Microsoft is waging a culture war against gamers, or why I won't call myself "gamer" anymore.

[rob_simple]

I love hearing people talk about 'gamer culture' as if we're some mystical race of people; not just a bunch of guys and gals who have a fun hobby and really don't care much about it beyond that.

I don't give two shits about the Xbox One --although I am waiting with bated breath to see if it really does crash as hard as it looks set to-- and I have no plans to 'redefine' anything about myself. I'm not going to buy an Xbone because I don't want one. I may buy a PS4 after a few years if the game library is good; same for the WiiU.

Even if all the next-gen consoles turn out to be less fun than a bag of dead dogs dicks, I'll just keep playing my PS3; maybe I'll occasionally dust off the PS2 or pop a Gamecube game in my Wii (one day I will finish Tales of Symphonia) but this notion we should be leading some sort of crusade against Microsoft's tyrannical reign over us, as opposed to just not buying their shitty new console?

Hardly seems like our generation's Civil Rights Movement, to me.

 

[wrightguy0]

"If you're backwards compatible, you're really backwards,"

Bull

Shit.

I Identify myself as a core gamer, i have sunk years of my life into games, some i have played for 15 hours straight. I look forward to what the next release will bring, but i still find solace in picking up one of my old games and playing the shit out of it for old time's sake, because i love to remember the good times i had as a kid, nothing backwards about that, am i backwards for reading the hobbit or Watching Citizen Kane, or dusting off my Abbey Road LP?

I'll give you the answer. Fuck No

to me a hardcore gamer is one who has not just sunk a large portion of time into gaming, but also has that sense of nostalgia from the games they played when they were younger, be they mario, a link to the past, half life GTA III, halo or whatever. Core Gamers have a passion for games, and that's what defines us, not some marketing BS


"The super core guys, they will buy everything," Ha Haha AHAHAHAHAHAHA! No.

the "super core" gamers (it's not just guys you stupid p'taq) are generally better informed than the casual gamer and will already know what they want in a console or PC months ahead of when they buy one, and they will go where their needs are being met. People Claimed that PC gaming would die 5 years ago, look where we are now, people are running back to PC or are multiplatform. and there are quite a few to pick from now.


"Every Xbox One owner has a broadband connection," now this is just a flat out lie

nobody owns an XBone yet.

 

[FalloutJack]

XBOX ONE IS FOR THE SUPER-HARDCORE GAMER!

This statement still sounds to me like "WE WANT TO SELL TO ALMOST NOBODY AND GIVE AWAY OUR MONEY FOR NOTHING!". That's all that it's going to look like no matter what is said, I think. That doesn't make gamers not gamers. That makes Microsoft a gaggle of idiots who will lose money. You're a gamer, and they're out of their minds, and that's how it is.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

I really wish people would stop conflating the coming console war with previous "console warslol".

PS2 vs Xbox was an argument for preteens who had to vanquish their insecurities because they couldn't buy both.

By contrast, PS4 vs Xbone might be an open debate regarding consumer rights and the very concept of ownership.

If you don't realize the stakes have drastically changed, and that the next console war might actually have far-reaching consequences for the industry, you're wearing blinders.

And if you think it's no big deal to support a company that is openly attempting to roll back consumers rights we've enjoyed for decades, you're a gigantic shill.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

I really wish people would stop conflating the coming console war with previous "console warslol".

PS2 vs Xbox was an argument for preteens who had to vanquish their insecurities because they couldn't buy both.

By contrast, PS4 vs Xbone might be an open debate regarding consumer rights and the very concept of ownership.

If you don't realize the stakes have drastically changed, and that the next console war might actually have far-reaching consequences for the industry, you're wearing blinders.

And if you think it's no big deal to support a company that is openly attempting to roll back consumers rights we've enjoyed for decades, you're a gigantic shill.

This argument might work if the PS4 didn't allow developers to use their own DRM for their games. Instead, you would want it to be the WiiU vs. XBone, and then that opens even more questions such as:

- Doing the same thing as the predecessor vs. Change for the sake of Change?

- Huge Budget AAA titles that must be released within a year vs. Modest Budget AAA titles that can be released whenever?

- Similar Games vs. Games from the same Cannon that are different from one another?

- Standard Controller vs. New Controller?

- 3rd Party vs. First Party?

And most importantly, what is the future of gaming? And what is the future of gamers?

Personally, I think the WiiU is going to decimate the XBone, and that the WiiU will barely surpass the PS4 (By 5 Million at most), but who knows.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

This argument might work if the PS4 didn't allow developers to use their own DRM for their games.

Except publishers can do that right now, so that's not a new thing. Microsoft's approaches to "licensing" and pre-owned games, however, are very new and (unless Sony is keeping secrets) very different from the competition. I definitely see it as a huge difference between these consoles, with one attempting to screw consumers at every turn and the other putting that onus squarely on the publishers (at their own peril).

