The HotSpot - Mind the Generation Gap - 1/11/12

Foxconn suicides: capitalism at work.

9:40 Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo could re-release their downloadable games for PC and Mac. PSN, XBLA and Virtual Console could reach a much bigger market via PCs and smart phones. But that'll only happen after all their hardware options have been spent. 14:50 I'm all for backward compatibility. In fact, the lack of it in consoles is part of what drove me to PC gaming. At least older PC games will play on the newer OSes via free patches. Consoles have often stiffed people on that feature. These guys don't understand because they're industry heads. And industry heads' job is to help companies sell "new" s___. The advertisers PAY them to promote new stuff. Acknowledging our love of "old" or Retro s___ is against their business interests.

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@everyone Just a heads up, this week's HotSpot will be going up later than normal.

@FreedomPrime Motion controls are more than a gimmick. They are an integral part of gaming; now and into the future. Whether it be with SixAxis, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, or motion tracking (Move, Kinect, Wii Motion Plus) motion controls are here to stay. Over time developers will use the proper way to implement the controls to make it less gimmicky and more of an integral part of the experience. Your local area does not represent a valid statistical sample of the gaming population. So, even though your personal experience sees Wii and Kinect sitting on shelves, it is different in other parts of the world where both are still selling well. On top of that; the Wii has sold nearly 43 million in America alone (nearly 95 million worldwide). The sales are going to slow because the main Wii demographic has already made their purchase and any future ones are likely extras. "Wii sucks" is not a very descriptive argument for why the consoles are sitting on the shelf. It's also a matter of opinion. While I am not a fan of motion controls in the majority of implementations, I see and read about fans every day who do enjoy these experiences. There's a new world of gamer's out there who are being bread into this motion control era. Don't disregard them just because you don't understand them. [url=http://www.gamespot.com/users/Hvac0120/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=m-100-25764489]My Console is Better than Yours![/url]

saying the wii is failing is like saying the ps1 is failing, most people who want one already have one there aren't that many people out there to buy it of course sales would slow down.

the reason why the Wii is failing is because the gimmick of motion controls have worn off. I feel that the Wii u will be a very big disappointment. The kinect is also doomed to fail, i already see mountains of used kinects in my local game stores and in the store i work at. We have 23 used wii right now and i do not see them selling at all. every time i ask a gamer there opinion on the wii, 9 times out of 10 they say the wii sucks and its a waste of space, or they use it for netflix lol

people want backwards compatibility because systems dont last forever..... my ps2 just died and Sony no longer makes them. what now gamespot!?!?!? how am i suppose to play my copy of kingdoms hearts 2!?!?!?!?!?!? idiots.... p.s. i was kidding about kingdom hearts, that game is lame.

@Feanor5503 thumbs up!!!!!!!!!!

@Viiper EA said they would be able to do 64 player multiplayer on the Wiiu.

I can't believe that none of them are for backwards compatibility... Makes them seem like they're not real gamers... I can't express how much better it was playing ps2 games on a ps3... Not to mention my ps2(launch) died like 3 months before ps3's launch... My ps2 games didn't just disappear I still have them and in good condition too...

I've thought about the idea of my phone or a tablet being the home console that just attaches to your TV and you take it with you. That sounds great.. except that when I take my device, nobody else in the house can then play a game unless they too have a similar device. In this case I would imagine that there would be a set-top box in which your mobile device can attach or stream from, but would remain connected to the TV to provide gaming functionality when the mobile device is not attached. Basically all smartphones would be able to expand the functionality of the home console. Of course we're not far from that. Sony could simply implement the "Remote Play" feature on Android or iOS. I think a lot has to be thought about and the community needs to play a large part of that conversation before we move away from home console boxes.

