Comments on: It’s Time to Admit Traditional Gaming Is In Trouble

By: SML1226

SML1226 — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 05:53:00 +0000

Awesome, I’m neither! A lot of my favorite games have not aged well graphically… at all. They remain deep, involving, and enjoyably replayable long after you’ve ran through them the first time through.

Honestly, do you think the gamers that truly care about games have played any new ones recently? I know I haven’t. I have pulled out the Genesis, PS1, NES, N64 and SNES to play the seriously good games, while the PS3 gets the occasional run through of MGS4, FO3, and GOW with them being all I have that’s worth playing again.

Let’s kill XBL, PSN, and whatever sad excuse Nintendo has for online play, use an old Dreamcast GPU, and get to making games with content rather than this fluffy crap that sells the hell out of a single game (good for that company, terrible for the industry), but produces no creativity and leads to the mind numbing boredom that games provide today.

If Bethesda redeems the failure of New Vegas (How do you follow FO3 and Oblivion with that hunk of crap) with Skyrim, I’ll have some faith in the ability to produce an enjoyable game.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:06:00 +0000

There were no AAA releases in July. Now if Gears of War 3 tanks next month you might have a point, however it won’t. It will sell somewhere between 3 and 5 million the first week.

July 2010, which is what they’re comparing to, had Crackdown 2, NCAA Football 11
and Dragon Quest IX.

July 2011 had… what? Catherine?

By: Giuseppe

Giuseppe — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:32:00 +0000

The problem with these tablets and droid phones is that the power of these devices is evolving at a faster rate than battery technology. I have a droid 3 and God forbid i decided to play a game on it, it would probably last an hour, and its not even 4g.

By: Giuseppe

Giuseppe — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:32:00 +0000

By: Giuseppe

Giuseppe — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:25:00 +0000

Meh, I think home consoles have that point where theres not much people left to buy them. If you think about it, 1 or 2 consoles per household is the max really. Your not gonna buy two xbox’s or two ps3′s for no reason, and only about 15% (based on my opinion) of adults 40 and older player video games. So theres not many people who don’t have either a ps3 or xbox or wii. Now iphones and droids on the other hand are a different topic. Your practically forced to buy a iphone or droid when you get a new phone, but not everyone uses it for gaming. Lots of business men i know use the iphone for strickly business, and lots of teens buy an itouch because its the same price as the other ipods but does more. So why not? The 3DS will pick up once a pokemon game comes out, its that simple. Shame on Nintendo for not releasing their biggest system seller on launch day.

By: solomon_rex

solomon_rex — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:23:00 +0000

Missed the point badly. Those new xbox users are buying Kinects and a couple games for the kids and that’s it. Game sales are down, and that’s what the article was pointing out. Traditional AAA $60 games are dying. The console hardware cycle is getting stretched in part because no one needs the next console for any specific reason. Eventually we will get new systems with better graphics, but what else can they add?

By: Terrell Newbill

Terrell Newbill — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 08:33:00 +0000

Phones and tablets are just new hardware with new input methods. Obviously a smartphone can never replace a console due to size, but a handheld? Definitely and easily. As more developers turn to phones, we’ll see more innovative, quality titles that make hardcore gamers happy. But traditional gaming isn’t in trouble, not even close. Nothing can compete with a console (or PC) experience. And “casual gamers” are fickle and can’t be relied on for sales over long periods of time. Just ask Nintendo.

By: Terrell Newbill

Terrell Newbill — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 08:33:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:47:00 +0000

One of your better articles Don, although the somewhat emotive headline (that didn’t really capture the spirit of what you wrote) may get a few people overly excited (which I think was it’s aim ;)). Just like TV cut into radio’s share, and traditional gaming has cut into TV/movies, social gaming will cut into traditional gaming – but that doesn’t mean (just like all those mediums before it) that it’s the end of traditional gaming. Hell, if no-one made those kind of games any more I’d make them m’self to play them, and I know there are tens of thousands of gamers that think the same way :).

By: Harsh Khilwani

Harsh Khilwani — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:13:00 +0000

Can I have your iPhone.Just kidding.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:10:00 +0000

Traditional gaming isn’t in trouble… Nintendo is in trouble and they’re in trouble because the Wii abandoned traditional gamers in an attempt to chase casual gamers – you know, people who don’t regularly buy games and are fickle in their hardware purchases.

So far in 2011 the Xbox 360 sales are up 14% over the same time in 2010. PS3 sales are up 0.54%. The Wii? Down 28%.

Because the Wii’s numbers had been so high it looks bad for gaming now that all the soccer moms have moved on to other things, but gaming as a whole is up. It’s just Nintendo that’s down.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 02:50:00 +0000

Yep. I’m 32 and got started on the Atari and Commodore systems, then the NES, SNES, Genesis, Sega CD and so forth. I’ve been a hard core PC gamer for the past…. well, feels like forever now.

