Is Console Gaming Dying? 496
mr_sifter writes "PC gamers love to obsess over whether PC gaming is dying, but bit-tech thinks it's time to look at the other side and examine if console gaming is really as secure as publishers would have us believe. All three console manufacturers suffered from the recession — this year, Sony announced its first net loss in 14 years; a stunning ¥989.9bn, which includes record losses of ¥58.5bn in its gaming sector. Microsoft also announced its first loss since it went public in 1986 in the second quarter of this financial year, with a $31 million US loss coming straight from the Entertainment and Devices division, which is responsible for the Xbox 360. Not even Nintendo has escaped the financial plague either, with sales of the Wii dropping by 67 percent in the US, 60 percent in Japan and 47 percent in the rest of the world. In addition to reduced profitability, casual games and the rise of the iPhone further suggest the current model is not invulnerable."
No (Score:5, Insightful)
Next question.
Re:No (Score:5, Insightful)
The next question is: what exactly would the mechanism of "console gaming dying" be anyway? I would argue that the death of console gaming would/will have look like one of the following scenarios:
1. Most of the "major" games will be released for the PC and not the consoles.
2. New major consoles will not be released, eventually the consoles out there would lag so far behind PC that 1 would happen
3. All major consoles will become so PC like that they will be indistinguishable and it will be pointless to talk about PC vs console
1 doesn't seem to be happening, and I don't really see many signs that it will happen any time soon, there seem to be more releases of significant games for consoles than PC. I think everyone but the most ridiculous fanboys of a given console would agree that games -should- be released on all platforms that can support the game. I want to choose what platform to game on based on my needs and equipment, being denied a gaming experience because I don't have the right hardware, or having to choose hardware based on -artificial- game availability is not a good situation. (Emphasis on artificial. Obviously MS isn't going to release their Halo games on a nintendo console, and obviously I'm not expecting to run Crysis 2 on an NES.) So I hope that more games continue to be released on all platforms, PC and console.
2. Consoles obviously aren't as powerful as PCs, but again, 1 seems far from happening. Already, the idea with MS at least seems to be delaying the next console for longer. If the next generation (and I mean the -actual- next generation, not the current xbox 360/PS3/wii generation which is sometimes mistakenly referred to as "next gen") is still a loss for the console makers, I suppose they might decide to not release another one. Games would continue coming out for them for a while, but eventually enough customers would migrate away from the PC to where the consoles become obsolete. Games are to this day coming out for the PS2 [gamefaqs.com], and the next generation of consoles is undoubtedly going to be released, so it will be quite a few years before console gaming dries up completely.
3. Doesn't seem very likely to me. Consoles are aimed squarely at people who want to plug in and play immediately, without messing around with hardware or software configurations. I think MS is having enough headaches with the optional hard-drive in the 360 that they're going to move away from even that, back to "one console, one hardware configuration." I don't see any signs from nintendo that they'll start making games that can run on both their hardware and other hardware, and given the sales of the wii, even with this recent decrease, they'd be nuts to do so any time soon.
So I don't really see -how- console gaming could be dying. Slowing down temporarily, sure, but it's not like console gaming is a living thing, where if it's vitals (sales) drop low enough, the beast is going to die and not be revived.
For the next next question I'd like to propose one of the following: do game journalists feel the need to declare "X is dying" -entirely- because it gets attention they're not getting otherwise? Do even they think that a trend like "sales declining" should be extrapolated to ridiculous extremes like "IT'S GOING TO DIE COMPLETELY!!!" [xkcd.com] Is rational commentary on videogames dying or did it ever even exist in the first place?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
That's the path that I and most of my peer group at work (for major IT name) have followed, and I'd give 50:50 odds you're in the middle segment at the moment. When you realis
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It's not about what's easily fixed, it's about what is. The market for PC software is huge, but the market for 3D graphics heavy PC games is not as huge as you might expect. The current generation of consoles really are more powerful than most PC's when it comes to running modern games.
Not sure all the mods understand what a 'troll' is. Hint: it's not a synonym for 'i disagree with this'
Re:No (Score:4, Funny)
The question isn't "Is console gaming dying," but rather, "How many extra lives has it racked up?"
