The official SFGHQ E3 2013 discussion thread

[DimensionWarped]

I'm still not into it. The fact that you have to register each game online with the console before you play it seems a bit fishy to me.

[TailsSena]

Agreed. Too little too late, as far as I'm concerned.

[shadowgoten]

The fact that the console still requires the fuckin kinect means I won't be buying it. I've hated the kinect now and I will always hate the kinect. There won't be a time where this device "clicks" with me, I think It's a useless piece of hardware that isn't aimed towards traditional gamers. Also I don't like the idea of a camera that is always on (I don't care how much they say it won't be watching) and has the potential to keep watching me do things.

[Shane]

I'm still not into it. The fact that you have to register each game online with the console before you play it seems a bit fishy to me.

You could say we're already doing that with online passes. It seems developers are wanting more and more product control. Although, I guess EA recently have been realising online passes were a bad idea.

Here you go, Duckboy.

It's good that the consumer voices were heard, but it doesn't mean I suddenly changed my opinion of the XBone. Microsoft tried to get away with its completely unfriendly DRM. I'll be honest, I didn't expect Sony do have much different approach to DRM, so it did make me excited when they announced the PS4 wouldn't have the restrictions XBone was going to.

As it stands, I mostly play on PC anyway. It's quite apparent devs aim toward consoles and not PCs when developing, so my hardware hasn't come close to being maxed out on any modern games I want to play. I doubt I'll be buying into the next generation until some console exclusive I really want is released.

I rarely play my PS3 and I almost never touch my 360. I'm pretty sure I haven't touched a Wii in three years, now that I think about it. Although, I admit that Nintendo's line-up made me re-consider getting a Wii U. I sincerely doubt I would, though, once I remember the tablet-controller things. No matter what, I wouldn't be getting into the next generation until 2015 at the earliest, if I do at all.

[GSF]

It's not really that the consumers' voices were heard. At first they thought they would just push on and fuck everyone (remember Mattrick and his "get a 360 lol" gaffe).

However, once the preorder numbers (and possibly the investors) started talking, they backpedaled so hard that they pretend it was all for "the consumers".

I don't trust them as easily. Windows 8.1 may have the Start button back, but read that again: button, not menu. They could reinstate this bullshit anytime with an update, and even though this now means Xbone will be supported anywhere and not just Brazil here in SA... it's still not convincing me.

Sony ain't the perfect angels either - we don't know for sure if they were planning to DRM the shit out of the system and just took a step back because of lol Xbox DONE. I'm still amazed at how they recovered from the PS Notwork fiasco. Xbots are all lol'ing about the PS+ requirement for online, and while they do have a point this probably means the network will be more stable and hopefully have its user data NOT ON FUCKING PLAINTEXT. Some games will apparently be online even without PS+ (I suppose it'll be light games with 1 vs 1 like systems that don't make great use of the servers or something), not 100% sure on that.

As for Wii U, it starts to be more convincing, but not enough. Needs more third party glory. Atlus, Vanillaware, NIS, whatever. Platinum's already building potential.

I recommend people to just wait a lot before getting any system. It's way better when new slimmer, cheaper versions are out along with cheaper games. Believe me, it's not that hard to resist playing the latest generic shooter or whatever. Just be careful with spoilers...

[Shane]

However, once the preorder numbers (and possibly the investors) started talking, they backpedaled so hard that they pretend it was all for "the consumers".

I agree with you that there was pressure coming from somewhere. I did forget about the 360 comment until you mentioned it, which is odd cos it really annoyed me when I heard it.

I don't trust them as easily. Windows 8.1 may have the Start button back, but read that again: button, not menu. They could reinstate this bullshit anytime with an update, and even though this now means Xbone will be supported anywhere and not just Brazil here in SA... it's still not convincing me.

I have a fear that's going to happen too. Windows 8 is a whole other topic, but it's a huge mess. It was actually the final straw for me and convinced me to switch to Linux nearly exclusively. I do have a Windows 7 partition music for music production. A lot of the software doesn't work well with Wine.

Sony ain't the perfect angels either - we don't know for sure if they were planning to DRM the shit out of the system and just took a step back because of lol Xbox DONE. I'm still amazed at how they recovered from the PS Notwork fiasco.

