The "hardcore" future

[The Antagonist]

Recently, listening to the podcast of "Game Over", the presenter, Funs, declared his humble opinion after making a good PC for himself as God intended. And after seeing the gaming panorama, the hardcore group won't have any choice than changing to the PC in the not too distant future if they want to remain true to its gaming essence. I totally agree with this statement, I'll explain.

Look at the direction of the companies, not only Nintendo, which started it all with the Wii, but also Sony, with its Move, and Microsoft, with its Kinect and his eagerness to transform Xbox into a brand leader in the overall multimedia entertainment, and not only (but focused) in video games. Look at the mobile sector, it would not surprise me if the portable consoles will disappear in, at least, one generation more, by implementing the games in mobile , tablets, etc... That, hopefully, will already have portable gaming power to match up to, like for example, PS Vita, or at least like that.

While the Wii U goes his path, we see as the next Playstation appears to implement a gaming system like the Wii U's tablet, and Microsoft, meanwhile, seems to put all the eggs in one basket with Kinect, and I'm not afraid to admit that the next Xbox, as strongly rumored, will come with Kinect 2.0, so imagine... Not to mention the habit of connecting Xbox to all tablet or mobile living, and offer multimedia (movies, music ...) in abundance.

So, where is all that 100% approach to the gamer and hardcore? Where is the concern to offer consoles focused on the games, for the player? Instead, look at the PC. The PC is not governed by any rule issued by companies, is customizable to your taste (to suit the gamer) both outside and inside. And with platforms such as Steam or Origin.

In a few years, I don't think the concept of "console" will exist, at least as a device focused on games. So, at least, and thankfully, we still have the PC.

What do you think about this? You agree? You refuse to accept it?

[retrolinkx]

Well, PC gaming is dying as well.

Apart from emulation, and old games on steam. You're mainly getting console ports, games that were designed for console or RTS's and such that are designed for PC.

If the next gen will have to utilize some new form of playing, that can't be redone on the keyboard and mouse, you'd be losing a lot of third party games. The Wii U can be catered towards both, but the the new Kinectbox, you'd probably not be getting any of that, and the new PlayStation could be move only, much like the Wii, so you'd probably getting nothing of that.

Besides, gaming is dying and dying very quickly, people like you and me can see this, but many of the casuals will still let money pour into the industry for their new and innovative Call of Duty games, but even then, the casuals will soon see that after a while, even this game is getting boring.

I predict a new gaming crash to come soon, hopefully, getting rid of most companies, and allowing new and better ones to take their place, and this will allow consoles to stay, along with PC's.

Also if consoles go away, all the console gamers, could move to PC, so you'd be finding a lot of 13 year olds clogging up your favorite server, bring PC gaming down.

Just look at Team Fortress now.

[Arjahn]

I just want my Gameboy back

[Beardy]

I'm not trying to troll or anything. Admittedly I never really play multiplayer games so I'm not sure if my opinion means anything here...but I've never really understood what makes a "hardcore gamer". I play shitloads of games and it's a big hobby of mine... but I still don't get what makes you hardcore.

[Xannidel]

Sort of a pessimistic thread eh? I do not think gaming is in a decline but I do believe it is approaching, or is already IN a rut of some sort, where games that are different then the mainstream games is sort of frowned upon because a lot of gamers do not like change in their games and prefer the same stuff (look at CoD sales and the EA Sports franchise). At least Pokemon is branching out from it's usual thing with the new Conquest game that came out; granted the tactical gameplay is not new but for a pokemon game, it is.

[Beardy]

Games are simultaneously getting better and worse. Games are becoming...well... a bit Hollywood now. Risk is bad.

Still, it's better than the old E.T landfill days right?

Personally I think a big problem is that the gaming industry still has a weird inferiority complex compared to movies, despite being a bigger industry, and it's kind of reflected in how the game market works these days.

[dop]

Shit be sensationalist. The concept of a console won't totally expire in a few years, at any rate.

If the DS or PSP do get killed by smartphones and their ilk, then it will be rightly earned. The only reason those handhelds could ever be completely crushed is if all buyers were completely convinced that the available tablets, etc. were superior as game devices. It would take a lot to convince people to start buying microwaves instead of ovens. This is not a perfect analogy, but you get the point. The new platform that games would find themselves on, be it an iPhone or whatever, would still be perfectly viable to house "hardcore" experiences.