But this article is right on the money. The reality is right in front of our faces, as much as traditionalists would like to put their hands over their ears and sing LaLaLa.

People like to say that PC gaming in particular is dying. It’s not. It’s /evolving/, and anyone who sticks their head in the sand is going to look up some day to wonder where everyone went. Where they went to are the ~$15 indi games and inexpensive hand held gaming market.

This is a good thing. As a gamer I only care about the game, not the console. Smart phones, and tablets in particular, the independent games, this is where the unique fun experiences are.

By: Alejandro M.

Alejandro M. — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 01:12:00 +0000

Sad just Sad.

By: IceBeam

IceBeam — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:34:00 +0000

So kids who play on handhelds are now using different handhelds. Who cares, no way in hell I’m going to play on a phone or tablet – go away with that.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:22:00 +0000

Ok, while I agree with some points that the major players in the industry need to adjust their strategies, I find the premise that the droves of mobile social games could ever replace the high quality nature of most (exclude crap titles) console titles to be crazy. Here is why: look at the demographics of people that play angry birds, farmville, crapville, etc they are pretty much anyone with a smartphone and 5 mins to kill. Now because of the increasing prevalence of smart phones your parents, siblings, and grandparents, are all “gaming” because they downloaded a FREE app made by Zynga, but are they really are they true blue gamers? NO. I cant stand playing games on my iPhone, and I tried several “quality” titles, but they all left me wanting a controller and larger screen. If the big 3 hardware manufacuturers were smart they would essentially try and do what Onlive is doing, move everything to a streaming model, which would also bring down console and game costs for the end user, while increasing profit margins. If the industry adapted to the actual wants of the consumer and not just B.A.U. then physical sales would no longer be a drag on revenue, and consumers would be much more willing to shell out $100 for a console and pretty much anything less than $60 bucks for a new title. This doesn’t have to be a gaming industry version of Netflix vs. Blockbuster…

By: kaeolian

kaeolian — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:48:00 +0000

I dont know one of my friends (who all own a console, im really trying to think of one who doesn’t and cant right now) who would pick up a mobile device over a console if it was available. People dont like mobile hand held consoles because they are used to playing a large screen TV’s in HD with surround sound on a comfy sofa. I will never pick up my Iphone to game on unless I cannot use my console, and if im out the house I just dont want to be carrying around another device

Getting the old gameboy colour out and slapping in some Pokemon blue is my idea of hell after owning my PS3 for many years. And I can just about bear to play Angry birds on a phone for a hour whilst waiting for a train or bus.

And I think the reason sales may be dipping is that you now have to fork out £60 for a top title on release day, its madness.

By: kaeolian

kaeolian — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:48:00 +0000

And I think the reason sales may be dipping is that you now have to fork out £60 for a top title on release day, its madness.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:22:00 +0000

Its time to admit… This article is retarded and a waste of internet space.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:22:00 +0000

Its time to admit… This article is retarded and a waste of internet space.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 01:43:00 +0000

I bought an iPod touch but it is Never used at home. I have a full gaming rig and no amount of portable crap will ever replace a dedicated PC or even a lowly console at home.; though it has to be admitted that the portable gaming market is growing; the actual games (outside of a few core titles) actually are truly abysmal and lack playability beyond the first 10 minutes.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:54:00 +0000

While this may be true, real core gamers will always go back to their roots. Obviously you cannot play your 360 or PS3 on the bus or train, but I know when I’m home, my iPhone is not even close to being my choice gaming platform. Sales of these systems are getting lower because they are now in the second half of their life cycle. These systems have been our for 5+ years and most people who want these have already bought and/or re-bought new versions of each system. Now that everyone is looking to the future, sales are obviously going to go down, until the newest edition of each system comes out, and then once again their sales will be in the millions every month, and will continue as they release newer/slimmer versions of future gaming consoles. I do agree that platforms such as DS and PSP/Vita could have the issue because mobile phones are always with you and are just easier to access then pulling out a sole gaming system. However there will always be those core gamers who will say, and are probably right, that mobile phones cannot compete graphically or even in solid gameplay as a physical dedicated gaming device such as the Vita. Only time will tell, and while there are more people who have not played console video games are now playing them on their phones because they are available, for people who have been core gamers for years, replacing a dedicated fully capable hardware console such as the 360 or PS3 with a little phone,is not likely.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:54:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:38:00 +0000

Wow. The foresight of stating something that’s already happened is astounding.
Playing a DVD in a games console… Wow, I mean… Anyone would think the PS2 was capable of doing that!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:38:00 +0000

Wow. The foresight of stating something that’s already happened is astounding.
Playing a DVD in a games console… Wow, I mean… Anyone would think the PS2 was capable of doing that!

