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Why Do Dedicated Game Consoles Exist?

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Re: Why Do Dedicated Game Consoles Exist?

#21

Post by sliverstorm »

ekianjo wrote: post #13
NoPiece wrote: post #6

Speaking to the portable gaming space, I'd also add that a big part of games is the controls. Phones don't have a d-pad and buttons (or analog sticks, etc..). That pretty much makes games like Super Mario Brothers impossible. You can have your simplified endless runners, and that will probably satisfy most people. But for serious gamers, you need more precise control than a non dedicated console can provide.

Check The Open Pandora Pocket Gaming Handheld. It has physical controls and IS portable. Way better than a phone for Gaming, and it comes with a full Linux distribution for more serious applications.

Still a dedicated gaming handheld.

Re: Why Do Dedicated Game Consoles Exist?

#23

Post by Apocryphon »

georgemcbay wrote: post #7

As to why a system like the 2DS or 3DS or Vita is compelling when we all have iPhones or Android devices, for me it comes down to the control systems. Touchscreens are fine for a narrow band of game types, but I wouldn't want to play the latest Mario platformer or Little Big Planet or 3D FPS with one. For lots of games I'll take the physical d-pad and/or analog sticks and physical buttons any day. And while you techn…

Exactly; it's really about the form factor. However, gaming accessories for smartphones already exist, and it's only a matter of time before they become refined enough to be competitive with consoles.

Re: Why Do Dedicated Game Consoles Exist?

#24

Post by trekky1700 »

aaron695 wrote: post #18

Because people are still buying them. Once they do, they have to buy your product and it's harder to pirate, so publishers win. Why do people buy them A. People get a quick high when they buy objects, this is big part of capitalism. B. They are only game machines. When you use a console there's no emails coming through to stress you out, your body relaxes in game state. (Why ebooks readers if they are smart won't add…

Also, they're considerably cheaper than a gaming PC. I can get an Xbox 360 for $250. I'd need at least twice that for a modest PC. While the PC would be more powerful, the optimization allowed when having every user on the same machine with the exact same specs on a closed platform makes a big difference too as far as performance goes.

Re: Why Do Dedicated Game Consoles Exist?

#25

Post by sliverstorm »

ekianjo wrote: post #14
untog wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like PCs are a sliding scale. You have to keep updating them to play the latest games. Wheras consoles are a known - you pay once, and it's good for what, 5 years?

That's less and less true for PCs. I had to update my PC every year or so before to keep up with the latest games, but nowadays it's clearly a slower moving target, and even with a 2 years old PC (equipped with a good graphics card at the time) I play most games in full/medium details in Full HD.

This seems to be kind of artificially introduced by consoles. The current generation of consoles stuck around forever, and they so dominate the gaming market that games were basically anchored to that rough level of computing ability for years.

Re: Why Do Dedicated Game Consoles Exist?

#26

Post by milsorgen »

qq66 wrote: post #15

The reason I prefer console games is the control. I prefer a controller where my hands are upwards, like a Playstation, instead of a keyboard and mouse. There are peripheral controllers for PC, but since games are built with the expectation of just a keyboard and mouse, they don't make maximum advantage of the peripheral control (except flight yokes and steering wheels).

Personally I enjoy the ecosystem, the standardized hardware and input and the community that envelopes it.

Re: Why Do Dedicated Game Consoles Exist?

#27

Post by ekianjo »

sliverstorm wrote: post #25
ekianjo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's less and less true for PCs. I had to update my PC every year or so before to keep up with the latest games, but nowadays it's clearly a slower moving target, and even with a 2 years old PC (equipped with a good graphics card at the time) I play most games in full/medium details in Full HD.

This seems to be kind of artificially introduced by consoles. The current generation of consoles stuck around forever, and they so dominate the gaming market that games were basically anchored to that rough level of computing ability for years.

Yeah, totally agree. But this is also because the PC has lost a lot of exclusive games which were usually pushing the specs higher and higher. Nowadays most games are made for consoles and ported later (or at the same time) for PC. The PC is not a target platform anymore, except for a few genres.

Re: Why Do Dedicated Game Consoles Exist?

#28

Post by ekianjo »

sliverstorm wrote: post #21
ekianjo wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check The Open Pandora Pocket Gaming Handheld. It has physical controls and IS portable. Way better than a phone for Gaming, and it comes with a full Linux distribution for more serious applications.

Still a dedicated gaming handheld.

Not sure what you mean here. It runs a linux distro so you can use it as a computer (more like as a netbook replacement) and not just a "gaming only" console. Plus, being open, you can create and port your own applications on it using standard languages.

Re: Why Do Dedicated Game Consoles Exist?

#29

Post by dsugarman »

The quality of games are significantly lower on mobile than dedicated consoles, a lot has to do with hardware, a lot has to do with strategy. A PC was a lot closer to the ps2 than an iPhone is to the ps4. Casual games may be the hot new thing, but you should be able to see the difference when you compare the production value to a Naughty Dog title.

Re: Why Do Dedicated Game Consoles Exist?

#30

Post by yareally »

untog wrote: post #10
derefr wrote: post #4

A good reply to such articles: http://www.lostgarden.com/2005/09/nintendos-genre-innovation... > As a side note, folks who argue Nintendo should just make games for other platforms are completely missing the point. Nintendo needs to control their hardware platform in order to force innovation to occur in the control mechanisms. Other console manufacturers who rely on the hardcore audiences and standardized genres don…

I feel like PCs are a sliding scale. You have to keep updating them to play the latest games. Wheras consoles are a known - you pay once, and it's good for what, 5 years?

Consoles end up feeling older and outdated as well (and games even show lag at times on consoles), just it's harder to notice when they abstract away all the graphical choices and settings from the end user (as well as generally sitting farther from the screen). It's very telling when you play a bad console port on PC and see how low quality some of the textures and draw distance are compared to games made for PC or better quality ports. Even games such as Mass Effect 3 had all sorts of low resolution textures thrown in the PC version that were glaringly obvious when playing.

PCs, you become aware of all that and how outdated things are when you realize your cannot run max settings for whatever game you're playing anymore. I guess it's sort of the "content with what you cannot change (consoles) versus discontent in realizing you no longer have the 'best' of something anymore (PC)".

In short, it's much easier to see flaws on PC overall because you realize you can do something about them (given the time to reconfigure game/pc settings or upgrade), while consoles you cannot.

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