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IGN Takes the Cake (gaming is dying apparently)

MusicallyInspiredMusicallyInspired
edited March 2012 in General Chat
I've read a lot of crap from IGN in my time, by this is just truly remarkable. Apparently, video gaming is headed for doom. I've never read anything so poorly written, daft, out of touch, and deserving of a great big "O RLY" in my life.

http://games.ign.com/articles/122/1220883p1.html

Comments

  • Darth MarsdenDarth Marsden
    edited March 2012
    Eh, I thought it had some valid points. But I too disagree with it as a whole.
  • MusicallyInspiredMusicallyInspired
    edited March 2012
    The main thing that bothers me is it says that console gaming specifically is on a decline. And without that we have nothing. It even says "putting PC gaming aside...". That's just silly. We are not lost without console gaming even if it is disappearing.
  • VainamoinenVainamoinen Moderator
    edited March 2012
    You're right, the article is ridiculous. The statement is that consoles are dying - but the author makes it very clear that he doesn't really know how to define what a console is. If Colin Campbell is unwilling to accept the next generation of consoles as "consoles", then yes, console gaming is dead for him.

    And where does the guy get his data from? PC gaming on the rise?! Has this guy even heard of Origin? Consoles dying out? Has this guy even read about Valve's "Steam box" plans for later this decade?
  • DAISHIDAISHI
    edited March 2012
    The thing is that Steambox and all others like it will not have the the reach of a traditional console. America lags far behind other countries in broadband reach in places like rural settings, so if the future is wireless download gaming it means an automatic loss of revenue for all companies that would engage in such a venture. Beyond that, plenty in the inner city who have access to the internet only through dial up do their primary gaming via disc based consoles. That's not predicted to change either. So in both respects yes, it would be an automatic decline.
  • RetroVortexRetroVortex
    edited March 2012
    The videogame market isn't even close to death.

    Its just metamorphisising to a new state.

    I mean, the market stagnated back in the Atari days, and then came back in full force, due to cartidge-based gaming.

    Its the idea of convenience. Cartridge is more convenient than having to buy a new console all the time.

    Digital gaming is the logical progression from that.

    Eventually maybe even Cloud-based gaming is the step beyond that.
    (though technical and legal issues are crippling its potential)

    Companies that are failing to adapt, (like GAME, THQ, EA to some extent) DO NOT signal the end of anything!
    If there is one thing I've learned about gaming, is that THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY!

    Indie devs have learned to adapt to new forms of technology and business models, and maybe one day, they may become the giants like EA or Activision. (Note WHY I chose those two)

    (Though I argue Schafer has the right idea. Teams are getting too big. Its better to have several small-medium sized team with high quality staff and good communication focusing on a quality experience, over the standard bigger=better model that is traditional, not just in the video game industy, but in many other industries as well!)
  • Chyron8472Chyron8472
    edited March 2012
    Why should console gaming die?

    The primary differences between console gaming and PC gaming are:

    -- Consoles have specific hardware specs (which makes them easier to test for issues than PCs, as PC games may have different problems depending on hardware)

    -- Consoles are designed for specific proprietary controls.


    Why the heck should consoles die? If disc-based games are dying, all that will happen is future consoles will use proprietary download services and have larger hard drives (some form of XBLA-meets-Steam comes to mind.)
  • RibsRibs
    edited March 2012
    Of course it's dying. It's a form of entertainment that has failed to innovate whatsoever in a good many years and shows no signs of recovery.
  • DAISHIDAISHI
    edited March 2012
    Ribs wrote: »
    Of course it's dying. It's a form of entertainment that has failed to innovate whatsoever in a good many years and shows no signs of recovery.

    Not_sure_if_serious.jpg
  • Shadowknight1Shadowknight1
    edited March 2012
    Ugh, I really hope that digital media doesn't end up being the be-all, end-all. I like having disks. Sure beats having to buy a new Hard Drive every time you fill one up.

    I also prefer console gaming because I don't see the point to gaming with an iPad.
  • coolsomecoolsome
    edited March 2012
    Its on the internet so it's true everybody knows that articles on the internet are the philosophers of our age!

