"Sony's PlayStation Vita can already identify secondhand games and prevent players from earning trophies with them." After looking this up, it seems to be that this is only an anti-cheating measure, not about blocking functionality because it had been used. If you can get trophies after wiping the memory then it's only to prevent people from sponging off others trophy progress.
Game industry should stop whining. Period. On the other hand, Gamestop isn't entirely blameless. They do encourage pre-orders, but they shouldn't stock used copies so soon after release. Perhaps if they impose a three-month or so window from a game's release, that could help things. However, Gamestop should be the ones taking punishment, not the end-user taking the product home. Things are getting ridiculous. I have yet to purchase an online-pass game. They also need to tone the freakin budgets down. If they can not deliver a good product without an overly inflated budget, then they suck. It is that damn simple. They should not punish me the customer because they made the choice to spend all the money on the game. You don't see the movie industry charging $5 to see something like "The Vow" and charging $20 to go see "The Avengers" just because one of them obviously costs significantly more than the other. It is time for the game industry to become accountable. I think someone said it best when they said they usually are excited for E3, but this year they dread it. @NeilCardiff No, they aren't entitled, apparently we the consumer are the ones with entitlement issues. The consumer doesn't have a right to a full product upon paying his/her \$60. *sarcasm*
I see it like this. I currently own a PS3 and have owned it since 2010. I had planned to get a Wii but I decided to wait since the Wii U was announced. If the NextBox and PS4 go through with blocking used games, then I'm sticking with Wii U next gen and purchasing a 360 on the cheap to play 360 games I missed. Between these three systems I'll have more than enough games to last to not have to subject myself to the rumored crappy treatment of the next generation except for Nintendo.
For #1: Everything in this section is about other people and not in reference to myself. I will say that I think for most people that don't like it, that they would be fine with homosexuality in games if they don't perceive it as being "forced" upon them. For example in Bully, you can kiss boys but the game doesn't tell you that you can, you have to be actively looking for it. There's gay characters in Grand Theft Auto and you simply interact with them just the same as you do with anyone else in the game. For those that don't want it in their games at all, they will just have to play something else or deal with it. For #2: This is the real issue here where I get upset. Back in ye olden days, games did pretty much ship complete. But now that the internet is more ubiquitous and things can be "fixed" afterward, developers and publishers take advantage of that with DLC that should've been in the main game. My copy of CTR: Crash Team Racing (1999) is a what's done is done game. You can unlock tracks in the game but you need to either be skilled or know the cheat code to do it. Fast forward about 10 years and on the title screen of Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing (2010) there's a prompt to press Square to go to the PS Store. There is a character and a track and they cost money. You have to pay more money to get more stuff in the game you already own. But this wasn't even my first experience with this; When I first delved into the world of PS3 I was wowed by Infamous 1, Uncharted 1, and Assassin's Creed 1. (continued above/below)
(continued from above/below) They all had the start screens I had been used to up until that point, where all you saw was "Press Start to game." So I was very taken aback when I started AC 2 to see a big scrolling advertisement for DLC for the game. I thought "What? I just paid for this game, I haven't even seen the first cutscene yet, and you're already selling me something else?" Then it gets worse because you get things like Arkham City and Catwoman, and you get the press talking about how awesome the game is and conveniently glossing over it's gating content that was originally part of the game behind an online pass, and then you get gamers who know better but are too weak-willed to say "no" that buy the game, and then you get the gamers who are all too willing to bend over backwards in order to please the people involved with the game who could care less about them. If we want to stop getting fleeced, we have to stop enabling it. Complain about CoD's map packs all you want, look in the mirror when somebody asks "Who bought the MW2 Stimulus Package?" For #3: I don't play Mass Effect. I don't like RPGs. But that by no means should cause people who's business IS in RPGs to water them down to appeal to people such as I that don't like them. If I was to go into an Action/Platformer game and then it all of a sudden turned into Doodle Jump, I'd be rightfully pissed. Games should never stray from their original vision. If I don't like RPGs, that's fine. But the people that do, they deserve their RPG game. And that goes for all genres.
The only reason I haven't really played my DS is because I've played my games over and over, and the only reason I haven't really played my PSP is because it no longer works right without being plugged into a wall (NEVER buy 3rd party batteries, kids.) I do have some free games on my phone, but I've hardly played them because the novelty of NinJump and Falling Ball wears off pretty quickly. But I'm getting a Vita, and I'm getting a 3DS once the inevitable revision happens. I will be playing the Vita and the 3DS. And that Temple Run game on iOS? HAH. Uncharted Golden Abyss mops the floor with that, every day all day.
I have no interest in the next Xbox because just like with the first Xbox, most of the games that it gets could also either be had on PlayStation or *Nintendo's platform which both have a better and more varied stable of exclusive titles. *(at least back in the PS2/GameCube era, but not the Wii this generation for obvious reasons) As for PlayStation 4 I hope it continues with standard HDDs and that backwards compatibility won't be forgotten. I hope they'll have two different models of PS4-one that is backwards compatible for the people willing to pay extra for it (such as myself) and one without backwards compatibility for people who only want to play the latest new games that is cheaper. I really hope Nintendo's Wii U succeeds. I didn't get to own a Wii this gen (yes I know everyone has one), but I will be getting a Wii U and I'll take that time to catch up on the Wii games I missed.
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