41–50 of 60 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
You could probably buy a hardware equivalent PC for $250, or even less.
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…
As opposed to carrying around a separate game console?
Nintendo DS can be a gift to a 6 year old. I am not giving a phone with open data and calling capability and store to a 6 year old.
Also a NDS costs $200 while the iPhone is $450 for cheapest model without a phone contract (was more until recent anouncement).
A PS3 cost 400 at launch. And still plays new games till this day. SURE they are not as good quality but they work well. Meanwhile you keep having to upgrade your PC, and since I assemble my own, I can make a $600 / $700 pc, most people end up spending 1.5k+ for that.
So cost is still a huge factor.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's easy. User maintenance is a lot easier for XBone and PS4 than it is for any general purpose PC.
And, because game developers know the precise specs of every console they target, they can reduce load times and make texture rendering... sorry, sorry, I can't do this with a straight face.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
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…
I don't want to hand-sort my digital files, click through 50 screens, wait for reboots, etc etc. I wanna shove something physical inside something else physical and let the music just play.
Plus, you can't sniff an mp3.
The QA effort that goes into PC games vs a Console games is a considerable difference. The myriad of hardware configurations (amount of RAM, GPU types and its capabilities, processor speed, etc) make for complicated debugging and graphics quality compromises to capture the mean population of computer performance capability. Contrast this to console development, developers can guarantee the performance of their game and optimize accordingly because they only have to account for one hardware and OS configuration (or 2, if they are going for multi-console release). Likewise, gamers can be confident that they won't run into performance or compatibility issues.
Due to the specialization and simplification of these computer systems, gamers also get to enjoy the sheer convenience of gaming consoles. They boot quickly, jump strait into your game and are fairly no-nonsense.
At a low enough price point relative to general purpose PC's or smart phones, they are still the best experience for enthusiast-level gamers.
http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2013/08/29/nintendo/
http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2013/09/03/more_nintendo/
http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2013/09/05/lateral_thinking_wi...
http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2013/09/07/where_do_people_use...