Console Discussion n here !

Raymond Lin · 11 Jul 2006 at 03:39

Won't get dragged into this VR debate as it is all speculation.

Best joypad wise, i think the SNES one was very revolutionary, it was the first ever pad to add the shoulder buttons, first pad to have 4 face buttons. Then there is the Sony Playstation Dual Shock, the analog stick really moved things along, no moreD pad and love the rumble in most games. Every pad now is an evolution even copies of those.

Best Console, Gameboy. Period. It opened up gaming to a new level, made it for everyone, Teris was awesome. Even thou Gamegear and Linx was colour, it couldn't match the Gameboy's catalogue of games and that longggggg battery life.

Kreeeee · 11 Jul 2006 at 12:11

hilly said:
I suppose, but still it's nice to dream is it not Kreeeeeeeeee ?

Of course, it's still not going to happen. It's the industry I am going into when I finish my degree. Researching and designing new ways to interact with computers and how to get software to work with it. I have a strong interest in real AI which is also a very likely impossibility.

shodan · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:28

My most anticipated Wii game: Baby Seal Clubbing.

Gotta be a winner!

Hilly · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:42

Lol Shodan, we still need that drink Kreee when you're back in Priorslee.

The SNES was a decent console, it was the first pad with round mouldings. But for me personally, it lacked something, when I look back I think of the NES and then the N64, I kind of skip over the SNES which is a shame.

There are a number of 3rd party consoles oming out which are being developed, how do you think this will work out ? Do you think the consoles will be another gizmondo, or can they actually rival the giants of Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft ?

melchy · 11 Jul 2006 at 14:44

Mark A said:
One of my best consoles was an Amiga Cd 32 lol, played zool, rise of the robots, theme park, oscar and a few other games on it. My best console was my PS1, Tomb raider 1 was an amazing game at the time and also Resident Evil 1, these are 2 of my all time favorite games. Then i got Gran Turismo 1 which at the time was a really good game with excellent gfx.

I think I'll be getting the PS3 as my brother has bought an xbox 360 already.

Mark

The CD32 was great. I spent a great deal of time playing Super Stardust (Best Asteroids clone ever), Pinball Illusions, Roadkill and Guardian (Think Defender in 3D). If truth be told though, there were next to no games on the CD32 that you couldnt get on the A1200 (Microcosm is about the only one i can think of) and usually the only difference if any with the CD32 version was that it had a little more CGI (Alien Breed Tower Assault being an example). I think it was a bit of a missed opportunity although it made sense to cross develop for both CD32 and A1200 as the hardware was nearly identical.

shodan · 11 Jul 2006 at 15:41

Ah yes, I had an Amiga CD 32. Microcosm, Rise of the Robots, Chaos Engine. I'll never forget the intro to Alien Breed, with some double hard bloke with sunnies shouldering a weapon and saying slowly to camera, "Lets...get...it...on".

What nobbed me off was having to stick the rubber bit of the directional buttons onto the controller yourself. If you're going to be cheap and just stick it on, at least have the common sense to do it before you sell it to us!

I have to say, I've always wanted a PS3, and I'm sure there are enough fanboys the world over to make it more successful than the 360, but since seeing the Wii controller and the PS3 pricing, I know I'll be getting the Wii first. The experience of filling my pants as I face Darth Vader with a lightsabre will be worth a ton alone.

I read a review by an fps gamer who tested the controller with nunchuck attachment. From what I gather it is even faster and more intuitve than gaming with a mouse. Could be marketing bull of course but if it is true I can't wait. I've always steered away from console fps games due to my frustration with the controllers.

Hilly · 11 Jul 2006 at 16:53

I would say about 75% of all gamers are really looking forward to the wii, with the other 25% really wanting a ps3, purely because the innovation in which it has clearly got. The PS3 just "borrows" every one elses technology any ways !

The lightsabre debate keeps coming up, though can you imagine how many wii's will be sold with a star wars launch game ? It would paralize the market imo.

OOooOoo can't wait. It seems though as Nintendo are still the leading innovators, what else has any one done which is innovative ? PS3 = big no, MS = at times, the introduction of live e.t.c is good, but still not totally innovative. Every thing seems to be geared towards graphics rather than gameplay, which is missing the point.

