The problem here is that I don’t see Sony reversing their decision and when the market leader does something the rest of the pack follows. Microsoft will undoubtedly scrap a disc drive for their nextgen PC/Console hybrid. The new disc to digital feature is just a means to soften the blow. So, whatever fuss we raise it doesn’t really matter. Sony has already decided to take the hit and move on.
This is theoretically true of everything under capitalism. However, it’s not the only force involved.
On the system designer’s side, unless there is a MASSIVE drop in sales directly attributable to the absence of a particular feature, not including that feature decreases cost which increases profit. Any company that tries to court the minority who like the feature will either have to cut into their profits or charge enough to cover the feature, which will effectively price out a section of the buyers from affording it. Either way, that’s probably a lot of money lost. That extra money the other companies gets can be put toward marketing, which in turn shrinks the market share for the feature-focused manufacturer even further, which nets them less money, which… You get the idea. It’s the same thing that happened in American health insurance. The companies that did all the things Americans hate used their profits to run the companies that didn’t into the ground. Now, all that’s left are the ones with which people are familiar.
On the consumer side, they can only choose from what actually is available. Consoles are just shitty computers for people who don’t want to learn to ‘do computers.’ The options are brand A, brand B, and brand C. That’s it. You can’t demand a console that lets you play games from all three. It doesn’t exist. You can’t get the one with a cup holder. It doesn’t exist. If it’s not available as an option, you can’t do a write-in vote like it’s a ballot. You take what’s available, because the alternative is being left alone with your own thoughts and facing off against the FOMO millions of dollars in marketing has built regarding the latest flagship products.
I think this is a fair take; I personally would rather have a laptop with the bottom tier 5 series since I’d be able to pretty much any game, use whatever controllers, run emulators, use it for college classes, and watch stuff without advertising.
I think Sony USA played themselves; it’s not completely just about the digital only stuff, it’s an expensive toy that serves one or two purposes. Ask yourself, at the current price is it even worth getting for a few games?
Probably as a status symbol. It’s not even worth buying it for exclusives. Xbox games are on PC. And the PS5 has no games. GT 7 is the only game I’d buy it for but that’s so expensive for just one game, especially considering I can just emulate GT 4 on my PC and probably have more fun.
Not quite. Price of entry has always been cheaper and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Sure, consoles next gen are going to cost more but so do PC components and ports are infamously unoptimized. People in tech savvy communities also underestimate the value of a mostly plug and play experience.
That last bit is crucial: setting up a PC for gaming in the living room may not be that hard for someone who knows what they’re doing, but for someone who doesn’t, it looks impossibly complicated. The experience is also not nearly as streamlined or polished. Nobody wants to have to fuss with their system when their friends are over and they just want to play.
Just because something is easy for you or me doesn’t mean it’s easy for everyone, maybe not even most people
Had a nightmare that the future of gaming will be 100% digital and we all have to rent the privilege of gaming. And without a internet connection you can’t game.
Then awoke glad that it was a nightmare and not my future. I have enough offline games to keep me going for years. And only game I play that some what has online mode actually gives a shit about their players.
Oh definitely see that happening as well but before it can get that far sure society will collapse. This just end stage capitalism playing its last few hands.
The problem here is that I don’t see Sony reversing their decision and when the market leader does something the rest of the pack follows. Microsoft will undoubtedly scrap a disc drive for their nextgen PC/Console hybrid. The new disc to digital feature is just a means to soften the blow. So, whatever fuss we raise it doesn’t really matter. Sony has already decided to take the hit and move on.
I mean, you could just choose to not buy the systems. It only works of consumers consume it.
This is theoretically true of everything under capitalism. However, it’s not the only force involved.
On the system designer’s side, unless there is a MASSIVE drop in sales directly attributable to the absence of a particular feature, not including that feature decreases cost which increases profit. Any company that tries to court the minority who like the feature will either have to cut into their profits or charge enough to cover the feature, which will effectively price out a section of the buyers from affording it. Either way, that’s probably a lot of money lost. That extra money the other companies gets can be put toward marketing, which in turn shrinks the market share for the feature-focused manufacturer even further, which nets them less money, which… You get the idea. It’s the same thing that happened in American health insurance. The companies that did all the things Americans hate used their profits to run the companies that didn’t into the ground. Now, all that’s left are the ones with which people are familiar.
On the consumer side, they can only choose from what actually is available. Consoles are just shitty computers for people who don’t want to learn to ‘do computers.’ The options are brand A, brand B, and brand C. That’s it. You can’t demand a console that lets you play games from all three. It doesn’t exist. You can’t get the one with a cup holder. It doesn’t exist. If it’s not available as an option, you can’t do a write-in vote like it’s a ballot. You take what’s available, because the alternative is being left alone with your own thoughts and facing off against the FOMO millions of dollars in marketing has built regarding the latest flagship products.
The public are idiots, consumption will continue.
And they will soon find out there is zero reason for consumers to buy consoles instead of gaming PCs.
I think this is a fair take; I personally would rather have a laptop with the bottom tier 5 series since I’d be able to pretty much any game, use whatever controllers, run emulators, use it for college classes, and watch stuff without advertising.
I think Sony USA played themselves; it’s not completely just about the digital only stuff, it’s an expensive toy that serves one or two purposes. Ask yourself, at the current price is it even worth getting for a few games?
And now you have PCs with console-like experiences, such as the Steam machines.
In my opinion there hasn’t been a reason to buy a console in at least a decade. People bought them anyway.
Probably as a status symbol. It’s not even worth buying it for exclusives. Xbox games are on PC. And the PS5 has no games. GT 7 is the only game I’d buy it for but that’s so expensive for just one game, especially considering I can just emulate GT 4 on my PC and probably have more fun.
Not quite. Price of entry has always been cheaper and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Sure, consoles next gen are going to cost more but so do PC components and ports are infamously unoptimized. People in tech savvy communities also underestimate the value of a mostly plug and play experience.
That last bit is crucial: setting up a PC for gaming in the living room may not be that hard for someone who knows what they’re doing, but for someone who doesn’t, it looks impossibly complicated. The experience is also not nearly as streamlined or polished. Nobody wants to have to fuss with their system when their friends are over and they just want to play.
Just because something is easy for you or me doesn’t mean it’s easy for everyone, maybe not even most people
Well other than the current cost of building 😭 but that is going to pass on to also be a problem for the next gen consoles too
Had a nightmare that the future of gaming will be 100% digital and we all have to rent the privilege of gaming. And without a internet connection you can’t game.
Then awoke glad that it was a nightmare and not my future. I have enough offline games to keep me going for years. And only game I play that some what has online mode actually gives a shit about their players.
Next up: having a PC with offline games will be deemed piracy
Yesterday: “you wouldn’t download a car”
Tomorrow: “you wouldn’t drive your own car”
Oh definitely see that happening as well but before it can get that far sure society will collapse. This just end stage capitalism playing its last few hands.