The Gamer’s Quagmire #41: How Sony Saved George Lucas
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less.
by Jamison DeLorenzo
Piling on- it’s one the things modern Americans do best. Find a popular line of thought and follow through on it to sound intelligent. Will Hunting would have a field day in most cities right now. I say this because lately picking on Sony, no matter what they do, is the thing to do. Last year it was George Lucas. The year before Microsoft was a good target. AOL probably had a couple recent rough years as well. Most of the time terrorizing them is more than justified.
Let me tell you a few things about what I think of Sony. Their televisions and most other electronics are quite good (I have yet to have a problem with any of mine). The PS1 and PS2 are phenomenal consoles. My original PS2 is still working like a champ. Despite this, right now the PS3 just is not cutting it for me. I am tired of the Dual Shock controller. This controller design has been very comfortable for a while, which means now it is time to give it the lame racehorse treatment. The online delivery system, even though this is Sony’s first incarnation of a full online service (the half-assed online system for the PS2 was a joke), is just not up to standards and inexcusable. What Xbox Live offers is not some big secret even though what the value of Achievement Points is.
Despite these two severe flaws, the value of the PS3 is an interesting debate. This is the first time that one of the biggest names in consoles has not come with a very affordable price. The reason, in case you have been on Mars hiding in a cave under a rock with a finger in your ears, hinges on what you think of the BluRay drive. Microsoft has kept the price of their console down by not offering their HD-DVD drive with the 360 (even though they said they would never release one and eventually did) and it makes me wonder something. For those people that did not want BluRay, would it have been a good decision to offer a PS3 that did not come with the new drive technology?
It took me a fair amount of time to admit this to myself, but it finally did happen. This is the first Sony console I can finally say these words about: I don’t care. This is the first PlayStation console that is simple not easily affordable. College students are always going to be your biggest target audience for gaming consoles, and when you price your console out of the reach of the typical college student you hamstring your sales. College students are always looking for excuses to forego studying (the smart ones, anyway) and consoles are always on the list for the male students. Yes, I realize that the console is being sold at a loss and that you cannot find a cheaper high-definition player anywhere (unless there is some insane rebate that I have missed). However, the fact remains that the next generation of gaming from Sony comes at a very high price. Despite what jokes you may heard, the price does not include your soul.
Sony wants their drive to be the one that becomes the standard. They are fighting Microsoft to the bitter end on this. The smart money is on the codec that is able to work with both HD-DVD and BluRay- you can mark my words on this right now. Sure, I said this a couple months ago, but you can call this my mortal lock statement of the week (you should trust me- in December I said Rex Grossman would prevent the Bears from winning the Super Bowl). High definition movies are part of the selling angle Sony is giving you. The PS3 is more than a gaming console, and for many people that is a conceivable problem. Some people just want to play games. DVD’s were not introduced into the market with the gaming console. The PS2 just took advantage of it to say “hey, we offer games and DVD’s at a cheap price.” That angle worked. Despite HD TV’s being around for a while and the prices are starting to plummet the price of jumping to high definition media viewing is still very high. You need a new television and you also need a new player for your movies. Oh, and the high definition movies are still quite expensive too.
Purchasing DVD’s was never an issue because their resolution worked with almost any television. Of course, LaserDiscs were too but they were massive. DVD’s are the same size as CD’s, and that made sense to a lot of people. LP’s went out the door a long time ago. More accurately, they were booted out the front door on their behind when CD’s came along. That’s why LaserDiscs never took- they were the college buddy of the LP looking for a place to crash for the night. Nobody likes that person.
However, people did like the DVD. The price of entering the DVD market was the price of a player. Now the cost of the next generation of media is a television, a player, and an additional $10 per movie. Sometimes the price of early adoption simply isn’t worth it. Even though I could go out and purchase all of this stuff I won’t because there are better places to spend my money right now. It was not until this year that I found a television I liked for a price of under $3000. I imagine it is going to be at least another year before the high definition players are going to appeal at all.