By: Rayshawn Fox

Rayshawn Fox — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:30:00 +0000

Exactly. What they really should talk about is the lack of good software. I remember when I didn’t have nearly enough cash to get all of the games I wanted. Now, when I actually have the cash, I don’t see anything worth me forking over 60 of my hard earned dollars on.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 06:24:00 +0000

It’s just part of the overall shift from high quality slow content to high speed recycled snapshots.
It’s not just affecting gaming, but all media, and even food.
- Which newspaper takes time to create a few sections on saturday with in depth articles and who reads them?
- What happens to 99% of music being recorded at 192khz/24 bit? It ends on the MP3 low quality scrapheap.
- What is the biggest camera on Flickr? The iPhone. Where is that carefully taken shot of the key moments in our lives? It drowns in hipstacrap!
- Who has time to master Donkey Kong or sit out an adventure like Monkey Island 2? Just shoot some birds between the call from your mom and picking up the microwave food in the supermarket
- Who has time to cook a decent meal on weekdays?

On the other hand: commercially seen, all people that DO spend on high quality spend more on it together than in the 70-80 era where the percentage of quality media was higher.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:48:00 +0000

In trouble? Nope, not by a long shot. What’s happening is that cell phones are creating a new lower end device for older teens and above to play games anywhere they want to. Naturally, since your entertainment dollars can only stretch so far, some of the money transfers to this new found ability.

However, cell phones are a very very sad replacement for a livingroom or den wide screen 50″ television experience that includes console, controllers and Kinect that allow multiplayer, interactive, gesture and voice controlled games, movies and television shows with hi-res graphics that completely rule the roost. There is room for both, one will not kill the other and thinking that’s going to happen is dismissing the relavancy of a platform that is still showing major growth potential.

Tracking peoples movement throughout a home as Kinect will ultimately have the ability to do will allow the system to switch whatever entertainment, music, or news you are enjoying to the room you happen to transition to. Add multiple Kinects to a networked computer system which is coming, and add your phones and car on that network and you have an explosive integration that allows amazing and fluid transferance of everything you personally want to do or enjoy at home, work or wherever you happen to be.

So are cell phones and/or tablets taking over your game playing activities from consoles? Maybe for a small few, but anyone that values the senarios I listed above won’t be eliminating anything, just adding to the mix and enjoying a fuller and richer overall experience.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:48:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:48:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:22:00 +0000

Even the hardware specs on the psvita ( 4 core cpu 4 core gpu) are obsolete vs tegra 3 tablets 4 core cpu and 12 core gpu launching at the same time, and tegra 4 (8 core cpu and 60 core gpu ) launching next year for android and windows 8.

By: Radford Castro

Radford Castro — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:20:00 +0000

Same ‘ol anecdotal BS. Times are not changing. Games suck lately. The author catches you with the headline that traditional gaming is in trouble then ends the article saying it’s not going to die.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:47:00 +0000

Angry Birds reminds me of a very old Atari console game… simple in design adictive in play.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:44:00 +0000

Whilst I 100% agree on FPS games, I think that MMORPGs are a fantastic idea for mobile devices especially those with 3/4G. Pocket Legends and Star legends are doing really well on Android.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:38:00 +0000

Don’t forget about Skyrim. Forgetting about Skyrim is almost as bad as forgetting about Dre.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Game console manufacturers are the primary reason that PC gaming gets so little attention these days. Everyone wants to corner the market on the next multibillion dollar platform. Remember when MS all but abandoned the PC and built the XBOX Software programmers chase the money as well and write for the platform that sell the most games What we have now is too many platforms XBOX, WII, PlAYSTATION, and HandHelds. At least with the PC there is other functionality besides gaming and the internet and they have always been great gaming machines.

By: Joe Marley

Joe Marley — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:01:00 +0000

Surely low sales of games at the moment is simply testament to the lack of premium titles released. MW3 (love it or loathe it) and BF3 will sell bucket loads. As will AC:R. I predict that MW3 will end up as the fastest selling title of all time. Think we should all calm down a bit.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:50:00 +0000

By the way, I just paîd $21.87 for an îPad 2-64GB and my boyfriend loves his Panasonîc Lumîx GF 1 Camera that we got for $38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS.I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $657 which only cost me $62.81 to buy.
Here is the website we use to get it all from, http://BidsFirst.com

By: George Martin

George Martin — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 09:20:00 +0000

You do not need the playstation move, and $350 is a lot less than an iphone or ipad.

By: George Martin

George Martin — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 09:20:00 +0000

You do not need the playstation move, and $350 is a lot less than an iphone or ipad.

By: Seylan

Seylan — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 06:48:00 +0000

I think its all to do with games! People hate spending so much money on console games, which they will finish in just a week or 2, or even less.
If they can lower the prices of games by a reasonable amount, then i might be playing my ps3 a whole lot more often. 50% price drop will be wonderful. I mean, it doesn’t cost that much to manufacture…game companies are just greedy.
As for smartphones or tablets, well they will never offer the enjoyment a console offers. Chip makers are always promising “console beating gaming” but even the latest dual core phone is no match for even a ps2! Plus who ants to choots zombies on such a small screen anyways? The only reason we play games on our smatphones, is because they CHEAP!