Xbox is going to be pushed out of the market.

[kupomogli]

This isn't anti Xbox, but I've been saying this and I've been stating the exact same thing is going to happen with Playstation, and Microsoft nor anyone else is actively grasping why it's happening. I've been saying ever since Microsoft went third party with PC releases and then when Playstation did the same thing I've said the same thing and six months to a year ago stated that PS5 is going to be where Xbox is now within less than a decade. Well, where Xbox is now is that they're basically closing up shop and that's going to happen with Playstation as well.

As soon as Microsoft decided that all their games were going to be on PC, they were done. At that time Microsoft spoke positively about how accepting the PC market was to their games and that sales were great. During that generation though, the Xbox One ended at around 58 million console sales, down from the 80 million on the Xbox 360. People exited the Xbox going to either the Playstation or the PC. PS4 only sold around 20-30 million more than the PS3 did though, that's seven years of the consoles life, and that's seven years of human existence, people reaching the age of 18 seven times over. With the age of people increasing the number should significantly increase but the number on consoles are staying relatively the same, meaning that some people might be going to console while many of those owners are shifting over to PC.

Microsoft tried to shift this over to Game Pass, trying for a Netflix subscription by paying a certain amount of money to developers to include their games on the console. They were getting a lot of positivity but not making a lot of money because of how much it cost for their day one releases. Sony started this with PS Now since PS3 couldn't be emulated back in 2014 when the PS4 launched, prior to Game Pass, but the cost wasn't nearly as high since these games already made all their money Sony was paying practically nothing in comparison to keep the service open before following Microsoft and rebranding it. Microsoft has since announced that the Game Pass is going to be broken into several tiers, the day one Game Pass and the regular subscribers.

Microsoft is now even starting to publish all of their games from the companies they've purchased to try and balance out all of this loss onto the PS5, but all this is doing nothing for the Xbox brand, it is getting a one time sale on another console.

It's unbelievable that Microsoft AND SONY have not figured out the problem with this business model and this problem all stems from releasing their games third party. Regardless that it's only PC, when you tell customers there's no reason to buy an Xbox or Playstation, you have no idea how many are going to just stop supporting the console altogether but it's going to happen.

Every single person who stops supporting Xbox or Playstation means;

-Loss each console sale which are each profitable in some denomination, this isn't the PS3.
-Loss of sales from the base peon online subscription. If you have to pay $80 a year for a subscription just to play online, that's a very large margin of profit. People on PC don't have to pay this which is a huge motivator on staying on the console, why pay $80 a year when your console has no exclusives just so you can play with your friends?
-Loss of accessory sales. Playstation 4 has the best controller imo, but the controllers themselves since 2014 for all console manufacturers are pretty shit. Outside of the N64, stick drift never seemed a thing on consoles until PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Whether you're buying replacements because of shit controller manufacturing to funnel even more money from the consumer or you just want multiple controllers to play games with friends and family, that's a loss when people go to PC and can buy any brand of controller they want(but this is not as big of an issue for MS as it is Sony.)
-Loss of residual income. Only Nintendo makes most of their money from first party game sales. This year 81% of Nintendo's software revenue came from first party, but neither Microsoft or Sony's first party sales come close. Microsoft and Sony's revenue comes almost exclusively from third parties in comparison to how much they actually make from first party. However it's their first party games that generate the hype of knowing you can't play these on another console. When all your games are on PC you are giving literally no reason for people to purchase your console and you are losing ALL residual profitability that come from the above.

All people have to do is look and see that Sony is on the exact same path as Microsoft. The PS5 so far has sold 62 million PS5s, Microsoft has sold 31 million Xbox Series consoles and we're already four years through the console generation, more than halfway yet combined less than half the sales of last generation, which were about equal to the previous generation only because PS4. The PS5 isn't even going to reach 110 million, Xbox Series probably isn't going to reach 50 million, a total sales figure lower than the seventh generation of consoles.

Playstation is on the same trajectory of Microsoft and all of the milestones are hitting exactly as they did with Microsoft. The positive sales figures for PC, pushing hard on the new branding of PS Now with a massive price increase due to a significant drop in PS+ sales. Year on year console sales losses even if not as significant because again, they only just started porting everything to PC, even allowing their first party games to be released on other platforms, and no, not just MLB, but Lego Horizon Adventures and Freedom Wars. I mean how fucking stupid are these companies that they think releasing multiconsole on one competitor just to beat out another dying competitor? Microsoft's big push for Switch releases anyone? Ori and Ori 2 ring a bell?

It all comes down to exclusivity and these companies are driving their own selves out of the market by their games not remaining completely exclusive to their brands and pushing digital hard. The one thing console games have over PC is that PC hasn't had physical games since 2006 or earlier other than a small handful here and there, the second thing they have over them is their exclusives and these console manufacturers are getting rid of both of their biggest draws for the short term gain.