On that note I fail to grasp how purported hardware and features of next generation systems have anything to do with how much they will cater the "gamer and hardcore"- this has, and always will be, decided by the games released for the system rather than what kind of controllers they have. The Wii fell victim to saturation of trashy, so-called "casual" games but that was also in part to the low system specs making ports of many blockbusters require too much special work to be worthwhile, not just because misguided obsession with focusing too much on how to use the obtuse controller. The system in question is always neutral to how much it services any hardcore crowd.

In any case, I do dislike to see peoples' opinion of the big game industry coming to a prospective crash interpreted in as all-encompassing of a term as "gaming dying". If some fantastic event ever occurred and consoles disappeared, all of the biggest names that compose that big game industry- Nintendo, EA, whatever- will continue to exist, simply defecting to other platforms, and there would always be those who persist to trust their names and buy their products. So how then, could a future where hardcore games cease to exist come about- and what exactly does it entail?

More importantly than the immortality of the big names, gaming (both hardcore and not) will never die because of gaming enthusiasts and their own independently created projects, the likes of which- from the groundbreaking and innovative ones to the classically fashioned retro-styled endeavors- are becoming more widespread, better-made and popular with each passing year. With crowd-funding (admittedly a fad which may be short lived!), more people than ever before are allowed an easy avenue to take a swing at quitting their job and going full-time indie. If no game ever made money again and it was nothing but a fruitless labor of love, gaming would still persevere because of the passion people have for it.

For many people, games are just as important as other kinds of entertainment media- for personal enjoyment, interpersonal bonding and their distinctive class of artistic value- and through every person who gives it that reverence, gaming will never come to an end.

e: fixed a little grammar mistake.

[Nicknclank]

I completely agree with dop. The easiest way to prove that is actually with this forum!

This forum isn't know by tons of people, and yet, there are still a LOT of gamers who has an account here. And ALL of us are gamer fans who will always be happy with the new game their favorite companies is going to make.

The simple fact that we keep being here to talk about games proves that people still CARES about them. And producers know that! That's why they're still making games for us!

[Skarro]

Gaming is not doing under, the percentage of people who purchase at least one game a year has been increasing every year since the original nintendo. It shows no signs of slowing down and has only increased at a more rapid rate. I will gladly bet all of my money and possessions that there will still be consoles after "a few years"

Though I do agree that in some ways games are getting worse, in many other ways they are getting better. Hardcore gamers themselves are simply getting bored with games all together and are unable to accept it and are trying to blame it on the industry.

Look at Bioshock. Sure your nostalgia and fanobyism makes you want to think your favorite snes/64/ps1 game is far better then something like this. But realistically for society as a whole this is a better game, and is driving the platform of gaming to be more of a defined media like movies or music.

I think not only will there still be game consoles in 10 year, but they will be as popular as a movie player or stereo.

[The Antagonist]

Let's see, your answers are perfectly valid, but I would like to clarify that perhaps you have not understood the focus of the text.

What I mean is that the PC will be the only 100% platform for gamers, so to speak, since a console will be a "something added on a multimedia device".

But anyways, that's just my opinion.

[DHXIII]

@Skarro: Bioshock is indeed one of the finest games ever made, It just serves as a lesson to all game developers, and realistically all FPS creators should take some notes from it's book.

Personally I am a retro gamer, I find myself constantly intrigued by consoles that are of the retro kind; I always was intrigued by the clever usage of a system and how creativity could override the limitations of a console. For example, Super Metroid, a game brimming with creativity and a fantastic atmosphere yet it is limited heavily by it's hardware. And I believe that the game would be considerably worse has it been made in a modern context. However, despite my natural love for all things retro I do enjoy new games.

I feel that I enjoy these games for a completely different reason for example I appreciate Bioshock for it's artistic merit, great gameplay and it's incredible ability to convey a story in a non-cut scene structure where-as I appreciate Super Mario World because it's fun. It's hard to explain but I do believe that modern games are missing something that only retro games can seem to achieve. Even games that are capitalizing on that nostalgic vibe such as Donkey Kong Country: Returns seem to miss out on something that was so great on the SNES version. That 'something' is hard to actually define however, I'm sure someone on this forum will understand what I am talking about.

