Anyone else dissappointed with the industry as a whole?

[Naku_vamp]

i dint watch much of it sony seems to have made a bit of a comeback but the sony move is kinda pathetic in my opinion like they just jumped on the bandwagon their move games are all kinda meh, personally i like the kinect and do see it as haveing a lot of potential but i don't think normal controller based gaming is gonna be derailed for a long time so i don think they should throw so much effort into it i mean the wii is a decent console but most more serious gamers only play it for very short periods of time

 

[Snipeye]

@Krod I'm expecting next year MS will release some trailers showing off a new console and in 2013, release it for sale. The 360 is getting kinda old, and factoring in Kinect offering it some additional longevity, I'm seeing MS making the current Kinect Next-Gen compatible, maybe even releasing a Kinect 2, or have it built into the console. But that's like 2-3 years away. Conjecture on my part only.

 

[Adarael]

Ahh, I see now. NPD's numbers for US-only spending are kinda anemic, it's true. On the other hand... Newzoo's report indicates significantly higher numbers in the US, plus tons of money spent in the EU - a total approaching (just in the polled areas) 50 billion USD, which is closer to what I was hearing. I suspect it's a difference in sampling methods, plus scope.

http://www.globalcollect.com/Global/Industries/Gaming/NewzooTotalSpend2010Factsheet.pdf

 

[Ma$termind]

You mean console gamers back, right? PC Gamers, we're not slaved to the Big Three consoles. We can upgrade our PCs whenever we want.

That doesn't change the fact that the large majority of multiplatform releases will only tap a fraction of that upgraded power. PC gamers are held back, not by the inability to upgrade, but by the developers who are so tempted by the potential wallet share of the console masses that they lose sight of everything else. I look at Skyrim, for example, and all I can do is wonder how amazing the game could be if they weren't tied down to 6 year old hardware.

Sure, the power of our systems isn't bounded by the whims of Microsoft or Sony, but that doesn't mean we are truly free from their influence. As long as consoles continue to dominate the gaming market, the PC platform will be left as it is – settling for the (poorly optimized, hardly innovative) crumbs that tend to fall for us.

 

[Ducttape]

That doesn't change the fact that the large majority of multiplatform releases will only tap a fraction of that upgraded power. PC gamers are held back, not by the inability to upgrade, but by the developers who are so tempted by the potential wallet share of the console masses that they lose sight of everything else. I look at Skyrim, for example, and all I can do is wonder how amazing the game could be if they weren't tied down to 6 year old hardware.

Sure, the power of our systems isn't bounded by the whims of Microsoft or Sony, but that doesn't mean we are truly free from their influence. As long as consoles continue to dominate the gaming market, the PC platform will be left as it is ? settling for the (poorly optimized, hardly innovative) crumbs that tend to fall for us.

Games like The Witcher 2 are why I <3 devs that share the love for PC gamers. Haven't seen the sales figures, but I hope that game gets astronomical sales for what it is: a true PC masterpiece

 

[Beta]

why are you so impatient? the kinect has barely been out a year and you are so critical of something with such potential, you mustve been bashing the ps3 and xbox 360 for the first year or two because of the lack of games. Kinect is much more than "a webcam with hardly any respectable titles." you dont understand that technology and game development on the new tech takes time, not 6 months, try a few years. big hit games take at least 2 years to develop.

I'm not impatient at all. As a early PS3 adopter, I know that a console's launch is pretty rough. The difference between the Kinect and 360/PS3 is that a webcam is not a console, it is an add-on to a console. Do you honestly think it can survive for 2 more years? Microsoft has probably began working on a new system anyways. Kinect is just a distraction.

if you truly think the kinect is just a webcam and a microphone, please read up on what it truly has, the webcam is just 1 small part of what is actually going on. read up on all the really cool hacks ppl have made for kinect for the pc. if you really dont think kinect has potential or any worthiness, just dont buy it. otherwise, wait a year and big title games will start coming out for it.

Sure, these hacks are cool, but would you spend your hard earned money on some of the things you have seen made with it? Even if I owned a Kinect you wouldn't see me pay 60 bucks for a virtual air guitar. Most of these mods are Proof of concept ideas. you can control a robot with Kinect, but what purpose would that serve in everyday life when there's technology that already does that and technology that is being developed specifically for that job?

programming games to run on such a complex piece of technology that the kinect is tough. its not as simple as plugging it into your xbox or writing a 6 page essay. they are finally releasing the ability for kinect to scan objects into games, like skateboards, baseball bats, probably guns at some point. as time goes by, the kinect will grow into the most wanted gaming tech, just be patient. plus it wouldnt have sold 10 million copies in its first year if it wasnt worth it

So it takes a picture of an item and textures it into a video game, that still does not make me want to throw money at Microsoft.

You only looked at the negative points I pulled from Kinect. I did say that a family who enjoys video games may like the Kinect. The various dancing/singing/wiggle your arms like they are made of spaghetti games may appeal to them. But its definitely not a system that I see everyone trying to rush and get at this point.