I will repeat again, Playstation is going to be at Xbox within a decade, and it likely won't even take that long. Maybe half a decade. If Sony has any hope to recovering their brand, they'll stop supporting PC and start pushing physical games, considering that's not going to happen, they're done. Five years, 10, they're done.

[kupomogli]

So here's a post on how to save Playstation.

#1 Immediately stop pushing for digital only and every SKU manufactured forward, including the PS5 Pro, should be a disc enabled console without the need to connect to the internet to pair the console.

Maximum profitability for digital only is going to lead you into a maximum loss when you're not making any money because you've got no way to identify yourself from the competition. When all you are is just a box releasing the same games, even less because you're walled in to your own ecosystem and most everything is developed for PC first, there's nothing unique about your device. It's just a PC with the brand Playstation. This maximum profit that you hope for cutting out all the physical media, the brick and mortar retail, etc, seems great on paper as a business, but why should people buy your console when they can just buy a PC that does the exact same thing and more? I can play games online without using a subscription, I can open multiple visible tabs to view on screen at the same time while playing a game. If I want to have 50% of my screen displaying the game I'm playing while the other 50% is also separated by two equal segments. I could be watching a porn, watching a movie, and playing a game all on the same screen if I wanted and it would be much simpler to do this than the voodoo required with the PS5 and even then you can only watch some half assed version of Youtube while playing a game. On PC I can create text documents, create spreadsheets, use any number of multimedia apps, even create video games themselves. Why would I ever purchase a digital only Playstation console over a PC?

I want to just add the cost that it'd take to buy a digital only PS5 Pro and seven years PS+, the average life span of a console. $700 + $560. That's $1260, and you can easily build a PC that is far beyond what the PS5 Pro is capable of with that amount of money, and by the time the PS6 releases, it's probably capable enough to run that entire generation of games.

tl;dr. The disc drive is what is going to separate your console from just being a PC. Even people who only play digital games like to have physical content of their absolute favorite media. It might not make maximum profitability because of the initial loss that every console is going to have with a physical drive, it's not going to make maximum profitability when those people buy physical versions of the games. But you're not going to lose customers and seeing profits lower because NO ONE IS BUYING YOUR HARDWARE.

#2 Exclusivity. No games on anything but Playstation. This is just as imporant as #1, even more because it's a fact that digital only players far exceed the amount of those that even sometimes play physical games. If I can play your games on a PC and I'm a digital only player, there's again no reason to buy the Playstation product.

#3. New games. STOP MAKING PORTS, especially of last generation games. You want to know why Nintendo is able to get away with Wii U ports? Because the console ONLY SOLD 10 MILLION FUCKING UNITS. No one played the damn thing, almost no one owns it, so over 90% of the people who own a Switch have never even had access to the games, but Sony's remastering games that are already in 1080p and even at a higher resolution than that on the PS4 Pro. 127 million users already had access to these games already, that's the reason why people are bitching about these games being ported and the people, sometimes even the same people, are ecstatic over a Wii U port.

By releasing these ports, you are again, giving no reason to own your console. I own a PS4. I've either played or could have played 90% of the entire PS5 first party library on my PS4. You are not giving anyone a reason to buy your new console. The only satisfaction I've received this entire generation for the PS5 is because I can play every PS4 game and PS5 versions of the games better. There is no other reason I care about the PS5 and despite thinking it's the best console to play PS4 games which I actually think is the best console ever, I actually think on its own the PS5 is the worst console I've ever owned when it comes to actual games.

That's it, that's how you can save Playstation, of course, Sony's not going to do it, they're going to continue following through because all they see is the short term gain, they can't see what it's doing to their business in the long run and anything that doesn't appear to immediately maximize profit to them is going to be a loss, so Playstation is finished.

Everyone who knows me knows how much of a Sony fanboy I am, yes, I play other consoles, but every modern console generation, my primary console is the Playstation and as soon as Switch 2 or whatever it's called launches, that's going to change. I'll still purchase PS5 games over Switch 2 games if they are single player simply due to PS5 being an extension of the PS4 and I can play all the games on one system, however, anything that includes a multiplayer compenent I'm going to buy on Switch 2. Now, I don't buy online only games, but I do still play modern games online and I'd rather pay for the Nintendo Switch family plan subscription and share the cost than paying an $80 a year online fee that should be fucking criminal.

[YoshiM]

Well, AFAIK, the current Xbox and PS are basically PCs in console clothing, correct? Sure there's probably some customization but nothing so special that the games can't be ported to PC with a ton of effort (though I could just be playing the armchair analyst and be totally wrong). I mean really, what's the difference besides the stock controllers they come with, the services offered and what (few) permanent exclusives the two platforms have?