Re:No (Score:5, Informative)
Microsoft didn't post a loss this year. They posted their first-ever reduction in revenue... those are two different things, and the author of this article is a retard for not knowing the difference.
In fact, considering all factors (and Vista), Microsoft has been weathering this recession much better than most companies.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
IMO both console and PC gaming are dying - in a figure of speech.
"Rise" of casual gaming now only further highlighted that gaming as many of us relate to it is a rather smallish niche of modern entertainment. For many people the idea that one has to spend hours and hours before screen (TV or PC display) only to learn controls - before s/he could enjoy a game - is simply absurd. E.g. I take my (now decade old) FPS skills for granted and even though I write this it is still hard for me to imagine why many
Re:No (Score:4, Insightful)
Small niche? Some of the biggest games are making more than movie releases nowadays. Would you consider movies a "smallish niche of modern entertainment"?
(BTW, I don't say this as a hardcore gamer... I'm just barely a gamer at all, I have a PS2 I got only a few years ago, and have I think way less than 20 games.)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
What ailing movie industry?
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/12/13/2254218 [slashdot.org]
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:No (Score:5, Insightful)
The point is that we do not need skills to enjoy movies or TV shows. And the learning divide, for as long as it would exist, would be making gaming business vulnerable.
I have to disagree with this point. I first began to avoid watching TV 7 years ago as a bet with a roommate in college, and it's been long enough that I have "unlearned" the attention span needed for the pattern of commercial breaks in a show. If I try to watch a show now with family, the (from my viewpoint) constant interruption is extremely irritating, but it's just normal to everyone else.
The skills for TV are so ingrained in most of us that we don't even know they are there unless we get rid of them.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Same here bro, last time I tried to watch some TV during dinner I got so pissed off by the commercials I torrented the whole season.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Once you know how to play one game in a particular genre you're pretty much set. Only once in a while do you enc
Re:No (Score:5, Insightful)
If you have to spend "copious amounts of cash every year" to upgrade your rig, then you're doing it wrong. A well thought-out build should easily last several years, or, about the same lifespan of a similarly priced console. You're doing nothing more than throwing out the same tired argument that technologically impaired people have been using for the last decade. Consoles are a great option if you don't like to have control or options, that is it.
Re:No (Score:5, Insightful)
I doubt that he meant $400 (amount sited by person he replied to).
But he is right, if your upgrading every year, then you are doing it wrong by buying the cheapest components that will just barely play current games right now. I built my gaming system three years ago and spent about $1200 (system, keyboard, mouse, new LCD) and just now starting to feel some performance issues.
A 360 does not cost $300, it costs $300 + $50/year for Live + $10 extra each game over PC + $600 for HD TV + $50 for an additional controller + $30 x 2 for chatpads or about $1300 in three years.
Don't tell me console gaming is any cheaper as I happen to own both.
Don't say "well you can use your regular HD TV" and I say my wife & kids would like to watch their TV programs, or "you don't need a HD TV" and I tell you it sucks as I've had to suffer playing games that the text is unreadably small on a SD TV.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I still have to take issue with your $600 "for HD TV" though. First, there's absolutely no reason to buy a TV - all the better flatscreen computer monitors have HDMI (or DVI, a simply adapter from HDMI) and if necessary you can get an adapter to output VGA from the Xbox 360 (though at that point the money is probably better spent on a high-quality display). Such a monitor, capable of at least 1920x1080 (1080p, i.e. full HD) will cost well under $300 for 32" if you take the time to shop around a bit (I've se
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Don't have Live, so no cost there.
How much for used games for the PC, and where can I walk in and buy some?
No chat controller either.
Re:No (Score:4, Funny)
Re:No (Score:5, Interesting)
Just to be clear: you are saying that I should be able to shell out $300 and get a decent gaming computer that will "easily last several years" ??
I hate this fallacy. Lets reverse this, to try to illustrate the absuridity: "So I can just shell out $300 for a console that supports 5x the resolution as my TV, is capable of running any software I can throw at it, has an input device with more than 6 buttons, and that can support a near infinite range of 3rd party add-ons? A console is a one time investment that has only one purpose (sometime with other functionality tacked on in a half-assed manner), a PC is an investment that does much much more than just playing video games. You already have a PC, right? How much did that PC cost you? For $300 tacked onto the price of the PC you already bought, you could have a rig that would put your current consoles running on outdated tech to shame.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It's rather sad that you realise in the first half of your post that a direct PC/console comparison is stupid, and then continue to make the same stupid comparison further down.
