General gaming discussion

Grumpypants · 29-05-2024 05:52PM

"Creative" talking to "marketing" is never good.

Retr0gamer · 30-05-2024 12:31PM

I give out about Sony and how the PS5 hasn't managed to distinguish itself as a worthwhile console yet I was asking myself what the point of an Xbox console is. It really is now just another box that plays games. Sure it has a subscription service that isn't available on its competitor but it's also available on PC.

Also don't understand what their plan is. It's like the side that understands games and the side that does all the spreadsheets aren't talking to each other and the spreadsheet guys are calling all the shots. They've sent billions to acquire some of the biggest Dev studios in the industry and a very impressive portfolio of IP to draw from. It really should have been used give the Xbox an edge over PlayStation but all they have done with it is still release those games multiplatform and then gut or close the Dev studios they spent billions acquiring.

recyclops · 30-05-2024 01:32PM

They only long term I can see is hoping that parents dont know better and jump on the most cost effective way to get their kids playing the games that their friends are playing. This is mainly parents who dont really or just dabble in videogames as those who do let their kids know what console they will be playing on .

I would argue the majority of people here are locked to certain consoles due to upgrading to whatever they got first and that was their console, be that through digital store purchases like DLC etc, subscription services or its "their" console now as its all they have known. Your right in that right now outside of Nintendo everything else is just playing the same things either on same day or a little down the road and there is nothing to distinguish why one should own one console over the other.

I dont know how MS reach out to those parents and I dont think they do either so its a massive gamble but kids nowadays ( in my opinion and experience) want cod, fifa and whatever the latest quick fad is and unfortunately for MS and Sony very little of what they want is exclusives.

Retr0gamer · 30-05-2024 01:40PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122202355#Comment_122202355

Kind of find a lot of kids really want to get into PC gaming as well because of streamers. PC gaming just feels so much bigger than its ever been at the moment and with indie being a big driving factor, there's a very low barrier of entry.

I do get a lot of questions about people's kids wanting to get into PC gaming because of 'mods' and it's very obvious they just saw a streamer playing like Skyrim with a Thomas the tank engine mod. One time I was asked about some Paradox games a 10 year old was asking about. No kid should be getting excited about those!

Usually when I tell the parents the price of a decent PC it ends that dream!

johnny_ultimate · 30-05-2024 01:47PM

This is partially anecodtal and partially based on some of the commentary and reporting I've seen, but a big factor here is the rise of free to play. A lot of kids these days are used to 'free' games like Fortnite or Roblox, and in many cases parents are happy to tolerate a few quid here and there on their credit card for cosmetics rather than splashing out for a full price new release. Since these are forever games you also see them getting stuck in these ecosystems and not really needing anything new.

Given a lot of these games also run on potatoes there's also less demand for higher-end hardware. There's an irony now that with AAA games requiring ever more insane levels of labour to polish into an acceptable state, there are many younger audiences who are much more used to jank, badly designed games and crappy performance due to the games they're playing growing up.

recyclops · 30-05-2024 01:57PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122202409#Comment_122202409

Yeah ideally if I was a parent I would be leaning towards PC as it almost creates a curious culture about what you can do with computers etc, also being able to type properly should be thought in school correctly but as said the costs is what I feel MS is banking on.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122202455#Comment_122202455

Yeah free to play really is the way its going as an entry level and all one system needs is the kids to be pushed towards that for whatever reason kids are swayed ( streamers, tiktok etc) if MS had any sense they would be pumping TikTok with how cod will be free day one on XBox now so by the time the kids return to school its all they will be annoying there parents for.

Whilst we all discuss games, consoles, exclusives and upcoming as a hobbie its not really us that these companies care about.

Luna84 · 30-05-2024 02:30PM

I'm very happy with my Xbox's.