PC gaming has never been as easy as it has been for many years, thanks in part to the different online vendors like Steam, GOG, Epic and such. Unless you're a complete graphics fanatic, a few year old PC with an equally as old mid-range graphics card can play many titles without a hitch. My tower PC has a low end AMD Ryzen 3 3200G with a mid range NVidea card (can't remember what it was) and 16 GB of RAM and can play a mean game of Elden Ring at a decent setting. Hell, my STEAM DECK, a computer that fits between my two carny mitts has plenty of gaming power and hasn't stuttered at what I've thrown at it. Now there's a system that runs Linux with the Proton layer to run Windows games and it's pretty much download n' play with maybe....maybe a little tweaking. That I honestly haven't needed to do yet. Easy peesy.

Now look at mini PCs: There are many that can just scream with speed, selling for more a little more than consoles but can do so much more. The highly rated Minis Forum UM790 Pro is on sale from the manufacturer for $555 USD, which comes with 32GB of RAM and 1 TB SSD. If it comes with Windows...BOOM instant game machine and all around powerful computer for all your needs. Now with the aforementioned heavy hitting, once exclusive titles available that can probably run possibly at console speed on these little things and get free online play, PC is now a very viable gaming option.

Maybe Microsoft and Sony sees this as a sign. Why dump cash into making consoles and tailoring an online experience for said consoles when you can plug that cash into making great games for PC?

[kupomogli]

@YoshiM

That's my point, consoles are PC except that these systems still have disc drives with regular physical releases and they are backed by companies who make exclusives specifically for their console, or atleast Nintendo still makes exclusives specifically for their console. Microsoft and Sony don't, everything they release is on PC, and that's my point entirely and it's why Xbox is at the point in its life it's in right now.

These consoles need to have something to differentiate themselves from PC, disc drives and exclusives, and if they don't have that, then they're no different than a PC except with all the limitations of a console. Nintendo has figured this out long ago. People still buy Nintendo Switches because you can only play the Nintendo games on the Switch. People don't have to buy an Xbox or Playstation to play any of the PS5 games, they can buy a PC.

The biggest problem with this news though is that without Microsoft, without Sony, Nintendo has no reason to be as competitive. A lot of the money that Nintendo pays to publishers to make games exclusive means that development studios are getting more funding to make more games. If it's just Nintendo and PC though, why would Nintendo spend money to pay for exclusivity? They're the one stop shop for console sales when Microsoft and Sony are gone.

The people screaming about how exclusivity gives everyone less games and makes everyone pay more to play all of them, no, it gives everyone more games because it forces developers to stay competitive, and the developers staying competitive means they actually don't make quite as much money as they do while just sitting on their asses doing nothing. When that competition is gone, that's exactly what's going to happen, Nintendo would be happy to just have their game studios release games and Nintendo collect all the money without having to funnel money out to have additional studios and secondary studios to develop games beyond that. Gaming isn't going to get better when Microsoft and Sony are pushed out of the industry, it's going to get worse, we'll just be able to do so at a lower cost of entry.

Nintendo's next console will still be a console, something representing a disc drive and exclusives you can't play on PC, meaning there is going to still be a reason to own Nintendo consoles.

[Gameguy]

There's a lot to discuss here.

During that generation though, the Xbox One ended at around 58 million console sales, down from the 80 million on the Xbox 360.

I'm sure the Xbox One would have sold more units if they were designed to self-destruct the way the Xbox 360 did. That's why the Xbox 360 sold more units. For comparison, the NES sold around 60 million consoles during that generation and was considered a huge success, so really the Xbox One numbers aren't bad especially considering there was good competition during that generation unlike when the NES was dominant. Honestly I'm surprised the PS4 sold more consoles than the PS3 did, I'll trust your statement but I'm really surprised by that.

I don't know if game exclusivity is really a necessity for a console to be successful. With the PS1, Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider, etc, all had PC versions. There were plenty more PS1 games with PC versions as well, I just focused on the more blockbuster PS1 games. With the PS2, Silent Hill 2-4 were on the PC as well, PC versions were everywhere yet these consoles did more than just fine.

Something you didn't mention with needing physical discs; including Bluray playback as standard. If the PS5 included 4K Bluray playback as standard it would be a lot more desirable compared to needing an upgrade. As it is without a disc drive, anyone who buys this still needs to keep other devices hooked up to their TV which gets messy if someone has less space, it's not an all-in-one media box like the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4 were. I knew several people who basically bought a PS1 for a CD player, a PS2 for a DVD player, and a PS3 for a Bluray player. The PS5 doesn't include that benefit, not without an added cost. The Xbox 360 offered an HD DVD player as an extra, but nobody even mentions HD DVD compatibility when mentioning the 360 these days. People still mention the PS2 as a DVD player and the PS3 as a Bluray player, these features really need to be included as standard to be marketed effectively.

