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Ten Gaming Myths Debunked
ThinSkin writes "The Playstation 3 will fail. Video games are too violent. Copy protection is the beginning of the end for gaming. These myths and others are the target for Loyd Case over at ExtremeTech as he takes ten gaming myths apart and debunks them. From the article:
'Rumors are partly due to the nature of the overheated coverage that's the rule of the day on Internet sites. Rumors spread, become accepted as fact and remain embedded in people's belief systems long after the actual facts have emerged. There also seems to be relatively little historical perspective among some writers, which can alleviate breathless hype, either positive or negative.'"
WHen I saw the headline, I was afrad that someone had stumbled on Henry Jenkins "Video Game Myths Debunked" had been rediscovered once again and posted. (Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the article, but it just gets discovered every once in a while as if it were a new article).
http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
I am sure the PS3 will have a successful launch and sell a lot of consoles for this years Christmas (if they make it in time...)
However, unless things change between now and then, I think many consumers will regret their decision when they realize how little they recieved for how much they payed. I don't know many people that think the PSP is the best handheld they own right now, even if the only other 'current-ish' one is a GBA. It has amazing graphics, but just tried to be way too much.
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.-TJ
I would have marked this as insightful, but you made the assertation that Xbox will dominate this generation...... and I've gotta say, the Wii looks pretty damn good. (Of course right now it is, as it's the only game in town) I suspect that PS3 will wind up being the odd man out this time around, with people either buyign the Wii or the 360 as an affordable alternative to the PS3.
The myth is that it WILL fail. It may fail, but claiming that is inevitable is a myth.
This gets bandied about all the time, and I wonder if anyone saying it ever stops to think.
PC and console games tend to be different because the systems have different capabilities. Your PC's monitor has, traditionally, crammed a lot more pixels onto the screen than your TV's. This has tended to favor genres that need a lot of screen real-estate, like RTS, and the genres that typically go heaviest on the eye candy, like FPS. Furthermore, every PC comes equipped with a keyboard and mouse (spare me the pedantry of your 8086 not having a mouse), which gives a more precise control setup than a typical gamepad. What needs precision in control more than anything? FPS games. Hence, the PC has dominated RTS and FPS, while the console has played to its strengths (or, at least, to minimize its weaknesses), giving us menu-based RPGs, sports, platformers, and the like.
But think about it - HDTV? A 1080p TV is pushing a lot more pixels than most peoples' monitors. Even at 720p, you've got a whole lot of pixels on that screen. And the consoles are taking advantage. RTS is looking more and more feasible on the console. Meanwhile, they've got the "ooh, wow, eye candy!" effect from the resolution increase. So does anyone think it's really a major stretch to see a KBM setup on a console? Hell, the Xbox already has one! And for all we (no pun intended) know, the Wiimote is going to blow the KBM setup out of the water for FPS gameplay.
So, I'm not saying the PC is dying, but looking at this zomg pc gamez r difrent then console games argument: the gameplay experiences are different because of the hardware differences, and the hardware differences are decreasingly significant.
The PC once had exclusive dominion over online play, superior control, superior display, and moddability, at the expense of higher cost and (potentially) having to deal with the headache of PC hardware/compatibility issues.
Now, the consoles have online play. They've got the great displays, and tentatively, even better control, with none of the hassles of PC gaming.
The only thing the PC's got a leg up on, now, is moddability, and with the likes of XBL, how long can we expect that to last, maybe this generation?
He also claims that if the PS3 doesn't win it will be regarded as a Microsoft xBox360 win. I don't know of anyone, other than those working for Microsoft or Lionshead, who think Microsoft would win - they'll be lucky to grab the number two spot behind the Nintendo Wii.
If anyone could claim to win, it would be Nintendo. Not only will they continue their long line of profitable consoles and games, they would regain the number one spot worldwide, and in the USA.
The rest of his exploded myths, though, are pretty accurate, although some could argue he's forcing the point.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
> 1. Want to own a gaming system.
You don't buy from Sony if you want to own something.
You don't own stuff, you license stuff.
They own stuff, and your ass.
(I know, what I say _is_ ridiculous, but I think this is the direction towards which everything is heading)
There is a whole genre of people that marketers call "gold-collar." They have jobs that are neither blue nor white collar, generally fast food or mall type jobs. These people spend Hundreds on a purse. They are more or less people who make very little money but buy expensive luxury goods. It seems odd, but they are very real...i ving/articles/0727goldcollar.html - gold-collar_x.htm?csp=N009
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonal
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2005-06-08
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold-collar_worker
Um and one other thing- say it with me- CREDIT CARDS
Intelligent people think something that costs $600 costs, well, $600. A ton of people think $600 costs an extra $2 on their minimum monthly payment on their Capital One card... Money is not an issue to a lot of people, as long as they can charge it...
And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
As a long time PC gamer I am to the point where I hope PC games do become niche again. All though I seriously doubt that will actually happen. But when I started in this hobby in the early 80s it was the domain of the hardcore nerd. And as far as I am concerned let it go back to that. I don't need EA and the latest rev of Madden wouldn't play it anyway. Bring back the hardcore developers with their giant manuals and incredibly complex games. Bring back the hardcore players and get the n00bs off the servers. I say let them play Wii. But as long as there are nerds with computers there will be PC games.