Every developer wants photo realistic graphics, yet it's not the graphics in which is important it's the way the games play. I'd take realistic behaviouring over realistic graphics any day.

shodan · 11 Jul 2006 at 17:54

What really keeps me interested in the PS3 is the exclusive game series they have. No matter what I did I couldn't sleep at night knowing there was another Metal Gear or Tekken game that I'd never be able to play.

I agree with you hilly, the graphics are taking too much of the limelight. We all know the Wii will fall short of the PS3 and the 360 in terms of graphics power but does it put us off? No way!

BoomAM · 11 Jul 2006 at 22:56

hilly said:
What in particular do you really really love and hate about the consoles currently and the consoles in the past ?

Love the variety of games.
Hate the whole 'image' thing about gaming.

Favourite console of all time

Nintendo 64.

Favourite Gaming Pad

For general games, the GC pad. For FPS games, the N64 bad is unbeatable.

Worst Gaming Pad

The PS1/PS2/PS3 controller. Followed by the original Xbox controller.

Favourite Game ever.

Hard one, either GoldenEye, Zelda:OOT or DeusEx.

What would you like to see on future game consoles ?

Less 'chaff' games.

What's most important for you lot as gamers ? Photo Realistic graphics, complete submersion into the game, Virtual Reality ?

Gameplay. I dont care what it looks like as long as its fun.

My ultimate console,

At the moment, the Wii.

With Virtual reality only about 10 years away how will you react to this ?

Hard to say. Theres nothing to say how it'll work.

Where else can consoles go from here ?

More emphasis on gameplay in games. More imaginative ways to control the games.

Other than graphics and complete immersion is there any thing else in which will keep the genre going ?

Original ideas for games. Or the actual original games getting the widespread recognition they deserve.

Will consoles ever "die"?

Yes.

What games are you most looking forward too ? What consoles do you own ?

Zelda:Twilight Princess. Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Mario 128. Metroid Prime 3.

Hilly · 12 Jul 2006 at 01:34

Sweet boom, any one have any thing else to add ?

I'm finding out more and more that it's not so much the game that you are playing, but the surrounds in which you are playing it. For example, couple of my friends really hate Fight Night 3, but on a 6ft projector, they are all loving it. Makes a lot of difference in how immersed you are in which turns a good game into a great game, or a bad game into an OK game

bagman76 · 12 Jul 2006 at 11:27

Best Console - Defiantly the SNES...

This is the first time we saw Mario Kart and Donkey Kong Country, which IMO remain the two most playable games of all time. I think it is important to judge a console on the games available on it. A good console with great games will always win over a great console with good games.

BoomAM · 12 Jul 2006 at 12:43

bagman76 said:
A good console with great games will always win over a great console with good games.

You'd think it would be that way, yes.
But unfortunatelly it just doesnt work out like that.
In this day and age, graphics & 'adult content' makes a game over gameplay.

Hilly · 12 Jul 2006 at 21:09

BoomAM said:
You'd think it would be that way, yes.
But unfortunatelly it just doesnt work out like that.
In this day and age, graphics & 'adult content' makes a game over gameplay.

Not overly, it's just there isn't much from the consoles to choose from now, bigest problem is that most titles are cross consoled, so you can get them on any ocnsole.

The PS2, I bought purely for GT4, as quite a lot of people would have done I reckon

BoomAM · 12 Jul 2006 at 22:59

hilly said:
Not overly, it's just there isn't much from the consoles to choose from now, bigest problem is that most titles are cross consoled, so you can get them on any ocnsole.

The PS2, I bought purely for GT4, as quite a lot of people would have done I reckon

I dont agree.
Gaming is still about image. People still buy PS2 & Xbox over GC purely on their image. There are far more 'fun' & playable games on the GC that sadly get overlooked by the majority of people out there, purely because the GC is seen as a kids console, and the games in question dont look 'adult'.
Its the same with portable consoles, thats only now being sorta resolved with the DSLite, where its 'cool' factor from its looks are persuading more and more people to buy them on looks alone, and then them same people being 'wowed' by how kiddy MK looks, yet how 'fun' they are.

Hilly · 13 Jul 2006 at 13:57

you're right to have your opinion, but it's all about mainstream and not images. Nintendo suffer from bad marketing a lot of the time. How many TV nintendo adverts for games can you remember ? I bet not a lot. I can't remember any of the top of my head other than possibly one or two DS Lite's.

The PSP flopped compared to the Lite, due to the lite being the better console. So in my opinion it's about marketing rather than image.

