The Gaming Industry: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[Jahona]

Looks like the Xbox One X could be Microsoft’s last console. Not only have they talked about generations being done for them before, https://www.polygon.com/2017/4/15/15272458/xbox-scorpio-pc-backward-compatibility-microsoft

Now they’re talking about going third party and putting their games on other consoles, even PS4.
https://mynintendonews.com/2017/11/...-could-come-to-other-platforms-in-the-future/

It's an interesting philosophy, one that they started when they moved to the PC architecture for the Xbox One. Microsoft has been pushing PC gaming a lot with the more recent creator updates for Windows 10, along with releasing exclusives on both the PC and Xbox consoles.

As for releasing Microsoft first party games onto other platforms. The console war is pretty much over. Not many people are going to run out and buy a new console to play a specific game anymore. Releasing on third party hardware will probably see increase in sales and an increase in revenue along with it.

 

[Mike S]

It's an interesting philosophy, one that they started when they moved to the PC architecture for the Xbox One. Microsoft has been pushing PC gaming a lot with the more recent creator updates for Windows 10, along with releasing exclusives on both the PC and Xbox consoles.

As for releasing Microsoft first party games onto other platforms. The console war is pretty much over. Not many people are going to run out and buy a new console to play a specific game anymore. Releasing on third party hardware will probably see increase in sales and an increase in revenue along with it.

All of Nintendo’s and Sony’s big selling exclusives say hello. I know there’s a dream of being able to play whatever you want on a single console but then there wouldn’t really be a point to having multiple systems on the market and competition is a good thing that can keep companies in check. Imagine if the original idea for the Xbox One with all of its anti-consumer crap had no PS4 as competition. There would have been no incentive for Microsoft to reverse their strategy. In a way, this could now happen with Sony if Microsoft does leave the market. I hope it doesn’t.

 

[Brer Oswald]

It's an interesting philosophy, one that they started when they moved to the PC architecture for the Xbox One. Microsoft has been pushing PC gaming a lot with the more recent creator updates for Windows 10, along with releasing exclusives on both the PC and Xbox consoles.

As for releasing Microsoft first party games onto other platforms. The console war is pretty much over. Not many people are going to run out and buy a new console to play a specific game anymore. Releasing on third party hardware will probably see increase in sales and an increase in revenue along with it.

Banjo Kazooie 3 on Switch please!

 

[Jahona]

Nintendo's exclusives are the only reason their console is still relevant today. They don't exactly compete for the same market share as Microsoft and Sony. As for Microsoft and Sony, the past few years have seen far fewer true console exclusives, it's been more play it first on console X. Sony and Microsoft have been competing but it's been the desire for increased hardware performance that has pushed the two to innovate. The Xbox One X is releasing because the original Xbox had below desired performance compared to the PS4, and later the PS4 pro.

 

[Mike S]

Nintendo's exclusives are the only reason their console is still relevant today. They don't exactly compete for the same market share as Microsoft and Sony. As for Microsoft and Sony, the past few years have seen far fewer true console exclusives, it's been more play it first on console X. Sony and Microsoft have been competing but it's been the desire for increased hardware performance that has pushed the two to innovate. The Xbox One X is releasing because the original Xbox had below desired performance compared to the PS4, and later the PS4 pro.

Again, look at Sony’s exclusives. Also the Wii U had Nintendo exclusives but failed miserably so obviously the hardware of the Switch is attractive as well in making them “relevant.”

 

[Jahona]

Again, look at Sony’s exclusives. Also the Wii U had Nintendo exclusives but failed miserably so obviously the hardware of the Switch is attractive as well in making them “relevant.”

The Wii U failed for multiple reasons with the largest being a confusing naming scheme and unclear product info. Also looking at first party games for the Nintendo Wii U from launch to today was pretty lacking. Super Mario 3D world is the only one that really stood out. The Wii U also suffered from EA pulling out of development.

The switch sold well with in the first month or so but is currently sitting at 7 million units sold, well behind the original Wii in popularity. I expect that to jump up for Christmas but not much. Microsoft lags behind Sony by almost half as fewer units sold between the Xbox one variants and the PlayStation 4. Microsoft creating games for third party allows them to enter markets that the Xbox one just flopped in, mainly Japan.

Looking at the exclusive games for the PlayStation 4 this year nothing really stood out. A new Uncharted game that didn't see much press, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Nier: Automata. The rest of the list are more niche titles.