Even after all that, the main reason to want a console over a PC is just ease of use. I just want a standardized format where I can put my game in, and it just plays. I don't need to worry about minumum requirements, I don't need to change settings just to get it to run properly, I don't need to update drivers or firmware, I don't need to deal with patching games, I don't need to deal with more online accounts or online payments, etc. Only that's not where consoles are anymore, which defeats the purpose of owning one. I haven't heard of any hassles like that with recent Nintendo consoles, I'm assuming that's actually the case besides general firmware updates. The N64 had the Expansion Pak which was annoying for compatibility, I do really dislike this console and this non-standard issue is one of the many reasons why. Cost is definitely a consideration too, consoles really should be priced cheaper than PCs to be purchased over a PC. With the cost of the PS5 Pro this feels like the 3DO again, an overpriced PC substitute console, except I appreciate the 3DO more for what it was trying to do at that time period. Personally I'm done with modern consoles unless I find any for cheap secondhand, I don't see much reason to own one at this point.

[kupomogli]

There's a lot to discuss here.


I'm sure the Xbox One would have sold more units if they were designed to self-destruct the way the Xbox 360 did. That's why the Xbox 360 sold more units. For comparison, the NES sold around 60 million consoles during that generation and was considered a huge success, so really the Xbox One numbers aren't bad especially considering there was good competition during that generation unlike when the NES was dominant. Honestly I'm surprised the PS4 sold more consoles than the PS3 did, I'll trust your statement but I'm really surprised by that.

I don't know if game exclusivity is really a necessity for a console to be successful. With the PS1, Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider, etc, all had PC versions. There were plenty more PS1 games with PC versions as well, I just focused on the more blockbuster PS1 games. With the PS2, Silent Hill 2-4 were on the PC as well, PC versions were everywhere yet these consoles did more than just fine.

Something you didn't mention with needing physical discs; including Bluray playback as standard. If the PS5 included 4K Bluray playback as standard it would be a lot more desirable compared to needing an upgrade. As it is without a disc drive, anyone who buys this still needs to keep other devices hooked up to their TV which gets messy if someone has less space, it's not an all-in-one media box like the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4 were. I knew several people who basically bought a PS1 for a CD player, a PS2 for a DVD player, and a PS3 for a Bluray player. The PS5 doesn't include that benefit, not without an added cost. The Xbox 360 offered an HD DVD player as an extra, but nobody even mentions HD DVD compatibility when mentioning the 360 these days. People still mention the PS2 as a DVD player and the PS3 as a Bluray player, these features really need to be included as standard to be marketed effectively.

Even after all that, the main reason to want a console over a PC is just ease of use. I just want a standardized format where I can put my game in, and it just plays. I don't need to worry about minumum requirements, I don't need to change settings just to get it to run properly, I don't need to update drivers or firmware, I don't need to deal with patching games, I don't need to deal with more online accounts or online payments, etc. Only that's not where consoles are anymore, which defeats the purpose of owning one. I haven't heard of any hassles like that with recent Nintendo consoles, I'm assuming that's actually the case besides general firmware updates. The N64 had the Expansion Pak which was annoying for compatibility, I do really dislike this console and this non-standard issue is one of the many reasons why. Cost is definitely a consideration too, consoles really should be priced cheaper than PCs to be purchased over a PC. With the cost of the PS5 Pro this feels like the 3DO again, an overpriced PC substitute console, except I appreciate the 3DO more for what it was trying to do at that time period. Personally I'm done with modern consoles unless I find any for cheap secondhand, I don't see much reason to own one at this point.

That's what I mean, Sony and Xbox are removing all things that make a console a console, and exclusives are for the competitiveness which forces the other brands to remain competitive.

But yeah, if a console has all the negative aspects of a PC and the PC has many other positive factors around it, like, what's the point of really owning a console. Most people born in the 80s are young enough to understand how PCs function and now days it's easier than ever when Windows 11, from Microsoft, has these apps in the start menu that make it just like a mobile phone. I'm pretty sure there's even programs out there that allow you to change the UI to something more console like to be easily usable on your TV, since now days every single PC has a HDMI out.

Now of course this leaves it up to the player, but it's not hard to figure out that, even if you buy it prebuilt, you can find some prebuilt PCs that are far more powerful than the PS5 and should be able to run PS6 just fine when that comes out. Considering this new generation of gamers aren't exactly buying consoles, console developers need to separate themselves from the PC market and show them there's a reason why they need to buy them, and all the reasons above including exclusives are necessary for that.