[Skarro]

(06-30-2012 06:21 AM)DHXIII Wrote:  @Skarro: Bioshock is indeed one of the finest games ever made, It just serves as a lesson to all game developers, and realistically all FPS creators should take some notes from it's book.

Personally I am a retro gamer, I find myself constantly intrigued by consoles that are of the retro kind; I always was intrigued by the clever usage of a system and how creativity could override the limitations of a console. For example, Super Metroid, a game brimming with creativity and a fantastic atmosphere yet it is limited heavily by it's hardware. And I believe that the game would be considerably worse has it been made in a modern context. However, despite my natural love for all things retro I do enjoy new games.

I feel that I enjoy these games for a completely different reason for example I appreciate Bioshock for it's artistic merit, great gameplay and it's incredible ability to convey a story in a non-cut scene structure where-as I appreciate Super Mario World because it's fun. It's hard to explain but I do believe that modern games are missing something that only retro games can seem to achieve. Even games that are capitalizing on that nostalgic vibe such as Donkey Kong Country: Returns seem to miss out on something that was so great on the SNES version. That 'something' is hard to actually define however, I'm sure someone on this forum will understand what I am talking about.

Do you feel the same way about a snes or sega game you have never played before? I think thats the proof you need for yourself to confirm it isn't nostalgia credit.

[DHXIII]

(07-01-2012 09:40 AM)Skarro Wrote:  

(06-30-2012 06:21 AM)DHXIII Wrote:  @Skarro: Bioshock is indeed one of the finest games ever made, It just serves as a lesson to all game developers, and realistically all FPS creators should take some notes from it's book.

Personally I am a retro gamer, I find myself constantly intrigued by consoles that are of the retro kind; I always was intrigued by the clever usage of a system and how creativity could override the limitations of a console. For example, Super Metroid, a game brimming with creativity and a fantastic atmosphere yet it is limited heavily by it's hardware. And I believe that the game would be considerably worse has it been made in a modern context. However, despite my natural love for all things retro I do enjoy new games.

I feel that I enjoy these games for a completely different reason for example I appreciate Bioshock for it's artistic merit, great gameplay and it's incredible ability to convey a story in a non-cut scene structure where-as I appreciate Super Mario World because it's fun. It's hard to explain but I do believe that modern games are missing something that only retro games can seem to achieve. Even games that are capitalizing on that nostalgic vibe such as Donkey Kong Country: Returns seem to miss out on something that was so great on the SNES version. That 'something' is hard to actually define however, I'm sure someone on this forum will understand what I am talking about.

Do you feel the same way about a snes or sega game you have never played before? I think thats the proof you need for yourself to confirm it isn't nostalgia credit.

Yes, I'm constantly looking for hidden Gems and recently when I played 'Shining the Holy Ark' on the Sega Saturn I regained that feeling of absolute wonderment - a feeling truly lost in the modern day of gaming. Or even with Sonic and Knuckles I had a similar experience (To clarify I had never played these games prior to this year.

I can admit that I do save somewhat of a biased for retro games but I do genuinely feel they have something that modern games are lacking.

[Skarro]

Hmm interesting, well I hope you discover specifically what it is. You should play "Megaman 9 / 10" there brand new games that feel like nes games.

[BumblebeeCody]

(06-29-2012 09:36 AM)Beardy Wrote:  I'm not trying to troll or anything. Admittedly I never really play multiplayer games so I'm not sure if my opinion means anything here...but I've never really understood what makes a "hardcore gamer". I play shitloads of games and it's a big hobby of mine... but I still don't get what makes you hardcore.

No, you're right. The Hardcore gamer is what people say to make their E-peen huge.

HARDCORE


Baby-kiddy-casual poo


It's actually quite sad that Nintendo think they need to appeal to the HARDCORE market. They needed the third party support but the only real reason (I think) Nintendo didn't gain the "hardcore" market is because the Wii lacked the graphic power to display games like CoD and the online service (FRIEND CODES!!!!!! >: ( ) aren't what they want. You get some odd games like Mad World and No More Heroes on the Wii but it they don't sell as they should.