SickBoy

I know most people hate Gamestop and it's not hard to see why. But I, for one, have no ill will towards them, despite the occasional hard sell on "scratch protection" or the "AND HOW ABOUT SOME PREORDERS AND STRATEGY GUIDES?" add-ons.

 

Reason being is they had a really positive impact on the Canadian videogame marketplace IMO that was beneficial to consumers. I think they've been around since the mid-90s... more broadly since the latter part of the decade, though. Before they came on the scene, I was relatively well served by a couple of mom-and-pop shops, but the two I frequented shut down before Electronics Boutique ever hit the scene here. After they died, it was chain stores -- with their incomplete selection of titles -- or the big local indy store, which still exists and still has pricing that would suggest they include small packets of illegal drugs with games for customers who know a special password.

 

The positives of EB's existence here:

 

- Getting pretty much every game that comes out

- Marking down older games -- a practice on which they seemed to really lead the way

- Being better tended-to than its big box rivals... nothing worse than a games department lacking the care and attention of staff.

 

I think physical stores are going to face more and more pressure. I don't think they'll go away, but they're not exactly an area for growth, either. I hope Gamestop is capable of weathering the storm.

The rumors of "always online" and "no used games" didn't exactly come to pass as harshly as rumored. 

 

"Always online" now means it'll check in once every 24 hours.

 

"No used games" now means yes you can resell, trade-in, and let your friends play your games on their system but there is something not detailed that makes this different from how it has been before.

 

Will Microsoft stick to these guns in the face of Internet vitriol or will they cave in some way by the time the thing launches. Whatcha think? I doubt they even go into much more detail on this stuff until much closer to launch. Maybe they'll hope people forget about it for a while (unlikely).

 

I think ultimately the box has to phone home, so yeah, that'll happen. Maybe they'll extend it to beyond 24 hours, though. Who knows. (EDIT: I don't mean a console has to be able to call home, but I think that's probably one thing they're requiring)

 

As for the new take on used games, I think the best possible situation for gamers would be to offer a secondary market via their own service and take a cut (if they can make that cut significantly less than what Gamestop takes off the top when they buy a new release for $30 or less to resell for $55). Which certainly means used sales will still pass through Gamestop but require an activation fee when you get the disc home

 

The interesting thing is the perception of these things is largely negative, but Microsoft has been so opaque on all these issues that while it may seem they've bent to pressure, they'll at least be able to claim that these approaches were never their intent...

I like how the most recent Nintendo Direct was dubbed boring and then CJ tells us next Nintendo Direct will have Mario Kart, Smash Bros. and 3D Mario.

 

Gotta say, I'm more interested in Super Luigi, Game & Wario (even though I'm skeptical) and maybe even Pikmin 3.

 

Also, I think Infinite was shootier than it needed to be, but I didn't dislike the combat outside of the Handyman.

Wii U: Have it, hardly played it yet -- not Nintendo's fault, but a factor of available gaming time. Bought it 'cause it was $100 off at Costco otherwise I might still be waiting.

 

PS4: Will probably buy, maybe in fall 2014 -- I expect the system will have a better software lineup in general than the Xbox, but we'll see.

 

Xbone: Undecided. May buy in 2014/15. I think E3 will reveal a lot. The number of exclusives they're touting is larger than I expected and could put something on the agenda that is a must-buy for me, although those are getting fewer all the time (the Remedy thing is the closest to a must-buy of either console). Cost is the biggest issue. The DRM/used/online issues seem unsettled... but assuming the systems aren't incredibly limiting they're concerns but not deal-breakers.

 

Ouya: Not going to rule it out. If there are easy-to-use emulators available (and worthwhile support for non-Ouya controllers), I will get one for a handful of games I would love to be able to easily play on a big TV. My friends and I still enjoy playing the Genesis NHL games, which may be among the most timeless of sports titles (Madden, etc., have not aged so gracefully). I'd like to see if it sells and if they do update the hardware annually.

 

I think by and large, having only read about the reveals (rather than witnessing Microsoft's display of "TVTVTVTVTVgames?" and Sony's endless event) there's little to separate the two "big" consoles, although I'll assume the reports of PS4 being more powerful are accurate (and that it has a couple of features that sound cool -- play-while-downloading/suspend and remote play (if it works well and is broadly used)

 

For me, by the time I'm ready to buy a next console, I may be more interested in a PC (or a Steam box). I expect by the time I'm in the market there will be more clarity about how things are shaping up... and what "exclusive" really means.

As someone who followed both reveals only through liveblogs, to me Sony wins by default, based solely on the first party stuff they've got. But I think both reveals are pretty underwhelming.

I don't get the sense that either console really differentiates itself in what it does. My excitement level for the next generation is about as low as it was for this gen (when my pre-HD self felt we were reaching diminishing returns). Maybe lower.