The Video Game Thread - anything and everything...

[Solo4114]

Duke Nukem 3D had some of the most fun and inventive deathmatch combat I've ever played. The weapons in that game were just a riot.

I mean, sure, you've got your generic machinegun, pistol, shotgun, and rocket launcher. But you had the shrink ray, the freeze ray, pipe bombs, laser tripmines, it was a blast!

My absolute favorite was when my friend and I figured out that you could shoot rockets thru the teleporters. I was chasing after him and he ran into a teleporter that led to a dead-end room, figuring as soon as I came thru, he'd blast me. Instead, I had already shot a rocket before he got thru, and he had just enough time to turn around and see it zip thru the teleporter and right into his face. We laughed our asses off.

I don't really like deathmatch in most cases as a gameplay style, but Duke Nukem 3D did it right.

 

[Ron]

I'm not surprised. There's been talk of Microsoft dropping hardware and going strictly publishing. This is only anecdotal, but I don't know a single person that has a current gen X-Box. Everyone I know that plays any Microsoft games does so on PC.

I wonder if PS5 has seen a slowdown in sales. Again, only anecdotal but I don't get the sense that there's as much enthusiasm for the lineup of games this generation as there was in previous generations.

 

[Cephus]

I'm not surprised. There's been talk of Microsoft dropping hardware and going strictly publishing. This is only anecdotal, but I don't know a single person that has a current gen X-Box. Everyone I know that plays any Microsoft games does so on PC.

I wonder if PS5 has seen a slowdown in sales. Again, only anecdotal but I don't get the sense that there's as much enthusiasm for the lineup of games this generation as there was in previous generations.

I have a current gen Xbox and so does just about all of my friends. Very few have Playstation. I haven't owned a PS since PS2. Zero interest.

 

[JediMichael]

I was never an xbox fan. They already own such a huge market with the PC, why even waste time with a console.
Although for me, I prefer using a console, as its just easier. Don't have to worry about upgrading a PC in hopes it will play the big bad new games better.
I've also become a sucker for collection trophies on Playstation. Just that extra challenge to do in the game.

 

[Ron]

I have a current gen Xbox and so does just about all of my friends. Very few have Playstation. I haven't owned a PS since PS2. Zero interest.

Interesting. The only Xbox I had was the first one that I was given by a relative. While there was a lot of standalone Xbox games I wanted to play, they weren't enough for me to justify having two systems. Once I built a gaming pc, I didn't see a need to buy an Xbox.

Just curious, were you never interested in any Playstation exclusives?

 

[greenmachines]

I have a current gen Xbox and so does just about all of my friends. Very few have Playstation. I haven't owned a PS since PS2. Zero interest.

I own a ps2 and nothing newer. I never purchased bill's stuff. My nephew had the famous dead power supply straight out of the box (that doesn't bother me, stuff happens) but to then see the horrible support that followed. Easily kept me completely out of the xbox market. Especially after their purposed bricking of all drm cd based competition in the pc market. He is a complete ....

 

[Solo4114]

I had an X360 and then switched to an XBox One around...2010? 2011? I still have the Xbox One and still use it occasionally. My kid likes playing Disney Infinity on it and maybe one or two other games.

All my gaming is done on PC now. For a long time, though, we used the XB1 as our streaming device...until we got a Chromecast, at which point we stopped using it because the XBox GUI and XBox apps tend to suck. The Chromecast has been much better.

For me, I bought and used consoles at a time when I couldn't afford to buy a really good new computer, or where the gap between the PC and computer's graphics wasn't quite as pronounced. But it seems to me that PC gaming has progressed leaps and bounds beyond what consoles could do, and in fact consoles are now more of a drag on game development because their hardware just can't keep up. Couple that with the lack of any kind of modding and my general preference for mouse + keyboard as a control scheme (which was always the case, even when I played primarily on console), and there just doesn't seem to me to be a need for a new console.