    Douchy_McNitpick.jpg
  • ted12ted12
    edited March 2012
    <mashes fface against mountain>

    Whaaaaaaaaaaa......?
  • AlcoremortisAlcoremortis
    edited March 2012
    I only own one console (a step up from the zero I owned last year) and it's the microconsole from Onlive that I got for a dollar or however much that sale was for.

    And really, I prefer PC gaming. it's one less machine you have to worry about, the graphics are better, and it's easier (and cheaper) to upgrade a PC to play a newer game than it is to do the same with a console. In addition, you can also play older games and newer games on the same machine without buying distinct adaptations of the game specifically for a newer computer.

    Also, mods. How I love mods.
  • IcedhopeIcedhope
    edited March 2012
    As someone who works in the retail field in the industry. I will say that this article wasn't well researched. He did make good points but..Pfffffftttt. To the rest of it.
  • blueskirtblueskirt
    edited March 2012
    It's all bullshit. Mere years ago they kept breaking our ears saying how we were just a bunch of pirates and how PC gaming was dying and look where we are now, with Steam sales, players funding games through Kickstarter and pay-what-you-want indie bundles goodness.

    As long there will be players interested in sitting on their couch for several hours straight and play video games with friends on ginormous TV screens, instead of tiny games you play on the go while you are waiting in a queue, commuting or sitting on the porcelain throne, there will be consoles.
  • RetroVortexRetroVortex
    edited March 2012
    You know what would save consoles?

    Some kind of feature, where you know.. you could like sit together and play a videogame together... on the same screen..

    I know its a bit of a crazy idea, but it could work!
  • IrishmileIrishmile
    edited March 2012
    I think the real danger is what is perceived to be a GREAT game..... Yeah I'm lookin at you Angry Birds.
  • GuruGuru214GuruGuru214
    edited March 2012
    But Angry Birds Space comes out next week! Aren't you super excited?!
  • Gman5852Gman5852
    edited March 2012
    He is clearly trollbaiting us to read this article.
  • Debbie82Debbie82
    edited March 2012
    I hate to go off-topic, but Icedhope, your signature has this "Requiescat in pace, my father and nephew" but you're using the Latin wrong! "Requiescat" is NOT second person plural, but rather third person singular!
  • GuruGuru214GuruGuru214
    edited March 2012
    First off, this. Second, it's a play on the quote from Assassin's Creed, so even if it was a problem, it's Ubisoft's mistranslation, not his. Third, did you really need to critique the grammar of the Latin in the epitaph in his signature?
  • FarlanderFarlander
    edited March 2012
    Honestly... I read only the title of the article. Made me cringe enough to just close the damn thing.

    I'm so sick of discussions like these... 'Oooh, AAA titles are dying because of the resurgence of Indie games!', and 'Oooh, hardcore experiences are dying because of the casual games!', and 'Ohhhh, single-player is dying because of all the multi-player thingies', and now it's 'Oooooh, consoles are dying because of hell-knows-what since I haven't read the article and don't know what he lists as reasons'.

    This is all bullshit. Nothing will die in favour of anything. And it's pissing me off so much that a lot of people just can't think that things could CO-EXIST. And they'll EVOLVE.

    Plus, there are 7 billion people on the planet, shitloads of them are gamers, and each and everybody has different tastes. And, if anything, the variety of the stuff we have now, from AAA titles to little Indie experiences, from phones that fit in your hand to fully customizable PCs, means that everything will find its audience.
  • IrishmileIrishmile
    edited March 2012
    Farlander wrote: »
    This is all bullshit. Nothing will die in favour of anything. And it's pissing me off so much that a lot of people just can't think that things could CO-EXIST. And they'll EVOLVE.

    You'll have to excuse me if I disagree slightly.. I'm not saying I agree with the article. But I can say being one of the older gamers here I witnessed first hand as lucasarts and sierra stopped making smart and entertaining adventure games in favor of making "current" games... Some of the games I liked BUT it was an end to their adventure game making days.
  • FarlanderFarlander
    edited March 2012
    Irishmile wrote:
    But I can say being one of the older gamers here I witnessed first hand as lucasarts and sierra stopped making smart and entertaining adventure games in favor of making "current" games... Some of the games I liked BUT it was an end to their adventure game making days.

    Just so you know, that's not disagreeing with me. It's more like me not being clear enough. I was speaking more in broad terms than specific instances. I.e., LA and Sierra not making adventure games = specific instance; the state of life of the adventure game genre (and it's not dead and it has its audience) = broad terms.

