gets reception. Unless something happens to the device, there is never any need to replace it so long as it still functions.
The movies. A frequent patron of the movie theatre has only to transport himself to the cinema and pay for a ticket. (Obviously, it becomes a bit more complicated and costly when a film buff decides he wants to watch movies in the comfort of his own home.)
Keeping up with video games isn't as simple. First you have to buy a console. If you don't have a television (unlikely), you'll need to purchase one (preferably an expensive high-definition home entertainment hub that uses as much electricity as a refrigerator). And you'll need to buy games. You'll need to buy controllers to play them. You'll probably need a hard drive or memory card, too. And you might need special controllers for certain games. Maybe you'll need to pay to register an online account, too. Oh, did a spin-off or sequel to your favorite console game appear on a handheld system? Gosh, you'd better buy a handheld. And games for the handheld. Did your favorite video game developer release a game on a console you don't own? You'd better buy that console, too -- plus controllers, plus a memory card, plus more games to justify the investment. Oh, look -- a new console just hit the market, and now they no longer make games in your obsolete system's format. (Remember that the film buff rarely has to choose between home video formats, and the average lifespan of a given format is 10-20 years.) So you'll need to buy a new console, new controllers, new games, new memory cards, spend money to download your old games onto the hard drive of your new system..."
Now, keeping up with PC gaming isn't quite as complicated, but one does have to build a gaming rig and upgrade it every once in a while, and that can still be really expensive, especially if you're not well-versed in the world of PC building/upgrading and have to pay someone else to do it for you.
The thing that stands out the most to me is this: "Oh, look -- a new console just hit the market, and now they no longer make games in your obsolete system's format. (Remember that the film buff rarely has to choose between home video formats, and the average lifespan of a given format is 10-20 years.)"
My thought: this is why we need backwards compatibility. Yes, I know that it can drive up costs and it makes things more complicated, but we're living in a world where older games are harder and harder to get, a world where companies let older games collect dust and it's up to sites like GOG or services like Wii Virtual Console to keep the excellent games of the past from vanishing into obscurity. I know it also encourages piracy, especially with the proliferation of unlicensed emulation.
As we go into the next generation of consoles, I hope that devs keep the importance of backwards-compatibility in mind.
Thoughts?
"Let's compare video games to a few other media in terms how much of an ongoing investment each entails.
First, the novel. An avid reader has only to go to the store and purchase his favorite authors' newest books as they are published.
The radio. The listener has only to buy a radio and plug it in at a place where he gets reception. Unless something happens to the device, there is never any need to replace it so long as it still functions.
The movies. A frequent patron of the movie theatre has only to transport himself to the cinema and pay for a ticket. (Obviously, it becomes a bit more complicated and costly when a film buff decides he wants to watch movies in the comfort of his own home.)
Keeping up with video games isn't as simple. First you have to buy a console. If you don't have a television (unlikely), you'll need to purchase one (preferably an expensive high-definition home entertainment hub that uses as much electricity as a refrigerator). And you'll need to buy games. You'll need to buy controllers to play them. You'll probably need a hard drive or memory card, too. And you might need special controllers for certain games. Maybe you'll need to pay to register an online account, too. Oh, did a spin-off or sequel to your favorite console game appear on a handheld system? Gosh, you'd better buy a handheld. And games for the handheld. Did your favorite video game developer release a game on a console you don't own? You'd better buy that console, too -- plus controllers, plus a memory card, plus more games to justify the investment. Oh, look -- a new console just hit the market, and now they no longer make games in your obsolete system's format. (Remember that the film buff rarely has to choose between home video formats, and the average lifespan of a given format is 10-20 years.) So you'll need to buy a new console, new controllers, new games, new memory cards, spend money to download your old games onto the hard drive of your new system..."
Now, keeping up with PC gaming isn't quite as complicated, but one does have to build a gaming rig and upgrade it every once in a while, and that can still be really expensive, especially if you're not well-versed in the world of PC building/upgrading and have to pay someone else to do it for you.
The thing that stands out the most to me is this: "Oh, look -- a new console just hit the market, and now they no longer make games in your obsolete system's format. (Remember that the film buff rarely has to choose between home video formats, and the average lifespan of a given format is 10-20 years.)"
My thought: this is why we need backwards compatibility. Yes, I know that it can drive up costs and it makes things more complicated, but we're living in a world where older games are harder and harder to get, a world where companies let older games collect dust and it's up to sites like GOG or services like Wii Virtual Console to keep the excellent games of the past from vanishing into obscurity. I know it also encourages piracy, especially with the proliferation of unlicensed emulation.
As we go into the next generation of consoles, I hope that devs keep the importance of backwards-compatibility in mind.
Thoughts?
