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Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

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Re: Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

#11
post #7

I bought Far Cry 3 the other day, but had some problems playing it. Specifically, there are bugs in the key bindings mechanism, where some vehicles are stuck on the default key maps, even though the keys are configured differently in the preferences. I looked into the key map preferences file, and it's fairly clear how the key mapping is implemented in the game: the defaults are hard-coded in, and "mapping" is implem…

Same here, although things do look promising for gaming outside Windows.

Re: Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

#12
post #5

No. (Betteridge's law of headlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headline... ) 2013 aside, as someone who works at an mobile game startup, all of us believe that the future of video gaming truly is mobile. Just think of this: within three years the iPhone and Android-phones will likely be more powerful than the Xbox360. Give another generation and they will likely be more powerful than the PS3.…

Hear hear.

I'm very optimistic and excited about this, ever since I played several games hooked up to my tv using my Android.

Give me the ability to use the mobile as a console more than a touch screen haptic device (let me use my DS3) and ill give you 20$ for a good game.

Re: Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

#14
I'm around thirty and I have no friends that would think of PC as a device for playing games. All of them have PS3s and are happy to spend on ever-growing LED TVs.

But they like to play FIFA mostly (or God of War) and I like FPS.

And FPS only works for me with keyboard and mouse... So for me to play FPS is on PC and lonely.

(I wish this wasn't the case because I don't enjoy the activity of assemblying gaming PCs, worrying if some video card performance will be good enough etc.. -vs- buying a console).

Re: Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

#15
The article gets one thing right. It's about the games. That said, IMHO consoles are going the way of the dodo. Too many console games feel like the same experience. I've been a gamer all my life. It feels like some of the best game developers are engaging in more shenanigans than usual. I think this is because of one thing .. profits over anything else.

Let me provide examples: - Diablo 3 ... the DRM and market place issues; inability to play a single player game without a network connection.

- StarCraft 2 has issues similar to D3. But I found them to be less severe.

- I bought the 3DS on the first day. The glasses-free 3D made me feel sick. On top of that, Nintendo lowered the price big time (which didn't upset me). They claimed to reward early adopters by giving them a number of free games. Few people neglected to mention that the free games were from a small list of classics/oldies (this really ticked me off).

- Few innovative games on each of the consoles. Lets face it ... if you are a gamer, you likely have all three top consoles. The reason is there are 3-4 amazing titles for each console. There's a pretty long tail of crap out there.

- Motion control makes arms tired. This is true for the tech used in all three consoles.

- I don't want to tell all my Facebook friends what I am doing in my games. I really don't.

- Games again ... there are entire genres of games that have been devastated due to lack of profit. This isn't game developers being evil. It costs a fortune to make most hit games these days. What surprises me is why this is the case. These days there are far fewer platformers out there. New space based flight sims? Forget about it! Real-time strategy? The winners are set .. no new entrants please. You know what we have tons of? First person shooters!!

Sorry for the somewhat ranting post. I just feel very letdown by console gaming. I'm going to go play "where's my water" on my ipad to calm me down :-p

Re: Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

#16
post #5

No. (Betteridge's law of headlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headline... ) 2013 aside, as someone who works at an mobile game startup, all of us believe that the future of video gaming truly is mobile. Just think of this: within three years the iPhone and Android-phones will likely be more powerful than the Xbox360. Give another generation and they will likely be more powerful than the PS3.…

It will be a long, long time before you convince me to give up Skyrim, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Halo, Fallout and Eve in favour of Angry Birds and Tiny Tower. Those are games that simply cannot be replaced by anything on mobile.

To believe that mobile is about to completely wipe out the gaming sector is simply deluded.

Re: Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

#17
post #7

I bought Far Cry 3 the other day, but had some problems playing it. Specifically, there are bugs in the key bindings mechanism, where some vehicles are stuck on the default key maps, even though the keys are configured differently in the preferences. I looked into the key map preferences file, and it's fairly clear how the key mapping is implemented in the game: the defaults are hard-coded in, and "mapping" is implem…

I believe there is a vicious cycle that is occurring in PC gaming with the AAA game developers and publishers (Ubisoft and Rockstar come to mind) where PC ports will often be available a significant amount of time after console, or be of shoddy quality, or both. Perhaps as a consequence, PC sales are weak. And because of weak sales, there is less incentive to really push for simultaneous PC release for games or at the level of quality and polish that PC gamers demand, possibly affecting sales again.

I'm not sure how accurate pre-orders is as a sign of platform popularity, but with Assassin's Creed 3, (and if the numbers are accurate,) it seems like PC only makes up about 9%~ of pre-orders[1] with the rest being dominated by XBox 360 and PS3. That's an incredibly poor number to justify any sort of effort in PC gaming.

But of course, there are so many variables at play that these numbers could mean almost anything. Heck, I could even attribute it to AC3 being far more comfortable to play with a controller/console than a keyboard/mouse. And of course, they did release it 21 days after the console, so there's that.[2]

[1]: http://www.vgchartz.com/article/250519/usa-preorders-chart-2...

[2]: http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Assassins_Creed_III

Re: Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

#18
The biggest issue right now in the console/pc gaming discussion is hardware stagnation. Very few companies make games with a PC first model; CD Projekt RED being the premier (in my opinion) PC first studio - anyone who has played the Witcher 2 and took a cursory glance at the graphics configuration menu knows why. Sony's PS3 and MS's Xbox 360 came out more than half a decade ago and the hardware upgrades to these consoles have been nominal in comparison to what's been going on in the outside world on desktop PCs; the Wii also took a drastic turn for the worst in terms of hardware progression on gaming consoles.

Due to the Wii's success with motion based controls Sony and MS have also become distracted by the interactive game market with motion based platforms such as the Kinect and Move, only serving to further delay the next gen of consoles.

Re: Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

#19
post #13

Every year is the year of PC gaming. PC gaming rocks. Shitty console ports and "release to console six months before PC" however, do not.

Agreed. I have yet to have a year where gaming on my PC "sucked". Sure, Far Cry 3 was a little disappointing, but look at The Elder Scrolls, Starcraft, DotA, Diablo, Counter-strike, Half-Life, Doom, etc.

The list could go on. And on. (I didn't count any MMOs, for example) Just because the more generic blockbuster franchise titles are focused on consoles doesn't mean PC gaming is having a hard time. The best games I've ever played (aside from the pre-XBox generations) have been on PC, and most likely will continue to be.

Steam has been a gateway into PC gaming for many people, and I don't think anyone has apparently been paying attention to MOBA games. DotaA 2 and LoL are massive right now, and DotA is still in beta. Both (will be) free-to-play, as is TF2, another blockbuster on Steam.

I think there's hope yet. The interaction model of a keyboard and mouse is phenomenal, and I don't see it being topped any time soon.

Re: Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

#20
I've actually built what I refer to as my steambox, which is just a desktop computer hooked up to the tv in the living room. It's got a few 360 controllers plugged in and we've been playing games on that instead of the 360 that's also there. Stuff like dungeon defenders and Jamestown actually have great splitscreen, but we can also grab our laptops and have a 4 player game with each of us getting our own screen. It's more flexible. Also it's way easier to play youtube or whatever since it's actually got a keyboard. Not to mention that Steam sales are great. PC is cheaper.
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