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Wired Proclaims the Death of the Game Console
SternisheFan points out an article at Wired arguing that game consoles and the business model that sustained them are now "obsolete." Quoting:
"Years from now, 225 million devices will almost certainly be seen as the point at which the console business peaked. Gamers are going elsewhere for their fix. The console’s time at the top of the heap is drawing to an end, and these machines won’t survive without radical change. ... Consoles used to do everything best, but those strengths are now being wiped away. Unlike PC games, which may require finicky custom settings, consoles 'just work,' fans have long pointed out. Well, so does the iPad. Consoles are cheaper than PCs? Not when you factor in the growing disparity in game prices. Consoles have all the good content? Well, if you want Nintendo- or Sony-exclusive games, you’ll need to buy their hardware. But for many gamers, Angry Birds is becoming more attractive than Mario.
Until Netcraft confirms it.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
My brother's wife's aunt's grandkid's roommate in college brother's son just bought a console so this PROVES that this article is complete horseshit.
Now, mod me up "Insightful" or "Informative"!
Gamers need great controls, and frankly the controls on touch screen games stink. Racing game on touch screen vs racing game on console with Xbox S controls or steering wheel? I'm choosing the console.
The current console generation has already gone one for a year too long, and it will be at least one more year before the new Xbox and Playstation come out. In games media people do seem to be switching to the PC, but as soon as the new consoles come out the unwashed masses will move to them.
As for the iPad and the like? Sure they will take the causal and non gamer markets, pretty much the people who purchased the Wii as their first and only console. Game console might not see as high of sales, but just like happens with every new console generation and the reports of PC gaming being dead, the death of consoles is high exaggerated.
It's not as if people who play Assassin's Creed have suddenly shifted over to Angry Birds in droves. The audience who plays Angry Birds is a separate audience. Furthermore, Angry Birds costs less than console games, so comparing by number of total players is misleading.
Completely different groups of people.
Gamers are going elsewhere for their fix.
They are?
Unlike PC games, which may require finicky custom settings, consoles 'just work,' fans have long pointed out. Well, so does the iPad.
And that proves ...?
Slashdoters have been proclaiming the death of Slashdot for years now, yet the body still twitches every once and a while.
This is just one of those "X is dead" stories where the author knows nothing about anything including market diversity.
It is obvious that McD attracts more customers then 3 star restaurants, therefor 3 star restaurants are dead...
Logic dictates this. But McD has been around for a long time and so is the whole Michelin guide thing, which has also been declared dead many times.
There are indeed people for who Angry Birds is enough and they can buy an iPad Mini for 329. And there are those for who mario is enough and they can buy a Wii U for 350. Wow! Look at that price difference!!! Anyway, for SOME, Angry Birds is NOT enough just as a dry patty on an even dryer piece of fluffed corn isn't good enough for some. And they will buy a PC, put in a video card and play real games.
And there are even some people, who one day buy a hamburger and the next day visit a 3 star restaurant. Amazing!
And some people never buy any pre-made food and cook at home!!! It is almost like there are kinds of different people out there with others catering to their needs!
Right now, in 2012 EA/Maxis is preparing Sim City for a 2013 launch and EVERYTHING looks like it will be a real Sim City again for real men on real PC's. And some gay guys on mac's. No more consolfication attempt, just a hard core sim game like we used to have. And it got just as many fanboys as Angry Birds has, except these fans can walk and chew gum at the same time.
Everytime someone declares something dead, it springs back on its feet. The world is a more complex place then you think and people have different needs and wants, often on the same day.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
This isn't exactly on-topic, but since the article mentions it, I'll bring it up. As someone who has played games my entire life (starting with Pong on a black ad white TV, growing up through the Arcade craze of the 80s, and every game console in between), I just don't see the appeal of Angry Birds. Sure, the game is well implemented - graphics, sound effects, and music are all very well done.
However, the basic gameplay mechanics are just so-so. It's just a physics simulation. The real problem is that there is such a massive luck factor involved. For example, when someone beats a difficult "level", what is the chance that they can actually reproduce their success in the exact same way? Pretty much impossible. Things happen in a way they neither intended nor predicted. So in other words, Angry Birds is more of a "slot machine" than a skill based game. Is it just the visual satisfaction of seeing a physics simulation smoothly unfold and crap fall down? Sort of like how the bouncing cards after winning Windows Solitaire was always so satisfying in a strange kind of way?
Now that's all good and well. Some people like to play luck based games. But why such a large percent of the population? With this game your skill quickly plateaus and then you're relying on mere chance, which isn't so appealing to me. Is it that their marketing is that good, or that they reached some magic threshold that the franchise is simply self sustaining now?
How many Slashdot readers feel that Angry Birds is the deserved pinnacle and poster child of non-console, non-PC gaming? And if not, what game should be the flagship of this new gaming market?
Better known as 318230.
yeah, but what happens when there's a generation of kids who grew up playing angry birds as their first game instead of super mario?
Poor parenting has been an ongoing issue for generations!
i never understand how people who rant about software freedom [...] will then run out and buy an microsoft xbox and a sony playstation.
It's because not enough PC games support USB gamepads well or support more than one player on one HDTV monitor. Some people prefer the multiplayer model traditionally associated with consoles, especially for games that aren't FPS or RTS. PCs can do it; it's just that major PC game publishers choose not to in order to sell a copy per player instead of a copy per household.