There will be a new set of consoles for the next generation: Nintendo (Wii U), Microsoft (Xbox 1080), and Sony (Playstation 4). Each Manufacturer will come out with a box by 2015. The next generation may be the last generation, but we've still got set-top boxes coming for one more round. I may be going overboard with outrageous proclamations in the following post, but it may be something like what we will see in the future. OnLive and it's Google TV integration is already a start down this path: [quote="Hvac0120"]There can be only one! The PlayStation Live Cube. The PLC will be the all-in-one gaming device! It will be an internet television with built-in, upgradable hardware (similar to a PC), and dedicated peripherals. Microsoft will be providing Xbox Live as the community and market for the device bringing gamers the most cohesive online social experience available. Nintendo will be on board providing a swath of games that bring ****c franchises to a new era of gaming. Sony will be providing the hardware and peripherals almost guaranteeing quality above all else. Sony will also be providing it's expansive list of developers to add to the already amazing line-up of games provided by Nintendo. All other 3rd party developers will either be on-board or will have to find another business to get into (may I suggest mobile?). Google will be a key partner for device sharing with it's Android platform. Expect the PLC 1st generation to arrive in 2016 at retail.[/quote]

I hope the new consoles can be on the same multiplayer level as the PC. Leet graphics are cool and all, but having 64 player on the console would be great.

McShae: Go on ebay, search for Interstate '76, and play it NOW! You, who appreciate the old school and have decent taste, should like it. It's one of my all-time favorites. It's also a bit more sim than vigilante 8 and WAY more sim than twisted metal. It uses a modified version of the mech2 engine and has some really cool things. I actually would second that for anyone who reads this.

Also, what's the over-under on the successor to the XBox 360 being "XBox 1080", where the marketing push would be that EVERY GAME will be "at least" 1080p?

@Polybren if you want to go for some REAL subversion, try posting the video sans audio, so that people would have to use your embedded video player and the embedded Soundcloud audio player simultaniously to get anything out of the video. Three days later, blame it on technical difficulties.

I was shocked by the the level of ignorance Tom McShea revealed when he claimed that "both companies are losing money." Sony has lost a lot of money recently, but Microsoft actually made $5.74 billion in net income just for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2011, and have not lost money in a quarter since 2002. http://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earnings/PressReleaseAndWebcast/FY12/Q1/default.aspx http://ycharts.com/companies/MSFT/net_income#startDate=3/31/2002&endDate=9/30/2011&zoom= The idea Tom has that Microsoft are losing money as a company is completely false, and the fact that none of the other supposed game journalists in the room corrected him when he was trying to use this fictitious idea to support his argument was downright embarrassing.

@Polybren hi just read your reply today, i tried it again and it's still doing the one second pause/play thing i dunno what's wrong but it's probably my PC, sorry for causing worries. anyway i still got to hear the hotspot because of the video anyway so no biggie, thanks

Sorry about the iTunes feed everyone!

consoles outdated!?!?!? wtf!?!?!? omg he is losing his mind..... I am a pc gamer and i will admit that fact that consoles will never go away.

WTF is tom talking about!?!?1 consoles being outdated idea!?!? omg tom has absolutely lost his fricking mind. First of all, his claim that nintendo can get a way with sales is because of their software!?!? ummm tom, remember the game cube, as i recall that system did horrible in comparison to Sony and microsoft's system. The idea that consoles will no longer exist is absolutely retarded.

@TomM_GScom I see... I opened the page and started typing the comment on my phone. Then got distracted, came back and posted it without refreshing the page. Coincidence... I've got the episode from iTunes. Thanks!

need more ram!!!!!

@Hvac0120 I literally just posted about this.

This podcast isn't available on iTunes Also a request; if you guys would publish the video with an HTML5 video tag and an mp4 format, I could stream the episode from your website on my phone when iTunes hiccups happen. iPhones dont have Flash player &, as it currently stands, Adobe is stopping mobile Flash production after Android 4.

@everyone OK, if you're trying to get this week's episode via iTunes, it should now be available. And yes, for those wondering, Brendan did in fact cock it up.

So refreshing to see Brendan behind the wheel again. That comment, how t-mag brought a flamethrower to the show, pretty much sums up my feeling about the show since he became the host. Brendan gives this show class and credibility, T-mag does not, simple as that.

im a little shocked that Microsoft allowed this to happen...maybe they didnt know, but whatever. Im NOT shocked Apple and Steve Jobs does this. Theve been doing this awful sht for years to thier workers. But microsoft better clean this mess up. I wont buy an xbox or game product for that console ever again until it is.

yep...DONE, ill never buy another XBOX or Apple product again or android..or Iphone. Steve JOBS USE TO DO THIS TO PEOPLE AT APPLE and make them work 90 hours a week..Hes a piece of sht and im glad hes dead. See? easy. That was friggin easy, im not contributing to peoples bad work envirnments. XBOX adn Microsoft and Apple are LOADED, they should be paying their friggin workers...I hope the workers rise up and kill the CEOS.

