@Janpieterzun: Agreed, open world games are a dime a dozen anymore in terms of AAA games. By single player standards this is a long/big game. Sometimes I want a game that is fun to play and has a beginning and end instead of endless quests and maps. Love those type of games too, but there is room for both.
The way I see it there are two evolutionary problems with all platforms for now and one big revolutionary one. First, the arms race around higher res is annoying. Neither of the two new consoles will or should be 4K. Yes it is much the same as SD versus HD in theory when the last consoles came out, but really do you think everyone is going to go out and buy a 4K TV when their 1080P set is more than good enough and even this so called great new hardware will not adequately run games at that resolution now? The cost of a machine to run 4K would price console into high end PC market. Regardless my first point is that resolution and hardware are nice, but they are not the real problem with gaming right now. The second evolutionary problem is how to interface games across platforms like smartphones, tablets, consoles, and larger computers so that it is seamless. Tablets are under-powered now, but won't be in a few years. The Wiimote and the Kinect are headed in that direction. As is voice control and other items. Most likely a cohesive combination of a few of these is what is needed to make it work. The ideal way to control a game is to be able to do so seamlessly whether you are standing, sitting, or walking around. However, the real problem with revolutionary problem with gaming right now is a lack of Innovation. I like a good sequel, but the problem with highly polished and produced franchises is the same problem with Apple products. They are good, but it tends to promote negative innovation as being too innovative will stray from the money making machine and is too much of a risk. I don't think that games should not make money for companies, but I want some new titles. I am sure there will be plenty of comments to point out new franchises for me.
Yes I have and I think it is a very good step for them. But I think they need to make their product as widely available as possible. That means it has to be good and inexpensive. Hopefully this means LIVE will work across platforms with only one reasonable payment. This is necessary imo as they are quickly losing consumer market share to Apple and Google in the phone and tablet market and the PC market is shrinking at the same time. But they have the potential to offer a truly integrative and snazzy multimedia experience across devices that few other companies can offer.
@Mr_BillGates I agree with the basic idea, but I think the majority of consumers and consumer products are not ready for that shift quite yet. This also does not account the limitation of a proper means of interfacing games on tablets and phones which is generally inferior to kinect, move, KB and mouse, etc. You have to remember that although the iPad and smart phones are very popular they have a way to go before they are dominant for gaming.
I do think MS has the best service compared to Nintendo and Sony. However, Live needs to eventually be free or cheaper and way more accessible (not just XBOX), which was part of what the author was saying about an all in one device.
@PSYCHOV3N0M I suppose my comments were more about MS in general, but I think it is relevant because MS seems to view products in segments rather than as a whole (thus charging for Netflix, which is free everywhere else). I think the XBOX has done what MS wanted in making a pretty good product and getting MS into that market, but there is a reason Apple is dominating them right now and that is because Apple products work pretty much the same across devices. The same needs to be the case for MS whether it is my phone, laptop, PC, or tablet. MS is fast losing significant share in the consumer market and the PC will eventually go away for the most part and no XBOX will fix that issue for MS.
Although this is a good list from an XBOX standpoint it is far too small from a Microsoft standpoint. The idea of a one box does all is very very good, but really MS needs to move away from hardware specific to more generalized compatibility. The fact of the matter is they need to have in roads to Google phones, iPads, MAC, and most importantly PCs. In case anyone at GS forgot (and you alway do these days) there are a ton of PCs on the market and MS has done a pathetic ... truly PATHETIC job of making games available for the PC and every other platform other than WP7 and XBOX. This is simply a far to narrow share of the market. However, I do think W8 is MS's attempt to have an all in one cohesive platform provided they DO have the ability to play XBOX games on the PC and continue to make LIVE a truly innovative product. This is where I disagree with the author about the current XBLIVE as I think it should become less expensive or free or it will NEVER and I mean NEVER gain significant market share. There are just too many other places in the market such as Steam, Origin and other that are free to use and offer just as many options for gaming. And to charge for the ability to stream Netflix is just stupid when I don't have to pay a dime other than to netflix on my computer or tablet. I have to pay Netflix, but am still not clear why I would pay an access fee to MS. So yeah MS needs to go towards cheaper and more inclusive at this point or they will be gone in the consumer market.
GS does not really support PC gaming per se. So don't be surprised by their rather vanilla attempt at this thing. I for one must say PC gaming is making a revival, at least in a broader sense. Consoles are good, but the PC is still the much more flexible platform given there are so many of them out there. Lots of indie games and other casual games that sell quite well on PC as well. Let's not forget Steam has 30 million or so users. That is a lot of people playing games. Now as to Piracy STFU gaming industry. Just shut up and get over yourselves. Make good games, help users feel they are heard and not just another number, listen and I mean really listen to what people want and say, and don't charge too much and you will have 99% of people paying for your products. Piracy serves a valuable purpose for the industry. If it is happening too much then something needs to be fixed with the industry and not consumers!
Ignorant @#$% of a reviewer at GS. Everything looks better to a trained eye for the PC. I do think the PS3 version look better than the 360 fir sure, but Notice the horrible jaggies on the chairs in the room on the 360 and even the PS3 compared to the PC. Sorry the game looks better on the PC in every instance and looking at anyplace other than the edge of the water the shadows and everything else look better on the PC.
kmconstable's comments