🚀 go-pugleaf

On Sat, 18 Sep 2010 07:14:22 -0700 (PDT), Insane Ranter
<log...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Sep 18, 5:30 am, Tim O <timo56...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> I'm expecting digital downloads to be the trend rather than this. They
>> pretty much gut the resale aspect, and the thing really holding them
>> back is that limited size of console hard drives. I'd expect next gen
>> console systems (I know there really aren't any officially in the
>> pipe) to have huge hard drives. They've gone from being a data
>> buffer/save game tool in consoles to a true storage medium just like
>> in a PC.
>
>This idea just makes me go why not just make everything for PC and
>screw the whole console idea.

I'm always on a quest to try to understand the appeal of consoles and
why some would choose them over PC games.  The best conclusion I've
come to is that so many people view a console as a very simple
entertainment appliance: you buy the box then buy some games... then
done.

With PCs there is a false perception that everything is more
complicated.  Maybe there is some small amount of truth there, in the
sense that in order to get the most out of PC gaming, you need to know
a little more about hardware, video card options, etc and be willing
to upgrade some things once in a while.  There are lots of consumers
that just seem overwhelmed by that.

I usually work on teams with very technical people.  I would say the
majority of those do most of their gaming on consoles.  That would
seem to contradict the "PCs are difficult or scary to deal with"
theory.  I sometimes ask around, why an Xbox or PS3 instead of PC?
I've gotten various answers, some have told me that they don't like
the hardware upgrade cycle, some say they just enjoy laying back on
the couch doing everything with the wireless controller, and the
benefit of their big TV.  A few guys I know got PS3s simply as a way
to play the latest games, because they perceived a cost advantage over
upgrading their aging PC which was otherwise still very usable for
everything they did (except play cutting edge games). One fellow told
me a story about how his memories of PC gaming involved
troubleshooting IRQ conflicts on sound cards and such, and that he's
just glad to be done with all that (it didn't matter that nobody has
dealt with IRQ conflicts in a long time, that was the impression left
in his mind).  The point is that sometimes even very technical people
sometimes have an impression that PC games are a pain in the ass.  So,
in their mind they can just buy whatever the latest console is and be
done with it.  A shame, since PC gaming has come a long way.

Getting back to the subject of used game sales, I do agree that it is
highly likely the next iteration of consoles is going to offer (if not
mandate) a download-distribution model along the lines of Steam.  If
not that, they will go to something like these services where the
games all execute in the cloud, and your console is really just a dumb
terminal that lets you remotely play the game.