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Are Casual Games Killing Consoles?


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Picture yourself in the late 70's, playing your Atari VCS. It's got ports of some great arcade games, but they don't come anywhere near matching the excitement, graphics or controls of the arcade. Anyone who claims that home consoles will ever kill the arcade is patently insane.

 

Fast forward a couple decades and suddenly the only arcades that exist also serve food and beer and are geared toward people who remember the heyday of the arcade or hipsters who wish they were old enough to remember the arcade.

 

Are mobile games going to do the same for home consoles? We've seen great strides in the past 10 years from gray-scale poker on my first brick phone to being able to play Vice City now.

 

Controls are an issue, but I have yet to see anything insurmountable, and tablets/smart phones are everywhere. It's rare to meet someone who doesn't have at least one of those now, and I don't see any reason why it won't continue to grow, and I think it's already hurt Nintendo. They did wonderfully with the casual gamers in 2006 -- before the release of the iPhone and the amazing growth of smart phones.

 

Is it time for Nintendo to start working on new mobile hardware if they want to stay relevant? Should Sony release the Playstation Phone? Or will the format remain too difficult for major game releases?

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I wouldn't say casual games/gamers are killing consoles as much as I'd say the console makers are killing themselves by making over-blown boxes that only the most hardcore of gamers will spend money one. I'm the guy that just bought a 360 last year. The price of the PS4 or XBox One? Ridiculous. Gamers will buy it, but they know that isn/t enough, hence trying to make them into media centers as well.

 

I'm a casual gamer for sure, and I will NEVER spend more than $300 on a console. Its just not worth it to me.

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The only thing about casual gaming I don't like is micro transactions. That's a blanket statement of course, as there are games I've played where I enjoyed having a bunch of optional stuff to add into my game. However so many games I've played sorta screw the game by micro transactioning things like how often you can play thru "energy" and stuff... that stuff is mad stupid.

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Cellphones and tablets are killing console games. (to an extent)

 

BUT

 

Consoles are warring with gaming PCs now (and each other).

 

But some games for next gen consoles are incorporating mobile devices with their games as it is. For example the Division (PS4 XBOX1) in which you can play on your ipad or phone but in a different capacity to affect things that happen in the game environment. I think there is more room for the technologies to merge and be complimentary than damage each other.

 

And £350 for a PS4 is not too much at all. PS3 was around the same price when it was first released anyways.

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Yeah that's true. And next gen consoles are pretty off the hook for the price. Especially when games will be made specifically for them, not for current consoles too.

 

Think "The Last Of Us" but designed for ps4. It will be incredible.

 

The other benefit of console gaming, particularly for multiplayer and MMOs is they are a level playing field. Everyone is gonna be playing on a universal peice of kit (dis regarding connection speeds). When you're in the PC environment people have different graphics cards, better rigs, not to mention hacks and mods that can alter their experience so the playing field isn't even at all. Another reason (aside from finance) that will keep me buying consoles over a gaming PC any day.

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Last Of Us is up there in the "one of the best games made, ever. Period. No exaggeration"

 

The emotional depth was pretty astounding, I actually cried while playing it. Ever cried whilst playing a video game? I have, and I'm a 30yr old man(child).

 

And you are right, it is one of those rarities that isn't just a game. It bridges so many things, I'd almost call it a playable movie. Or interactive movie. It is very cinematic and blends cut scenes and gameplay seamlessly. You should play it, and then have yarns with your son about it after. It's ****ing wicked.

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I downloaded Injustice: Gods Among Us on my Kindle Fire today, and while it has very simplistic controls, it's a much more "hardcore" game than Candy Crush.

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Yeah, maybe so. You should play it regardless.

 

Red Dead is one of my favs too,

 

I have a hunch rock star are working on a new red dead for Ps4. What with the success of GTAV and GTA online. If they incorporated some more RPGS style customisation into a new red dead that would be off the hook.

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Yeah, maybe so. You should play it regardless.

