Potentially beneficial results from the xbone going down in flames.

[Something Amyss]

So do you not have to still do the driver hunting and custom patches? I'm not being catty or anything, it's just that the last game I played on my PC was Half Life 2. Or Doom 3, whichever one came out later.

I haven't, but keep in mind this is my limited experience. I'm not the heaviest of PC gamers. Up until this generation, I have heavily favoured consoles for their simplicity and the fact that I hate K+M combos for many games. My PC library has been growing, though. Other than game updates, which are now a factor of console gaming, I haven't had much in the way of issues. I'm not saying my experience is all-encompassing, however. Just saying they've streamlined it a lot.

 

[Something Amyss]

PLUS all the other things a PC can do from web browsing, modding, being a work station and still a better social networking tool.

Pffft. PS4 has facebook connectivity. I defy you to do THAT on a PC!

>.>

But seriously, I remember having to do all that back in the day. I'ma have nightmares tonight.

 

[lacktheknack]

I have never met an individual who went form owning an ipad or DS and then immediately jumping ship onto the PC crowd.

Hi there!

The main flaw with your "bridge" analogy is that most everyone already has a PC with a growing backlog of things they can play on it...

 

[lacktheknack]

~SNIP~

Actually that wasn't directed at you it's not possible for me to care less if you support the XBone or not, not everything is about you friend, also the meme for every reply? Getting old.

Consoles outlived their usefulness long ago, it's time they went away permanently the future has no place for stagnating hardware. They only perpetuate this need for yet another Halo, another CoD, endless Gears of Wars, AAA gaming needs to die and consoles need to go with it.

You may be without a doubt the worst type of gaming individual I have ever met.

Also, you are not seeing the point.

Well, have a nice life playing that shit indie game no-one but you cares about! I'll be busy actually finding a way to HELP our industry!

You may be without a doubt the worst type of gaming individual I have ever met.

Also, you are not seeing the point.

Well, have a nice life playing that shit indie game no-one but you cares about! I'll be busy actually finding a way to HELP our industry!

I think you are confused about who is the worst type of gamer ever, a mirror will help you find one.

It's OK to lash out and be scared friend, your world is crumbling around you. Microsoft is floundering, about to bury itself, turning on the developers now won't help them, Sony had to do nothing to get applause, really? A sad state indeed. Don't worry though, take my hand I have been through a crash before, it's not so bad. Trust me I was still playing games in 1984, just not on a console.

You find a way to help the terminally ill patient that is the AAA gaming industry. More power to you, buy yet another Halo, Gears of War and Call of Duty, that will show them the kinds of games you want, help Microsoft destroy creativity and end the indie developer. Then when drivel is all there is left to play in the console world and it is a barren wasteland of generic samey bland (isn't it this already?)you can have no one left but yourself to blame.

BOTH of you are the worst kind of gamer: Patronizing and passive-aggressive snarkers who cannot see anything in moderates, only extremes.

Implying all he plays is "Shit indie game that no one but [him] cares about"?

Have the utter gall to say that AAA is going to "Destroy creativity and end the indie developer"?

Grow up, get a sense of perspective, and try again.

 

[Mau95]

When consoles die (yes when, not if) PC and other mobile forms of gaming should be for everyone

Consoles aren't doing their best. We get it. But the world you're talking about is literally a canyon of gaming. PC and Mobile only would be more harmful to this industry than anything I could imagine. Consoles are needed, whether one likes it or not, they are the bridge which holds everything together.

How do we introduce people into this industry? Consoles. I have never met an individual who went form owning an ipad or DS and then immediately jumping ship onto the PC crowd. Consoles are what bring people to PC gaming in the first place.

PC is VERY helpful and is VERY good, I know, I have one, I use it all the time for games. But even I know that consoles are needed. And it stays at an "if" because people aren't exactly buying consoles right now so they can move onto the PS4 or Xbone if they were kicked in the head by a horse.

Well I started out on PC when I was a kid. I don't know how many other people began like that but I think it's a considerable amount, really. I don't care much for consoles either. You can do whatever you want with them, but I'm sticking to what I know.

 

[Lightknight]

With the two AAA consoles already moving to X86 architecture, I think we've moved into a new golden age of legitimate ports between all three systems. By standardizing those things you'll see the porting costs in development cycles be drastically reduced. Perhaps to the point where it'd make no sense not to port to pc, XBO, or PS4, regardless of the relative success of the machine in question.

That being said, consumer data on pc gamers isn't doing all that well. I mean, Steam has significantly helped reduce outright theft by actually providing a legitimate platform for the pc. So had the consoles not been x86 then we may not have been looking at getting better ports to the pc if one did better. Thankfully that's not the case.