@carolynmichelle Not a worse PR case? Apparantly you didn't try to order the N-Control Avenger, lol!

I took the survey, and love Nintendo. I didn't say I would buy any system on launch, BC was not an important issue for me, said it WOULD be included in new systems, and WOW. I must be in the 1%. Please GS socialists, don't come "occupy me", lol.

The only reason I would want backard compatiblity is so I can trade my older console (which are poorly made in this day, so most likely ready to break) toward the price of the newer one (which will break sooner if I play old games on it, lol). I'm no longer buying consoles on day 1 (I always have before, but 3DS taught me a lesson), so buy the time I buy one they will have kinks ironed out, red rings warrantied, and I'll have beaten all the previous gen games :).

youve just hit the nail on the head why PC gamers are elitist and why we are proud to be so...We have backwards compatability on EVERY GAME EVER MADE , INCLUDING console games with emulators.

Only 45 minutes? Well at least they skipped the lame trivia part.

@Polybren Don't get me wrong,backward compatibility is not my primary reason to buy a new console either,but would be nice and convenient to have it for sure,i believe most people on the survey must have similar reason to want it,i also would like a backward use of our accounts,you know trophies/achievements downloadable games...would be cool.

Is there a reason the iTunes feed hasn't been updated?

Brendan always seem to whine that they have video now, why is it so bad? He was the one bringing down the podcast today. Tom always does an excellent job of getting people to speak their mind. I felt Brendan sucked as a host. Not hatin, just saying he should be so big in the mouth

@psycho75 I think maybe as people who probably have a bunch of boxes hooked up to their TVs at all time, we're a little taken aback by how serious a drawback people consider it to have those extra systems accessible or hooked up. Yes, it can be somewhat inconvenient, but it's not so significant to me that it would be a primary reason to invest in a $400 system or not.

Love Caro :D bring her on the show more often

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Gamespot staff:Is really that hard to understand the importance/need of backward compatibility?? dudes we don't get games for free,we expend a lot of money on them and (believe or not) some of us like to collect them. Just try to imagine for a second,people like me who already has a considerable collection of both PS3 and Xbox moving to a no backward compatibility next gen,i would have to have four cosoles installed on my TV in addition to the ones i already have,its jus impractical... ...and yes i do replay my old games:)

god! i hate gamespot and there nit picky criticism.

If the Wii U is going to be a failure, I'm done with gaming. Not to be a fanboy, but as far as I see, Nintendo is the only one who tries to be different. Of course, most of times being different means creating stupid gimmicks, fit games and stuff, but many other times it doesn't. Look at the Wii, many people said there are not many good games, but I spent so much time playing Okami, Xenoblade, the various zeldas and marios... If I had a PS3, the only games I would buy are Heavy Rain and the ICO/SotC box (which must be awesome, damn!), but other than that, I simply can't find a game that catches my interest, they're all the same, you run, you shoot, you save, you shoot again... No variety in gameplay, no innovation (except for assassin's creed actually, which is a pretty good series considering the quality average of the new series nowadays). If playing Okami means being a kid or a casual gamer, then I'm fine with it. When Halo 9 comes out, I'll be glad playing old games on my own. Of course, I hope something changes, I'm already seeing some hope in the independent gaming scene... perhaps the developers will learn!

Great show, as usual. Good job hosting Brendan, looking forward to the possibility of the blooper show.

@Rovelius possibly unless Sony also goes after the kiddie market but they could let Microsoft and Nintendo battle it out for the casual gamers and then they just pick up Microsofts hardcore pool.

Could they do a composite of cloud based gaming and PS3 processing? Like using the PS3 for rendering time sensitive character models and actions while streaming flashier, less important visual elements/backgrounds?

It's completely selfish, I know, but all I want is for them to get it over with, so I can play more truly DX11-capable games on my PC.

@holtrocks PS3+PC, you mean.