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So with the Sony machine floundering about rather ineffectively it's quite easy to stand back and have a good laugh at the once untouchable industry leader.
But we shouldn't be laughing too hard because proper competiton is good for the market, although spiralling costs are killing innovation somewhat, each manufacturer is looking for that exclusive new take on things that'll see those interested in something new flocking to their banner.
But the industry is in danger of being taken over by a company that has little regard for rules of unfair competition and bottomless pcokets with which to achieve it's aims.
In the long run - this is not good. If Microsoft gets a commanding lead then we'll see Nintendo style price-fixing, moderation of content in movies, TV and games to ensure the maximising of sales and everything will get just a little too 'safe'.
Not too mention the fact that Microsoft are the most guilty of making/publishing games that lack any sort of 'soul'. When you take a look at Halo, Project Gotham and even Perfect Dark there's little character too them. This is kind of like a PC - it's a soulless box until you add you own music and interests etc to it.
Whilst this is not neccessarily a bad thing it does point to the sterile 'maximising of sales' approach that I mentioned above.
However this is largely countered by the online elements of those titles and it's here where they really come alive.
But it's interesting to see how things can change if any manufacturer gets a significant lead... thankfully that's a long way off - the Wii is selling an awful lot and Sony will learn something from having their noses rubbed in the current Playstation 3 mess.
So at-least it's not time to buy a PS3 in protest just yet!
But we shouldn't be laughing too hard because proper competiton is good for the market, although spiralling costs are killing innovation somewhat, each manufacturer is looking for that exclusive new take on things that'll see those interested in something new flocking to their banner.
But the industry is in danger of being taken over by a company that has little regard for rules of unfair competition and bottomless pcokets with which to achieve it's aims.
In the long run - this is not good. If Microsoft gets a commanding lead then we'll see Nintendo style price-fixing, moderation of content in movies, TV and games to ensure the maximising of sales and everything will get just a little too 'safe'.
Not too mention the fact that Microsoft are the most guilty of making/publishing games that lack any sort of 'soul'. When you take a look at Halo, Project Gotham and even Perfect Dark there's little character too them. This is kind of like a PC - it's a soulless box until you add you own music and interests etc to it.
Whilst this is not neccessarily a bad thing it does point to the sterile 'maximising of sales' approach that I mentioned above.
However this is largely countered by the online elements of those titles and it's here where they really come alive.
But it's interesting to see how things can change if any manufacturer gets a significant lead... thankfully that's a long way off - the Wii is selling an awful lot and Sony will learn something from having their noses rubbed in the current Playstation 3 mess.
So at-least it's not time to buy a PS3 in protest just yet!
pb wrote:
> Halo and PGR have no soul? hah.
Compared to titles in the past? Most definitely.
>
> Microsoft are a large corporation with many different offshoots,
> the games division have little to do with the Microsoft that
> builds Windows or Office.
Oh really I was under the impression there was only 3 people there...
>
> They actually seem to care about the things they make, albeit
> refusing to repair them until put under pressure. The games
> stand up against anything that Sony might make and only Nintendo
> are really different, but they've always been different and
> people love or hate them for that.
Not true. You need to look at the Sony back catalogue in more detail then.
>
> Not only that, but games divisions are separate micro-companies
> within that. Taking an overall view of the whole company like
> that is a bit naive.
Well I would have written 40 pages and researched it a little more but to be honest I couldn't be bothered as I'd rather have a short topic to get people talking. Being a stock analyst or whatever you are you might find that interesting, I doubt most people on this forum would.
>
> At the end of the day, the games on 360 are no better or worse,
> depth-wise, than those on the PS2 produced by Sony.
Oh ALL the games? I see, oh wait I was talking about the games published by MS.
Most of the
> more arty games came from other studios on both platforms,
> anyway.
And yet there's plenty of Sony ones with more character than the main titles from MS on the 360, Crackdown for instance is merely a glorified sandbox - there's little characterisation and it's all rather soulless.
>
> The one area I do agree on is with competition. No matter who
> is ‘in the lead’, it’s good to have competition.
>
> As for major corporations taking over with their money, the same
> things were written about Sony with the PS1 and PS2. First Sega
> then Nintendo fans bemoaned the way Sony catered for a
> mass-media games system that seemed to dwell too much on
> advertising and corporate issues rather than the aforementioned
> ‘soul’. It’s something that gets banded about in every
> generation.
Except Sony draw their funds from more creative areas than MS epsecially now they're being undercut on hardware by the chinese and korean manufacurers. Their entertainent division is rather important to them right now.
MS on the otherhand are drawing the majority of their funds from their iron grip on the PC operating system market. Not nearly the same thing in terms of creatvity, more of a set of tools.
It's no surprise that these backgrounds seem to shape each companies' approach to games in some ways.
> Halo and PGR have no soul? hah.
Compared to titles in the past? Most definitely.
>
> Microsoft are a large corporation with many different offshoots,
> the games division have little to do with the Microsoft that
> builds Windows or Office.
Oh really I was under the impression there was only 3 people there...
>
> They actually seem to care about the things they make, albeit
> refusing to repair them until put under pressure. The games
> stand up against anything that Sony might make and only Nintendo
> are really different, but they've always been different and
> people love or hate them for that.
Not true. You need to look at the Sony back catalogue in more detail then.
>
> Not only that, but games divisions are separate micro-companies
> within that. Taking an overall view of the whole company like
> that is a bit naive.
Well I would have written 40 pages and researched it a little more but to be honest I couldn't be bothered as I'd rather have a short topic to get people talking. Being a stock analyst or whatever you are you might find that interesting, I doubt most people on this forum would.
>
> At the end of the day, the games on 360 are no better or worse,
> depth-wise, than those on the PS2 produced by Sony.