The idea that an extra $300 will make a general use PC capable of gaming better than a console is laughable. They're different platforms, sticking a decent graphics card in wont make up for the fact that a console is dedicated to gaming (as you note earlier on) is exactly what allows it to run better games at better framerates well a
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It's rather sad that you realise in the first half of your post that a direct PC/console comparison is stupid, and then continue to make the same stupid comparison further down.
You can't compare a console to a PC, but you can compare their ability to play games. A console is, by definition, nothing more than a gimped PC used for dedicated gaming, they are this, and nothing more.
The generic nature, the nature of the fact PCs can have an unlimited amount of addons is what cripples them in terms of gaming per
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:it's not dying (Score:4, Interesting)
non smart ass answer = Steam. Whenever they have a sale, I buy games. Lots of games. I'm not going to pay $60 for a game, but $20-$30 = impulse buy. And you don't even have to leave your house to get the games. You don't have to juggle discs. Just click and play. Since everybody has a computer anyway, a $100 graphics card will get you better graphics than a console at a lower price than a console. Gaming with Steam is just a better experience at a better price.
smart ass answer = Unless you're playing a 2D scroller, joysticks are for losers.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
And you don't even have to leave your house to get the games.
And you'll never be able to resell them. And, if Steam decides to ban you, you lose access to your entire library. Even if you're banned because someone stole your credit card, you have no recourse.
No one I know resells their games anyway... PC or Console, if they didn't want to have it they would have rented it.
Since everybody has a computer anyway, a $100 graphics card will get you better graphics than a console at a lower price than a console.
O
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
And you'll never be able to resell them. And, if Steam decides to ban you, you lose access to your entire library. Even if you're banned because someone stole your credit card, you have no recourse.
So how does someone stealing my credit card get me banned exactly? Do I keep my steam password in my wallet? Or is because some cretinous thief tries every credit card they steal on steam in case they have an account? I know this would theoretically work but please, if you have my credit card you have a limited amount of time to extract as much cash as possible, if you then take it home and log in to my steam account by emailing Steam support then the Police now have a lovely electronic trail to follow. Tha
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Citing a 60% drop in Wii sales is also highly suspect - the Wii is over 3 years old. In fact, I can't think of any other console that sold so well in it's *fourth* Christmas season.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I didn't know F-Zero GX was so badly received - it appears to be fairly WELL received in fact. Are you talking about direct comparisons to the fun factor compared to the other versions, as if so, do you have any claims to back that up?
I find Sega's situation completely disheartening however. They used to be all about really cool, slightly off-beat games, or REALLY well done "more normal" type games. It's really sad to see them in their current state where maybe a handful of interesting games per year co
Re:Larger problem (Score:4, Informative)
Sony isn't about to let the PS3 go when they're counting on it to push Blu-Ray (their proprietary format)
I don't know how the rest of your post got +5 insightful, but this comment especially should've gotten you a couple of troll mods. Blu-ray is design by committee. It's not Sony's proprietary format even though they started the project to work on it and were most aggressive in pushing it (through the PS3). Sony doesn't own the format and if Sony died tomorrow, you would still have Blu-ray on the market.
Re:Larger problem (Score:4, Insightful)
Did you not note that I pointed out DVD was in the PS2 for the same reason?
Sony has a hand in the design of Blu-Ray. They, along with a set of other companies who also "contribute", gain a certain amount from the royalties on discs/players adhering to the blu-ray format, the same way they were connected to DVD.
Sony's setup has always been this way. They never implement an open, universal standard unless they absolutely, positively have to. Look at the amazing number of "standards" they've tried to develop themselves (Beta vs VHS, Compact Disc they had a hand in, DAT, Video8/Hi8, Minidisc vs Philips Digital Compact Cassette, Sony ATRAC vs MP3, Sony SACD vs DVD-Audio, MMCD vs SuperDensity till they gave in and "contributed" their patents to merge EFMPlus into the DVD standard with Toshiba, Memory Stick Duo vs SD, SDDS "Sony Digital Dynamic Sound" versus DTS and Dolby Digital, and of course the craptacular UMD format). Their goal is to make their proprietary "standard" the industry standard, and rake in the royalties, not unlike Microsoft's "embrace, extend, destroy" philosophy concerning open standards.
