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The console wars have been lost

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Re: The console wars have been lost

#31

Post by rvz »

otabdeveloper4 wrote: post #12
nylonstrung wrote: post #3

Consoles just don't make sense in any modern context. It's profoundly wasteful to have an edge device sitting in your living room, unused for 99% of the time that can only do an incredibly small subset of what a gaming computer can Every PS5 in existence is destined to become e-waste Not to mention how bad the developer and porting experience is compared to PC/Steam Machine

"Game consoles" are a niche lifestyle item for gen-X and millennials with money to waste. (Like vinyl records.) Nobody under 20 knows what a "console" is even for, they play games on their iPhone almost exclusively.

This comment is peak HN.

> Nobody under 20 knows what a "console" is even for, they play games on their iPhone almost exclusively.

Imagine saying this before GTA 6 which will release only on consoles this year.

That will be the game to get the entire world on their games consoles.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#32

Post by skimmed_milk »

sl-1 wrote: post #21
romanovcode wrote: post #8

> My husband and I both can't remember why we even got a PS5 in the first place You are going to remember why you have PS5 in about 120 days.

Why? Sorry about my ignorance, but what will happen in about 120 days?

I think its a reference to GTA 6 releasing

Re: The console wars have been lost

#33

Post by thatjoeoverthr »

s_dev wrote: post #2

Consoles mostly died with the PlayStation 3. Consoles (At least Sony and Microsoft's offering) have become repackaged PCs for a while now this will be especially apparent with the Steamboxes going up on the same shelves as Playstations in the future. I will concede it's hard to reason or discuss about these things without getting lost in a Ship of Theseus definition of what 'console' and 'PC' is and where the lines a…

The PS3 is one of a handful of systems that actually had a special processor. The NES and Genesis had common desktop CPUs. The PS1, 2 and N64 had MIPS processors which were in heavy use in workstations. GC, Wii, Xbox 360 had PowerPC. What was unusual was a special and temporary period from the 90s where “pc = x86 = basic” because everything else one way or another failed out of the market. That moment is passed and today all basic activity is done on arm based phones. Gaming is now one of the main niches of the x86, along with servers and corporate desktop. The special feature of the game console was always “we made these standards, we will commit to them for five years and sell a lot of units for you to ship games on.”

Re: The console wars have been lost

#34

Post by mort96 »

bigcityslider wrote: post #18
brazzy wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't think having a custom CPU and hardware architecture different from PCs is the defining property of a gaming console. Nobody cares about that except developers and hardware nerds. A console is a computer purpose-built and streamlined for playing games. No more, no less.

A game console is also locked down from the user, usually because the company is selling hardware at a loss, wants to maintain control, and wants to prevent cheating in online games. May also have exclusive games tied to the hardware.

And as a result, the PS5 is less than half the price of a Steam Machine with similar performance.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#35

Post by charcircuit »

mrpopo wrote: post #11
nylonstrung wrote: post #3

Consoles just don't make sense in any modern context. It's profoundly wasteful to have an edge device sitting in your living room, unused for 99% of the time that can only do an incredibly small subset of what a gaming computer can Every PS5 in existence is destined to become e-waste Not to mention how bad the developer and porting experience is compared to PC/Steam Machine

> Every PS5 in existence is destined to become e-waste Just like every Android device or computer in your household? Are you trying to make a point for cloud computing?

The servers in clouds get "retired" too.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#36

Post by Gigachad »

compiler-devel wrote: post #16
jdw64 wrote: post #4

I also think Steam was a game that had no choice but to win. AAA development costs have gotten so huge that even platform-exclusive developers find it burdensome, so they end up releasing on PC as well. And when that happens, Valve's value only grows. A console generation lasts about 8 years, but with Steam, once you buy a game, you can probably keep playing it until Gabe Newell dies. On top of that, CDs don't last a…

I've never had a problem with any CDs, even my old Quake CD from about 30 years ago. Probably there's an issue with your drive or the disc wasn't stored well.

I've also never had a problem with any steam game I've purchased. I know in theory this could change at any time, but it's been 20 years now and it hasn't so they have earned some trust. Trust Playstation and Nintendo do not have.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#37

Post by otabdeveloper4 »

rvz wrote: post #31
otabdeveloper4 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Game consoles" are a niche lifestyle item for gen-X and millennials with money to waste. (Like vinyl records.) Nobody under 20 knows what a "console" is even for, they play games on their iPhone almost exclusively.

This comment is peak HN. > Nobody under 20 knows what a "console" is even for, they play games on their iPhone almost exclusively. Imagine saying this before GTA 6 which will release only on consoles this year. That will be the game to get the entire world on their games consoles.

> That will be the game to get the entire world on their games consoles.

Console gaming is like 15% of all gaming world-wide, and GTA 6 is like a single-digit slice of that 15% slice.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#40

Post by applfanboysbgon »

otabdeveloper4 wrote: post #37
rvz wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment is peak HN. > Nobody under 20 knows what a "console" is even for, they play games on their iPhone almost exclusively. Imagine saying this before GTA 6 which will release only on consoles this year. That will be the game to get the entire world on their games consoles.

> That will be the game to get the entire world on their games consoles. Console gaming is like 15% of all gaming world-wide, and GTA 6 is like a single-digit slice of that 15% slice.

What you're missing is that gaming as a whole >10x'd since the genX/millennial heyday, so consoles are actually more popular than they were 20~30 years ago even if they are a smaller portion of the overall pie (PS2-as-a-DVD-player notwithstanding).
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