Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Donating my Xbox

plus.google.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 126 posts

Re: Donating my Xbox

#91

Post by chrisrogers »

laumars wrote: post #88
chrisrogers wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Halo (and really, Rare's FPS platform) brought the FPS niche from PC+keyboard+mouse to console and controller. This introduced casual gamers to the world of the hardcore competitive nature of Doom/Quake/Unreal Tournament, a multiplayer environment where winning meant shooting your friend in the face. You didn't have to maintain a massive gaming rig or be committed to computing in order to get into FPS now. All you ne…

> Halo (and really, Rare's FPS platform) brought the FPS niche from PC+keyboard+mouse to console and controller. This introduced casual gamers to the world of the hardcore competitive nature of Doom/Quake/Unreal Tournament, a multiplayer environment where winning meant shooting your friend in the face. You didn't have to maintain a massive gaming rig or be committed to computing in order to get into FPS now. All you…

I certainly agree that those games appeared earlier on the timeline. But Halo/Rare FPSs were the first to be outstandingly successful in their control and playability scheme. The console versions of those games you list were hampered by their platforms and would all likely be considered less playable than their PC counterparts. Thus the genre could not break in as it could with Goldeneye or Halo.

Re: Donating my Xbox

#92

Post by antoko »

nhebb wrote: post #72
antoko wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's how I read this too, those whimsical (childish?) games are still around now (don't ask me to list any ... i'm all growed up!). My son's 17 so let me look through some of his old PS2 games... Kingdom Hearts, Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Rayman, Tak - I think those all epitomize the type of game you are referencing, you just stopped playing that type of game because you grew out of them. Also, if you'd tried t…

My son is almost 17, and I could have made the same list of games I'm nostalgic for. I could be wrong here - I'm not a huge gamer, but I just don't see those types of games available for the Xbox. PS3 and Wii strike me as the platform for whimsical games, and Xbox as the platform for rote FPS's.

I've never been a console gamer so I wasn't really aware of this distinction - though I guess I do have some vague sense of it. I'd just assumed that the big titles were all available on all platforms. However, it appears you're absolutely correct , the games I listed weren't available on Xbox.

Still, speaking to unalone's broader point, maybe he just shouldn't have purchased an Xbox and stuck with one of the other consoles. Those games do exist.

I think the other reason why that change occurred is that the first generation of gamers grew up, had disposable income and were a huge potential market. Xbox was marketed specifically at that group and has been highly successful, but it was expanding the gamer market - it didn't do that by destroying the other genres. This isn't a zero-sum situation.

Re: Donating my Xbox

#93

Post by gknoy »

aaronblohowiak wrote: post #68
jasonpbecker wrote: post #53

I sympathize a lot with what was written. I grew up on the Nintendo consoles (my father got an NES from my mom for their first anniversary, which was less than a year before I was born). I really enjoyed playing games straight through my N64 I had as a young teen. But games after that lost a lot of appeal. At the time I thought it was because I was growing up and just wasn't into it any more. Sure, I used to think sp…

You migh enjoy Braid. It lets you walk, jump and rewind time. Very simple, very very complex.

Braid is amazing. You progress by finishing levels, and collecting puzzle pieces of a picture for each "world" -- and all seem to be snapshots of a part of a man's life and relationship with a woman. Curiosity drove me on, and at the end I found out that it wasn't at all about what I thought it was about. The game is beautiful, engaging, challenging.

Re: Donating my Xbox

#94

Post by adamc »

antoko wrote: post #67
rayiner wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you're lamenting is not the change in gaming, but the passing of your youth. Games aren't less whimsical and more realistic, you are. Childish preoccupations have been replaced by adult concerns and to an extent you mourn that.

That's how I read this too, those whimsical (childish?) games are still around now (don't ask me to list any ... i'm all growed up!). My son's 17 so let me look through some of his old PS2 games... Kingdom Hearts, Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Rayman, Tak - I think those all epitomize the type of game you are referencing, you just stopped playing that type of game because you grew out of them. Also, if you'd tried t…

I was in my 40s before I ever played a console game. I don't think this is an artifact of nostalgia for one's youth. The PS2 was the dominant console before this generation, and it definitely supported a more varied set of games, many of which were whimsical. Same could be said of the PS1, I think (although I only played those long after their heyday).

The games on the XBox, and even more so on the XBox360, have felt like a much narrower nich, heavily aimed at the "Rated M" audience... The PS3 has been a little (but only a little) broader. Nintendo emphasizes another niche but it has definitely been marginalized.