Re:Larger problem (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
You'd be surprised.
Beta, for instance, ran for nearly two decades. Not in the home VHS market (which was their original target) but in the home camera market (where the smaller size made for easier handheld video cameras) and the television broadcast market (where they don't care so much about having to switch tapes after a certain time limit, but DO care very much about getting higher, more reliable video quality). Those two sectors were still using Beta tapes for a very long time, in fact some more rural
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
A lot of the stuff they put out is partnerships and they participate in many of the industry standard committees.
Yes, so that they can get their patents included in the "standard." It's part of the ongoing barrier-to-entry collusion on the part of the "standards committees"; if you're part of the committee, you generally have some form of patent-access trade so that you can produce the "standard-based" equipment with no patent cost. If a new guy wants to come along and enter the market, the "standards commi
Something wrong with the sales model? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Something wrong with the sales model? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
FWIW, price doesn't make a difference to me. I don't own a current-gen console, and I don't plan on buying another console, ever. Why?
For exactly the reasons outlined in TFA. Casual games are good enough for me. I work, I have a family, I have other hobbies. A quick 30-minute session of Nethack or Elona Shooter[1] or Gemcraft or a thousand other casual games is good enough for me. And in the long run, I expect good gaming experien
Re: (Score:2)
Sure, but would the increase in sales make up for the reduced margins?
Big thing lately is downloading your content. Steam, Xbox Live, PS3 Second Life - it all offers content straight from the developers or your console maker.
Gamestop & EB Games & Toys R Us put the prices up about $15-20 more So that they can turn a profit off of games. You cut them out, either the prices go down, or the profits go up.
Steam has shown this - Everything I have looked at for games are at least $10 less than in store boxed goods, and often they have deals, 50% off, 75% off, bundled package
Re: (Score:2)
For major releases, I think the market has actually adapted quite well. Consumers are given a pretty good tradeoff spectrum to decide how much a game is worth to them:
If a game looks to you like a good enough value proposition that you're willing to buy it at launch, you pay $60.
If a game looks worthwhile but you don't need it at launch, you can hold off for a few months and someone will have it for $40 (eventually MSRP reflects this).
If a game looks fun but you wouldn't pay more than a budget title for it
Re: (Score:2)
If a game looks fun but you wouldn't pay more than a budget title for it (and it isn't a consistent bestseller), play other games for a few more months and you'll see it for $20.
I've tried this several times: wait for a PS2 game to hit the bargain aisle, buy it, unwrap it, put it in my PS2, and try to play online only to find that Sony has shut off the matchmaking server with DNAS Error -103.
Man I wish (Score:2)
Here in Australia we get charged 110 Oz for a tier one game, which works out to be 100 US with current exchange rates.
Relative CD, DVD and game prices were set when the Oz dollar was worth about 60 US cents which was a decade ago and margins haven't been adjusted since.
Not for me (Score:2)
After playing video games on my grandson's XBox 360 over Thanksgiving, I signed up with GameFly so I can try a lot of Wii games at home. It is so much better playing video games standing up :-)
Re:Not for me (Score:5, Insightful)
What, like gripe in a real-live conversation instead of posting some stupid shit on slashdot?
Pot meet kettle...
Re:Not for me (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't own a Wii, but I'm pretty sure there are several games available for it other than the "Wii Sports" to which you allude.
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. My brother has a Wii. His favorite game on it was Resident Evil 4. I actually borrowed his system for a bit (we traded and he took my 360 for a while) and bought Twilight Princess and Metroid Prime 3 for the system and enjoyed those far more than the Wii Sports or Wii Fit games which he had.
Overall IMHO the whole Wii Sports "flail the controller around" thing was a fad. Literally every person I know that bought a Wii has either sold it or has it collecting dust somewhere. The general consensus
Re:Not for me (Score:4, Insightful)
Instead of writing that presumptuous post chastising some random guy you don't even know, you could've gone outside and we wouldn't have had to read your condescending bullshit.