I mean look at Nintendo. Nintendo saw that their handheld line was going with the rise of mobile devices, so they merged the handheld and console for the Switch, giving people a console that they can play portable. Nintendo has always been consistent with their exclusive games, and while I think PS1, PS2, and PS3 had better first party games for their generations, I think the Switch has better first party games than the any of the aligned consoles. You know why the Switch is sitting at 120 million consoles right now, because there are games that people want to play and they can't be played elsewhere, well, unless you're one of the 10 million people who own a Wii U you can play some of them.

You brought up the PS1 where a lot of games were also on PC. Yeah, but most games weren't. It was only third party games that were on the PC. Even a lot of games that weren't first party but contractual second party games like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, etc, were exclusives on the PS1. You want to play these games you have to buy a PS1. There is literally none of that on PS5. Okay, I'm exaggerating. There is. Demon's Souls is so far the only first party exclusive game, a port, that hasn't yet been ported to the PC after it's development for the PS5. As you probably have guessed like most ports and remasters, the game doesn't have a massive amount of sales. Maybe Sony feels that it isn't worth porting because of the low sales, but it's the one game that is worth owning a PS5 for not that it makes the PS5 worth owning.

For someone like me, or people who collect and have hundreds of PS4 games, the PS5 is worth owning because I can play those PS5 games with faster load times, higher framerates. Anything that has unlocked framerate on PS4 runs 60fps, almost. Lichdom Battlemage still has some frame drops but based on a frame test I've seen it runs in the 50s, this was a game that ran between 10-20fps though. I finally bought the game after seeing this because it was something I was interested in since I saw it then I saw Digital Foundry's video of it so I was like, nope.

So PS5 is very much worth owning for someone like me who really loves his PS4 games, but for most gamers who aren't huge collectors and probably have less than 20 games on their shelf. Your average gamer that plays all the really big releases during the year and doesn't consider anything else. Or those that only play your Call of Duty or sports games, etc. Those people aren't attached to the Playstation library, they can easily drop Playstation like nothing. When you have several hundred games though, that's the only reason I even give even half a shit about the PS5. So I think the PS5 is good for that reason, but I think when it comes to the games that define the PS5, the PS5 is a piece of shit.

Infact, it's coincidence that Reggie made this video, of course it is since it's after I posted this thread. Actually, upon opening the video it was made the exact same day, so I'm not sure if my post was sooner or Reggie posted his video first, but then again I've been saying this on several threads prior to this one. Check this video out, Reggie's a huge Playstation fan and all these Playstation fans are getting tired of Playstation because there's no reason to actually buy the console.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WAp3btlhvk

*edit*

Spiderman 2 and Astro Bot are still currently exclusive, but the games sold well and Sony's porting anything they think will give them a great short term profit so these are going to be on PC. Why buy a PS5 when you can just wait two years for these games to be on PC. They're running their own brand into the ground with no exclusives and pushing digital as hard as they are.

[Gentlegamer]

We may be seeing the end of the long interregnum where non-video companies tried to take over the industry with the motive to get their box in people's homes in order to gate keep fees on entertainment and other apps.

It's sort of amazing that Nintendo weathered the decades long storm, but the king may be returning to his throne.

[kupomogli]

We may be seeing the end of the long interregnum where non-video companies tried to take over the industry with the motive to get their box in people's homes in order to gate keep fees on entertainment and other apps.

It's sort of amazing that Nintendo weathered the decades long storm, but the king may be returning to his throne.

Yeah. I'm still purchasing on the Playstation over Nintendo because of the more powerful hardware, but Nintendo is the only place that I can play a lot of games. I can't play the games anywhere else. Whether they're first party Nintendo games which you literally can't play anywhere else or third party games that Nintendo has paid the rights for that most of them you can't play anywhere else.

Now Nintendo still does piss me off because their business practices. There's no proof except for one interview where the interview states Nintendo paid for distribution rights when getting the game on their platform for SNK Heroines which is why there was no regular physical release outside of the PS4 special edition which was announced when it was going to be exclusive for Playstation. Outside of the limited special edition, the game only has physical releases on Switch, and I'm pretty certain that Nintendo has done this with a lot of games that they paid for timed exclusivity and when the games finally released on other consoles, Nintendo paid for physical exclusivity, to basically stop the production of physical versions on other consoles. Now, I don't think it'd be that expensive since not only is the game delayed for other consoles so it won't sell as well, but the general public will pay to play the games digital so Nintendo probably got away with doing this for very cheap, but there are so much circumstantial evidence and the only reason there's no proof is because there's been no interviews except for SNK Heroines and Nintendo isn't just going to out themselves for such a bs tactic.

