| kyprime said: and console gaming is the best it has ever been |
I think I can agree with this.
-PS4/X1 have been incredibly reliable compared to 360/PS3 RROD/YLOD and drive issues.
-Accounting for inflation, even at launch $399/$499, the PS4 and X1 were/are cheaper this gen than last. I am not an Xbox fan, but have to admit some of those sales are absolutely incredible. Wasn't there something like a $249 X1 1TB with 5 games recently? Crazy.
-Both main console systems on Bluray this time, no goofy 2, 3, or 4 disc and beyond zaniness.
-PC is getting more/better third party support than basically any time that I can remember, and I've played PC since Thexder days, and 8 bit computers before that. I started programming at age 5.
-PC gaming is cheaper than ever before for savvy buyers. Someone still needs to come up with a better deal imho for a mass market device. I think for $449ish, perhaps next year an AMD Zen + 8GB Ram + Polaris 8GB GPU Gaming HTPC could be a doable prospect for a midsize computer company. The X51 is close, but imho not quite 'great'.
-Third party adapter means people that prefer an Xbox controller to PS can still play on PS4 perfectly.
-Third party adapter means KB/M players can play on consoles if that's what they want to do.
-AMD/Nvidia's drivers for the past year or so, combined with W10 and Steam, mean that the days of 'ZOMG drivers and updates confuse me!' are no more of an issue than the automated updates and occassional query that X1/PS4 gamers encounter. It's seamless and basically idiot proof unless you wander off and start screwing with stuff. Even games have gotten pretty bulletproof in finding appropriate settings. I built a gaming rig out of leftover parts for my mechanic, one of the least computer-inclined people on the planet, and he has been able to play every game with no problems at default settings that he's tried. And it's not high end. 4.6Ghz 2500k, 8GB DDR3-1866, 2GB 7850OC, bingo.
Basically everyone wins. I see the arguments back and forth, and honestly I shake my head, people like what they like, and it's better than ever for the most part for all gamers.
Now not everything's perfect, some minuses (imho)
-PS4 and X1 both charge for online now. I know some people or many people like the free games thing, but at the same time a lot of gamers are really only into one or two genres, and the slew of indie games and other older releases don't mean much. Even worse if the big game of the month is something they already bought on release. Oh well.
-On both PC and consoles, it's becoming more common for devs/publishers to sometimes release buggy games and finish them later via patches (hopefully at least). Sometimes poor performance/optimization can mar otherwise good/great titles.
-Downgrades from demo to release seem almost to be a rule these days. You find this even on PC, and on console games some publishers have become infamous enough that people should expect the final product to be slightly to severely uglier than the initial trailers and gameplay footage.
-Online communities, from in-game to forums to Youtube and social media, they seem more toxic, hostile, and immature than ever before. The more anonymous the interaction, the more likely you are to run into some absolutely worthless piece of garbage spewing profanity and ignorance like it's a contest to be the world's biggest a-hole. Parallel to this is my vast preference to games where people can run their own private servers, and a server browser is available. That way if you really enjoy a game, you can find a server that is run by great management that perma-bans dickheads on sight. I have a handful of BF4 PC servers that do this, and it's magnificent. Organized and well coordinated, highly skilled teamplay, without squeaky 11 year olds ranting in homophopic racist diatribes every 1.2 milliseconds.
-We are STILL being deluged with remasters now nearly THREE years into gen8. As a PC gamer primarily, I want to roll my eyes at paying for the same damned old games with a resolution hike, regardless of whether its a console release or a PC release. It's primarily an issue on consoles, but I just feel that those resources would be better spent on new titles, either new IPs or sequels to the games in question. I mean it's not all bad, especially if the remaster is done extremely well, and perhaps the person didn't own the 'other' console last gen and wants to play Halo MCC or UCC that they missed, but man, it just feels overdone. I saw a list of the remasters this gen, and it's simply crazy.
Ah well, game on.