Instead, you would want it to be the WiiU vs. XBone, and then that opens even more questions such as:

Not exactly sure how the WiiU factors in at all. It's not on the same playing field in terms of specs. I'm not even considering buying one because I'm not interested in spending hundreds of dollars just to play 2-3 first party games.

Personally, I think the WiiU is going to decimate the XBone, and that the WiiU will barely surpass the PS4 (By 5 Million at most), but who knows.

Why in the world are you so optimistic regarding the WiiU? It seems like an abysmal failure to me.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

This argument might work if the PS4 didn't allow developers to use their own DRM for their games.

Except publishers can do that right now, so that's not a new thing. Microsoft's approaches to "licensing" and pre-owned games, however, are very new and (unless Sony is keeping secrets) very different from the competition. I definitely see it as a huge difference between these consoles, with one attempting to screw consumers at every turn and the other putting that onus squarely on the publishers (at their own peril).

Unlike last Generation, though, it's obvious 3rd party Devs are gonna take advantage of it this time around (Especially EA).

Instead, you would want it to be the WiiU vs. XBone, and then that opens even more questions such as:

Not exactly sure how the WiiU factors in at all. It's not on the same playing field in terms of specs. I'm not even considering buying one because I'm not interested in spending hundreds of dollars just to play 2-3 first party games.

Exactly! The WiiU is on the other side of gaming compared the Xbox One. The Xbox One is a Graphical Powerhouse that relies on 3rd Party Games, a Constant Internet Connection, no Backwards Compatibility and DRM and Always On Policies. The WiiU, on the other hand, is a Decent Graphics (Key Word is Decent) console that relies on 1st party, no internet connections, complete backwards compatibility and absolutely no DRM/Always On policies from anyone anywhere. The PS4 is a combination of the two consoles.

Personally, I think the WiiU is going to decimate the XBone, and that the WiiU will barely surpass the PS4 (By 5 Million at most), but who knows.

Why in the world are you so optimistic regarding the WiiU? It seems like an abysmal failure to me.

Yes, it's selling poorly now, but there's two reasons why I think the WiiU will dominate. 1st Party software always boosts sales, and the fact that the WiiU will be the weakest console this generation helps (Because the Weakest Console always sells the most).

 

[Headsprouter]

I dunno. To abandon your gamer title is kind of just...letting them have it, isn't it? You're kinda like..."Sure, go ahead, redefine it, I'll even redefine myself just to show how much this definition is yours, now."

I don't think that's a way to go about it, especially when nobody's embraced this new title, yet, and the "hardcore gamer" knows what they want. And it's not the Xbone.

 

[TehCookie]

Gamers pretty much asked for this with their hatred of casuals so Microsoft is trying to appeal to them saying that the Xbone is for the hardcore.

I don't care since everyone's different definitions are different, there were even huge threads on it back in the day. If I'm not a gamer in their definition because I won't buy a xbone that doesn't bother me. I play games as a hobby so I call myself a gamer.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Unlike last Generation, though, it's obvious 3rd party Devs are gonna take advantage of it this time around (Especially EA).

Well yeah. But that's not on Sony. There's nothing stopping any of the publishers from doing the same on WiiU either. Publisher-created DRM is a constant on every side of this equation. No point discussing it.

Exactly! The WiiU is on the other side of gaming compared the Xbox One. The Xbox One is a Graphical Powerhouse that relies on 3rd Party Games, a Constant Internet Connection, no Backwards Compatibility and DRM and Always On Policies. The WiiU, on the other hand, is a Decent Graphics (Key Word is Decent) console that relies on 1st party, no internet connections, complete backwards compatibility and absolutely no DRM/Always On policies from anyone anywhere. The PS4 is a combination of the two consoles.

This is reductive and illogical. The PS4 actually has stronger hardware than the Xbone. The WiiU has the exact same DRM vulnerabilities as the PS4. Trying to put all three on the same continuum makes no sense when there are obvious examples of things not lining up like that. My head hurts just trying to figure out why you're doing this.

Yes, it's selling poorly now, but there's two reasons why I think the WiiU will dominate. 1st Party software always boosts sales, and the fact that the WiiU will be the weakest console this generation helps (Because the Weakest Console always sells the most).

Faulty reasoning, I think. If the weakest console always sells the most, shouldn't we be coronating the Ouyu? I'm guessing you're extrapolating from the success of the Wii, but that was a) a bit of a flash-in-the-pan fluke, and b) not entirely so profitable for Nintendo. I mean if you're offering me an installed base of 100 million where everyone buys 2 games or half that base with 10 games per console, chances are actually pretty good the second option will generate more money for my company.