Console gaming vs PC gaming?

[Bourne Endeavor]

I'm not bugged by consoles, really (except their limitations, which is why I wouldn't touch them with a 666 foot stick) but the people who play them. They are willfully tossing money in a big black hole that facilitiates the reduction of possibilities in video games, and feed probably the two most evil corporations on earth - Microsoft and Sony.

The decline of depth in games are directly linked to the advent of consoles of this type, and that is what fuels the animosity. Console players just don't see (or care) how much their casual willy nilly destruction of money is hurting PC gaming, the only platform without limits.

There's a reason why the late 80's to late 90's is referred to as the golden age of gaming, and that is simply because games were better, as they were designed for the PC.

I find this somewhat perplexing because the 90s saw the release and rise of arguably the most successful franchises in existence, and the many derived of console origin. We have Pokemon, which today reins supremacy as the second highest profitable franchise since Mario, both of which are only available on consoles. The Final Fantasy series essentially defined the RPG genre in the North American market after the enormous success of Final Fantasy VII in the late 90s. Hell video games as a whole were in a desperate scenario and almost fell to ruin in the 80s. If it had not been for Nintendo is an inevitability the industry would not be even a fraction of what it is today. If you fast forward slightly ahead of the 90s you see the release of the redesigned Grand Theft Auto series and the emergence of Halo. Even Call of Duty, which originated on the PC as witnessed superior success on its console versions in most recent years.

What ignites this hostility between PC gamers and console gamers is the assumption the latter is the only reason developers are producing less "sophisticated" games than previously. When in actuality it has more to do with companies attempting to earn rapid profit with minimal effort. Does anyone honestly believe if consoles ceased to exist or never did the industry would abruptly change for the better? That is a delusional fantasy; a particularly nice one admittedly, but a fantasy nonetheless. Simplicity drastically reduces cost and promotes profit. Tis why the casual market is being aggressive pursued. Most in that demographic would not touch complexity, due to probable frustration derived from doing so, and therefore companies earn less for doing more.

Dragon Age: Origins is far from perfect yet is the best representation of the older games in recent memory, yet it was destroyed by Call of Duty and Halo 3 respectively. Even Final Fantasy XIII held similar sales. To BioWare, this is a clear indication those titles will earn more money and the Mass Effect series seems to reinforcement that contemplation. Coincidently, Dragon Age 2 went in the opposite direction, so who knows. At the end of the day, people have to convince companies putting the extra work is worth their time and the expense involved, otherwise they will target whatever makes them the most profit.