Re:Not for me (Score:4, Insightful)
In other words, under any of this situations you would come off as a jack-ass if you said just what you wrote. There is no holy grail way to play games.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't really like bowling, but I like Wii Bowling. It's more convenient, cheaper, and much faster. Not to mention that I suck at bowling, and would have to invest a significant chunk of time an
Feeding the troll (Score:2)
Going out side and walking around are nice, when the winds are less than gale force and the temperatures are above freezing. Same with golf & soccer, it's damned hard to perform those
Re:Not for me (Score:4, Interesting)
the Wii is awesome because the games are *fun*.
The Wii had the lowest rated games of all platforms [metacritic.com] in 2009.
Wii: 362 games... 1 considered great.
Xbox 360/PC: 7 considered great. PS3: 10 considered great.
No (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah. Global economic meltdown + console sales expected to slow down as the generation goes on explains it.
A 60% drop in sales for the Wii isn't exactly saying much considering the insane and unexpected "we can't keep up with demand" aka "license to print money" sales pace for the first year or two of the console's existence.
Yeah, so it's not a license to print money any more - I'm sure Nintendo is still doing just fine.
Re: (Score:2)
Over 1 million consoles sold last week, according to vgchartz. They're doing just fine. Hell, the DS had a million sales in NA 2 weeks ago. Nintendo still prints money.
Re:No (Score:5, Informative)
This statement seems to imply that the console losses from the Entertainment Division somehow led to the sudden loss as a company for MS. Except for a few quarters, the division has historically been a money loser for MS. MS has had cumulative losses of $8 billion from the division since the Xbox was started.
Re: (Score:2)
It's a fairly small proportion of Microsoft's business overall to begin with, so it's odd that people would attribute either successes or problems at Microsoft as a whole to its Entertainment and Devices division. Microsoft has annual revenues just under $60 billion, while its the Entertainment and Devices division has revenues just under $2 billion--- it's about 3% of the company's business. If Microsoft is doing better or worse one year vs. another, it's much more likely to be due to something going on wi
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
The video game industry isn't the only one posting losses recently, so this doesn't seem like a big deal at all. That and these consoles are four years old, it's not surprising to see sales dip.
Agreed. In particular, when the summary gets to the sales drop of the Wii, I have a hard time feeling sorry for Nintendo. For one thing, if you're talking about sales of the actual Wii console, well for something like a year and a half after launch it was still hard to buy a Wii because they kept selling out. If sales have dropped, it's probably because the Wii has only now hit its saturation point and everyone who wants a Wii has already bought one.
But also, it's important to note that Nintendo was mak
Smaller developes (Score:2)
Virtual marketplaces such as WiiWare and Xbox Arcade enable smaller developers to get a foot in the door
Smaller, yes, but not smallest. It appears that a small business still needs to do a first title on either the PC or the iPod Touch, and some genres aren't suited to those platforms.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Define Smallest?
I alone could submit a game to the Xbox Live Arcade - for a small investment. Whether it makes it up there or not depends on how good it is - but the fact remains a single person can make a game for the 360.
Ridiculous analysis (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, console gaming is dying. That must be it. (Score:4, Insightful)
Or it could be that we're in a global recession, it's been a rather lackluster year for gaming in general, and all of the consoles have reached the maturity/decline slope in their product life-cycle.
Re: (Score:2)
all of the consoles have reached the maturity/decline slope in their product life-cycle.
Really? "For years, Sony has argued that its video game consoles have 10-year lifecycles" says this interesting article [zdnetasia.com], which mainly focuses on PS2's 9th birthday. Also, I don't see a big decline in sales in this console hardware sales chart [pcvsconsole.com] (which, admittedly, might not be too accurate, but gives you a rough idea).
Frankly, I don't think we're nowhere near seeing what can be eventually squeezed out of PS3 or 360 or Wii. Remember the difference between early vs. later PS2 games?
And I don't realistically
MSFT didn't post a loss. (Score:5, Informative)
This article is inaccurate. Microsoft didn't post a loss, it posted its first REVENUE DROP since it became public in 1986. They still made a pretty good profit in that quarter.
Re:MSFT didn't post a loss. (Score:5, Informative)
Another drawback of OnLive: ping time. (Score:5, Interesting)
Instead, with fattening broadband connections, mainstream gaming is probably going to go towards the way of OnLive, where one big bank of hardware can churn out the power needed for broadband-connected gaming machines, without needing to fill a loss-making box with proprietary hardware. In fact, limited bandwidth is the only obstacle to this technology taking off worldwide.