 

Red Dead is one of my favs too,

 

I have a hunch (call it gut feeling) rockstar are working on a new red dead for Ps4. What with the success of GTAV and GTA online. If they incorporated some more RPGS style customisation into a new red dead that would be off the hook.

fuck wrong buttons.. Stupid phone

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Red Dead Redemption moved me with some of its moments and sheer beauty. Mass Effect got me a little misty here and there.

The surprise major character death in the middle of FFVII was probably the worst a video game has ever wounded me. That's meant as a compliment, and as me thinking out loud that I really need to work some more overtime hours so I can buy a PSsomething to call my own and take on some of these games.

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So many console games are just utter trash. I have had more fun with minecraft than any other video game in the last 2 years. I play it on my cell phone maybe 10 minutes a day. Digital legos really appeals to the kid in me. Mashing buttons to do combos in between cut scenes on a console game definitely doesn't appeal to me.

 

Red Dead Redemption was a gem for sure. My favorite game ever.

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Red Dead Redemption moved me with some of its moments and sheer beauty. Mass Effect got me a little misty here and there.

The surprise major character death in the middle of FFVII was probably the worst a video game has ever wounded me. That's meant as a compliment, and as me thinking out loud that I really need to work some more overtime hours so I can buy a PSsomething to call my own and take on some of these games.

 

I think you'd really appreciate Mass Effect

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  • 3 months later...

Killing the Sasquatch in the Zombie expansion for Red Dead Redemption KILLED me as an ecologist. Killed me. Sasquatch (we usually say "Squatch") is universally adored by most ecologists. It's one of the long-running jokes to walk into the woods and give off a Sasquatch call, a wild scream. Of course, no one believes they exist, but it's one of the longer running jokes along with mythical black panthers (melanistic mountain lions, that do not exist).

 

Hearing that big hairy bastard cry about being driven to extinction got me right in the feels.

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I never really thought about it (and missed this topic the first time around) but it makes sense that smart phones will eventually kill off console games. It'll take another decade though.

Pretty much. Once computer power gets to the point that the engine of a console is small enough to fit in a phone. I can already stream games on my phone to my TV so they're halfway there

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But that's basically just a console. You're just replacing the unit itself with a phone, but if you're still sitting at home with a controller and a TV what's the difference?

 

I know mobile gaming has changed the market considerably, but mostly in the sense that people who are otherwise not gamers now play games on their phone. I don't see the death of the console any time soon. Especially since console games are developing different game modes that work on phones and iPads and the like in conjunction with the console. Playing as commander in BF4 for example and what has been shown with The Division.

 

I mean, I know what you guys are saying and I agree with a large part, but I think Sony and Microsoft are forward thinking enough to figure out how to evolve. You only need to look at sales figures of PS4s and Xbox 1s world wide to see that consoles are just as popular as ever.

 

I think streaming games is the biggest threat to consoles themselves, but as a device to run a game I don't think a phone is going to be capable of keeping up with graphical processing compared to what consoles will keep evolving to. But I could be wrong. It's an interesting time.

 

Then you've also got the VR development which is coming along in leaps and bounds.. Like the Oculus Rift for PC and playstation's Project Morpheous. There is so much tech development in the games industry that I have absolutely no idea what is going to take off the most. But it's ****ing exciting

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But that's basically just a console. You're just replacing the unit itself with a phone, but if you're still sitting at home with a controller and a TV what's the difference?

 

 

 

Then you've also got the VR development which is coming along in leaps and bounds.. Like the Oculus Rift for PC and playstation's Project Morpheous. There is so much tech development in the games industry that I have absolutely no idea what is going to take off the most. But it's ****ing exciting

Mobility. As smart TVs get more ubiquitous as well you can likely be ensured that you can stream your game where ever you go. I'd be like packing your x-box around with you. If all you have is a controller and your phone you can play anywhere there is a TV or monitor.

 

I actually just worked on an Oculus Rift piece as the writer, it's a pretty impressive technology that once VR fidelity itself advances is going to be pretty life-changing I think.

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