For example, Monster Hunter Rise. When released to other consoles, Capcom's biggest franchise didn't receive a physical release, not even in Japan has Monster Hunter Rise received a physical release and Japan gets physical releases for everything. Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster when Square Enix released the low print run of the special edition and the only way you could get it was the Asian release, which at first was announced for PS4 and Switch, and then they stated, the PS4 version was a marketing mistake, there's only a Switch version being released. No, there wasn't only a Switch version, it's once Nintendo found out that there was going to be a mass release they contacted Square Enix and paid for the exclusive rights that there would only be a physical Switch version. I believe the international release of the Pixel Remaster is Square Enix getting around exclusivity deal after a timed release by completely removing the Pixel Remaster label from the front cover of the new release and it's just called Final Fantasy 1-6 Anniversary Collection. Look at all the Square Enix games that Nintendo announced and were later released on the other platforms. Octopath Traveler, Live A Live, Chrono Cross, etc, these games have no physical releases. Some games have received physical releases for Playstation, like SaGa Frontier after the Chinese version rerelease, initially it wasn't, or many games that launched at the same time, nearly all of them received a physical release on PS4, but Chrono Cross didn't, and do you expect me to believe that Square Enix is going to start releasing physical versions of the SaGa games and ignore Chrono Cross? All of this can't just be coincidence. Very circumstantial, but between the interview and everything else, I'm certain this is the case.

So it just pisses me off because Nintendo themselves are part of the problem when it comes to physical releases. Whether it's their plan to push everything all digital while getting as many physical sales as they can in the process, or whether they're oblivious to the long term effect this will have, which most corporations are as they only care about their bottom line they don't look quite as far into the future as they should and they don't realize that this is going to harm gaming as a whole when it comes to physical media.

No company is without faults and I really think Nintendo has never truly left their business practices from the NES and SNES, they've appeared to do so to appeal to the market, to appear as if they're this company that people want to stand behind because you can see it with their actions regularly. Not the threats but every other part of their business shows how much they're the same.

However, I will state that despite these issues with Nintendo, they're the only one surviving in the industry as a major console pulbisher. They've built a brand that everyone knows and loves and have snowed everyone to their ambitions. Regardless of how they work as a company, for us the consumer, it's better that we're actually still getting support for games, and for those of us who are collectors, I don't think Nintendo will ever fully commit to the digital only push. I do think they'll continue pushing digital, but I think they'll remain firmly with a physical market as is seen with the perceived physical exclusivity contracts that I think are going on wide spread between Nintendo and third parties.

[kupomogli]

Oh yeah, and Spiderman 2 releases on PC in January 2025. Less than a year and a half after the PS5 release and it's going to PC. This is just telling everyone there is no reason to purchase the PS5, just wait for the PC release. Everything else is on PC, all Sony's "exclusives" are on PC. There is literally no reason to buy a PS5.

I also believe with the PS5 Pro announcement with the PS5 Pro not having an internal disc drive and the PS5 Slim requiring you to connect to the internet to pair your disc drive. The PS6 is going to have an external disc drive, so Sony can release the console at $599 and then release a further $80 disc drive and $20 cover plate to encase the drive to your console. If that's the case then there's no reason to buy a PS6 and at that point I am going to be exclusively Nintendo for all modern platforms going forward.

Nintendo is the last hold out, they're the only one to have survived the console race, but that doesn't mean gaming is going to get better. Gaming is worse than it's ever been. That doesn't mean there's bad games, there's great games, but how many stand out great games were their in the past compared to now. And the indie market is overall worse now than it was a decade ago and I feel that's due to Game Pass and what happening to the market because of it. If you can play 400 games on Game Pass, why buy an indie game that costs the same amount as one month of Game Pass when there's likely 50% of games at any time on Game Pass that look just as appealing. What happens when the indie games don't sell? Then they get a deal later on when Microsoft has to pay them nothing to get pushed onto gamepass, and then the cycle continues until it's just not financially viable to be an indie developer outside of these games that just hit mass market appeal which there's not many.

And what about AA games. How many games do you see now days that are AA? I could go through my PS1, PS2, and even PS3 list of games, to a less extent PS4, and the amount of AA games are massive. We're not getting those experiences. Yakuza is a great, AA style game but it's only AA because of just how many assets that are constantly reused, the series is like a AA game with AAA visuals which is great, but when the AA part of the game is just the same shit time and time again, the same world, the same combat system slightly altered, etc. It's AA in budget only, but we're not really getting a lot of new content, we're not getting any new gameplay experience. I used to be a huge fan of the Yakuza games but I've been getting burnt out on them, especially when the worlds of areas like Yokohama are several times the size of Kamurocho and it just feels like padding running through one end to the other, but guess what, Yokohama is in three or four games now. The combat system to these games remains the same, like not quite as bad as Fighting Force, but not even close to something like God Hand. Infact, the best the combat system has been is Fist of the North Star Lost Paradise and that just had slight tweaks on the main combat system so as much of a poor man's God Hand as it is, it's not even the same ball park, but I do think it has the best combat in the Yakuza franchise.