But yes you could argue that marketing leads to image, but i'm not on about social trends (ala IPOD) i'm talking about product awareness.

BoomAM · 13 Jul 2006 at 15:11

hilly said:
you're right to have your opinion, but it's all about mainstream and not images. Nintendo suffer from bad marketing a lot of the time. How many TV nintendo adverts for games can you remember ? I bet not a lot. I can't remember any of the top of my head other than possibly one or two DS Lite's.

The PSP flopped compared to the Lite, due to the lite being the better console. So in my opinion it's about marketing rather than image.

But yes you could argue that marketing leads to image, but i'm not on about social trends (ala IPOD) i'm talking about product awareness.

The mainstream is what panders to the imaging though!
Sonys PS3 will do ok for itself over here despite price because of the image that the company has. I cant see the WII doing particularly well because Nintendo is still seen as some kids company here.
And despite some class adverts for the GC, MetroidPrime, Zelda:TWW and a few other games, their image still hasnt changed at all.

Hilly · 13 Jul 2006 at 15:38

Maintream != image though, imo. To be maintream, every one has one and every one has to have them, e.g IPOD. The nintendo will neither be an ipod or a PS£, but would be better than them

Sweetloaf · 13 Jul 2006 at 15:58

hilly said:
Could you see your self being completely immersed into the game ? I can see something like the above leading to complete breakdowns, it would be used as a get away from life, all your troubles will be gone and the art of conversation and social ability would be gone.

I'd go on a looting spree while eveyone else was plugged in and enjoy real life

Favourite console so far has to be the Playstation, it changed the perception of gaming for a lot of people (although I'm now unsure that that has had a positive effect on the quality of releases). Or The Dreamcast, probably the most enjoyable console I have ever owned, shame it died so young.

I think that in general, all consoles since the Playstation have been a bit of a letdown for one reason or another, In the current generation nothing has grabbed my attention in the same way that the original Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy VII, Vandal Hearts, Castlevania Symphony of The Night, Ocarina of Time, Phantasy Star Online, Metropolis Street Racer, Shenmue or Gran Tourismo games did. Maybe It's my age but I drifted towards PC games and really can't be bothered with console these days.

In the current/last Generation i.e Xbox/PS2/GC I have trouble picking out any true classics, Metroid Prime is the only one that springs to mind and possibly SSX3 and Halo.

I haven't written consoles off completely, I just want something revolutionary.......or should that be Wiiey

Hilly · 13 Jul 2006 at 17:12

ah you know, I don't believe the whole "games were better back then" scenario. Sure games were great back then, but you still get a lot of great games now, GT series, Half Life, Ghost Recon, Rainbow 6 series, Oblivion, WoW, e.t.c all great games in which a lot of them have more replayability then the previous generations titles. One thing in which I do notice between the generations, is that the older games lasted longer, whilst the new games have more replayability, why is this ?

Every one who I have spoken too are really looking forward to the Wii, though I have spoke to a few who didn't know it even existed till I showed them a video. Nintendo really do need to step up their marketing of this console if they want it to be a big hit and challenge the "top two"

Sweetloaf · 13 Jul 2006 at 18:21

hilly said:
ah you know, I don't believe the whole "games were better back then" scenario. Sure games were great back then, but you still get a lot of great games now, GT series, Half Life, Ghost Recon, Rainbow 6 series, Oblivion, WoW, e.t.c all great games in which a lot of them have more replayability then the previous generations titles.?

I'm not really saying that games were better back then, Dreamcast does not seem like "back then" to me it sits under my telly as I type. Maybe it's because up until the PS2/Xbox/GC there was genuine new technology available in each generation or at least enough advances to allow for new gaming experiences 3D games, surround sound, Forcefeedback CD technology allowing FMV sequences etc etc. With the more recent generations we have seen it all, done it all but it now looks a bit prettier.
I don't really understand why myself to be honest but currently I think console gaming is a little stagnant. PC gaming has also seen better days but I personally haven't switched on a console in months.

In my opinion none of the games you mention above offer anything different to what we have seen in previous generations although some of them are pretty good games, problem for me is I don't want pretty good, I want incredible!

hilly said:
Nintendo really do need to step up their marketing of this console if they want it to be a big hit and challenge the "top two"

Very true, they may not think that they are in competition with Sony and MS but they are still going to be wanting the cash from people who are undecided as to which console to go for. Not everyone can afford more than one. They need to shout about it.