Is America Heading Towards Casual Gaming on All Fronts??
There’s no doubt that the Xbox One garnered some major interest in the gaming industry. There’s also no doubt that Xbox One received MAJOR criticism over what one would consider to be MAJOR drawbacks to the system. Microsoft announced that Xbox One owners would be required to be online in order to use the system. They also made it clear that second-hand gaming would be disallowed. This came as a huge shock and infuriated almost the entire video gaming community. Sure, maybe one day second-hand gaming will be nonexistent and sure, maybe one day everyone will have to be online to use their TVs, Blu-Ray players, tablets, etc. But America made it known that time is not now!
My fear is that Microsoft is taking the Xbox into a direction very similar to the original Wii. Microsoft’s focus with the Xbox One is to have a system in everyone’s household. The Wii wanted this same thing, and they virtually achieved it. Hell, the retirement home I work at has scheduled Wii Bowling nights (just ask StarSpangledEggs! He’s seen it!)! But do I necessarily want to talk to my Xbox One just to turn the TV on or change the channel? I feel goofy speaking to nobody in my living room with people around. It’s awkward!
Is this a bad thing for Microsoft? Hell no. They’re going to make hundreds of millions of dollars (dare I say billions?) with this strategy!
Is this a bad thing for hardcore gamers? Hell yes. Xbox One owners will find themselves overwhelmed with a barrage of games disguised for “core” gamers only to learn they’re stuck using Kinect voice commands to control players, menu options, and more. It’s not fair to the hardcore gamers out there. Sony is the only group that seems to be doing something right. They are sticking to their guns and aiming for hardcore gamers on a level that Microsoft is slowly slipping away from.
Xbox One will still have some solid games, but I’m concerned about Microsoft Exclusive games… Will those end up in a pile of novelty games such as Kinect Adventures and Donkey Konga? Or will they go the route of the Nintendo Wii? Nintendo used to be my favorite system-developer but they have fallen by the wayside with mostly everything they’ve done post-GameCube (with the exception of Super Smash Bros Brawl).
C’mon Microsoft… Don’t try to go down that road. I wouldn’t go down that road. Let’s keep it real and make some solid games that use the wonderfully ergonomic Xbox controller and not make games that make me have to stand in front of the TV to kick a soccer ball and wave my hand to swing a golf club. If I wanted to exercise I’d go outside. If I want to play video games, I don’t want to sweat.
Reporting the exclusive news here at Nerd Bacon, I’m NerdBerry.
Written by Nerdberry
What’s up yall? David “Nerdberry” here! I am the founder of Nerd Bacon and the current co-owner (and CEO) along with partner David “theWatchman!” I hail from North Carolina, hence my love for all things pork! Oh, you’re not familiar with NC? Well I’m not 100% sure, but I am pretty confident that NC and VA lead the nation in pork production. I could be wrong, but even if I am, I still love bacon!
Come enjoy some bacon and games with us yall.
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On a very, *extremely* fundamental level, games are difficult because they can only simulate reality, not re-create it. We press a button to jump, a direction to move. Advancements in gaming are made by improving this simulation. Better controls, more abilities to do things in games, rumble packs, all of this serves to intensify the realistic, representative aspect of gaming. People our age think really old video games suck because we were introduced to video games at a certain stage of their evolution, and because of this, we are also somewhat resistant to change. But now we can jump or wave an arm for the character to jump or wave their arm. People are going to grow up with this and they aren’t going to understand what the point of pressing buttons for characters to jump is because it’s so far removed from their video game reality.
When I whip out the Coleco and shock myself with coax cables, I am so disappointed with the experience of playing Donkey Kong. And why is it? Controls are unresponsive, movement is choppy, my hands aren’t used to the physical position needed to hold the damn phone controller thing. I’m thinking “why play this when I can play SMB and do the same thing only easier?” The NES controls better represent my view of reality; I see Donkey Kong as pointless, obsolete, abstract even.
I like the whole moving around thing, sort of. I don’t think it’s been done in a wonderful way yet, but I like the concept. Ever snowboarded in Mario and Sonic Winter Olympics on one of those Wii Fit pads? That shit is way more fun than pushing a d-pad.