I agree that many of these games migrated from the PC (or expanded to) to the XBox platform, but what's missing, for me, are the alternatives, to the point where I don't plan to buy another XBox. (Not sure I'll buy another PSn, either -- will have to see more than came with this generation.)

Re: Donating my Xbox

#95

Post by adamc »

icebraining wrote: post #89
kunai wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incorrect. Games may not be less whimsical and "magical," but the ones that are are ignored in favor of: Halo Call of Duty Battlefield Skyrim Assassin's Creed Et cetera...

They're ignored by the hardcore gamers; the same that used to play DOOM and Quake back in the 90s, but there's still plenty of people playing them. LittleBigPlanet, for example, sold more on the PS3 than multiple Call of Duty editions, GTA IV and others. And lets not forget mobile games, where Angry Birds rules.

Mobile games are a very different niche, as are flash games. LittleBigPlanet is defintely a counter-example (for PS3), but there aren't too many others.

Re: Donating my Xbox

#96

Post by johncarpinelli »

iam wrote: post #66

Has it ever occurred to the OP that maybe the Xbox 360 was such a huge success precisely because of the culture of the employees there?

Was the Xbox 360 really a huge success? It came second or third in sales for its generation of consoles. 75 million units in seven years is a small number compared to mobile devices. Android sold 144 million devices in Q4 2012 alone.

I think the next generation of consoles are going to struggle against cheaper systems like OUYA and tablets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Console_wars#Worldwide_sales_fi...

Wii – 99.38 million as of 31 December 2012

Playstation 3 – (IDC January 2013 estimate: "about 77 million")

Xbox 360 – 75.9 million as of 31 December 2012

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone#Historical_sales_fig...

Re: Donating my Xbox

#97

Post by rayiner »

adamc wrote: post #95
icebraining wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're ignored by the hardcore gamers; the same that used to play DOOM and Quake back in the 90s, but there's still plenty of people playing them. LittleBigPlanet, for example, sold more on the PS3 than multiple Call of Duty editions, GTA IV and others. And lets not forget mobile games, where Angry Birds rules.

Mobile games are a very different niche, as are flash games. LittleBigPlanet is defintely a counter-example (for PS3), but there aren't too many others.

How are mobile games niche? Angry Bird has 1 billion downloads.

Re: Donating my Xbox

#98

Post by binarycrusader »

icebraining wrote: post #85
chrisrogers wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Halo (and really, Rare's FPS platform) brought the FPS niche from PC+keyboard+mouse to console and controller. This introduced casual gamers to the world of the hardcore competitive nature of Doom/Quake/Unreal Tournament, a multiplayer environment where winning meant shooting your friend in the face. You didn't have to maintain a massive gaming rig or be committed to computing in order to get into FPS now. All you ne…

What PC games were cute in the 90s? Well, Theme Hospital and Grim Fandango were pretty funny, but I can't remember any others.

Westwood Studios' Legend of Kyrandia series arguably although it's themes were somewhat darker, the overall style was definitely more light-hearted than today's visceral FPS.

Re: Donating my Xbox

#99

Post by arrrg »

iMark wrote: post #7

I'm not a games developer, but I can relate to what Daniel wrote about game forms, after playing Bioshock Infinite. I love the game, but I did so mostly for elements of the design and story, rather than the game play. That it was an FPS connecting the story rather than a puzzle game, for example, was almost incidental to my enjoyment of it, and given the story, I think a series of Myst-style puzzles would have been a…

You do know that Booker's brutal violence is an important plot point, righty? It wouldn't have worked as a puzzle game. You are supposed to dislike the brutality of it.

Re: Donating my Xbox

#100

Post by socillion »

unalone wrote: post #26
kevdigital wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, violent games and shooters have been around well before Halo. It just brought shooters to the consoles. God forbid other "bro types" enjoy games too. There's plenty of other inventive, creative games out there if that's your thing too.

> God forbid other "bro types" enjoy games too. Being a bro isn't, like, something you're born into. It's a certain mentality, a certain way of approaching the world. And while I like many facets of bro-dom, and enjoy the hell out of sitting down for some Smash with a couple of friends and a six-pack of Yuengling, there are some bothersome things about bro culture which that particular category of game emphasizes. I…

> I'm also not super fond of hardcore gaming... I fear that games like Starcraft and League of Legends help to scare away a broader variety of players.

What makes you think League of Legends is a hardcore game, particularly compared to Starcraft?

I really don't see it scaring people away from video games; it is one of the few RTS/ARTS games that have gone for mass appeal instead of gratuitous complexity. Honestly, I think it rivals even MMOs like WoW in how friendly it is to new players, which is reflected in how many people have moved from WoW to LoL.

Post reply on HN