Like I said, I didn't expect Sony to be any different either. It made me excited that they ended up not going with the same policies, but I still have my reserves.

Xbots are all lol'ing about the PS+ requirement for online, and while they do have a point this probably means the network will be more stable and hopefully have its user data NOT ON FUCKING PLAINTEXT. Some games will apparently be online even without PS+ (I suppose it'll be light games with 1 vs 1 like systems that don't make great use of the servers or something), not 100% sure on that.

The change could be a bit concerning, but it's honestly not a huge ordeal for me. I already pay for PlayStation Plus, and if I am to get a PlayStation 4, I would probably continue to do so.

As for Wii U, it starts to be more convincing, but not enough. Needs more third party glory.

This is one of the issues for me too. While I do enjoy my first party Nintendo games, I started to get burnout by the GameCube. I never finished Super Mario Sunshine or Twilight Princess to this day, despite my attempts to do so. I'm surprised I finished SSE on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, to be honest, but I found Melee to be a better game overall.

I recommend people to just wait a lot before getting any system. It's way better when new slimmer, cheaper versions are out along with cheaper games. Believe me, it's not that hard to resist playing the latest generic shooter or whatever. Just be careful with spoilers...

I mostly agree. I typically don't like the slim versions of consoles. I usually wait for their first price drop to buy, which usually happens before their next generation comes out, anyway.

Spoilers aren't a huge concern for me. If I care about a game's story, it's all about the journey, not the destination for me. It is nice not to know, sometimes, though.

For instance, my friend bought me Fallout 3 for Christmas one year. It was about a year after their huge hype about Fallout 3 was over. It was a very pleasant surprise with the DLC. I'll just leave it at that.

Like I said, I doubt I'll be getting into this generation until something comes out that I really want. I have plenty of games on all the consoles I need to finish, so I'm not hurting for entertainment. I agree with your post for the most part, and I share the sentiment that people should be cautious before entering the next generation.

[Serephim]

It's not so much the DRM that bothers me. PC games have been full-blown doing it for years now, and nobody complains. They don't complain because despite how it sounds, it's actually so beneficial to the developer that it becomes beneficial to the consumer as a result. Steam sales are amazing. I don't think it would have murdered the console market in the way people like to bitch that it does. Sure, it kills the terribly convenient used game market, but Gamestop has been hard leeching off developers for years now, unchecked, with a ridiculous profit margin and at this point there's really nothing anyone can do about it. As crazy as online passes seem, I can't deny the logic in applying them. It's really the only fair thing to do -- if you aren't going to pay for the game, at least pay for the constant online service you didn't pay to be a part of. It may not murder the AAA companies, but it'd be foolish to assume that the consequences of used game sales dont affect the smaller companies who don't have the presence to secure launch-day or first-month sales to even begin with.

Microsoft's backstroke is mostly just pathetic. They shafted gamers with the console at nearly every feature announcement, and when it finally hit the fan they completely broke down and gave in to the pressure. After all their remarks about the "future" and how you should just deal with the changes, they 180 their ENTIRE "future vision" in a last ditch to win back what they lost.

On the surface it looks like a good thing, but i dont know how anyone could possibly feel listened to by that announcement after they pushed so hard for it to happen in the first place. This isn't a realization, or them "listening", it's just them being forced to deal with an ultimatum that everyone saw coming. The system is probably going to be riddled with crazy shit they didn't elaborate on, and after dealing with the terrible hardware on the 360, I have no intention of finding out what bad features the X1 is left with.

[OverbounD]

There is a used market for many goods not just games. This whole notion that governments and businesses must artificially create demand for more of their products than are needed is just nuts. If your business model doesn't work then you need a new business model it's not right to create headaches through intrusive DRM and online passes for your paying customers.

[Serephim]

Games aren't particularly like other goods though. If you use other forms of similar media, like movies or music albums, there are alot of key differences, like the fact those types of goods don't make all their revenue from the sale of that CD/DVD/Blu Ray.

But you are absolutely right about the business model part...it's already begun to happen. The longer games exist, I believe that eventually either the DRM path is going to slowly take hold, or games are just going to all primarily become conduits for DLC...you know, kind of like they already are. It's probably the natural evolution of videogames, but personally I think the issue of used games probably helped accelerate it.