The advantage we have in Microsoft failing is to scare the living hell out of companies who may even try to repeat these actions. Even ones who probably would actually succeed may be scared by this.

The best case scenario here is that Microsoft learns from this mistake and then still does well this generation but Sony sees significant market share advantages for having sided with consumers. Looking at the Amazon numbers, all five versions of the PS4 are pacing alongside the one version of the XBO. I wouldn't want MS blown out of the water. They're a fantastic company if they just remember that customers' wants don't always align with their vision and that the customer is always right slogan does apply when there are ready alternatives.

 

[Chefsbrian]

Can I get a gaming PC, that will be current for the next 6 years, for under £300?

No. No I can't.

True, that would be a stretch, but you could take all the money you save on those $60 AAA titles during things like the Steam summer sale and your yearly multiplayer subscription fee's, and use those savings to build a very nice PC.

As far as this goes, as much as I oppose the Xbone 180 with all that microsoft has done, it would be very bad not just for the industry, but for the gamers if it outright died. Lots of people like to say "There are lots of options though, get a PS4" but just because its an option for you, doesn't mean its an option for them.

I'll clarify my position right now by stating I have an excellent Gaming PC (ALL HAIL THE GLORIOUS PC MASTER RACE), I've had an Xbox 360 since launch day of the console (The nicest feeling controller I've ever handled, hands down) And a PlayStation 3 for the last year (Soo many awesome exclusives. Don't even start me on the last of us) so I've been around most of the hardware. Not mobile devices though, I'm too spoiled on most modern games to derive a lot of amusement from handhelds.

So far as I see it, the PC is still the "Hardcore" Gaming machine. These things take time, money, and usually a good bit of tech knowledge to keep running at their peak, and reward you with the best graphics and more flexibility. But they are fickle beasts, and prone to failure if you don't know how to maintain them. I might find it incredibly natural to dig through my games files and alter the config before launching it to fix a render issue that's keeping me from seeing stuff right (I'll admit that's only even been a problem in indie titles though) but a less skilled PC user would just call that a write off and get frustrated trying to fix it. Does that make PC gamers better than others though? God no. PC gamers are good at PC gaming. You give me a PSP and throw me into a title and I'm flopping about like a mad idiot because I have no clue what I'm doing and its weird for me to have my screen between my controls, its throwing me off (Personal experience here XD) and I'll usually rage and blame it on "Awkward control schemes" Yet the person who owns the console never struggles with any of it, its just natural to them. Apples and Oranges here

The Consoles are the low maintenance version of gaming. Not necessarily "casual" as titles like dark souls can attest too, but they give you the assurances of "You put a game in, you play it". I say low maintenance because they are all now asking for account registrations and subscription fee's, but that's not a major hurdle for anybody. Most people are used to the idea of paying for a service and registering information with it. With my consoles, I can buy whatever Dudebro shooter mess there is on the market right now, and go online with my friends, and know that we can all play it together. And that is comforting. Consoles are consistant with there behavior. If I need an update to play Broshooter: Reloaded then the console just says so and starts downloading it.

But when we start to rip pieces out of this balance, some might think "Well then those gamers will just come and bask in the joy of (Insert preference here)!" And some will, that is true, but its the people who don't have that option that would be left in the dark. Maybe their hands are too big for mobile gaming, maybe they find the PlayStation controller incredibly awkward and can't get over that hurdle (Yes, third party controllers, but lots of people don't even know those exist, to be honest) and will end up just deciding that gaming isn't worth the hassle, no matter how much they enjoy it.

Gaming is a recreational activity. That is what its always been, and that is what it will always be. And when we start removing peoples preferred way to enjoy such a hobby, some will just walk away. And that will hurt the industry much, much more than the console itself collapsing. Ecosystems can rearrange and bring in new challengers and competitions. But if the consumer itself is forced away, then there is no market yearning for something new. And then the stagnation sets in.

Just because you think your solution is the best of the solutions, doesn't mean its the best for somebody else. Food for thought.

 

[Lightknight]

Consoles: Convenient living room media and multi-player gaming boxes. Propped up by exclusives. Relatively cheap. The ps3 was my favorite media device with its simplistic non-cluttered OS navigation (compared to Microsoft's ad-ridden monstrosity of a dashboard).

PCs: Powerful single-player or online gaming boxes. Usually expensive if legitimately powerful. Usually noisier and bulkier and more often than not, confined to a different room of the house than the couch-comfort of the living room.

They both have advantages and disadvantages. I can also usually get some excellent sales on preowned console games at retailers or amazon. Info about myself: I have all the consoles and a powerful computer.