I’m betting people largely feel betrayed by Sony, not because the price is high, but because Sony has not done this with their console before. People loved picking on what Microsoft was doing with the Xbox. The overheating, the size, the lack of games, the monstrous controller and the idiotic black and white buttons all were part of the hit list for people looking to bash the Xbox. Sony took the bullet for Microsoft this time- just don’t expect them to apply for the Secret Service. If you look at everything the PS3 offers and then put together the equivalent kit for the 360 you wind up paying more. What’s funny is that people are okay with this because Live is an excellent online delivery service. These are probably the same people that pick on Howard Dean because he yelled too loudly during a speech but have no problem with Bush who keeps botching sentences every week.
I admit this was a pretty large leading point but it seemed quite relevant. I wanted to explain to you the internal battle I’ve been having about what Sony is doing with the PS3 before relaying the following news: Sony is working very hard to reduce the price of the console by ripping out the emotion engine hardware which, in turn, forces any hope of full backwards compatibility over to software. People have whined about the PS3 price and the overall failure of the PS2 emotion engine for a while.
It should therefore come as no surprise that when Sony announced this move people started complaining about that too (I have appendicitis, but don’t remove my appendix- just give me some codeine!). Let me tell you something about backwards compatibility. It was a major selling point for me when I got the PS2. I loved the fact that I could play any of my PS1 games on the PS2. It allowed me to sell my PS1 and free up some more room on my entertainment center. Despite my love of retro gaming do you want to know how often I have played PS1 games on the PS2? I think it might have happened twice since 2001. All of my old Nintendo games I have found a ROM and an emulator for on my PC and I play them whenever I want to. I play NES and SNES games on a flash drive for my DS. Is it really so difficult to believe that there will be an emulator for PS1 and PS2 games? I don’t care if the emulator comes from Sony or from some other place. I honestly don’t care if the emulator is on a PC or a PS3. Mark these words also: there is going to be a PS2 emulator somewhere before 2007 expires.
I can see why some people would be upset that the backwards compatibility is going to disappear from the PS3 hardware. It is not a completely useless feature. Still, is a sleeker form factor and cheaper cost of the PS3 really all bad? Okay, so you have to use an extra port on your $15 switch hooked up to your entertainment center. In time I may have to do the same thing. If an extra footprint near your television bothers you that much then you simply must remove the overwhelming knot in your underwear and get on with life. I refuse to sugarcoat this for you. Hostility is sometimes necessary. If this particular move to reduce the cost of the PS3 is really bothering you then you are either looking for an excuse to whine a little more or you’re just an idiot who doesn’t belong in the gaming world at all.
Please don’t be confused though- you are certainly welcome to not like the PS3. I may not hold the same disdain you do for what Sony is doing with the PS3. If you want to hate Sony because Sony BMG did some stupid DRM things with their CD’s (and you’ve been too stupid to see DRM causing a problem at all in the last 3 years) or because Lik Sang went out of business (even though they did break the law with PSP exports and been have sued by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo) then go right ahead, but the relentless hostility of Sony has gone far beyond absurd. I have no urge to purchase the PS3 right now, I disagree with some of their design decisions, I think not giving an option of a replaceable media drive to reduce cost is a mistake, their development kit apparently being too convoluted causing developers to jump ship is not smart, their controller design is uninspiring, and their current and upcoming selection of games leaves a lot to be desired. You have every right to hate Sony for any or all of these reasons. There are probably a couple more good reasons too.
Still, if you feel the need to bellyache about Sony working on fixing these problems then it is time for you to pack up your hostility and search for a new hobby. We here in the gaming community know you are going to whine about something anyway- so we’d just as soon have you do it near somebody else.
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February 19, 2007
The Gamer’s Quagmire #40: The Master Chief vs. Wikipedia
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less.
by Jamison DeLorenzo
If one theme has been consistent in these articles, aside from snide comments and sheer brilliance, it has been the purveyance of something that should be obvious by now: I am a hardcore gamer. I play games every day. I read about games every day. I discuss games every day. This has been the case since 1988. This may make you wonder why my job is not in the video game world, and for better or worse it mostly stems from a lack of effort. A story for another day for certain, but if I have proved anything over the course of my life it is that video games are what I know most about (with a possible exception of Simpsons trivia). I am a hardcore gamer.
Alas, I do not think it means what I think you think it means. I think.
