E3 2013

[vivisectvi]

dubq, I know Nintendo is doing something tomorrow afternoon but their Nintendo Direct is at 10AM EST and that's probably where they'll show off whatever big games they have so you should probably watch that.

Cool - thanks for the heads up! I'll be in a meeting at 10:30 but it shouldn't last too long.. I may be late to the party on a few tweets, though..

 

[vivisectvi]

 

[DrVenkman PhD]

Someone on my Facebook feed made the same joke.

 

[AnonymousBroccoli]

It's pretty funny that the bar is so low... Sony didn't do anything especially noteworthy for Vita. They didn't really show any particularly interesting games. All they had to do was maintain the status quo. They didn't even quite do that, and they're still being hailed as conquering heroes.

 

[bps21]

People are rightfully upset at Microsoft.

The internet check in is bad.
The used game nonsense is worse.
What you're not allowed to do with the new copy of a game you buy is absurd.
The Kinect is the worst of all because not only does no one want one...it's the reason the whole thing costs 100 dollars more than the system that...doesn't do all those things that were bad, worse or absurd.

 

[KingPK]

They just need to swallow their pride and rethink those first three issues and they're back in the game. I'll bet there will be some intense meetings in Redmond this week.

I wanna know how much Sony will eat per console by going to $399. From what I've read, a PC with the equivalent power would be around $600-700.

 

[bps21]

Well...the way it sounds over at the xbox forums it doesn't look like too many people are planning to be affected by these policies. We're talking some large gamerscore lifers who sound done.

 

[bps21]

It's weird because I'm both loyal enough to the brand to put in a preorder...and annoyed enough to want to troll major nelson on twitter.

I don't care that it costs more. I don't care that it has to connect to the Internet once a day since I've not encountered a day in 10 years where I couldn't do that...unless the power was out in which case I'm or playing anything lol...I don't even care that much about used games since I buy new most of the time and my gamefly rentals just sit there for months until I force myself to use them.

But I really really hate rules being put on my purchased games.

 

[DrVenkman PhD]

You've pretty summed up my take too, bps. Technically the system reflects everything I do anyway... but I don't need to be told that's how I MUST do it.

 

[bps21]

That's a more concise way that I couldn't figure out how to put it. Yep. I don't appreciate them making these moves...to the point where even though its the brand I've come to like most...I'm quite enjoying Sony handing them their ass from so many angles. The cheering at the Sony conference was from everyone, not just ps fans...it's the xbox loyalists that are taking it up the arse here.

 

[Youth N Asia]

Goodnight, Microsoft

Hitting all of the bullet points for each system and this is just as no-brainer as it gets. I love my 360, but this fight looks lost even before it's begun.

I wish Nintendo would just throw in the towel on hardware. Let me play Mario and Zelda on a real gaming machine. Zelda on the PS4. That's a beast.

What can Microsoft really do now? Other than back peddle on the price of the machine?

 

[bps21]

They can't so much backpeddle on the price as they can at least take away the restrictions everyone hates. It's the damn Kinect no one wants that drives up the price. But honestly they blew the first impression at the reveal...then honestly had a really good E3 focusing solely on games...until those 2 minutes from Sony when everyone remembered. So they did a pretty good second impression and then that went away and no one will remember anything from today but the PS4 has better specs, doesn't spy on or hate you owning games, and is 100 bucks cheaper to boot. It's a whitewash.

In theory there's time to try and solidify their brand base...but people are jumping off ship like I've never seen during console wars. I don't really know what they can feasibly do to stop the bleeding as even just taking away the stuff everyone hates won't do that now. Never seen a knockout like this.

 

[Youth N Asia]

Do you think they can back off of all their restrictions? I don't know how hardware on systems work. Is it easy to jump back out and go a change-a-roo like that?

My fiance nearly bought me a Kinect for Christmas. My brother thankfully talked her out of it.

it bums me out that Dead Rising 3 is said to be a Xbox One exclusive.

 

[bps21]

I would assume they can update those things if they wanted...but that's almost the point...they don't want to. They had 3 weeks of nothing but hatred over them and came up with "it's still happening" in a press release before E3. Any strategy to get that out of gamers minds and just focus on games, which again I thought they did really well, died on the vine when Sony went for the jugular.

 

[AnonymousBroccoli]

The thing is, Microsoft showed their hand. This is what they want to offer. Even if they back off now, who's to say they won't change their minds in a few years, after building up a customer base? Obviously the infrastructure is there. I wouldn't trust them to not throw all that shit back in.

 

[AnonymousBroccoli]

I don't really want Nintendo to go third-party, or Microsoft to fail, though. If we've seen anything over time, it's that all three of these companies are willing to push their luck, and overlook the customers when they think they've got shit locked up.

