Topic: PS4/Xbox3 just in time to commemorate 30th anniversary of great video game crash

[Ratty]

Well it looks like the PS3 will be officially announced on the 20th of this month, some rumors saying that it will "focus less on massive hardware improvements and more on integrating social gaming aspects into the new machine. User interaction will be a key component." http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/sony-unveil-playstation-4-month-180041980.html
So it appears that we'll have a slightly tweaked PS3 with a new coat of paint and "social media features" which likely won't have backwards compatibility or accept used games, even if they've only been used by you on another system. http://kotaku.com/5972787/sony-patent-could-stop-you-from-playing-used-games-possibly-on-the-next-playstation

A laughably outdated proprietary PC with intrusive DRM and shoehorned motion control and social features? All for the low low price of probably $400+ Gee golly where do I sign up! With Sony tipping there hand this far ahead of the holiday shopping season a Microsoft announcement can't be far behind.

I think if another crash could purge the industry of all the anti-consumer bullshit proliferated by companies like EA it would ultimately be a good thing. Maybe it's time to give up the whole idea of a "console" now that we can just hook our PC's up to a TV screen.

What do you think of all this?

[Abnormal Freak]

Wow, by your description the PS4 definitely sounds like something to skip.

Not that I was planning to get anything next gen besides a Wii U anyway.

As for getting rid of consoles: for the love of gravy, no. The PC gamers that I know are constantly upgrading their towers, plugging thousands of dollars into parts, video cards, towers, etc. over the years. Wanna play the new id Software game and have it look and perform well? Fuck you, upgrade your machine first! (Though admittedly id's and Carmack's relevance have died down immensely in the past decade, that was just an old school example that came to mind.)

Consoles have the convenience of virtually never needing new components to add to the base model. This makes the hardware incredibly outdated, but that's ALWAYS been the case and I've never minded. I also hate needing to have programs like Steam to play games (like when I got Duke Nukem Forever on DVD and still needed to download data and log in to play—I hate that nonsense). Even though console download services are in ways just as limiting, there's a certain expectation there on the part of the user that you're not going to be playing this game on another system (unless your current one breaks down). Valve's boner for DRM veers me away from ever using it.

Admittedly it's very nice to kick back at the TV and play a PC game. My brother had a good tower I'd play on. Even had a wooden lap table to place a keyboard and mouse on—'cos come on, when playing a first-person shooters, it's insanity to use a controller when kb+mouse is available. But it's the whole cost thing of upgrading computers and needing to know what you're doing that really makes me a console gamer far above PC. I'm 27 and I've never owned a computer of my own.

[Ratty]

Even though console download services are in ways just as limiting, there's a certain expectation there on the part of the user that you're not going to be playing this game on another system (unless your current one breaks down). Valve's boner for DRM veers me away from ever using it.

Well this new tech Sony patented could if implemented mean every time your system breaks you have to buy ALL of your disc-based games again. Because it doesn't rely on online verification but physical properties of the discs themselves recognized by the machine. Needless to say this cuts out used game sales which means a lot fewer new games will be bought by people who rely on trading in their older games for the money. And it will be much harder if not impossible to go back and play a series you're interested in from the beginning if it's been around a few years because used games will be unplayable.

Though the console downloads you mentioned have pretty much done this anyway. By releasing unfinished and incomplete disc copies of the games, as well as lots of download only and on-disc "DLC" used games from this generation will mostly be incomplete buggy messes once the servers go down in what, two or three years at most? While on the PC you can usually still play older games with a little tweaking, and sites like GoG and Steam keep older games and their expansions available for a lower price, already tweaked to work on modern machines in the case of GoG. To say nothing of ebay.

With the DRM and unfinished state of games on release day for the Xbox and PS3 the games will be incomplete and there will almost certainly be no legal way to get the patches and DLC to make them complete, whereas I can pick up a PC game from 1998 at the flea market and find the latest patches on google in two seconds.

Consoles exist now for people who don't know about computers, but as computer literacy rises every year while consoles also become more and more just PCs complete with day one patches, tons of DLC and intrusive DRM I can't see them staying necessary for most core gamers or convenience obsessed casual fans for many more years.

[Abnormal Freak]

Well this new tech Sony patented could if implemented mean every time your system breaks you have to buy ALL of your disc-based games again.

Well yeah, there's that. Which means I'll never buy a PS4 if that ends up being the case. Gamers don't need even more restrictions; I'm pissed off enough about Steam, I'll be even more pissed about a system that locks your games to that particular console. Extreme measures of anti-piracy are a sure way to put me off from using a gaming device or program—and I very rarely pirate games (and when I do, it's only to play OOP or import stuff). Restrictions like that just cheese me off to no end because it punishes the consumer.