There was a window a couple years ago, maybe right before the pandemic, where I'd have been game to get a PS5...but then they had their own production shortage and I just gave up and stopped paying attention.

I think there could still be a market for consoles -- wherein the console is essentially a "bargain" computer -- but the real issue is going to be that there needs to be a MASSIVE leap in the (1) affordability, and (2) capabilities of the technology inside the console to justify the production of future gens.

And to be honest, it's all WAY better on an actual PC, too. In my middle age, I can now afford to buy a new bleeding-edge computer every, oh, 7-10 years or so. For at least the last 15 years, that's been good enough for me and I just ride that sucker til the wheels fall off (so to speak), then do it again for another 7-10 years. Some of that may be because consoles have held back game development, so I guess I have that to thank them for, but I also think there's a level on which you need different advances in computing to really push the envelope in gaming. (And no, the answer is not "AI!!")

 

[Cephus]

I've got a Series X, had a One, which currently resides in the guest bedroom, had a 360, which my youngest daughter took when she moved across the country, along with a bunch of old Nintendo systems. Never had a problem with any of them. I only upgrade when games I want to play aren't available any other way. I've also got a really good computer, but I have no interest in gaming at my desk, I'd rather hang out in the living room with a controller. I don't play PC unless I have no other choice and I honestly don't spend a ton of time playing gamees anyhow. Too busy living.

 

[Nth]

I'm not surprised. There's been talk of Microsoft dropping hardware and going strictly publishing. This is only anecdotal, but I don't know a single person that has a current gen X-Box. Everyone I know that plays any Microsoft games does so on PC.

I wonder if PS5 has seen a slowdown in sales. Again, only anecdotal but I don't get the sense that there's as much enthusiasm for the lineup of games this generation as there was in previous generations.

PS5 sales have actually substantially increased.

 

[greenmachines]

PS5 sales have actually substantially increased.

Twinkie syndrome

 

[Ron]

PS5 sales have actually substantially increased.

Guess it's just me then. Nothing out there is really enticing me. Dragon's Dogma 2 is the only thing. Part of it is I'm just not into games as much as I used to be. Like Cephus said, I'm too busy living.

I mentioned it before but I'm not sure if I'll even get a PS5. There's only a few games I want to play and I've had numerous friends and family tell me I could just borrow their PS5s.

 

[greenmachines]

Guess it's just me then. Nothing out there is really enticing me. Dragon's Dogma 2 is the only thing. Part of it is I'm just not into games as much as I used to be. Like Cephus said, I'm too busy living.

I mentioned it before but I'm not sure if I'll even get a PS5. There's only a few games I want to play and I've had numerous friends and family tell me I could just borrow their PS5s.

First, your family loves you or they don't play much. I can't borrow a single console and every time I loan one it never comes back.

 

[Nth]

Guess it's just me then. Nothing out there is really enticing me. Dragon's Dogma 2 is the only thing. Part of it is I'm just not into games as much as I used to be. Like Cephus said, I'm too busy living.

I mentioned it before but I'm not sure if I'll even get a PS5. There's only a few games I want to play and I've had numerous friends and family tell me I could just borrow their PS5s.

Yeah, just checked the numbers and Sony has sold 50+ million consoles since 2020 with a 65% increase in sales in 2023.
If anyone is still looking to get one, wait until the holidays to see if the predicted Pro comes out. Chances are base models will drop in price.

 

[greenmachines]

Actually, I even went back to buying composition consoles with preloaded game collections and my biggest purchase in years was the all in one Retron cartridge player. All others go to the overbuilt pc including the vr stuff.

 

[Ron]

First, your family loves you or they don't play much. I can't borrow a single console and every time I loan one it never comes back.

One time I lent one of my younger cousins some PS3 games and he ended selling them to gamestop lol. That was the last time I lent my games out.

