Op Ed

Wired.com - Hi, I'm the Game Industry, and I'm Addicted to Vaporware. Thanks Ant.
Hyping up products that are years away is important to console makers like Nintendo, especially in the early life of a new product, because it needs consumers to see the console not as something they’re going to get their $350 worth out of right now, but as a long-term investment. This is as true for Sony and Microsoft as it is for Nintendo. They want you to buy a console on the promise of content later on down the road, so they can build their install base early, so that publishers will actually create that content.

And customers who buy in to that promise? As it turns out, they can have quite an emotional reaction when you suggest that perhaps they’re being snowed even a little.

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10.
 
Re: Op Ed
Jan 27, 2013, 19:59
10.
Re: Op Ed Jan 27, 2013, 19:59
Jan 27, 2013, 19:59
 
i never said it was legitimate or valid
9.
 
Re: Op Ed
Jan 27, 2013, 14:28
9.
Re: Op Ed Jan 27, 2013, 14:28
Jan 27, 2013, 14:28
 
Orphic Resonance wrote on Jan 27, 2013, 06:30:
NegaDeath wrote on Jan 26, 2013, 22:36:
Did the commonly accepted definition of the word change and I didn't get the memo?

no he makes an argument in the article about it

Oh I read his argument, but he doesn't get to redefine the term for the industry no matter how many 30 year old quotes he digs up in a desperate attempt to save face.
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8.
 
Re: Op Ed
Jan 27, 2013, 06:30
8.
Re: Op Ed Jan 27, 2013, 06:30
Jan 27, 2013, 06:30
 
NegaDeath wrote on Jan 26, 2013, 22:36:
Did the commonly accepted definition of the word change and I didn't get the memo?

no he makes an argument in the article about it
7.
 
Re: Op Ed
Jan 27, 2013, 04:07
7.
Re: Op Ed Jan 27, 2013, 04:07
Jan 27, 2013, 04:07
 
NegaDeath wrote on Jan 26, 2013, 22:36:
Reading both this and the preceding article about Nintendos software announcements this week the guy is clearly on crack. Game announced 10 minutes ago? Must be vaporware. Wtf? Did the commonly accepted definition of the word change and I didn't get the memo? My understanding was it refers to products that continually miss release dates with little to no visible progress in development.

Of course he's on crack. He's advocating that gaming companies shouldn't pitch developing games a year or two in advance, because 30 years ago it took less than 6 months to produce most games.

If you don't pitch upcoming software, you don't move consoles, and you don't develop a big enough user base to attract more desirable titles. I point to the Vita and the PSP for textbook examples of what a shitty lineup of upcoming software will do for a system. If there were a half-dozen must have titles announced for the Vita tomorrow that generated real buzz, on the level of Pokemon or Zelda or Forza or whatever, then you'd see a much higher adoption rate of the system and probably some actual life in it (possibly... I have a feeling portable games like the 3ds and the vita are relics on the way out, like netbooks).
6.
 
Re: Op Ed
Jan 27, 2013, 02:48
6.
Re: Op Ed Jan 27, 2013, 02:48
Jan 27, 2013, 02:48
 
I bought a PS3 because it has more and better exclusives than Xbox, and it's a high quality blu-ray player that has been way cheaper than comparable standalone players up until a couple years ago. Plus Sony doesn't charge you for online services. There's really no choice to be made at all for a primarily-PC gamer. I am eyeballing a Wii-U for future purchase because I'm a Ninty fan and would also like to catch up on several Wii releases, but that's another situation entirely.
5.
 
Re: Op Ed
Jan 27, 2013, 01:47
5.
Re: Op Ed Jan 27, 2013, 01:47
Jan 27, 2013, 01:47
 
Considering that at least 95% of console games are multiplatform and the vast majority of those also appear on PC in superior form, the better question is how people can invest in consoles at all. Console exclusives are growing increasingly rare and in the entire lifetime of any one console, it might get 3-4 exclusives that you actually enjoy. Spending $300+ on a console just to play a few exclusives seems like a really poor investment when you consider that most of the games you'll play will be multiplatform.
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4.
 
Re: Op Ed
Jan 27, 2013, 01:46
4.
Re: Op Ed Jan 27, 2013, 01:46
Jan 27, 2013, 01:46
 
I own a PS3 and a Wii (and PC obviously) and yes I got my moneys worth out of them. Skipped 360 for the same reason you mentioned, almost identical software catalog to the PS3. As for waiting for releases on Wii I never had that issue, with 3 different platforms to choose from any dry spell on any system would be covered by a release on a different system. If a person went Wii only I could see that being an issue.
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3.
 
Re: Op Ed
Jan 26, 2013, 23:47
3.
Re: Op Ed Jan 26, 2013, 23:47
Jan 26, 2013, 23:47
 
My question is, has anyone bought all 3 systems and not gotten their money's worth out of software for them? In the current gen of hardware (not counting Wii U), you really had 2 platforms. 1st is 360/PS3 (which are 95-99% the identical game), and the Wii.

The 360/PS3 versions are typically identical with minor changes (like shadows, or texture detail), while the Wii is typically a watered down version of the same game made to work with the under-powered Wii.

All 3 consoles had really weak launch titles, with Nintendo's biggest hit being the packed in the game with a Zelda game being the same game as the Gamecube version. Microsoft faired a little better with some exclusive launch titles, and finally Sony had 1 exclusive launch title with Resistance.

Now since those launches have the systems 'been worth it' in terms of game released since then? Microsoft and Sony both have solid selection of just about anything you could want, but Nintendo Wii owners have (in my personal opinion) been acting like they are just waiting for the next good game to show up due to all the crappy versions of other games on the Wii.

Now I ask, how can you invest 300-700 dollars into a console (regardless of generation) and not think of it as a long term investment? Hell I even bought my Gamecube because it had several games I wanted to play, but I never thought 'oh hey I'll spend 400 bucks to play 1 game and never use it again', it's ludicrous to think like that.
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2.
 
Re: Op Ed
Jan 26, 2013, 22:36
2.
Re: Op Ed Jan 26, 2013, 22:36
Jan 26, 2013, 22:36
 
Reading both this and the preceding article about Nintendos software announcements this week the guy is clearly on crack. Game announced 10 minutes ago? Must be vaporware. Wtf? Did the commonly accepted definition of the word change and I didn't get the memo? My understanding was it refers to products that continually miss release dates with little to no visible progress in development.
Avatar 57352
1.
 
Re: Op Ed
Jan 26, 2013, 22:15
1.
Re: Op Ed Jan 26, 2013, 22:15
Jan 26, 2013, 22:15
 
Even by Chris Kohler's standards, this article is ridiculous. He really doesn't understand what vaporware means. It refers to products that were announced a long time prior and mysteriously vanished, not stuff that's merely been announced and not released yet. Cripes Chris, I know being a bitter, cynical douchebag is your schtick but this is bad even for you.
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