[DragonSlayr81]

Really, if all those negative rumors about PS4 restricting gamer's freedom of owning games, re-buying, yadda yadda, I'm probably not going to jump aboard the next generation. Wii U would suffice, but I can honestly say, if the next generation is filled with FPS/TPS, multitude of gritty sandboxes and such, there's no real point of me continuing on. It's not like they plan on releasing anything that aligns with my tastes. Is till got PS3 and X360, and my  mess load of indie games. My Wii U is pretty cool too. It's probably the generation I jump off the train.

LOL, watch I be proved wrong and the next gen actually delivers not only less gamer restrictions, but a larger variety in gaming(doubtful though).

Either way, I am pretty sour with how mainstream gaming has gotten. I've never been "for" the big corporations because not only do they hog the space, they tend to look down on Indie developers. Same with movies. It also gives rise to the whole, "Oh, if it's not name brand, it's not quality" way of thinking you'd get with gamers and movie goers. If it's NOT a game being developed by Sony, Capcom, EA, or not movies made by Warner Brothers, Paramount, Fox and such, it's not worth your time. Just effing raze the place. Burn it down and start anew. Like Kid Icarus Uprising, go all Reset Bomb on the industry!

In all seriousness, there sometimes comes a point when an audience comes to the realization that they are stuck in a rut, and the point where they were blind to the repetition becomes crystal clear. It's that point that they rebel against the way things are, which set into motion the next change of the guard(trend). I just believe that our generation has yet to open their eyes. But, it's been going on SOOOO long that the tower has been built higher and higher with each year. So when it comes toppling down, it's going to crash. 

[KaZudra]

well, if Developers start making Good games again, i know, a radical thought...
Used games would not be an issue, besides, these consoles are not gonna last forever, so what happens when Xbox4/ps5 hits?
Face it, used game marketing is more vital than the developers think, almost all developers owe thier success to used gaming so everyone got a chance to play the games.

[Bloodreign]

Where's the option for I'm not worried I have enough consoles and games to tide me over for the rest of my days?

Seriously.

[Shiroi Koumori]

I don't really care much about new consoles unless they have the game I want. If the consoles are too expensive, I would not buy.
Besides, I have lots of other things I could spend my time on and if I want to play games, all my handhelds are still working.

[KaZudra]

Shit, I haven't touched my Xbox 360 in a couple months now, on top of that I'm planning to get a PS2 again.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I'm not too worried.
I'm happy with my Wii-U for anything HD, and I'm happy with retrogaming on my PC or Tablet or with emulation.  And I dig enough indie titles on the Wii/Wii-U/3DS scene where I think this imminent crash can be trudged through.

[son_the_vampire]

first the arcades died, now the consoles will die in suit. im glad every console i have has games that are all classic. as far as newer games go, the story has to blow my mind or i just wont commit to buying (unless capcom touches MvC franchise again!) Its sad to see but this day and age, video-gaming is turning towards the on the go, social approach. Too bad socializing during the true video game era and now are two completely different things: Then you would bring your extra controller or memory card to your friends or have some people over to pass around the sticks. Now instead of getting together with people you send an invite and boom. Each has its advantages but i personally enjoy human interaction a bit more....ijs

[TheCruelAngel]

Saw some updated Xbox info pop up on Kotaku and thought I'd share it here.

http://kotaku.com/5982986/we-know-all-about-the-next-xbox-from-someone-who-says-theyve-got-one

[Ratty]

Saw some updated Xbox info pop up on Kotaku and thought I'd share it here.

http://kotaku.com/5982986/we-know-all-about-the-next-xbox-from-someone-who-says-theyve-got-one

Yeah I heard the manditory always on, always-watching Kinect might be used (as-per Microsoft's patent) as a way to control how many people can watch a movie/game etc. at once.. They'll finally have a way to enforce those "for private home exhibition only" warnings, somewhere in Hollywood a CEO just came in his pants.

[Abnormal Freak]

Oh my fuck, my nightmares are coming true.

[Ahasverus]

This Microsoft box thing is ridiculous. I don't need a box that makes me sandwiches (For the low low price of $100 anual - doesn't include DLC, Microtransactions or Avatar clothes) I need a box that plays videogames, and is damn awesome at that. Blu Ray too, perhaps. That's all.

I'ma faithful xbox owner but I swear to god that if this is all true, Play Station will welcome me again for the first time in 15 years.
Like the prodigal son.

Edit: Or PC!! It seems it's the best option, really.