In the never-ending battle of the console wars, something which is inescapable, people seem to be doing whatever they can to rationalize their thinking. You’ll recall that in my Console Sanity Check series I erupted with a series of rules that needed to be set in place for everyone’s safety. We are almost back at that point again. Gamers are labeling other games in a vain attempt to pat themselves on the back that they made the right choice. Much like the liberals of the 1980’s the hardcore gamer is now being thrown under the bus.
I, however, refuse to be run over. This is not just because I have a problem with skid marks. No, the problem lies much deeper than that. You see, despite my pacifist nature it is possible to provoke me. Hardcore gamers, some time during the past year, became a term that refers to people who play first person shooters and very violent games. In other words, games like GTA, Halo, Gears of War, and God of War. Someone who detests that particular genre of games labels it with a term they don’t want to be labeled as and then decries it. This is the classic straw man argument at work (it may only be a related strain, but either way this is a viral argument).
Every time I struggle with the definition of a word I turn to the most impartial and standard place one can turn: the dictionary. Surely we all can agree that this is the one place we can turn to for understanding of our language. Being that hardcore gamer is a concept more than a word, there is really only one other good place to turn: Wikipedia. Only this time the site talks about the rather uncertain definition of the term. Rather than spend a good deal of time thinking of a solid definition for the term I will instead propose an idea to you on what I feel the term really should mean.
The way I see it, a hardcore gamer is one who enjoys gaming- a lot. They play a multitude of games and they are exceedingly good at them. You ask them questions when you are stuck. You seek their opinions on what games they should buy. They can recall more about games from years past than you can remember about what you did last week. If playing video games was a job with good pay they would be some of the best people at their job in the world. I strongly believe that this is at the core of what it means to be a hardcore gamer.
This should explain why I consider myself to be a hardcore gamer. I eat, sleep, and breathe gaming. When people throw me into the lump of people whom they believe snack all day, live with their parents, trash talk on Halo all day long, wear the same clothing, and haven’t talked to a woman since 1997 I become offended, and with good cause. Not only because I have documented proof of socializing with a woman in 2004, but because stereotyping on any level is something I have a problem with.
As such, I hate it when people use the term hardcore gamer even when they feel the term refers to someone who plays FPS’ all day, only cares about shiny graphics, and jumps at every war game possible. The problem started, however, with people trying to label Nintendo fans as people who prefer the cutesy games. It’s as I said before- people feel better when they feel they have condescendingly labeled people who disagree with them (after all, every gamer is completely socially insecure). Sure, after playing a large share of Nintendo games I wanted to try some new things and move past the cartoon style Nintendo games. I still love cartoons, but the problem is that I’ve been watching the same Mario cartoon for 10 years now. Instead of just looking to try the latest style of gaming, people moving over to PS and Xbox camps started referring to Nintendo games as not just cartoony, but childish.
Now the war is (justly) coming back at the PS and Xbox fans. They initiated the battle and now Nintendo has a lot of ammo to fire back. I have my own web space, so now I feel I need to say something about this. Here is a message for every Nintendo fan out there- tread lightly. Yes, you have every right to be mad for being told you are playing kids’ games. You should feel free to mock everyone who hunkers down in front of a FPS that badmouths Nintendo’s graphics, makes fun of the controller when they are stuck on the outdated Dual Shock, or makes a snide Mario comment while they hold their breath for Halo 3. Still, you must tread lightly. I say this not just because I tend to avoid pouring kerosene on flame wars, but because name calling just doesn’t get you anywhere. He who yells the loudest only stands to gain a sore throat.
All this talk about the PS/Xbox crowd as the hardcore gamer camp and the Nintendo crowd as the cutesy gamer camp needs to stop. It needs to go away and be buried forever. If you want to whine about game titles then your only legitimate target is a console that’s been out for more than 2 months. If you want to whine about price then you have to acknowledge that the more expensive consoles provide a lot more than games (whether you want movie playback or not). If you insist on making gross generalizations (I’m very close to blowing up on people saying that all Nintendo games are fun) then you are simply on the other side of the coin to the argument you find so very annoying. To me, that only makes you one thing- annoying.
Not that I ever oversimplify things.