In what other way is there for games to continue to better simulate reality? Graphics, no, because everyone lives in a world of high def and quadruple layer terabyte DVD discs or whatever. Sound? They perfected that shit forever ago, they just made it affordable in the last 20ish years. The whole concept of a game has to change, what better way than to get the player as involved in gameplay as possible? How much more life-like is moving your arm in a bowling motion than pressing a button labeled “throw”? It’s all perspective anyway, but I think dismissing hands free video games is painting broad strokes. There will always be people that want to push buttons and people that don’t, but as far as the essence of what a “game” is, it’s a tremendous leap forward. The people laughing at middle aged fatties doing a Wii workout are, one day I believe, gonna feel just as stupid as the ones who wrote off the entire industry as a fad back in ~76.
Great points are being made. But the technology to have complex controls done without an 8 button controller and 2 joysticks just isn’t there yet. Imagine trying to play a reflex-intensive game… It’s just not there yet. — As for PS4’s “eye” being optional.. that must be solely to stay competitive with Kinect. I think you either commit to it, or you don’t! The Wii forced us to use their shit… and it was cool at first. But the novelty soon wore off whenever I wanted to play a game on my own.
I can agree that some of the concepts are good, but what’s wrong with creating a simple video game system that plays video games, and then creating a “home media center” add-on package for people who want it?! I’m not going to shell out the ridiculous prices for these things when they’re loaded with features that I don’t need.
I understand your point, fully, about spending money on something you won’t be likely to use. I get it. But, it might turn out that shelling out the extra $50 for the Xbox One might be the better move. I want to make this clear, I don’t hate PlayStation, I never have, I just think that, hardware-wise, there aren’t enough differences to decide your purchase, on that alone. But then you take, what I consider to be, the main factor; online gaming. You can’t tell me that PSN is even close to the same level as XBL. I understand that you don’t have to pay for PSN, but I feel that the online experience blows. Because of this, I ensure that any online game I purchase is on my Xbox. Even though online play is available on both platforms, if you spend a little, it pays off. Then I could rant about how much better PS3 has been when playing digital media vs. 360. I’ve rarely had a video file that wouldn’t play on PS3, but it happens, quite often, on the 360. My point is, the issues I am pointing out on both sides were not facts that we knew when these systems debuted. They don’t specify on the spec sheets for either one of these, at the time they first released, what could play online better, or which could play more digital media, we just had to choose one, and find out from friends that purchased the opposite, who made the bigger mistake. I feel like I just ranted and I assure you, that was not my plan. Do I make any sense?
Makes great sense to me. There are pros and cons to both systems. One is better in this area. The other is better in that area. And so forth. I’m just concerned about the future of gaming as they keep pressing this “hands free” body movement gaming. I’m okay with change and I’m definitely okay with evolving. But I think their energy could be better spent somewhere else. TO ME, it’s a money move by Microsoft.
I feel, that Xbox is making a very bold move. I’m extremely interested in the Xbox One, as well as the PS4, but there are some dumb moves being made, on both ends. I think Microsoft might end up on top, though. The whole idea of the Kinect is great, but I agree, I don’t want to have to do some cardio when I’d rather be chilling on my couch, drinking beer and smashing buttons. Playstation has made the “eye” an optional purchase, but I think it will end up making it useless because the devs aren’t going to be as inclined to develop for it if nobody has it. The fact that it is going to be part of anyone who gets an Xbox One’s setup, means it will be developed for, a lot more. I don’t think that Microsoft is going to FORCE anyone to have to use it, but it is a great piece of hardware to have. I’m more excited to use it as a central media center, like it has been advertised to do. Games, nowadays, aren’t as catchy to me as they were when I was young. The only reason I ever wanted a PS3 was to play MGS4 and God of War 3. There are far more Xbox exclusives that I would rather play. The Kinect is just a bonus for my Microsoft “loyalty.” As of now, I only want the Xbox One for it’s media capabilities. Sad, but true.
Games will always be evolving. We’re in a real transitional period right now. Think about what all the hardcore experts at Donkey Kong Jr. have to say about checkpoints and respawning and virtually infinite lives present in all games nowadays. They’ll hit their stride in another 5 or 6 years, but either way, plastic boxes like the Dreamcast or PS2 will be more like the old NES compared to what’s on the horizon. TV, music, gaming, phones, and the personal computer have all just about been merged into one and the big video game companies don’t want to be left out when this frontier is officially conquered. I could care less about the next BioHazardDeadWorldZombieReconForce TACTICAL Skylord EDITION anyway!