Retr0gamer · 30-05-2024 02:32PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122202455#Comment_122202455

I don't think it's really a new thing. Even from listening to retronauts some of the younger hosts seem to have grown up without a console and only an out of date PC and in poor families without the means to afford games. Being retronauts a lot of their gaming was based on free stuff on PC. A lot of that was emulation but also a big part of their childhood was flags games and freeware like spelunky, runescape and even Star Control 2 (which I only realised was free because of one of their podcasts).

I guess now freeware games are just way bigger with a lot more visibility.

Retr0gamer · 30-05-2024 02:35PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122202685#Comment_122202685

I don't think anyone would be without games to play if they own an Xbox. It certainly isn't like owning a N64 or GameCube where there could be months of game drought between big releases.

However from talking to Xbox owners I do hear all of them having regrets about getting an Xbox. The big one they always mention is that they would love to play a jrpg final fantasy game and it's frustrating they are locked out of them on Xbox.

johnny_ultimate · 30-05-2024 03:09PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122202694#Comment_122202694

No doubt there's been free games for a long time (going back to shareware and the like), but the difference compared to the last few generations of players is the scale. I think the example you cite there would be a more niche experience. Between the mega-blockbuster likes of Fortnite, user-generated free-for-alls like Roblox and the plethora of free games for phones and tablets, these freebies are very much the entry point for most kids these days (Minecraft excepted).

It wouldn't be a stretch to say most people in their late 20s - 40s/50s who grew up with games on console, handheld or PC would've mainly been in the traditional 'buy / rent a game and play it' model, even if they were buying budget brand re-releases and the like rather than expensive new releases. It's only in the last ten years or so that's really shifted.

The Raging Bile Duct · 30-05-2024 03:28PM

Parents aren't really guided by the economics of running a gaming console, they'll go with what their kids want and their kids will go with what their friends have. Microsoft have a fairly Herculean task pushing that dial. Also, I don't think CoD makes a huge difference to the Roblox generation.

30-05-2024 03:39PM

I think people are over complicating the xbox situation. Tbe only reason anybody needs to buy a console is because they've got really good games that you can't play anywhere else. Xbox have neither really good games, nor games that you can't play anywhere else.

Retr0gamer · 30-05-2024 03:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122202918#Comment_122202918

Still the only place to play ninja gaiden black and panzer dragoon orta in 4K. That's two more games than the PS5 has.

Zero-Cool · 30-05-2024 04:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122202975#Comment_122202975

I don't know why, but any time Retro mentions Ninja Gaiden Black, it reminds me of this scene.

RobertFoster · 30-05-2024 05:42PM

Ninja Gaiden Black, or Ninja Gaiden very, very,
very, very dark blue?

Grumpypants · 30-05-2024 05:52PM

I watch my 6 (boy) and 8 (girl) year olds play Roblox as I'm baffled by the popularity. Is it the different games, is it the customisation, or what.

It's different for both. The 6 year old just like blowing stuff up so he just like that the games are very basic. He doesn't have to read menus or on-screen prompts.. because he can't read. Or get stuck in big complex games.

You wouldn't mind but the same fella has finished Spiderman, jedi survivor, astro bot, little big planet, and a host of Lego games so he is well able. He plays on the PS5 or Series X. So no lack of power but no need for things to look new either. He will play anything from Gameboy/SNES up.

The 8 year olds are different. For them it's their social media. They don't have phones, they aren't on social media. But 2nd class have a Roblox group and they chat, hang out, play together there. She plays on a cheap Amazon fire HD tablet. So again neither care about performance. The games are often barely what you would class as a game.

The character customisation is a small part of it, she spends roughly 6euro a month via the sub from her pocket money. But the games tend to be more about hanging out in the same game together and talking nonsense.

CatInABox · 30-05-2024 06:29PM

Read a thread there recently on the SquareEnix sales targets news on the last game they released, and the guy, a former Square Dev, was very insightful. His basic thrust was that the sales targets were essentially the budget of the games + a margin for profit, which makes more sense I guess than just a finger in the air guess.