 

[Mike S]

The Wii U failed for multiple reasons with the largest being a confusing naming scheme and unclear product info. Also looking at first party games for the Nintendo Wii U from launch to today was pretty lacking. Super Mario 3D world is the only one that really stood out. The Wii U also suffered from EA pulling out of development.

The switch sold well with in the first month or so but is currently sitting at 7 million units sold, well behind the original Wii in popularity. I expect that to jump up for Christmas but not much. Microsoft lags behind Sony by almost half as fewer units sold between the Xbox one variants and the PlayStation 4. Microsoft creating games for third party allows them to enter markets that the Xbox one just flopped in, mainly Japan.

Looking at the exclusive games for the PlayStation 4 this year nothing really stood out. A new Uncharted game that didn't see much press, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Nier: Automata. The rest of the list are more niche titles.

Actually, according to this, the Switch isn’t that far behind the Wii when you compare their launches and the same amount of time passed and it hasn’t even had its first holiday yet.
http://www.vgchartz.com/article/269816/switch-vs-wiivgchartz-gap-chartsaugust-2017-update/
EA has also pretty much pulled away from the Switch and it’s not stopping any momentum.

The PS4 has still had more exclusive games over the Xbox which makes it more appealing.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

The Wii U failed for multiple reasons with the largest being a confusing naming scheme and unclear product info. Also looking at first party games for the Nintendo Wii U from launch to today was pretty lacking. Super Mario 3D world is the only one that really stood out. The Wii U also suffered from EA pulling out of development.

The switch sold well with in the first month or so but is currently sitting at 7 million units sold, well behind the original Wii in popularity. I expect that to jump up for Christmas but not much. Microsoft lags behind Sony by almost half as fewer units sold between the Xbox one variants and the PlayStation 4. Microsoft creating games for third party allows them to enter markets that the Xbox one just flopped in, mainly Japan.

Looking at the exclusive games for the PlayStation 4 this year nothing really stood out. A new Uncharted game that didn't see much press, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Nier: Automata. The rest of the list are more niche titles.

The Wii U was/is an outstanding system that just didn’t catch on. It happens. It had some great titles and most of the better ones got repackaged to the Switch, which does not bode well for the future.

The Switch is a nice little system that relies on it’s portability gimmick, which is meh for me personally, other that Zelda and Mario which are indeed great titles the rest of the games out for it are repackaged titles or “almost” shuffleware.

As for developers leaving the Switch, it’s going to happen. There are 67 million sold PS4’s, 30 million Xbones, there is your video game market and that’s where the developers will put their development dollars. Throw in the simple fact those games can easily be ported to the PC, another huge revenue stream, and I can’t see the gold at the end of the rainbow to develop for the Switch when it’s a far lesser system that would take resources and dollars better spent elsewhere.

Here is the best advice I found on the Switch that will hold true during its life cycle:

Get the Switch if you like Nintendo games because that’s what will be it’s lifeblood.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

Ubisoft's Uplay service is giving away Watch Dogs for free! Good until November 13!

 

[Master Yoda]

Ubisoft's Uplay service is giving away Watch Dogs for free! Good until November 13!

Got that when it was free on Xbox. It still sits on my ever growing pile of shame. How good of a game was it? Most of the reviews I read were quite mixed.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

Got that when it was free on Xbox. It still sits on my ever growing pile of shame. How good of a game was it? Most of the reviews I read were quite mixed.

I only downloaded it for the benchmark tool, otherwise I highly doubt I'll ever get around to it. Can't beat the price though...

 

[Mike S]

The Wii U was/is an outstanding system that just didn’t catch on. It happens. It had some great titles and most of the better ones got repackaged to the Switch, which does not bode well for the future.

The Switch is a nice little system that relies on it’s portability gimmick, which is meh for me personally, other that Zelda and Mario which are indeed great titles the rest of the games out for it are repackaged titles or “almost” shuffleware.

As for developers leaving the Switch, it’s going to happen. There are 67 million sold PS4’s, 30 million Xbones, there is your video game market and that’s where the developers will put their development dollars. Throw in the simple fact those games can easily be ported to the PC, another huge revenue stream, and I can’t see the gold at the end of the rainbow to develop for the Switch when it’s a far lesser system that would take resources and dollars better spent elsewhere.

Here is the best advice I found on the Switch that will hold true during its life cycle:

Get the Switch if you like Nintendo games because that’s what will be it’s lifeblood.