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February 12, 2007
The Gamer’s Quagmire #39: X’s, O’s, Tears, and Smiles
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less.
by Jamison DeLorenzo
I wrote a while ago about the death of the Playstation era, and for whatever reason I had to stop and contemplate what that meant to me. It took me several minutes to think about all the games I had for it, all the great games I had for it, and to move on. Sure, maybe a solid four minutes of nostalgia and small tear down the side of my face is all the emotion your going to get out of me (yes, even during this illustrious Week of the Color Pink), but it was something.Lo and behold, today it dawns on me that the Xbox era is officially over. They are no longer being manufactured and the 360 era is in full swing. You could say that the Xbox now has officially come full circle (I’ve been saving that one… it was worth it don’t you think?). What bothers me a little is that I spent all of about 20 seconds thinking about the games for the Xbox that made it a special machine for me. The list wasn’t that impressive.
Overall there were around 20+ games that I purchased for it, so it was far from a waste of time. What bothers me is that Sony was able to generate around 10 games that I consider epic and will wind up in my great book of gaming when my gaming life is just about over. With any luck that is at least another 50 years in the making. Regardless, my point is that the first Sony machine produced a big list of fun games and a modest list of epic games. The Xbox did not even come close to this.
Should this bother me as much as it does? Probably not. At the time of the Xbox release the developers were knee deep in making games for Sony’s console and the best exclusive titles were on the PS2. Vice City, for example, was a PS2 exclusive for a while until Rockstar released it for the Xbox. I cannot really consider that game to be an Xbox game. What were the great games for the Xbox? Knights of the Old Republic I & II (the former being much better), Fable (which should have been better), and Project Gotham Racing 2. All other games that I bought for the Xbox were titles that were available on multiple platforms but I purchased for the Xbox simply because it was a more powerful machine.
That was it- 4 games for the Xbox. Sure, the first Playstation’s life was much longer and Sony did an amazing job lining up developers for it, but that is the big secret isn’t it? Perhaps Microsoft’s problem is that they are unable to get good developers. Sure, there were plenty of decent games for the Xbox but nothing that approaches all the good times I had with my PS1. Whatever the reason it is hardly the point I am making here. The console’s official passing should mean more to me than it does. What comes next bothers me a little more.
My Xbox playing days are, for all intents and purposes, completely finished. Still I am unable to let the system go. I would much rather keep it in storage than sell it for some credit towards some newer gaming purchases. I cannot seriously expect a used console to be worth a lot in several decades can I? So what is the hangup? Is it that there are games that I seriously may want to play again someday? Is my penchant for collecting things that powerful? All of these are difficult questions to answer. Perhaps I need to think about this one way.
Consoles that I now have in my possession that I never plan on dumping (and all still work): Atari 2600, Super Nintendo, PS2, and Xbox. Consoles that I had at one point that were punted the second I was able to do so: NES, Dreamcast, N64, Gamecube. The PS1 is somewhat of an anomaly because I still have the games as they are compatible with the PS2. I need to clarify a few things about this. First off is I got the NES very late in its release cycle and there are still some classic games for it- I’d just as soon play them via my flashed GBA cartridge than the NES console itself. The other 3 consoles on the punted list could not have been punted hard enough save for potential serious foot injuries. I hate to ruffle feathers (okay, that’s a lie) but each of those consoles are firmly entrenched in my “Galactic Waste of Money” file right next to my 1-week PDA and my fireproof match set.
(For the record I am probably being completely unfair on this point so let me make a small addendum to the Waste of Money comment. Goldeneye, Soul Calibur, and Shadows of the Empire were games that I absolutely loved and wouldn’t trade a second of playing any of those games, but no other games were all that compelling for those machines. Not one. What bothers me most are the controllers for each of those systems, the big reason these consoles got my special Boot Imprint of Doom on them. The N64’s wasn’t bad. The Dreamcast one was just uninspiring because that slot for the VMU made it too big. The Gamecube, despite its popularity, was the most annoying controller I have ever held. It took me 3 days to get comfortable with the button placement. I had a much easier time accepting the downfall of the Simpsons for crying out loud. Anyways, in my book that is completely unacceptable for controller ergonomics.)
So when I get home tonight I’ll probably stare at my shelf that contains some Xbox games, do my best to shed a tear without forcing the issue, and move on. Who knows, I may even fire up KoToR one last time.
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