But on PS2, there was Yakuza, there was also Urban Reign, God Hand, Beatdown Fists of Vengeance, Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks, The Bouncer, etc. This is just a few of the 3D beat em ups. Not saying they're all God Hand or Urban Reign quality, but since I was using Yakuza as a reference, it's an example of games in this genre that are just missing in the AA market of today compared to the past. There's thousands of other games that could be mentioned in this AA market that are just completely missing.

[kupomogli]

Look at how many videos coming up on Youtube where people are stating what's the reason to buy a PS5 after Spiderman 2's port. I've saying this since Sony announced their games are going third party after two years. It's going to happen, it's not like the next game they release isn't going to be exclusive. I doubt that Astro Bot will stay exclusive, there's literally no reason to buy the console and everyone is FINALLY starting to realize this. Sony, still isn't, they're still pushing PC ports and still running their brand into the ground.

Final Fantasy 15 Rebirth, Stellar Blade, etc, etc, etc, PC soon. Again, Playstation is pretty much dead, they just don't know it.

Someone needs to make a video edit of this and put the Playstation logo on the enemy thug because this is exactly where Playstation is at right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEArV9rspF0

[Gameguy]

You are right about the PS5 not having exclusives, those would help with additional sales. I just meant that even without exclusives people would still buy a PS5 to play the multi-platform games if there were other benefits to having the PS5 hardware, like the PS2 playing DVDs back in 2000 while the Dreamcast couldn't. That was back when wireless internet really wasn't common and playing DVDs on a TV was much easier with a console or dedicated DVD player over using a PC for that purpose. Back then using a PS2 for DVDs was a good choice as dedicated DVD players were extremely expensive, around the same cost as a PS2. People are moving to PCs as those can do a whole lot more than consoles now which makes them worth the cost when similar to console prices, there was a time when people would choose a console over a PC even if a game was available for both platforms.

Looking into it, the PS2 had about 200-300 exclusives. With PS5, there's about 10 exclusives released which still includes Spider-Man 2 which isn't even an exclusive anymore.

I think we pretty much agree on things. I also did watch the videos you posted, they're basically saying the same things I've heard on other videos. Again, I agree with those too. Including Kenshiro.

I keep forgetting about the Switch, but that is the only modern console that I still think of as a console and consider worth buying for what's released on it. I don't know exactly why I have this different opinion for this console while feeling the others are basically disposable PC substitutes. But I still haven't bothered buying a Switch. I'm not exactly a fan of consoles that use built in rechargeable batteries. I'm currently worrying about when my PS3 controllers and various GBA/DS systems will stop holding a charge as they're getting quite old at this point.

[Gentlegamer]

I'm sort of a PC gamer these days, but one reason I played multi-platforms on PS4, was to avoid PC launcher/account issues, such as those with UbiSoft.

I caught up with AssCreed games on PS4 because I will not subject myself the the BS UbiSoft inflicts on the user trying to play on PC.

The problem I see is that the PS5 "gen" has not offered ANYTHING I want to play at all, certainly nothing that makes me want to deal with a HUEGER THAN XBAWKS console that makes you go online to register the disc drive (disc drive less is a complete non-starter on anything but PC).

[Az]

I bought a 360 a few months after launch. Went through the red ring deal twice (both covered under warranty luckily), and 3rd one is still my daily driver 15+ years later. As far as normal retail releases purchased when the console was current, I've definitely bought more 360 games than any of my other consoles.

I wasn't really digging the Xbox One but got one as a gift a few years after it released. What little interest I had in it was mostly due to it being backwards compatible with the majority of my 360 games, and it having the same online ecosystem (same friends list, achievements, etc). My Xbox One library isn't nearly the size of my 360 and mostly consists of deeply discounted digital games. I can count the physical discs I own on one hand. Several years later I can say I, definitely glad I ended up getting into the system and there are quite a few really good games that I love and would have missed out on if I only stuck with the 360.

I picked up a Series X once they became available to a casual buyer, maybe a year after launch. It being totally backwards compatible was pretty much the main selling point as there were 0 Series X exclusives I was interested in. Really the only reason I got it was it seemed to be the definitive way to play my existing library (faster load times, upgraded visuals and FPS boost on many games).

