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

The console wars have been lost

xeiaso.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 121 posts

Re: The console wars have been lost

#81

Post by Gigachad »

mort96 wrote: post #53
Gigachad wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>However everything other than the hardware is what makes consoles special. They're a special-purpose device which is specifically designed to only be used with a game pad on a big screen. That means stupid stuff like a pop-up which needs mouse interaction or the system getting confused about window focus, issues which have always plagued living room gaming PCs, just categorically can not exist. This is exactly the p…

Yeah, until you try to launch Trackmania and its launcher needs mouse input to function.

Of course games that don’t have controller support won’t work with controller. The steam store marks this with a label / rating system. If it’s for a green mark then everything will work with a controller.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#82

Post by ghusto »

Gigachad wrote: post #42
voidUpdate wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People want the convenience. Generally , a console "just works", whereas a PC is more likely to need some messing about to get working optimally. Console devs have one target hardware that they can target, whereas PC games could be run on a huge variety of hardware

Valve has essentially fixed this in most aspects. My Steam Deck is as much of a "just works" experience as the switch. In fact I think it just works even easier because it automatically syncs my saves between my gaming desktop and it so I have the same saves when I travel. Windows is a clusterfuck, but PC is larger than Windows. Anti cheat is a problem left to solve, but I think this is just a matter of time.

It "just works", unless it's time for a patch for that game. Which 98% of the time.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#83

Post by ghusto »

voidUpdate wrote: post #72
glimshe wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's not the same. I'm heavy PC user but I only play games on a console. The reason is simple: zero friction. I play games when I'm tired, so if I have to wait a minute for a Steam update (which happened a month ago on the rare day I wanted to play on my PC), I simply give up and go watch TV.

Console games need to update too. I don't know how the steam machine handles it, but steam downloads updates for my games in the background, so if it goes to sleep instead of doing a full power off, it might be able to keep games updated while you're not playing too

Except they don't _need_ to update, it's just a manifestation of the the very PC-ification we're talking about. You used to pop the game in, press the on button, and be playing. At some point someone figured out that if PC gamers were willing ot put up with unfinished games being shipped, so would console gamers, and it was downhill from there.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#84

Post by bigcityslider »

Gigachad wrote: post #79
bigcityslider wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't seem blurry to me, Steam Machine is just a PC.

What is the definition of a console then? At this point it’s just a pc that runs a locked down OS. Back 20 years ago the distinction was just obvious.

Locked down OS and hardware, or not usable for general compute for some other reason. 20 years ago you could have a gaming PC with discs like a console, but again the console was locked down.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#85

Post by voidUpdate »

ghusto wrote: post #83
voidUpdate wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Console games need to update too. I don't know how the steam machine handles it, but steam downloads updates for my games in the background, so if it goes to sleep instead of doing a full power off, it might be able to keep games updated while you're not playing too

Except they don't _need_ to update, it's just a manifestation of the the very PC-ification we're talking about. You used to pop the game in, press the on button, and be playing. At some point someone figured out that if PC gamers were willing ot put up with unfinished games being shipped, so would console gamers, and it was downhill from there.

Well yes, but if we are assuming that console games need to update, pc games would also need to update

Re: The console wars have been lost

#86

Post by voidUpdate »

glimshe wrote: post #74
voidUpdate wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Console games need to update too. I don't know how the steam machine handles it, but steam downloads updates for my games in the background, so if it goes to sleep instead of doing a full power off, it might be able to keep games updated while you're not playing too

Yeah, but at least the XBOX sits in a low power mode that does updates and keeps the spot you were in your game saved. It's really transparent. I'm not saying Steam can't do that but it's not in the same league yet.

Steam does exactly that for me, thought when I'm casually using my computer, not when my computer has gone to sleep. But since Valve controls the whole steam machine ecosystem, I'd imagine it would be possible for the steam machine to do the same sleep-updates as xbox

Re: The console wars have been lost

#87

Post by Gigachad »

ghusto wrote: post #82
Gigachad wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Valve has essentially fixed this in most aspects. My Steam Deck is as much of a "just works" experience as the switch. In fact I think it just works even easier because it automatically syncs my saves between my gaming desktop and it so I have the same saves when I travel. Windows is a clusterfuck, but PC is larger than Windows. Anti cheat is a problem left to solve, but I think this is just a matter of time.

It "just works", unless it's time for a patch for that game. Which 98% of the time.

Games update on consoles too. I’ve never been unable to play a game on my steamdeck because of an update. It just manages them automatically in the background.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#88

Post by Gigachad »

bigcityslider wrote: post #84
Gigachad wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the definition of a console then? At this point it’s just a pc that runs a locked down OS. Back 20 years ago the distinction was just obvious.

Locked down OS and hardware, or not usable for general compute for some other reason. 20 years ago you could have a gaming PC with discs like a console, but again the console was locked down.

This just illustrates the article point. We have come to the point where a console is just a worse less useful version of a PC.

Steam OS will replicate the nice TV UX of consoles but not be locked down.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#89

Post by brazzy »

bigcityslider wrote: post #59
Gigachad wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The line is far more blurred now. The Steam Machine is a purpose built device streamlined for playing games. Yet without any hardware modifications you can put it on your desk and load windows on it. So it's clearly a PC too. The nitpicking on language here is entirely due to the fact the distinction is no longer clear like it once was.

Doesn't seem blurry to me, Steam Machine is just a PC.

I'd say the opposite: Steam Machine is a console than can run Windows.

Re: The console wars have been lost

#90

Post by mort96 »

Gigachad wrote: post #81
mort96 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, until you try to launch Trackmania and its launcher needs mouse input to function.

Of course games that don’t have controller support won’t work with controller. The steam store marks this with a label / rating system. If it’s for a green mark then everything will work with a controller.

It's a game with great controller support! I play it a lot with a controller. It's just that in the PC gaming space, "controller support" doesn't necessarily mean that you can log in to the launcher and launch the game without a keyboard and mouse. The assumption is that you always have a keyboard and mouse, and some people also happen to have a controller in addition.
Post reply on HN