Shagger

Agreed, TV manufacturers jumped the gun. It's the only way they could justify selling that crap at the prices they do.

That's short sighted. Computers have been used to develop games for decades, but people are far to quick to forget modern game development is far younger, and if it wasn't for the development of home console hardware within that time, PC Gaming as we know it, would simply wouldn't exist. But consoles play an even more important role than that. Let's be honest, PC gaming is expensive (and it is, I'm not prepared to debate that. I'll explain it, like I'm about too, but not debate it.) and it's expensive because hardware manufacturers have to make a hardware profit as they don't gain any sustainable income from software sales, and that's whare you make money in the gaming industry, now more than ever. Microtransactions, sales of games, DLC and subscriptions is whare the real money is made, and the company that made your PC's power supply or motherboard don't see a penny from that. That's why the console giants like Microsoft and Sony over the last 2-3 console generations can sell their hardware with barely breaking even, or sometimes even at a loss. Now, I know what some people may be thinking reading that, what has any of that got to do with my aforementioned "critical role" the consoles play in sustaining the gaming industry? Well, it's very simple. This helps keep gaming, both on console and PC, affordable, for both the consumer and industry by holding game development back. PC fanboys would undoubtedly challenge this compliment, but that the existence of consoles sustains the survival of thier platform more than any other factor, and that is the truth. Think about it, if the PC as a gaming platform was suddenly the only option, the plug that so many PC Fanboys claim hold back PC development would disappear. I not only don't deny that plug exists, I would go further as to say we all count on it. First off, computer hardware manufacturers make console components as well. For example, AMD may only make $100 or less from each sale of a PS5, but that's still $100 over what will likely be around 100,000,000 sales over the next 5-10 years. Getting that sustainable income is well worth it for these companies, especially when it is a sustainable percentage earned through contract. That helps keep these kind of companies successful, bringing me onto my next point. The simple statement that these companies cannot rely on PC hardware sales alone to remain sustainable. They would not be able to weather this by selling PC hardware alone because not every country and every economy can support enough households to buy this more expensive hardware, and even if they could, said households wouldn't necessarily be willing to by into PC gaming as it does have it's drawbacks. Lack of physical media, exclusive titles, consumer doupts over game ownership and not to mention the higher up-front cost. That shrinks the market for video game hardware, and thus, software. So, what would the industry have to do? Raise prices for software (and possibly hardware) even more, shrinking an already shrunk market. This escalating cost of gaming would not stop because that aforementioned plug on the cost of game development, the console, would be gone. There is an elitist and sadly loud attitude shared by PC gaming community that would demand games that ever justify the increased (and increasing) cost of thier hardware, third party games (and it would only be third party games) would have to get more expensive to own through even higher prices and/or even more bullshit monotisation because of a higher cost in game development. I'd predict that the entire gaming industry would become to expensive for all concerned and it would all basically collapse. And all for this for fanboy nonsense and a vain demand for graphics that are already hitting a glass ceiling that more and more power is going to improve less and less? That's why I hate fanboyisum, especially on PC. If thier arrogance, ignorance and short sighted stupidy was followed, it can only end badly. I genuinely believe that consoles play an important part in keeping gaming sustainable and affordable for all of us.

Welcome to VGR

I tend to avoid Star Citizen as a subject matter because I know from experience that trying to engage with the fanbase is a waste of time. They are the most illogically loyal people you will ever find. They take fanboyism to a whole new level. They will feed this scam, and it is a scam, tens of millions of dollars year after after year. I'm actually dead serious, as a forum mod, when I say l will ban people for peddling this scam on VGR, and I'm not kidding.

There are two kinds of people in this world. People who buy EA Sports video games and people with an IQ high enough to actually spell IQ. Those games are made for idiots without any recognition that they're being exploited and are completely beyond help. A change in developer is not going to cure that. Those people like being exploited and the game company involved, whether it be EA or somebody else, would be more than happy to provide for them. So the short version of this answer is no, a change in developer would make no difference.

The "freemiun" platform needs to fuck off and die. End of discussion.

I don't think you understood my post. Gambling as a form of mini game in larger games may seem harmless in that they don't involve real money, but they achieve legislation and warnings from the the ESRB, PEGI and other such organisations for reasons, reasons such organisations themselves tend to acknowledge, yet strangely and conveniently ignore. Implementing such mechanics can be considered "harmless" by not involving real money, but still imitating the deliberately harmfull and addictive mechanics is rightfully considered dangerous by these ratings boards. However, the same mechanics disguised as random loot drops are currently not taken as seriously by the very same legislative boards. That's why, as gamers, we should not be as comfortable with such policy as we are. Not unless lootboxes and other such mechanics are taken as seriously. So no, with all due respect to @StaceyPowers, I will not engage in this conversation without bringing up monotisation of random loot and item's in video games. It's not right to separate the two topics. That's exactly what ass hole game publishers want.

I'm not sure I like the idea of discussing this without considering lootboxes in the discussion. Yes, several videogames include simulations of real world gambling that don't involve real money, but that kind of discussion the impact of predatory practices. With some exceptions, like the poker minigame in RDR, Gun, the slots in Fallout New Vegas, there is there's really no reason to include them. Some games include them for thematic reasons, and that's fine, but I just don't trust random chance mechanics in videogames, even when there's no real money involved. Like I said, the possible negative effects should not be desensitizied. That's one way they have roping people in.

I have disagree with you to some extent. There's a lot of indie games that appear on PC and not on console, but just about all of them don't make it to console for good reasons. When it comes to exclusive content, I value quality over quantity, and consoles tend to offer that, especially on PlayStation and Nintendo. Aside from some very fine strategy games (like the aforementioned C&C games), a smattering of other MMO's and some quality indie's, the PC actually has very little to offer in terms of exclusive games. I believe you're thinking of Red Alert 2. Loved that game.