Bandwidth isn't the only problem; latency is another biggie. Players are used to being able to press a button and see something happen within 30 milliseconds. The latency for sending your keypresses to the game server, rendering and compressing a frame, and sending it back is likely to be much larger than that, even if only for speed-of-light reasons.
The big lack of user maps and mods does not help a (Score:2)
The big lack of user maps and mods does not help also.
Xbox pay to pay on line is a joke when you look at that next to free pc and ps3 on line play.
Re: (Score:2)
Really? (Score:2)
Linkbait.
Let me see if I have this right... during a giant global recession during which people had trouble paying rent and were scared of losing their jobs, they weren't out buying $200 consoles? Egads!
Look at how gaming has done through all this. Yes, sales fell, but New Super Mario Brothers Wii has sold over 2 million units in a month in the US. Modern Warfare 2 sold tons and tons of units. Amazon is having tons of trouble keeping the Wii and Wii games in stock.
All things considered, gaming is doing am
Anecdotally... no. (Score:4, Insightful)
Consoles aren't in any danger in my house, because I have ceased to maintain a gaming PC. I've switched to console gaming entirely- at the cost of the superior control scheme of Dragon Age, the third-party mods of Oblivion, and the keyboard-and-mouse input that I'm so familiar with. I gave that all up in order to get a game that I know will work when I get home, that won't disagree with my video card or run like a slideshow cause I don't have enough RAM.
Console gaming is, in my opinion, stronger than ever. It just happens to be a recession and people are spending less on luxuries... like video games.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
at the cost of the superior control scheme of Dragon Age
Ha! Dragon Age on the X360 has made me consider putting together a proper gaming PC again. I beat the game (no, not on Casual setting), but micromanaging the battles through the radial wheel was tedium personified. And I never did figure out which direction on the D-pad changed the target selection in what way. There was a general dense of direction, but then it would do something unexpected, or select a target way offscreen.
And, hey, Bioware? Maybe a little contextual influence on the target selection? May
It's not a luxury, it's a human right! (Score:2)
It just happens to be a recession and people are spending less on luxuries... like video games.
Dude, not cool! First you you couldn't be bothered maintaining a l33t gam31ng r1g because of petty things like compatibility and cost. Then you said video games are a luxury! Every gamer knows they're not a luxury, they're a human right. So that's it! Hand in your l33t gam1ng card, grandad! And get out of my treehouse! (If I can't be on your lawn, you can't be in my treehouse!)
Of course (Score:4, Funny)
Yes it is dying along with driving cars. GM lost a lot of money and so we know that people just aren't into driving cars anymore.
And I'm pretty sure that Sony and Microsoft both lost a lot of money in the format war that went on between Blueray and HD DVD. It seems to me that Sony won that war because of the PS3.
PC gamers love to obsess ??? (Score:2, Informative)
PC gamers love to obsess over whether PC gaming is dying? No, Console Players obsess over that. PC Gamers just keep playing :)
I mostly agree, but... (Score:2)
...I think Wii hardware sales declining have more to do with everyone who wants one freaking has one now. That's the problem with selling fast and hard, you drop off a cliff and lose all of your potential buyers because they already own it!
console gaming will not die (Score:4, Insightful)
there's two questions here:
1) is GAMING dying?
2) is CONSOLE GAMING dying?
1. no. people continue to want to play games. it will only grow as current gamers grow older and have kids who become new gamers.
2. no. while PC gaming will continue to have its niche market, especially in areas where keyboard and mouse have dynamic advantages (especially MMO and RTS games), console gaming makes modern games accessible to the masses who cannot (through lack of knowledge or lack of money) continually upgrade their PC's to keep up. Consoles give a consistent platform for several years where upgrading is not necessary, and games will "just work".
Sure during recession all forms of entertainment will suffer cuts, but gaming is far from being alone here.
Not being snarky, genuinely curious (Score:2)
with sales of the Wii dropping by 67 percent in the US
Couldn't this be because enough households already have a Wii?! I mean, they make a good enough product that doesn't break every other year, and then they're surprised when sales slip... Maybe it's just that everyone already has one!
