I was angry at the Switch reveal and was going to make some angry thread, but after thinking about it all 3 console makers do some pretty serious cash grabs. So I thought it would be a fun conversation to see which one people think is the most money grubbing.

Here's my thoughts.

1. Nintendo. They always go after you with underpowered consoles but with high prices and outrageous prices on peripherals and their first party games prices almost never go down. Its a recipe for a money grubbing company. Then factor in pay to play online and 'free' games that aren't free and disappear after a month and you got my choice for number 1.

2. Sony.  They increased the price on their Pay to Play online service and have had some pretty shady months of games on PS+. Not to mention not introducing a new controller for PSVR, and instead offering a high end bundle for PSVR that includes stuff that has been released years ago. Not having BC but instead offering a streaming service where you don't own games and rereleasing PS2 games and reselling them at high prices puts them in the number 2 slot for me.

3. Microsoft. They are the king of Pay to Play with XBL. They even had several services hidden behind the paywall like Netflix. And while I appreciate the design lab, to me its a cash grab to sell color controllers at higher prices. Not to mention GWG didn't happen until years later after when PS+ was introduced with their games initiative. To be fair they did give away the 360 games as full ownership and they do offer BC with Xbox One but still that was a big time difference where they tried to make XBL more 'valuable' than it really was.

What about you? Who is the most money grubbing console maker?

It's not fair to give this trophy to just one of them. After all they all copied each other to achieve maximum grubbiness.

They can all be bad at times and they can all be generous at times.

Wow...just wow... are you actually serious that NIntendo is the worst?

That's I'm out I cant this much stupidity on this site anymore.

Moderated - Miguel

SNK with Neo Geo. 700 dollar console. 250 dollar games. Now the console and games cost more.

The question is tho, which gives you the most bang for your buck?...

Sony.

I honestly don't consider any one of the console makers to be money grubbing. It is very hard to make money in the console business, and I applaud all three of them for continuing to fight for entertainment and new experiences.

In the past I had a problem with Microsoft, but stuff like Universal Windows Apps, Project Scorpio, and Xbox Anywhere has changed my tone in the last few years.

The only beef I have with Nintendo is their refusal to make a Handhel/Phone hybrid. I may not always like what they are doing in their attempts to create new entertainment, but I love the fact that they are always trying to innovate, something can not be said for many other players in the tech industry.

As for Sony, no one is pushing things further right now. They are trying to push for more options in the console industry with PS4 Pro. They are trying new markets with PSVR. They are expanding the console business through things like PS Vue and PS Now. The only thing I could complain about is the lack of a PS Phone, and the lack of productivity software coming to the platform.

All in all, the big three are doing great things for gaming on razor thin budgets. The only one making money decent money right now is Sony, and they are turning those profits into new games, new ways to play, and more hardware to play on. I hope the industry continues to do well, and that consoles and handhelds can start to push back against the market disrupting smartphones, streaming boxes, and smart TV's.

torn.

I want to pick Microsoft because they are cheap as hell regarding investing money into their own first party (look how under utilized and dead the Rare IPs have been for the last decade). But then on the other hand I'm fairly certain the entire Xbox brand and all of its generations of systems have actually lost Microsoft money. They almost always sell the systems at loss and are not making much from first party games because they don't have a lot of them

then there is Nintendo, and I would certainly agree that Nintendo is pro at ripping off people as far as accessories are concerned. Carrying cases, an alternative to their weird controllers (i.e. charging high for a pro controller instead of a Wii Mote), extra wii mote costs, Mario Kart wheel accessories, etc. etc. etc.

then Sony overall I can't complain THAT much about however things like the Vita and its accessories were extremely overpriced in my eyes.

I would probably vote for Microsoft in the end, just because despite arguably not making a lot from their gaming division (in terms of raw profit) they are unwilling to risk much and in turn seem a bit greedy in my eyes. The whole Xbox brand arguably for them is just a marketing tool to keep the name "Microsoft" relevant in younger minds and to continually bring back and emphasis to their software programs (i.e. Windows, Office, etc.). Which would explain their recent year emphasis on a multimedia 'family' with Windows controlling everything or whatever. So the whole circular effect and lack of first party support (relatively speaking) seems greedy

Nintendo. The post above said most of what I had to say really.

One of these companies sold a gaming platform without a power cable. It's not even close.