I guess you’re forgetting Japanese third parties that have always supported Nintendo. Also, no duh the PS4 and XBO have sold more. They’ve been out for years. If some companies find success on the Switch they’ll stick around, I guarantee it. I personally think Bethesda will find success. Skyrim is pretty much the most hyped third party game for the system and DOOM will have the FPS market all to itself. It helps that DOOM as a franchise isn’t exactly a stranger to Nintendo fans and that the new game was highly praised. Rockstar could see success if they would just port the game people actually want from them which would be Grand Theft Auto.

Also, the “repackaged title” nonsense needs to stop. The only Wii U rerelease from Nintendo themselves is Mario Kart 8. Pokken is Bandai Namco and the rest are also third party.

 

[Mike S]

As if on que.
http://www.siliconera.com/2017/11/0...-exclusive-titles-sometime-springsummer-2018/

 

[Pixieish]

The Wii U was/is an outstanding system that just didn’t catch on. It happens. It had some great titles and most of the better ones got repackaged to the Switch, which does not bode well for the future.

The Switch is a nice little system that relies on it’s portability gimmick, which is meh for me personally, other that Zelda and Mario which are indeed great titles the rest of the games out for it are repackaged titles or “almost” shuffleware.

As for developers leaving the Switch, it’s going to happen. There are 67 million sold PS4’s, 30 million Xbones, there is your video game market and that’s where the developers will put their development dollars. Throw in the simple fact those games can easily be ported to the PC, another huge revenue stream, and I can’t see the gold at the end of the rainbow to develop for the Switch when it’s a far lesser system that would take resources and dollars better spent elsewhere.

Here is the best advice I found on the Switch that will hold true during its life cycle:

Get the Switch if you like Nintendo games because that’s what will be it’s lifeblood.

Here's a little perspective from a mom who likes to play video games and has 2 little boys...

I'm DYING to get a newer Playstation. We have the 2, but haven't gotten a newer one simply because the majority of the games available aren't little-kid-friendly.

Bought the WiiU for the kid-friendly titles. Great little system. Graphics are decent, game-play is decent. BUUUUT...the game-pad needs some beefing up and/or to come with a screen protector of some kind. We've had to send ours to be fixed twice because (let's face it) kids are hard on stuff in general. You also can't have more than one game-pad synced to the system at once - BAD MOVE. Anyone with more than one kid knows that with something that cool, you need to have one for each kid. 2nd complaint - the remotes and their extensions don't last very long AT ALL. I feel like we have to replace them like every year and a half even though they consistently have the rubber cases on them. 3rd complaint - it doesn't play DVDs. While not telling of the system itself for gaming, it is a huge annoyance. Especially since Smart-TVs have limited HD inputs.

I flat-out refuse to buy the Switch. As much as we enjoy the WiiU, the limited games that are available for Switch (but not the WiiU) in relation to the larger number of games we'll enjoy in the future on the Playstation just don't make it worthwhile to spend our limited gaming dollars on it.

 

[Mike S]

Here's a little perspective from a mom who likes to play video games and has 2 little boys...

I'm DYING to get a newer Playstation. We have the 2, but haven't gotten a newer one simply because the majority of the games available aren't little-kid-friendly.

Bought the WiiU for the kid-friendly titles. Great little system. Graphics are decent, game-play is decent. BUUUUT...the game-pad needs some beefing up and/or to come with a screen protector of some kind. We've had to send ours to be fixed twice because (let's face it) kids are hard on stuff in general. You also can't have more than one game-pad synced to the system at once - BAD MOVE. Anyone with more than one kid knows that with something that cool, you need to have one for each kid. 2nd complaint - the remotes and their extensions don't last very long AT ALL. I feel like we have to replace them like every year and a half even though they consistently have the rubber cases on them. 3rd complaint - it doesn't play DVDs. While not telling of the system itself for gaming, it is a huge annoyance. Especially since Smart-TVs have limited HD inputs.

I flat-out refuse to buy the Switch. As much as we enjoy the WiiU, the limited games that are available for Switch (but not the WiiU) in relation to the larger number of games we'll enjoy in the future on the Playstation just don't make it worthwhile to spend our limited gaming dollars on it.

They wanted to eventually get two GamePads working but I guess they abandoned that once sales were showing no signs of improving. To your second complaint the only controllers that ever gave me trouble from Nintendo were GameCube but then again I got into the GameCube late and all the ones I bought were previously used. May I ask how old your kids are, and what games you would play with them on PlayStation?

