XboxOne, PS4, WiiU, SteamBox, and PC... Place Your Bets!

Journal of Clarity – 038 – May 23, 2013

First off, no, this isn’t going to be an entry where I talk about my love life. Why? Because currently nothing is happening. The girl I’m sort of trying to see is going out of town for a bit and there’s nothing I can do about that or do with her at all in that time to push things forward at all. Sooo… I’m going to talk games a bit.

First thing I’ve noticed when talking about the XboxOne among colleagues is everyone’s desire to stand forth and defend the blasted thing, especially the fans of the Xbox360 and such. Guys? Why do you have this urge to defend a piece of plastic from a faceless corporation when I’m giving reasonable critical opinions based on the facts I’ve been presented from various news outlets? It’s not like I’m saying the XboxOne will be a gateway to hell that will bring Satan and his homeboys to Earth to wipe us all out of existence. All I’m pointing out are issues I have with the console, the presentation (mostly), and the distinct lack of attention to the main reason the Xbox brand was made in the first place, the games!

Now I get why you are defending your precious little green shooter box. It’s the same reason I used to avidly defend Nintendo, Sonic, and Steam from naysayers who thought they were too old, too broken, or too um… I can’t think of a common complaint about Steam that is actually reasonable. But you know why I don’t really care about people naysaying my favorite games, devices, or developers? Because I still have fun with them, whether other people think Sonic is good or not. Whether they think Metroid is good or not. Whether they think Steam is a good online system or not. Their opinions are irrelevant to me in that sense because I’m secure in the fact that I like the games and products I buy. The only defense they need is for people to legitimately experience them to their fullest to see the good parts of such things I enjoy (wording is a bit buggy there).

What’s worse? I openly criticize Nintendo on a regular basis! I have pointed out the flaws with any Sonic game I’ve played shamelessly while still enjoying the experience! And I don’t think Steam is a perfect system. It’s the best online gaming service (in my opinion) because of what it does, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. I criticize because I want such faults to be noticed and improved upon because I believe any game or console could easily be better! So why is it that people who are arguing against my dissatisfied response to the XboxOne can’t just accept that I will be dissatisfied with the XboxOne? Why do they have to try and prove that it’s going to be good? That my opinion is wrong, when it isn’t wrong, it’s just different. Seriously, I think it might actually be an insecurity thing. 

Here’s the deal. I never cared for Xbox or the Xbox360. Neither offered up exclusives I really cared about and that’s really what it has always come down to for me is the exclusives. What console offered the unique experiences I couldn’t get elsewhere? You can have the fanciest tech in all the land, but, to me, it really doesn’t mean shit if there isn’t anything on your console I feel like playing that I can’t get elsewhere. This was always the problem with the Xbox for me. Most any game on the Xbox I can get on the PC or PS3. The exclusives (that I’m familiar with anyway) like Halo and Gears of War have always looked mediocre or outright boring to me where I don’t even want to play them at a friend’s house when the offer comes up. I mean, if I like the friend, I’ll endure, but don’t expect me to enjoy it. Then there’s all the XBLA games that started off being uniquely for the Xbox360. I’ll admit, there were a few on there that almost had me buying an Xbox360 because they looked like fun. But I held out long enough for the sake of not having much cash for new hardware and my patience was rewarded with just about all of them being released on Steam, making the purchase of an Xbox360 moot.

And with this push for the XboxOne to be an all-in-one media hub, I feel like what I look for in a console is being ignored entirely. This need for consoles to feature online connectivity, video streaming, DVD/BluRay players, and all these other features that do nothing to enhance the gameplay experience have never been a deciding factor when it comes to the devices I buy. I buy Nintendo consoles because I want more Metroid, F-Zero, StarFox, Pokemon, Smash Bros, Fire Emblem, Zelda (sometimes), and several other franchises I’ve grown to enjoy. I bought a PS3 (with backwards compatibility because that matters to me) so I could enjoy the Metal Gear series, Silent Hill, Devil May Cry, God of War, and a few others that I couldn’t get elsewhere. I never cared about the PS3 being a DVD/BluRay player because my PC already can do that. I never cared about Netflix because I usually don’t have time to stream movies or TV. But when I do, I usually just do that on my PC. I never cared about any of this NFL/sports crap that the XboxOne is trying to shove down our throats and I never will.

It’s the same reason I go to the PC for gaming over consoles quite often. It’s not that I want to play with the highest graphics like many PC gamers I know do. Hell, I could play on max settings, but I just stick to default because it doesn't matter to me. For me, it’s always been about what will allow me to get the most out of my games and purchases for the least amount of money? For PC, I have a larger selection of quality indie titles, the ability to mod games (No, this does not mean cheats, but ways to improve the game’s function or increase challenge), FREE online services (usually), and plenty of other things that I simply can’t do on a console, especially one that is as restrictive as what Xbox brand has typically been. Seeing the demonstration and reading the blurbs from the XboxOne conference, I don’t feel like Microsoft really gets what GAMERS want in a GAMING device. To me, it feels more like the gaming aspect is just something they feel is tacked on with everything else that’s completely fucking irrelevant.