 

[Cut Chem!st]

the kinect is not delaying the release of the next gen on consoles. microsoft and sony both had plans to make these current gen consoles last a lot longer than the original xbox and ps2 and ps1. both companies have been working on next gen consoles and will continue to. this is the inherent weakness of consoles, you spend $300-400 on a console that has tech in it that was already outdated within 6 months, its just how the advancement of technology works. thats also why im a big PC gamer, i dont have to wait for companies to update something, i can just do it on my own.

plus consoles not coming out every 5 years does not hold PC gamers back. PC games have all these extended features to allow them to customize how good games look. thats why PC games always look better than consoles and will continue to. microsoft said that the xbox 360 will have a lifespan of about 10-15 years so you wont see a new console till 2015 or maybe earlier if sony releases the ps4 sooner.

Yes, it does hold us back. A few extra features is no where near the ability of taking full ability of our hardware. They are focusing on the consoles so they are limited with what they can do. I'm not just talking graphical ability but length of game, vastness of areas, etc. It really hinders game design. Since most of today's games are ported, their limitations are forced onto us.

 

[Krod Mandoon]

I'm not impatient at all. As a early PS3 adopter, I know that a console's launch is pretty rough. The difference between the Kinect and 360/PS3 is that a webcam is not a console, it is an add-on to a console. Do you honestly think it can survive for 2 more years? Microsoft has probably began working on a new system anyways. Kinect is just a distraction.



Sure, these hacks are cool, but would you spend your hard earned money on some of the things you have seen made with it? Even if I owned a Kinect you wouldn't see me pay 60 bucks for a virtual air guitar. Most of these mods are Proof of concept ideas. you can control a robot with Kinect, but what purpose would that serve in everyday life when there's technology that already does that and technology that is being developed specifically for that job?



So it takes a picture of an item and textures it into a video game, that still does not make me want to throw money at Microsoft.

You only looked at the negative points I pulled from Kinect. I did say that a family who enjoys video games may like the Kinect. The various dancing/singing/wiggle your arms like they are made of spaghetti games may appeal to them. But its definitely not a system that I see everyone trying to rush and get at this point.

i do honestly think the kinect can and will surive more than 2 years. you are missing the whole thing. you are missing its potential and still looking at it as a webcam, it is not a WEBCAM! seriously stop calling it without knowing what it really is. its like me calling some perfectly normal person retarded because thats how i think they look. kinect has the potential and microsoft's aim to develop it towards the core gaming crowd. dont be so biased and research what you bash.

Yes, it does hold us back. A few extra features is no where near the ability of taking full ability of our hardware. They are focusing on the consoles so they are limited with what they can do. I'm not just talking graphical ability but length of game, vastness of areas, etc. It really hinders game design. Since most of today's games are ported, their limitations are forced onto us.

what do you expect them to do on features? make PC versions completely different games, you are talking about the processing potential of consoles vs. PC those extra features enable the games to look and play better.

game developers dont limit themselves based on consoles unless they arent making a PC version, and most games today are not console ports thats just an uninformed opinion. most games are actually developed first on the PC and then they restructure certian GUI elements for a console controller and dumb down the graphics for consoles so they can run them.

For example: look at dragon age 2, on the consoles it looks pretty rough and bad (albeit DA2 is extremely badly optimized, it has texture wholes that when the camera looks makes the game render the whole entire world in the background killing your fps) but on the PC, DA2 looks pretty good and the graphics are 3x better than consoles, i.e. Dx11. games are dumbed down for the console versions only, not the PC versions as well unless you talk about the herp derp that crysis 2 turned out to be. if all games were limited by consoles why would microsoft continue to develop new directx versions like dx11 which consoles cannot support, consoles are still using dx9 (if i remember right)

 

[KR Decade]

i like you guys, you already said what i wana said, and alot of wall of text XD

Microsoft, almost a complete fail, if werent that new game that promote ~_~||

Sony, PS Vita (Life) is something I look forward too, that stuff is great, and the line up games for it is awesome as well. And some people said that Vita need to be plugged in, plug in what exactually? Sony even selling their 3D 46 inch too cheap. I mean, $50?? Main reason is they said to spread the 3D to the whole world. But my thoughts is, just for the sake saying sorry for PSN got hacked lol. That TV.... I could buy 3 of those! But, I need shipment help

Nintendo, the talk was ok, (That first japanese man who loves open chest, I like him, for an old guy, sure got a lot of Zelda spirit lol) games for the 3DS aint THAT much, cause most of it, they just remaster the old game into fresh 3D. Wii U is kinda.... I dont know... kinda disappointing to see. One function got me interested, is pushing a vid or a pic into another TV. But, that i head need a special nintendo custom TV. (Should you are looking at bad stuff, then accidently push it to a big TV, where your parents are watching, your dead, Hahaha)

Btw,

Decade said it best: Blackberry Playbook + Sega Dreamcast = Wii-U controller. Looks like it'll have a variety of different uses, but it'll fall upon developers to make it useful (remember the Wii Vitality sensor?)

Hey, I meant BB PlayBook/iPad + PS Controller = Nintendo Wii U! Hahaha

 

[Spitfire'd]

OP: I wouldn't say I'm disappointed with the industry as a whole, but I am disappointed with their abilities concerning their marketing and presentations.

Even without E3 I already know the titles I'm looking forward to this year. It doesn't really change anything.

Ultimately I still hold that this is the year of the indie, and that is where I am continually being impressed this year. Quality games that I can afford. That's my thought.