Fate of console gaming

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A great article on the fate of video game consoles. Not safe for work, due to language. (But its more humorous than crude)

http://www.cracked.com/article_15732_li ... crash.html

Just seemed like ranting to me...

You dont see that the demographics of society are changing, destroying the console gaming industry?

Interesting... Comparing games to movies. Except that when I make that comparison, the games always win.

I've never considered a movie to be an immersive experience. Even with HD and 7.1 surround sound, it still feels like I'm watching. Not so with games. This article appears to be factually challenged.

If it's a matter of which of the Wii, PS3 or 360 who will survive, the 360 will lose, it's facing an unbeatable competition with the two others.

The article is about consoles. What about PC games? Would they suffer the same fate? With population aging, surely games in general need to appeal to an older audience.

Except that I decided to get a 360 this year. Having never owned an Xbox, it's a worthwhile system. However, I see no compelling reason to get a PS3. It fails to offer backward compatibility, since I have a PS2. Also, the PS3 is missing the most important thing: games. It has three that interest me: Uncharted 2, LittleBigPlanet, and MGS4. That's all. That fails to justify a $300 game system.
Games are why I got a Dreamcast this year, they're why I got an Xbox 360, and they're why I got an NES recently.
The PS3 seems to be the one facing unbeatable competition.

In the end, though, the winner is the Wii, which has a new Mario, Metroid, and Zelda scheduled for next year.(According to GameFAQs...)

PC games are already suffering =/

My next system to purchase is probably an Xbox 360. I agree with the previous poster; just not enough games for me in the PS3 to warrant a buy.

But I do already have a Wii and a gaming quality PC, so there's the other issue of time. Freaking time. I just don't have the time investment to play so many games, so buying another system, even a good one, seems like almost a waste to me.

Heck, between Team Fortress 2, the Zelda games I want to work through, and general upkeep in Pokemon platinum, I'm already on a 2 hours a day hobby.

What I don't understand is, why don't they make more games that appeal to an older audience? In order to accommodate the changing demographic?

I didn't like the article or agree with it. For me, games have reached a point graphically where I'm not actually that bothered by what they look like. I don't game anywhere near as much as I used to, but a fair few of the games haven't even advanced from what they looked like years ago because they're just 2d maps with icons. I still play really old games as well.

My problem is I've essentially been eliminated as a worthwhile demographic by 16 year olds who like big explosions more than story or gameplay depth. They can make more money from those people than they can me. I hardly touch my Xbox these days because there simply aren't enough games that I like to play.

They don't need to invent a new úber console to get my money. They just have to make games that appeal to me. I don't care much about graphics. But I'm a minority.

I just view the Xbos of any flavour as a PC in a box. I don't like how the PC section in game stores are always so tiny. I think it could have something to do with developers losing money due to piracy. Pretty much everything is available. Console games are harder to pirate, but are still pirated. I would be pretty confident in saying that developers are going to invest in more for the console market to avoid loses.

I read somewhere that someone asked for help on a game that runs through Steam. The question asked by the helpdesk was "What's your Steam user ID?" The answer being, "What's Steam?" and/or "I just copied the folder from the DVD to my hard drive"

Although PC's have far more power than any console out on the market, it seems piracy is a larger issue than first thought. And a prime source of piracy.

I never could handle the N64 controller, but I liked the graphics.
I like the PSX (Original Playstation was called this) controller as it felt more natural, but the graphics weren't up to par for me
I thought the OEM controller for the Xbox was too large until the Japanese version was released (smaller)
I wasn't much of a fan for the Dreamcast's either

The idea of a first person game on a console and me playing meant my playing skill was very low. I played it because my friends wanted to play, I knew I would lose, but I played and I tried hard. Remembering where stuff was. Not easy. This was Goldeneye64. Makes me happy to be able to rely on WASD and mouse, or as some people call it "wSAD" because they think it's rubbish compared to the cursor/arrow keys which I think is rubbish as the left side of the keyboard has to be pushed over to the left by a hug unnatural margin

The heyday of gaming is long past. Have a look at population demographics. Then consider what they will be in 10-20 years. In 10 years, 30% of Americans will be senior citizens, and that computerlove will always be "señor citizen".

I don't have any fancy statistics or facts and I can't speak for everyone but I'm fairly sure I'll keep wasting my money on video games till ima dead man. And I'm certain others think the same. I'm sure gaming will continue for many years.

Well, sure, but that is going to be on generic computers. Consoles are dedicated billion dollar developments, and if the market is too small, they just wont be produced.

You know, the console market is several times the size of the PC gaming market.