Then there’s the yet to be seen SteamBox… A device made by the well-known and well-respected developer, the Valve Corporation. While there is little information on this device yet or what it will do overall, I feel like I could safely put my money in this and get a much better experience than what any of the competitors will offer. Yes, including my still beloved WiiU. Why? Because unlike Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony, Valve has shown time and again that they understand the gaming community better and will often work to improve their products and services based on the collective demands of that community. They aren’t trying to be a service or device that is for everyone. They’re about games first because that’s what they are good at making and selling. Because, really, that’s all I care about. I care about what device(s) will let me enjoy the next iteration of Batman Arkham, Portal, Elder Scrolls, Sonic the Hedgehog, Metroid, SuperGiantGames title, or Bayonetta among others in the best and most convenient way possible. I don’t give a fuck if I can order Pizza Hut pizza through the damned thing because I have at least three or four other, just as reasonable ways, to do that (like using my Domino’s app on my phone to order a better fucking pizza). But I only have one device in my home that will play a legal copy of Super Metroid.

Again, I’m not saying you can’t like your XboxOne when it comes out. You may very well enjoy it and whatever Microsoft decides to offer on it. I, for one, have virtually no interest in it. The device and what it can do that isn’t game related holds nothing for me as I have stated. The lack of backwards compatibility kills my interest in ANY system anymore (looking at you too PS4). Then the fact they haven’t announced any exclusives of any interest, instead, focusing on fucking Call of fucking Duty. Really? Most Xbox fans I’ve talked to agree that felt horribly tacked on and out of place. But really?

Even you have to admit, XboxFans, that Microsoft WASTED a perfectly good opportunity to show off something worthwhile on the games front to hold us over until E3. This was Microsoft’s show, the only one on stage showing off ANYTHING to the WORLD! If you had something interesting to show, I would think that this would be the moment to do it before you have to share a spotlight with Sony in a few weeks. Some have argued that this is so they can show something AT E3 and not look silly trying to compete at E3. My response is, so what? Nintendo stepped out of having a big show at E3 because they know they don’t need it, nor do they want to be a part of that circus this time around. What’s more important? The ability to show off the best of your products to your fanbase without distraction or trying to compete in the eternal dick-waving competition that is the console wars? Because, frankly, I think the conference was a waste of time for someone looking for a game console in the next generation. No, not anymore of a waste than the PS4 conference. An equal amount of waste. Both conferences were wasted showing only a bare minimum of stuff to even call it a conference. The PS4 didn’t even have its hardware there to show off. I’ll give them credit for showing their games, but none of them really stood out as being “must haves” to me. But that is just my opinion on the matter, and it doesn’t mean those games won’t be good. But I feel like both of these devices will be well outside of a comfortable price range for me and I’ll likely skip on them for a while, if not indefinitely.

I also feel terrible for the used games market. Yes, the business practices of GameStop aren’t good and have been somewhat harmful to the industry for a while now. That said, I feel used games are something that helps make a new console generation flourish when done right. If a console is backwards compatible, I can play old games from my old console. Not only that, if I find something from a PS2 on the cheap that looks good and I don’t feel like shelling out for a full price PS3 game, then I’ll go for that instead. Do I feel bad when the money doesn’t go to the hardworking developers of the games? Sometimes. Whenever I bought a used Platinum game or Suda51 game, I’d say so because they’re brilliant in terms of game design and gameplay as well as being unique gems in gaming. Not so much when I buy an EA game because FUCK EA. But it’s not that I feel bad for GameStop because I feel that business put itself into this corner by its own actions. No, I just feel bad for the likelihood of the many jobs being lost and any used retail gaming outlet now that more consoles are pushing for more digital sales over retail (Nintendo) and with the used game market being pushed away slowly but surely by Microsoft.

Because, when you think about it, I feel most of the decisions put into the design and functionality of the XboxOne were to reduce piracy and used games profit loss. In short, the XboxOne is the DRM dream machine. No used games because games require a CD key to “get the right” to play it on XboxLive. You can’t just borrow a game from a friend, you have to buy it outright. But don’t worry, you can still trade your game in after purchase… digitally on XboxLive. I get that you want to reduce piracy, but I feel like cutting into the used game market is an anti-consumer practice that I just don’t agree with. Not to mention the problem I have here beyond that is that we then technically don’t own the games at this point. We only own the rights to access digital copies of the games. Should the company that owns the game go out of business for whatever reason, that stands to reason we could lose access to that game as well. In short, everything about the XboxOne gives Microsoft MORE control over the products because they’re taking it from us. Call me paranoid and drawing conclusions from what you can assume is nothing, but to me this seems like the obvious logic that a big entertainment (not gaming) company would take to protect their products.

Don’t believe me? Microsoft isn’t the only company pushing ridiculous measures to “protect their IP and product.” I’m sure most of you heard about the recent news with Nintendo wanting to take all the profits from ad revenue for any Let’s Play of any Nintendo game ever. And don’t get me started on Sony’s Smash-Bros-Imitation that is really just a big marketing stunt to promote new games. What about EA’s project $10 that just recently stopped which was modeled after Ubisoft’s bullshit DRM fees which stopped because they realized how dumb that was?

But you know what… it doesn’t matter to me. Defend your piece of plastic only good for playing the next Halo and doing a bunch of shit I don’t care about. As for me, I’m going to continue enjoying playing games on gaming consoles and my PC. Not because they’re inherently better, but because their game consoles first, and not fucking worthless entertainment hubs.