Oh ALL the games? I see, oh wait I was talking about the games published by MS.
Most of the
> more arty games came from other studios on both platforms,
> anyway.
And yet there's plenty of Sony ones with more character than the main titles from MS on the 360, Crackdown for instance is merely a glorified sandbox - there's little characterisation and it's all rather soulless.
>
> The one area I do agree on is with competition. No matter who
> is ‘in the lead’, it’s good to have competition.
>
> As for major corporations taking over with their money, the same
> things were written about Sony with the PS1 and PS2. First Sega
> then Nintendo fans bemoaned the way Sony catered for a
> mass-media games system that seemed to dwell too much on
> advertising and corporate issues rather than the aforementioned
> ‘soul’. It’s something that gets banded about in every
> generation.
Except Sony draw their funds from more creative areas than MS epsecially now they're being undercut on hardware by the chinese and korean manufacurers. Their entertainent division is rather important to them right now.
MS on the otherhand are drawing the majority of their funds from their iron grip on the PC operating system market. Not nearly the same thing in terms of creatvity, more of a set of tools.
It's no surprise that these backgrounds seem to shape each companies' approach to games in some ways.
Halo and PGR have no soul? hah.
Microsoft are a large corporation with many different offshoots, the games division have little to do with the Microsoft that builds Windows or Office.
They actually seem to care about the things they make, albeit refusing to repair them until put under pressure. The games stand up against anything that Sony might make and only Nintendo are really different, but they've always been different and people love or hate them for that.
Not only that, but games divisions are separate micro-companies within that. Taking an overall view of the whole company like that is a bit naive.
At the end of the day, the games on 360 are no better or worse, depth-wise, than those on the PS2 produced by Sony. Most of the more arty games came from other studios on both platforms, anyway.
The one area I do agree on is with competition. No matter who is ‘in the lead’, it’s good to have competition.
As for major corporations taking over with their money, the same things were written about Sony with the PS1 and PS2. First Sega then Nintendo fans bemoaned the way Sony catered for a mass-media games system that seemed to dwell too much on advertising and corporate issues rather than the aforementioned ‘soul’. It’s something that gets banded about in every generation.
Microsoft are a large corporation with many different offshoots, the games division have little to do with the Microsoft that builds Windows or Office.
They actually seem to care about the things they make, albeit refusing to repair them until put under pressure. The games stand up against anything that Sony might make and only Nintendo are really different, but they've always been different and people love or hate them for that.
Not only that, but games divisions are separate micro-companies within that. Taking an overall view of the whole company like that is a bit naive.
At the end of the day, the games on 360 are no better or worse, depth-wise, than those on the PS2 produced by Sony. Most of the more arty games came from other studios on both platforms, anyway.
The one area I do agree on is with competition. No matter who is ‘in the lead’, it’s good to have competition.
As for major corporations taking over with their money, the same things were written about Sony with the PS1 and PS2. First Sega then Nintendo fans bemoaned the way Sony catered for a mass-media games system that seemed to dwell too much on advertising and corporate issues rather than the aforementioned ‘soul’. It’s something that gets banded about in every generation.
So with the Sony machine floundering about rather ineffectively it's quite easy to stand back and have a good laugh at the once untouchable industry leader.
But we shouldn't be laughing too hard because proper competiton is good for the market, although spiralling costs are killing innovation somewhat, each manufacturer is looking for that exclusive new take on things that'll see those interested in something new flocking to their banner.
But the industry is in danger of being taken over by a company that has little regard for rules of unfair competition and bottomless pcokets with which to achieve it's aims.
In the long run - this is not good. If Microsoft gets a commanding lead then we'll see Nintendo style price-fixing, moderation of content in movies, TV and games to ensure the maximising of sales and everything will get just a little too 'safe'.
Not too mention the fact that Microsoft are the most guilty of making/publishing games that lack any sort of 'soul'. When you take a look at Halo, Project Gotham and even Perfect Dark there's little character too them. This is kind of like a PC - it's a soulless box until you add you own music and interests etc to it.
Whilst this is not neccessarily a bad thing it does point to the sterile 'maximising of sales' approach that I mentioned above.
However this is largely countered by the online elements of those titles and it's here where they really come alive.
But it's interesting to see how things can change if any manufacturer gets a significant lead... thankfully that's a long way off - the Wii is selling an awful lot and Sony will learn something from having their noses rubbed in the current Playstation 3 mess.
So at-least it's not time to buy a PS3 in protest just yet!
But we shouldn't be laughing too hard because proper competiton is good for the market, although spiralling costs are killing innovation somewhat, each manufacturer is looking for that exclusive new take on things that'll see those interested in something new flocking to their banner.
But the industry is in danger of being taken over by a company that has little regard for rules of unfair competition and bottomless pcokets with which to achieve it's aims.
In the long run - this is not good. If Microsoft gets a commanding lead then we'll see Nintendo style price-fixing, moderation of content in movies, TV and games to ensure the maximising of sales and everything will get just a little too 'safe'.
Not too mention the fact that Microsoft are the most guilty of making/publishing games that lack any sort of 'soul'. When you take a look at Halo, Project Gotham and even Perfect Dark there's little character too them. This is kind of like a PC - it's a soulless box until you add you own music and interests etc to it.
Whilst this is not neccessarily a bad thing it does point to the sterile 'maximising of sales' approach that I mentioned above.
However this is largely countered by the online elements of those titles and it's here where they really come alive.
But it's interesting to see how things can change if any manufacturer gets a significant lead... thankfully that's a long way off - the Wii is selling an awful lot and Sony will learn something from having their noses rubbed in the current Playstation 3 mess.
So at-least it's not time to buy a PS3 in protest just yet!