Stupid details (Score:2)
The story's facts are twisted up and down to try and create a story.
For one, as stated Sony posted a huge loss OVERALL with it's gaming division being only a portion of that. Could it possibly be that with the PS3, as with every other product they try to hawk at us, Sony managed to create a product that does nothing their competitors don't yet costs much more?
Microsoft's entertainment division's loss was paltry. $31 million for a company that is swimming in money. Nothing was said about sales popularity
you ask silly questions (Score:5, Insightful)
No.
All car manufacturers suffered from the recession. Is driving dying?
The Wii has been out for quite awhile too. Wii games (and therefore licensing) can continue to be massively successful, even if sales of the console peter out. You left out the fact that despite falling sales of the Wii (which can actually be a good thing if it indicates market saturation), Nintendo is actually the only one of the three that posted an overall profit.
Are you an idiot? The iPhone is not going to replace anyone's XBox, PS3, or Wii. Mobile phones, PC games, and console games all serve entirely different markets. None of these are going to take over the other in the foreseeable future. Stop trolling the easily-trolled Slashdot editors.
So... in short. (Score:2)
with a $31 million US loss coming straight from the Entertainment and Devices division, which is responsible for the Xbox 360
Websense blocked the article but.... So, Microsoft lost money. One part of the company lost $31 million. That one part is responsible for the Xbox 360. Therefore the conclusion is that the Xbox 360 and it's ilk are doomed to failure? Sorry, but it seems to me that leap in logic could mean anything produced from Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division was doomed to failure. Like games,... and keyboards...
What I think is far more likely was someone was thinking of how to drive traffic from /. and othe
Exagerrating the numbers. (Score:2)
I don't have the Microsoft numbers off hand, but a $31 million dollar loss is infinitesimal compared to the sheer size of that company. They probably spend more money on paper and staples. Ballmer could probably support the Xbox division
Forgot to mention (Score:2)
I am pretty sure the Entertainment and Devices division is responsible for more than just the Xbox, so equating the $31 million loss to the console is kind of a stretch. Seems to me like the Zune would fall under that category, and I'd bet they lose plenty of money on that thing as well.
not dying, yet (Score:2)
No, console gaming is not dying, yet.
Fine, they suffered a bit... So did pretty much everyone else - especially anyone in the entertainment industry. Money is tight, folks aren't spending as much on games. The fact that there are different consoles that don't run each-other's games just spread the money even thinner. Deal with it.
However, I do think gaming in general is going to have to make some adjustments.
$60 for a game that barely offers 10 hours of gameplay just isn't going to cut it. I think the
Ask the experts -- what does Netcraft say? (Score:2)
Does Netcraft confirm it?
Top 10 of the top 20 console games... (Score:4, Informative)
Top 20 console games of all time [wikipedia.org]
1. Wii Play (Wii – 24.43 million)[68]
2. Wii Fit (Wii – 22.5 million)[68]
3. Nintendogs (DS – 22.27 million, all five versions combined)[69]
4. Pokémon Red, Blue, and Green (Game Boy – 20.08 million approximately: 10.23 million in Japan,[45] 9.85 million in US)[19]
5. New Super Mario Bros. (DS – 19.94 million)[68]
6. Mario Kart Wii (Wii – 18.36 million)[68]
7. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES – 18 million)[108]
8. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (DS – 17.41 million)[69]
9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2 - 17.33 million)[114]
10. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (DS – 16.81 million)[70]
Except for the single PS2 game and Super Mario Brothers 3, DS and Wii games seem to be selling very well. It will be very interesting to see how well New Super Mario Wii sells. It has been out for three weeks and is currently clocking in near 2 million units.
No... DUH! (Score:2)
When thousands of people lose their jobs, are they going to continue to spend money on expensive purchases like game consoles and the accessories and games that go with them?
Of course not.
It is the government that provides the entertainment for the masses in such a case.
Worked for the Roman Empire... No, wait...
Re: (Score:2)
Gaming is a right! You're damn sure someone's gonna pay for me to play.
Re:Never Liked Consoles (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Only after the second six-pac
Re: (Score:2)
As good as a mouse and keyboard are for first person shooters, they are less than useless for third-person over the shoulder games like Mass Effect and Gears of War.
