| Khuutra said: Rainbird said: Do you think that an awareness of what's offered by the XBLA and WW/VC would matter, or are downloadable games just not that big a deal?
I realized that I didn't mention downloadable games at all in my original post at all. On reflection however, all I can say is that I think the PSN has some great games and I don't really know what XBLA and WW/VC offer of interest (though I am very happy to see Braid making its way to PSN). |
Yes and no. The best way of describing it that I can think of is using twesterm's method of deciding when to buy a console. If the price of all the games you want for a console is greater than the price of the console itself, then it's worth getting. A game going for $60 will obviously feel like it adds more value then your average $10 downloadable game (not saying that it's proportional or anything, simply that 60 > 10).
So yes, a downloadable title could definitely help in making me (or someone else who realize that downloadservices as the PSN/XBLA/WW/VC have worthwhile games) want a console more.
For me personally, I can say that Braid being announced for the PSN immediatly gave me one reason less to get a 360. And the only service I really have no interest in, is the VC. I'm just not into the oldschool stuff. Not to say that I might browse it and find a game I'd buy, but in no way does it sway me more towards the Wii. I can however say that the DSiWare is one of the reasons I chose a DSi over a DSL. Because I knew that download services such as these can hold great games, and I don't want to miss out.
But I don't really know what's on offer on WW and XBLA that I might be interested in apart from a few recent titles (Trials HD and Shadow Complex namely).
This is also where awareness comes into it. I don't know what potentially great games these services hold, that I might be missing out on (though this holds true much more for WW than XBLA), and I would love for Nintendo to take a little more activity in the titles released on WW, such as both Microsoft and Sony do. I don't distinguish between retail and downloadable games when searching for interesting games, a good game is a good game, and I think Sony and Microsoft are much better at showcasing what their services have in store of quality games than Nintendo. Unless of course, WW doesn't have any games worth noting in the first place (in which case Nintendo should encourage more developers to develop games for WW, or make some themselves. Again something both Microsoft and Sony have done a great job with.).
I know for sure that the PSN has a few games I'd count as games that would convince me to buy a PS3, had I not already done so (although not all titles are apparent before I play a demo or try it some way). Flower, PixelJunk Monsters, (the upcoming) PixelJunk Shooter and Critter Crunch are but some titles I feel I'd be missing out on.
Ultimately though, some games are just not attractive until you already own the console, which in my own case, I think goes for the majority of quality downloadable games.
So as I said, yes and no. It's not just black and white though, so I think it comes down to the individual in many ways.