Also, good luck keeping away from the Switch once Pokémon launches

 

[Pixieish]

They wanted to eventually get two GamePads working but I guess they abandoned that once sales were showing no signs of improving. To your second complaint the only controllers that ever gave me trouble from Nintendo were GameCube but then again I got into the GameCube late and all the ones I bought were previously used. May I ask how old your kids are?

Also, good luck keeping away from the Switch once Pokémon launches

They're 6 and 11, so we've only got a few more years before our oldest starts begging for a PS. And yes, I did some research at the time and saw that there were plans for more Game-pad capability, but got my hopes up for nothing.

I'm going to be completely screwed once Pokemon launches...my 11-year-old is a technology wiz-kid (thankfully he gets that from me, so I'm at least a step or two ahead of him), so hiding any talk about the release is going to be virtually impossible. So far, he's been pretty satisfied with Pokemon Go on his late-model iPhone (which, funny enough, was bought for when we travel to Disney in case we get separated). He's a huge Mario, Sonic, Five Nights at Freddy's, Bendy, etc. fan, too. Sonic is his biggest obsession though...I'm sooooo ready for him to be over Sonic. (For some more perspective, Sonic was brand new on the Genesis when I was 19 )

 

[Mike S]

They're 6 and 11, so we've only got a few more years before our oldest starts begging for a PS. And yes, I did some research at the time and saw that there were plans for more Game-pad capability, but got my hopes up for nothing.

Your kids might have something to do with the controllers needing to be replaced so often, especially the younger one. It’s well known that adults for the most part take much better care of tech than kids do. Might have something to do with paying for it ourselves.

I'm going to be completely screwed once Pokemon launches...my 11-year-old is a technology wiz-kid (thankfully he gets that from me, so I'm at least a step or two ahead of him), so hiding any talk about the release is going to be virtually impossible. So far, he's been pretty satisfied with Pokemon Go on his late-model iPhone (which, funny enough, was bought for when we travel to Disney in case we get separated). He's a huge Mario, Sonic, Five Nights at Freddy's, Bendy, etc. fan, too. Sonic is his biggest obsession though...I'm sooooo ready for him to be over Sonic. (For some more perspective, Sonic was brand new on the Genesis when I was 19 )

I’ve heard of all of that except for Bendy. He’ll be over Sonic soon enough with how inconsistent SEGA is with the franchise. Unless he plays Mania which I hear is actually a good game.

 

[Pixieish]

Your kids might have something to do with the controllers needing to be replaced so often, especially the younger one. It’s well known that adults for the most part take much better care of tech than kids do. Might have something to do with paying for it ourselves.

I’ve heard of all of that except for Bendy. He’ll be over Sonic soon enough with how inconsistent SEGA is with the franchise. Unless he plays Mania which I hear is actually a good game.

Oh, I'm sure it does - our youngest really doesn't play often at all...maybe 3 or 4 times a year. But it drives me bonkers nonetheless.

He has been bugging me for Sonic mania fooooorrreeeeeevvvveeeeer. Whenever something new comes out that he likes, I get to hear about it daily for weeks beforehand, then at least weekly after it's out. Santa's got a pretty hefty list to pick from this year.

Bendy, I think, might just be a YouTube character? I'm not 100% on that, but they watch the videos together and draw pictures of him and giggle their little heads off. It's a bit on the dark side, like Freddy, but they don't have nightmares and they have fun with it so it's all good.

They also love Kirby, Pac Man (yep, we have the stuffies that make noise), the Lego games and movies, Batman is a biggie right now - thank you Lego, Smash Bros, and my oldest was really bummed when Disney Infinity got canceled. I really can't wait for him to get into Kingdom Hearts.

 

[Mike S]

Switch accounted for 19% of Ubisoft’s sales for Q2 against 31% for PS4 and 20% for XBO.
https://ubistatic19-a.akamaihd.net/comsite_common/en-US/images/d20171107044259ubisoft fy18 h1 english final_tcm99-305919_tcm99-196733-32.pdf
I guess they won’t be leaving any time soon eh @Jimmy Thick?

 

[Dead2009]

Actually, according to this, the Switch isn’t that far behind the Wii when you compare their launches and the same amount of time passed and it hasn’t even had its first holiday yet.
http://www.vgchartz.com/article/269816/switch-vs-wiivgchartz-gap-chartsaugust-2017-update/
EA has also pretty much pulled away from the Switch and it’s not stopping any momentum.

The PS4 has still had more exclusive games over the Xbox which makes it more appealing.

EA wants to wait to see how the Switch does after a year before making any more games. They havent "pulled away".