91–100 of 139 posts
I don’t think I’ll jump back to PC but I look forward seeing SteamOS getting more traction. Windows really needs to get their act together.
Gaming is getting too expensive. This feels like sort of an accident of complex systems. Budgets for games are skyrocketing, graphics requirements are skyrocketing. But, some of the most fun games in the world were made 30 ago. From a pure "can we have good entertainment?" standpoint there's no reason for this cost creep. In practice, companies are pushing it, and although it probably does not apply to the HN crowd,…
consumers are also demanding better graphics I don't think many consumers (outside of hardcore games) could tell the difference between the graphics of a game from 10 years ago to the graphics from a game of today. Things have hardly moved on at all. As an example to illustrate the point: GTA:V is 13 years old.
We are on the third-generation of GTA V with the enhanced edition that only came out on PC last year, and Xbox/PS5 4 years ago. The latest version has 18x the pixels per second (9x resolution, 2x frame rate), and far more detailed models and textures than the Xbox 360/PS3 version.
It has been profitable for Rockstar to keep remaking the game with better and better visuals specifically because consumers are demanding it.
Don't really have the room for a gaming PC anymore after moving, I've got my old one but it needs some fixing up (RTX 3080). 1TB Xbox One Series X I got second hand for about $400 (also added a storage expansion for about $130) is doing me sound for any gaming needs (currency converted from GBP). All the games optimised, usually 60fps, no messing about with settings other than the quality/performance switches. Looks…
Is keeping an Xbox and its software updated easier than a Steam Machine? Serious question.
The biggest value prop for me with console gaming is that it just works, every time. No GPU/launcher/mod/etc updates to deal with ever.
I've owned some gaming PCs and every time I've learned that I don't want a hobby of maintaining a gaming PC. I want to sit down, in my favorite comfy chair, with a controller (because I've already been on a keyboard all day), and just play.
Gaming is getting too expensive. This feels like sort of an accident of complex systems. Budgets for games are skyrocketing, graphics requirements are skyrocketing. But, some of the most fun games in the world were made 30 ago. From a pure "can we have good entertainment?" standpoint there's no reason for this cost creep. In practice, companies are pushing it, and although it probably does not apply to the HN crowd,…
I think it's a function of growth at all costs (or to put more bluntly, capitalism). TVs need to continuously improve to keep selling, as do video game systems, etc. And graphics are the easiest benchmark to advertise progress, but also some of the most taxing systems to build because they're so complex that there are huge markets of commercial game engines to address this. Good gameplay requires taste, nuance, exper…
I think that's true, and it's actually a very interesting topic. Just imagine the prospect that technology has effectively stalled out, and our civilization is stuck perpetuating the perception of forward progress.
I don’t think I’ll jump back to PC but I look forward seeing SteamOS getting more traction. Windows really needs to get their act together.
After the success of the portable devices like the Switch with a dock, building a non-portable device only seems like continuing to build farming equipment for oxen.
Gaming is getting too expensive. This feels like sort of an accident of complex systems. Budgets for games are skyrocketing, graphics requirements are skyrocketing. But, some of the most fun games in the world were made 30 ago. From a pure "can we have good entertainment?" standpoint there's no reason for this cost creep. In practice, companies are pushing it, and although it probably does not apply to the HN crowd,…
Gaming is getting too expensive. This feels like sort of an accident of complex systems. Budgets for games are skyrocketing, graphics requirements are skyrocketing. But, some of the most fun games in the world were made 30 ago. From a pure "can we have good entertainment?" standpoint there's no reason for this cost creep. In practice, companies are pushing it, and although it probably does not apply to the HN crowd,…
I feel the opposite way. My time gets more expensive and games are-- adjusted for inflation-- the same price. I know most people don't feel this way. Lots of PC games have a $100- $200 tier where you get merch or all the DLC. That's probably aimed at people like me. The point is, if your business is games you make games for the people who will buy them. No game is more fun than a compiler, even the free ones.
Gaming is getting too expensive. This feels like sort of an accident of complex systems. Budgets for games are skyrocketing, graphics requirements are skyrocketing. But, some of the most fun games in the world were made 30 ago. From a pure "can we have good entertainment?" standpoint there's no reason for this cost creep. In practice, companies are pushing it, and although it probably does not apply to the HN crowd,…
I feel the opposite way. My time gets more expensive and games are-- adjusted for inflation-- the same price. I know most people don't feel this way. Lots of PC games have a $100- $200 tier where you get merch or all the DLC. That's probably aimed at people like me. The point is, if your business is games you make games for the people who will buy them. No game is more fun than a compiler, even the free ones.
Back then this was more expensive, adjusted for inflation, than many AAA titles today, and the scale of those games was way smaller
I won’t argue that today’s games are not expensive, but they have always been expensive.
I don’t have time to do much gaming anymore but I can find a ton of good stuff that isn’t bleeding edge if i did. Patient gamers always win.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You missed the part where Sony is going download only, which means any attempt to collect playstation games in the long run becomes impossible.
So they switch to Steam, a digital-only platform? In what world does that make sense?
You don't need to trust Steam as much as you need to trust Sony.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
consumers are also demanding better graphics I don't think many consumers (outside of hardcore games) could tell the difference between the graphics of a game from 10 years ago to the graphics from a game of today. Things have hardly moved on at all. As an example to illustrate the point: GTA:V is 13 years old.
I could be wrong, but my personal impression is that much like on HN, it's the enthusiasts who are quite into niche stuff like indie games and bemoan the graphics race, where as the silent mass of "average" gamers are more like "oh man, the new Call of Duty has even better graphics! I can't imagine playing the old one anymore."
The big problem with AAA studios is that they are basically just investment vehicles, and they are big investment vehicles. So, only big successes matter, and they can only get big successes by trying to go all out and pray to become the next big thing. Moderate success is not enough. Huge returns on investment on small investment is not enough. They have to spend tens/hundreds of millions and return billions. Once they get a success, they have to milk it.
They are getting eaten by Roblox and dozens of indie developers eating up customer time and accepting more moderate success (Huge success for a small studio, negligible for a large one).
And more accurately, the average gamer (by market spend) is only playing mobile games.