    I do agree that things change, and if we use adventure games as an example again... we'll never see adventure games of the 80s again, unless it's a specific homage. But that's what I'm saying. They're evolving and co-existing with everything else.
  • Debbie82Debbie82
    edited March 2012
    GuruGuru214 wrote: »
    First off, this. Second, it's a play on the quote from Assassin's Creed, so even if it was a problem, it's Ubisoft's mistranslation, not his. Third, did you really need to critique the grammar of the Latin in the epitaph in his signature?

    Oh yeah. I'm sorry I doubted you, Icedhope. :(
  • VainamoinenVainamoinen Moderator
    edited March 2012
    Ah, the times when I managed to correct mgrant's Middle English spelling in her signature... I did it via PM, of course. :D
  • StrongBrush1StrongBrush1
    edited March 2012
    *Reads Article, Checks Meter:*

    bullshit.jpg

    Yeah, that's what I figured.
  • figmentPezfigmentPez
    edited March 2012
    As much as I'd like to see PC games dominate the industry and consoles fade into the background... it's not going to happen. Devices like cellphones and tablets just can't do everything a console can, and there are still too many compatibility issues with PCs. I'm not even sure that a growing PC/tablet/phone market would be able to knock out even one of the three console makers. Competition might force the next Xbox/Playstation to hit a cheaper price point, but it'd take a lot to make them unprofitable.

    What might be in danger are portable systems that are primarily gaming machines. Cellphones, tablets, touch-screen MP3 players, etc. could conceivably take a big enough chunk out of the portable market to knock Sony out of it, though it seems unlikely they could completely banish Nintendo as long as Pokemon remains culturally relevant.
  • Chyron8472Chyron8472
    edited March 2012
    figmentPez wrote: »
    What might be in danger are portable systems that are primarily gaming machines. Cellphones, tablets, touch-screen MP3 players, etc. could conceivably take a big enough chunk out of the portable market to knock Sony out of it, though it seems unlikely they could completely banish Nintendo as long as Pokemon remains culturally relevant.

    If I recall correctly, there have been devices which tried to do this (ie. compete directly with GameBoy), and they all sucked. Remember that one gaming device that doubled as a phone, but you looked like you're holding a taco to your head?

    No one is going to put Nintendo out of the portable gaming market.
  • ted12ted12
    edited March 2012
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    If I recall correctly, there have been devices which tried to do this (ie. compete directly with GameBoy), and they all sucked. Remember that one gaming device that doubled as a phone, but you looked like you're holding a taco to your head?

    No one is going to put Nintendo out of the portable gaming market.

    The poor N-Gage!
  • figmentPezfigmentPez
    edited March 2012
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    If I recall correctly, there have been devices which tried to do this (ie. compete directly with GameBoy), and they all sucked. Remember that one gaming device that doubled as a phone, but you looked like you're holding a taco to your head?

    No one is going to put Nintendo out of the portable gaming market.

    Yes, the N-gage (side taco!), the Xperia play and others have all sucked pretty bad. However, the iPhone doesn't suck, and there are a lot of capable Android devices as well. They aren't competing directly with the Gameboy, but they still scratch the portable gaming itch for a good number of people.

    Devices that incidentally play games won't replace a dedicated gaming device any time soon, but not everyone who wants a game to play on the go cares enough to get a 3DS/PSV when they can play "Words With Friends" and watch media on their phone. Some of the market that Nintendo expanded into with DS games like Brain Age now has upgraded their phone to something that can play that same type of game, and they can pay $0.99 for an app instead of $15+ for a cart. Some of the market that Sony grabbed with the PSP's video playback now uses their phone to do the same. These phones may not play action games as well as a gaming handheld, but still have a lot of the other selling points that used to talk people into buying a DS/PSP.

    Like I said, as long as there is Pokemon (and other big game franchises) Nintendo will still be able to sell their latest gaming device. However, the market might get small enough that the #2, Sony, might get bumped out; and Nintendo is going to have to work harder to get more casual gamers to buy a 3DS instead of just using their phone. The market is changing, and while I think Nintendo can keep up, they're not going to win on all the same selling-points that they used to.
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