The other news he put out was that while the market is growing, that growth is coming from Fortnite, COD, etc. ~~The games market is actually shrinking if you exclude the money spent on those games~~. EDIT: Misremembered, he didn't exactly say that, he says that while it's growing, more and more are going to live service games. That's cataclysmic for the industry, and will mean many more lay offs all over the place.

You can see the thread here, I think it's very insightful.

https://twitter.com/JNavok/status/1793779717813723521

On the Xbox path forward, it is complicated. I don't see them giving up on hardware, but it does seem like they're preparing for a change. So far, there's been so many rumours that I have to take with more than a pinch of salt, but the thing is that there's been so many leaks (the FTC leaks show they're really into ARM), and then other recent updates (finally allowing more than one WiFi network, etc), that I'd be shocked if they didn't have some kind of handheld device nearly ready.

Then there's the store front thing, where they seem to be planning to allow other stores on their console, which might help with prices (although I think this is more to head off an antitrust investigation).

Latest rumour, tying into the above, is that they're creating a reference design and are going to allow anyone to create their own Xbox hardware. Mental times, but fun, in a I have no idea what they're doing because they don't know what they're doing themselves way.

Zero-Cool · 30-05-2024 10:04PM

Finally playing Resi 3 Remake and it has such a great opening, really looking forward to this. Was put off by poor reviews since launch but the biggest complaint of the campaign being too short will suit me down to the ground at the moment. It's been so long since i played the original, i can't even remember most of it (not my favourite resi).

Retr0gamer · 30-05-2024 10:07PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122204367#Comment_122204367

I found it quite disappointing. The main issue is that the main focus of the game Nemesis is poorly implemented and just frustrating. It's not bad but should have been better.

Penn · 30-05-2024 10:52PM

Yeah it's still a really great game, but Nemesis just didn't match the persistent threat of Mr.X, and the more action-orientated gameplay, weaponry and movement just changed the feel of the game from RE2.

Retr0gamer · 31-05-2024 09:12AM

The more I see of the silent hill 2 remake the more I know I'm going to hate it. There's a lot of complaints it looks like a PS3 game which I think isn't fair, it's a good looking game. It's just the whole way it looks like a Resi 4 style game with an i-frame backdodge and how James holds and shoot guns like he has been trained in how to use them. There's lots of other ways it can go wrong, bloober team have proven to be terrible when it comes to writing. However there's not been much shown of this so I can't comment there.

What's really going to annoy me is that if the game turns out well I'll be hearing about how the game is much better than the original because it's more fun to play and there's jump scares now. And those people are probably right in a way. But for me silent hill 2 was never meant to be fun. It was always meant to be scrappy. James is just a chump with a 4x4. There's a a brutality in how he dispatches enemies.

I just hope they aren't tempted to give pyramid head a back story.

Grumpypants · 31-05-2024 10:17AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122204367#Comment_122204367

I did enjoy it, partially because the reviews had me going in with low expectations. It wasn't that short. It's around 6-7 hours. Which is fine by me.

recyclops · 31-05-2024 10:33AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122205421#Comment_122205421

It wasnt really needed to be remade but people feed off nostalgia ( myself included) and Re2 remake did so well but they should have gone down the route the Gamecube remake of original RE went down. They altered very little but made it look a little better.

Mr Crispy · 31-05-2024 12:24PM

I see there are moves to bring Just Cause to the big screen. Given that the games already parody big, over the top action movies, I'm not sure what the point of the movie would be...

recyclops · 31-05-2024 12:57PM

Jaysus remember the god awful postal movie, it would be akin to that I'd imagine

johnny_ultimate · 31-05-2024 01:07PM

I make no qualms about being deeply pessimistic about the Silent Hill 2 remake on a fundamental 'why does this exist?' level… but my god the frame rate / frame pacing in those trailers almost makes me nauseous at times.