Fast forward a couple of years and I own a grand total of 3 games that are exclusively on Series X and not on Xbox One. 2 of those 3 were available on PS4. I won't be purchasing the next Xbox because there is no way I'm painting myself into a corner again, missing out on a lot Japanese developed games just for the sake of keeping the same online ecosystem I've had for 15 years. If I never bought another game for the rest of my days I'd still not be able to finish the ones I own right now, so there's no pressing need for me to drop nearly a grand on another system when I've barely scratched the surface of what I already have.

[Osirus]

360 was awesome. I really think console gaming peaked in that era. I got an XBox One and over the years had 3 whole games for it. I can't believe we're already 4 years into the PS5/XBox Series generation and I haven't had a single incentive to buy either one. Gaming has just gone to shit in the past deca

[kupomogli]

I bought a 360 a few months after launch. Went through the red ring deal twice (both covered under warranty luckily), and 3rd one is still my daily driver 15+ years later. As far as normal retail releases purchased when the console was current, I've definitely bought more 360 games than any of my other consoles.

I wasn't really digging the Xbox One but got one as a gift a few years after it released. What little interest I had in it was mostly due to it being backwards compatible with the majority of my 360 games, and it having the same online ecosystem (same friends list, achievements, etc). My Xbox One library isn't nearly the size of my 360 and mostly consists of deeply discounted digital games. I can count the physical discs I own on one hand. Several years later I can say I, definitely glad I ended up getting into the system and there are quite a few really good games that I love and would have missed out on if I only stuck with the 360.

I picked up a Series X once they became available to a casual buyer, maybe a year after launch. It being totally backwards compatible was pretty much the main selling point as there were 0 Series X exclusives I was interested in. Really the only reason I got it was it seemed to be the definitive way to play my existing library (faster load times, upgraded visuals and FPS boost on many games).

Fast forward a couple of years and I own a grand total of 3 games that are exclusively on Series X and not on Xbox One. 2 of those 3 were available on PS4. I won't be purchasing the next Xbox because there is no way I'm painting myself into a corner again, missing out on a lot Japanese developed games just for the sake of keeping the same online ecosystem I've had for 15 years. If I never bought another game for the rest of my days I'd still not be able to finish the ones I own right now, so there's no pressing need for me to drop nearly a grand on another system when I've barely scratched the surface of what I already have.

Get a Switch 2, it's pretty much the only console that will get a decent a good amount of exclusives, hopefully it supports backwards compatibility with Switch cards. Now days Switch gets most third party Japanese titles so I'd guess the same for Switch 2.

[Osirus]

As far as I know The Xbox Series has 0 - yes, zero - true exclusive games. The PS5 has fewer than a dozen with several of those expected to get PC releases in the near future.

[Gametrek]

Microsoft never needed the X-box. They just needed to figure out the game business. Now they have that foot way in the door, they could get enough players to move to a dedicated Windows machine.

Microsoft is literally making vision goggles for the military using it's virtual helmet device. It is amazing...............

If it was not for people cautioning there eyes that literally could be the x-box. A helmet that is in our reality

You want to play fallout? You have to install there crap on your machine. That is how it is.

Thanks to Google-Stadia bs, now everybody is doing the Virtual-Machine. Somebody even made a free arcade emulation game-room you can use with a VR-headset online. You do not even need a game room or even to buy videogames at all.

Do not worry. I am sure they will keep around traditional game consoles to over-charge for out-dated hardware to run great graphics and all. AKA Nintendo's

"Blue-Ocean Strategy"

[Tron 2.0]

Get a Switch 2, it's pretty much the only console that will get a decent a good amount of exclusives, hopefully it supports backwards compatibility with Switch cards. Now days Switch gets most third party Japanese titles so I'd guess the same for Switch 2.

Nintendo has confirm switch 2 will be backwards compatible.
https://gizmodo.com/nintendo-confirm...yet-2000521068

[kupomogli]

Sony's done. Releasing games multiplatform, letting developers have publishing rights to release exclusive IPs third party, and now we've found out that Sony cares so little about the properties they own that they're taking a short term financial gain and selling the IP of games. At this point I'd rather someone like Nintendo buy the properties because it's a platform holder that actually gives a damn about their licenses, that actually wants to see their brand name be successful.

Modern Playstation has lost all meaning, the brand is now dead.

While I myself don't care about Death Stranding I'm hoping the sales for Death Stranding 2 explode, so this mistake just blows right up in Sony's face. They'll profit from the great sales, good on them, but maybe they'll realize just how done they are when the game sells five million or more copies and they realize they fucked up by selling the IP all because of a little bit of short term monetary gain.

I won't be buying a PS6. After PS5, I'll be a Nintendo shill from now on.

[kupomogli]

So Sony sells the Death Stranding IP and now Stellar Blade is announced for PC seven months after release. Playstation really is dead. Again, no reason to ever get the console. The PS5 is just a PC with less games and a handful of physical game releases.