Browsers on mobile devices are alot better than they used to be and give full acess to the forum, so I personally wouldn't see the purpose of a VGR app unless it could do something else besides access and post of the forum. Still, anyone with an idea of how a VGR app would be a benefit, I think can speak for both myself and @DC when I say we'd love to hear suggestions. Any imput from somebody with experiance in the developmet of such software would be a great help.

I'm obviously in the minority, but I hated GTA4. That game lacked the freedom and fun of previous GTA titles with harrasing, annoying mechamics. I found myself charging through the streets whil drving as fast as possibly could to the next mission not becasuse I wanted to, just to get on with the game hoping to get that next mission before some idoit called wanting to go bowling. I fuckinh hated that! Speaking of driving, the driving controls that tried too hard to be simulation rather than more arcade like feel of the older games, and I preffered that, although i do understand why people like the driving controls in GTA4, I just found them imprecice and not nearly as fun to play. It also had what easily the most boring story and protagonist in any GTA game, a story that also had something of an ego and took itself way to seriously, for more that it ever deserved. It's not The Last of Us, it's Grand Theft Auto goddamit!

As petty as Nintendo can be about these sort of things, I actully agree with them and thier right to put an end to this. This buisness is utterly dependant on the Mario Kart theme to do buissness, and if they make money on this without a proper licence and permisson from Nintendo, then this legal action is 100% warrented. The only reason this company doing the Mario Kart tours are getting any sympathy over this is because Nintendo have a reputation about being petty whe it comes to protecting thier intellectual property, but to me this is not an example of them being petty, this is what copyright law is for.

Thank you for the kind words @DC. It's been my pleasure to assist and I look forward to continuing to do so into 2021. Happy yeay when it comes everyone.

The Crew was kind of like that. You could drive from one US coast to the other, but that's about the closest I can think off.

I doubt it's the same company as the 3D0. That was the brainchild of one of EA's cofouners they and were only responsible for games on the system and the spec's of the system. The actual design and manufacture of the consoles was sub-contratraced to manfactuers. A modern day comparison would be liking the 3D0 to a Steam machine except it was a software engineering providing the spec's for hardware engineering to follow instead of the other way round. The point is that company did not build their own console, and it's doubtful they would re-surface to do so now.

First off, let me welcome you to VGR. It's great to get an insight into this topic from someone who has actually been there. Nothing you have mentioned has really surprised me, it gives me confidence that my perception that fixes testing is nowhere near as appealing as it sounds for a gamer.

People can speculate all they want about this, but it's really quite pointless. If, and it really is a big IF, Naughty Dog and sony want to make a third game they'll do exactly what the want with it and not pander to what other people's ideas or aspirations. Not to mention that @The Blackangel is crect topoint out that TLOU2 has only been out six months, thus a new game will likely be years away.

Dark Souls as a single player RPG that lacks this basic feature of convenience to accommodate a completely pointless online mechanic is one of several reasons I can't stand those games. This doesn't make the game more challenging, just more annoying and that makes it a flaw and a major flaw at that. All to appease the game's own ego, it's ridiculous. At least in Deamon's Souls enemies stayed with certain areas and didn't respawn, so they was safe places to stop if you had to stop playing for a moment, the same way as MMO's tend to work.

I'm going to lock this thread as I feel this matter has been discussed in a previous thread and I don't really see the value in it being discussed again in a new topic, even though the two threads have a slightly different objective within the subject matter.

Don't diss the title, it's the accurate title for this holiday that pleases nobody, but pisses nobody off. It's perfect! All jokes aside, I, as forum mod, in a way wishes nobody reads this untill the 26th as you will all be to busy doing your part to overload the gaming netwarks playing those precious new shiny games, getting sick from eating to much bird and drinking to much mulled wine and egg nog, but most importantly, spending this precious day with friends and family. It's that time for all to be gerourous and thankfull for all we have and all have to offer to those we care about the most. If you do find yourslf on the forums, know you also have family an friends here aswell. So from me and all of us at VGR, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, whatever. Happy Holidays.

It has been said that the last thing a child who loves animals should aspire to be is a vet. Such an individual would have to work very hard throughout school and higher education to finnaly land thier dream job, only to find themselves spending thier working days putting down racehorces because it's no longer ecomincal for thier owners to keep them alive and putting pets to sleep because the family doesn't have adaquate insurance to cover a simple treatment. Video game testing is similar. Nobody who likes video games should want that for a job, you'll just end up with your favourite thing in the world completely ruined for you.

Magic Carpet 2 (DOS PC). EA was EA long before most of us knew it. This is truly a gem of a game, but playing it was like siting on ticking bomb with no timer. You knew it was going to blow, but the trigger could be anything from your toenails growing one billionth of an inch to a massive earthquake, then it would crash. You were afraid to sneeze playing this game. 25 years later, and it's still just as busted.

@Reality vs Adventure is right about at least one thing, this has got to a point whare you're not dicussing politics in direct relation to video games anymore. Your quite free to continue this debate, but please do either throgh pm or on the appropiate section of the forum.

The worst example of this I've seen has to be the Broken Steel DLC from Fallout 3. Without this DLC, the game literally just stops. Ends. Just like that, with the main story only half told. The "ending" also happens without warning, so if you still have side missions and other stuff to, pray you have save file before starting the last main story quest available, otherwise that's you'll have to start all over again. I hated that, especially in an open world RPG.

Welcome to VGR, friend. You need not fear such hostility here. We're a fairly small, but tight community with respect for each others views, even if we disagree from time to time. Always a pleasure to welcome someone new and if have any questions, I'd be happy to answer. I did play Genshin Impact got a little while there, but life kind of got in the way. Perhaps I should get back into it.