But yeah that's the reason everyone is cool lending me theirs is they aren't getting much use. That's why I said it seems like there isn't that much enthusiasm among the people I know. But that's just console games. They still play a lot on PC.

Yeah, just checked the numbers and Sony has sold 50+ million consoles since 2020 with a 65% increase in sales in 2023.
If anyone is still looking to get one, wait until the holidays to see if the predicted Pro comes out. Chances are base models will drop in price.

Interesting. I wonder how much of that is due to increased availability. It's still a lot for sure. Also wonder what the sales numbers are on the latest Xbox.

But yeah if I do get a PS5 I'll just wait for the Pro.

 

[Nth]

One time I lent one of my younger cousins some PS3 games and he ended selling them to gamestop lol. That was the last time I lent my games out.

But yeah that's the reason everyone is cool lending me theirs is they aren't getting much use. That's why I said it seems like there isn't that much enthusiasm among the people I know. But that's just console games. They still play a lot on PC.



Interesting. I wonder how much of that is due to increased availability. It's still a lot for sure. Also wonder what the sales numbers are on the latest Xbox.

But yeah if I do get a PS5 I'll just wait for the Pro.

MS hasn't release its sales numbers in years on its hardware, but all I could find is that sales between PS5 and Xbox is 3:1 with Xbox suffering a 7% decline in hardware sales but a 13% increase in software sales in 2023.

 

[Cephus]

First, your family loves you or they don't play much. I can't borrow a single console and every time I loan one it never comes back.

My kids are grown and gone. I've got nobody to fight for console time with.

 

[JediMichael]

Had I not won the PS5, I wouldn't have one yet.
PS3 came out in 2006, but I didn't get one til Christmas 2012.
PS4 came out 2013, but didn't get one til 2017.
Its pretty much because I never had the money, and had to wait til they finally came down in price.

I have a picture of people lining up waiting for the PS3 to go on sale, but can't find the picture....might be in my photobucket account...which I thought I had saved all my pics from, but its not with all the rest....that will drive me crazy now.

 

[JediMichael]

I was able to actually get back in that photobucket account, and had to play around with some stuff, but was able to finally see my old pics.
So here is two pics of people waiting in line to buy the PS3, about a day before release. Worked overnight at Target. A few of the guys at the front were target employees for the day shift who took off a few days.
A coworker had a cell phone with a camera, although not a great one.

 

[Solo4114]

Yeah, just checked the numbers and Sony has sold 50+ million consoles since 2020 with a 65% increase in sales in 2023.
If anyone is still looking to get one, wait until the holidays to see if the predicted Pro comes out. Chances are base models will drop in price.

MS hasn't release its sales numbers in years on its hardware, but all I could find is that sales between PS5 and Xbox is 3:1 with Xbox suffering a 7% decline in hardware sales but a 13% increase in software sales in 2023.

If I had to guess, I'd say that probably two major things are at work behind those numbers.

1. There was a real bottleneck in, I believe, microprocessor production that screwed PS5 production lines for years. Put simply, they couldn't make them fast enough to meet demand. That seems to have alleviated somewhat and now PS5s are simply more available. In that sense, demand may not have actually changed as much, but availability did, so the pent-up demand is now being met. I likewise wouldn't be surprised if you see a bit of a dip in those numbers in the next year or two as pent-up demand alleviates and you settle into a more normal level of demand.

2. MS' shift is almost certainly due to their GamePass service, which they've heavily promoted and used to sell both console and PC games. "Software" could be a broad category there encompassing both, but with GamePass nominally under the Xbox aegis, sales -- even of PC games thru it -- would maybe be credited to "Xbox" generally.

I've heard Gamepass is actually a really good deal, but because I play next to nothing on the console, and I tend to buy games relatively infrequently and almost always on sale anyway...eh...it doesn't matter a ton to me. I might check it out at some point if there's a bunch of stuff on there that I want to play, but don't want to pay even $10 per copy for, but for anything that I KNOW I want, I'm just buying it.