What's that you say? Hook up a gamepad? Well how is that any different than a console?
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore gaming on the PC...hell, I started gaming on a Commodore 64. Consoles definitely have their place, however...and writing them off the way some fanboys write off a Playstation or an Xbox because of the brand name is a re
Re: (Score:2)
"Pride", "being right?"
How about just because I prefer it.
PC + gamepad != console, more like > console (Score:2)
What's that you say? Hook up a gamepad? Well how is that any different than a console?
For one thing, once you've plugged a gamepad into the PC, you can use it for minor mods, total conversions, and even original games by microstudios. Those tend to be underrepresented on consoles, apart from 1. token efforts like basic level editors and a few editor-oriented games like RPG Maker and LittleBigPlanet, and 2. cracks.
Re:Never Liked Consoles (Score:5, Interesting)
I like consoles because I know that even in 5 years, if a game is released for my xbox 360 (or wii, or whatever), then it'll work on that console. I can build a PC this year and I've still got to check every game to be sure it'll work. For the next 1-2 years, it'll probably work, after that, all bets are off. Maybe it'll work as long as I turn down some of the graphical options or maybe it'll be completely unplayable. This is especially true if I'm building a PC that has a cost in the same range as a game console.
Then you've got various hardware and software compatibility issues to worry about. I have to assume that stuff isn't as big of a deal as back when I did play a lot of PC games in the DOS/Win 3.2/early win95 days, but judging by posts on forums the problem still exists.
Some people are ok with that to have the "better" (which is really opinion anyway and varies between games) controls, the usually better graphics on the PC version of a game if a console is more than a year or so old, the mods from the game community, etc. I can certainly understand that and there are times where I think about getting back into PC gaming because of those reasons, particularly the community mods. In the end, though, for me and for most console gamers I personally know, the known ability to just buy the game, stick it in the console, and get playing wins out.
It also seems like there are more games released for console that do not make it to PC than the other way around. I may be wrong on that due to not following PC only games, though.
You don't follow PC exclusives (Score:3, Insightful)
It also seems like there are more games released for console that do not make it to PC than the other way around. I may be wrong on that due to not following PC only games
You're right that you're wrong. Pretty much every shareware, freeware, or free software game for PC is a PC exclusive. If you thought Apple's App Store model wasn't friendly to small studios and individual developers, the model used by Sony and Nintendo (and for Xbox 360 games that use the console's advanced features) is far more of a hassle.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I like consoles because I know that even in 5 years, if a game is released for my xbox 360 (or wii, or whatever), then it'll work on that console
Yeah, but with regards to the 360, whether the console itself will be working is a major consideration.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Of course you'll be able to play current console games 10 years from now.
Using an emulator.
On a PC.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Left Joystick Movment
Right Joystick aiming/Camera Movement
A is to select a menu item
B is to cancel out of a menu item
These are all pretty standard across all the consoles (Well PS3 uses shapes but if you use their relative positions its the same).
The thing that scares most people away from consoles is that they have too many buttons. 2 Joysticks, 2 bumpers 2 triggers, a D-pad, start, select, and 4 other buttons? It overwhelms most casual gamers. A keyboard full of controls gets even worse.
The arguement has
Re: (Score:2)
I never got used to the stupid little joysticks and the A button, B button with no obvious functions.
Compared to the W, S, A, and D buttons with no obvious functions other than entering text? A keyboard is the ideal controller for a text adventure, but that genre is dead commercially.
Re: (Score:2)
The Fighter Stick is a joystick. Uses analog "pots".
Even the $20 Siatek is analog.
Re:I doubt it (Score:4, Interesting)
I think you hit it on the head. Hard core gaming is dying not console gaming.
I have been playing video games since I got a new 2600 way back when. Just like war games and flight sims you have reached the level of just to hard to be fun. When I pick up a game for the XBox I can not just start to play it and be any good at all.
There will always be hardcore users that want hard core games. But the number of casual users will always be many times greater.
Re:I doubt it (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't think that's true at all. "Hardcore" gaming (I hate that term) isn't declining, it's just being OVERSHADOWED by the massive growth in the entire gaming market. It's a smaller piece of a vastly larger pie. That may bother some egos, but isn't really a bad thing. Probably good for the industry.
Re: (Score:2)