 

[bps21]

I knew Microsoft was in trouble a few years ago when they started testing new things on the 360. TV apps...kinect...smartglass...none of them are bad ideas but none of them are why someone buys a console.

I understand their point...95 percent of games come out for both consoles and are exactly the same no matter the specs of one console or the other...so they wanted to find a way to add to the main experience which...honestly mostly comes down to what controller you prefer. Both sides continue to sign exclusive dlc deals that make the game makers some scratch but I don't believe does much of anything in the long run.

But I knew they were in trouble because they push too hard. Bells and whistles are fine. They can be nice even. But you don't buy a bike that won't run if the bell stops working...and Microsoft always pushes too hard. As soon as they dipped a toe in the water with apps, cameras, voice control, all of it I knew they'd overreach and force it into the next gen. Because the only way to provide a different experience is to force it into the box. People, by and large, don't want to be forced with any of it. But they took those choices away.

The thing has to connect to the Internet so often so it can keep all the crap that should be a bell or whistle updated so they can provide that experience that they believe will enhance things. They can even be right and it still misses the point. It's another choice taken away.

Same with kinect. Is it cool to be able to control tv with my voice like I live in Star Trek or something? Sure. I also can use this remote like I've managed to do my whole life and its not worth a bundled 100 dollar peripheral that I, again, can't choose not to,have.

The used games thing is its own animal that should be taken out back and shot first.

 

[2GOLD]

So the only change is to play multiplayer, need a PS Plus. And that is what? 60 bucks a year and comes with a massive library of free games plus discounts on a bunch of games right? So all they did was give a reason to get something that is pretty sweet anyway?

And if I don't want multiplayer, Netflix and PSN still work for free. Is that the size of it?

 

[AnonymousBroccoli]

That seems to be the case, yep. PS+ is currently $49.99/year. The graphic said "Less Than $5 per month". If they bumped it to $59.99/year, that'd be $4.9991666.../month. Which I guess is "less". I'd be more inclined to figure it's staying at $49.99.

I was just reminded that the Mad Max game is being made by Avalanche Studios; they're the Just Cause guys.

 

[AnonymousBroccoli]

Killer Instinct is a day-one digital-only release on Xbox One, and features -- get this -- one character. Jago is free to play on launch day. Everyone else -- unspecified returning characters as well as original fighters -- will cost money. Price is to-be-determined (of course).

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/11/killer-instinct-is-a-fun-free-to-play-xbox-one-launch-game

Ahahahahahahaha

 

[jimmy no nose]

I don't see an issue with that Killer Instinct model at all. They let you play a one character demo for free, then you can pay to unlock the full game? What's the problem?

 

[AnonymousBroccoli]

I think the idea is that you're paying per character. Which will quite possibly result in a silly price for all of them.

 

[NoCalMike]

Each console will always retain a certain amount of loyalists who will stick with a sinking ship no matter what. I admit I have been a Sony person from day one, but can acknowledge that for the first few years of the current-gen battle the 360 was the better console for a myriad of reasons.

I think Sony has made a better case to the Xbox crowd that even if they insist on getting an Xbox, they should give the PS4 a shot too, but the vice versa case has not been made so much.

 

[vivisectvi]

I wanna know how much Sony will eat per console by going to $399. From what I've read, a PC with the equivalent power would be around $600-700.

For the consumer market, yeah. But you gotta think that manufacturers are going to get deals on the parts to build these things, and this build it for cheaper. Also, the PSEye is sold separately, which is probably the reason it's $100 less than XB1 in the first place.

 

[vivisectvi]

You've pretty summed up my take too, bps. Technically the system reflects everything I do anyway... but I don't need to be told that's how I MUST do it.

Exactly this. I still can't believe that MS had this new gen to convince me to buy their new console, alongside the PS4 I already knew I was getting, and they botched it. Like, fuck.. I might as well just buy a 360 now so I can catch up on some of those exclusives instead.

 

[vivisectvi]

dubq, I know Nintendo is doing something tomorrow afternoon but their Nintendo Direct is at 10AM EST and that's probably where they'll show off whatever big games they have so you should probably watch that.

Cool - thanks for the heads up! I'll be in a meeting at 10:30 but it shouldn't last too long.. I may be late to the party on a few tweets, though..

Fucking hell! I can't get this stream to load up.

 

[Smues]

Yeah I'm having all kinds of problems with it too. I'm getting 3-4 seconds at a time and then paussseeeee. So far all I've made out is Pokemon X and Y launch on October 12th.

 

[Smues]

Fuck this stream is awful, but I think they're showing gameplay of Super Mario 3D Land 2.

 

[Smues]

I'm just judging by gameplay as god help me actually hearing what's said, but looks like there's 4 player co-op multiplayer and Peach and Toad are playable in this one.

 

[Smues]

Oh it's called Super Mario 3D Worlds. And I think it's for the WiiU. Neat!