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"Are we being ripped off?"

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Sun 08/07/01 at 14:19
Regular
Posts: 787
When we buy a new games console we are hyped into believing it is the best thing since sliced bread. I understand that multi national corportations such as Sony and Nintendo need to sell their products but their is one huge glitch in the world of videogaming consoles.

When you buy a DVD player you do not expect to only be able to play certain films and when you buy a TV you do not expect to only play BBC One and not Channel 4. Most technology is moving with the times and allowing us a choice of hardware and then we can look at the software at a later date. DVD/Video players come in a range of different shapes and sizes and whether or not you splash out a small fortune on a Pioneer one or buy a cheap Alba one is up to you - however, both would still play the latest film releases.

Why then do videogames come on a number of different formats that only play their own exclusive games? If you buy a Playstation 2 then you cannot play X-Box games and vica versa. This means the hardcore games fantic has to shell out loads of money on the consoles which seems strange as you do not need 4 or 5 DVD players to play all the different companies DVDs.

We all know that the hardware manufacturers make their money through software a lot more than hardware so why can there not be one different video game console with loads of different versions to match with DVD/Video players. PCs for example come with loads of different manufacturers yet they all play the same software.

This would mean games developers have a much wider market available so the whole industry would benefit. How bad do you feel when you shell out £200 for an N64 for Zelda then realise you need another £300 for a Playstation 2 for Gran Turismo 3. It is not on and we should not happlily shell out like we do for these new consoles.

There should be lots of variations of the same console follwing with the trend of DVD/Video/PCs so a video game console can become a standared part of a TV setup and the likes of Mario, Gran Turismo, Metal Gear and Sonic can all be joined on the same console in gaming paradise.
Sun 08/07/01 at 20:21
Regular
"Back For Good"
Posts: 3,673
Resifan: What do you think that chances of REC:VX
> being released on Sep 1st are?


ZERO near enough it's already been pushed back a week, I've updated my espected release date under my name hehe. they better hurry up and it better have the wesker's report or me and capcom are gona have words.
Sun 08/07/01 at 20:07
Regular
"( . ) ( . )"
Posts: 3,279
I agree, Ben has a good point.
Sun 08/07/01 at 19:58
Regular
"---SOULJACKER---"
Posts: 5,448
Actually, I think Ben has a great point... in every other industry there have been different formats. Over time though, these formats have been standardised and conversion of platforms has occurred.

Video Player: There was Betamax and VHS... VHS won and is now standard, to name just one example.

To say that convergence will NEVER happen is foolish... it was once the case that all PCs were different, and now we have the IBM standard...

Give it time and it will happen.

Sonic
Sun 08/07/01 at 18:03
Regular
"Eff, you see, kay?"
Posts: 14,156
turbonutter wrote:
> Maybe it's also a competition thing. Competition is good as it
> lowers prices and each console strives to be better than the others.
> Want to have an example of what things come to without competition?
> Microsoft.

And we don't want our consoles to be like that, do
> we?

PinkPig did you even read this?
Sun 08/07/01 at 17:29
Regular
Posts: 504
It's called competition, funnily enough...
Sun 08/07/01 at 16:40
Regular
"Eff, you see, kay?"
Posts: 14,156
I think it's like "Why do we have differant makes of cars" and "Why do some cheese go well with some wines". It's just something you have to accept. There's no reason it's just ...... there.

Resifan: What do you think that chances of REC:VX being released on Sep 1st are?
Sun 08/07/01 at 16:34
Regular
"Back For Good"
Posts: 3,673
it's always gona be around and in a way it's a good thing because everyone's working hard to be the best where as if there's no competition they do tend to be a bit lazy.


I am getting a bit annoyed at capcom, The playstation was the prime format for the resident evil games and then some copied to other formats but now other consoles have their own exclusive games and it's really getting to me.
Sun 08/07/01 at 16:05
Regular
"Eff, you see, kay?"
Posts: 14,156
Maybe it's also a competition thing. Competition is good as it lowers prices and each console strives to be better than the others. Want to have an example of what things come to without competition? Microsoft.

And we don't want our consoles to be like that, do we?
Sun 08/07/01 at 15:57
Posts: 0
Turbo is right. It's just something we have to live with.

Besides, money IS made on the games, so which company would get the license fees? For Sony, Nintendo and Micro$oft, the license fees they receive for all software on their consoles is the key to financial success.

The leading hardware manufacturer would never agree to a situation where they were making less money on license fees, which is what would happen if they decided to collaborate on a console with the less successful contenders.

And then what would happen if other hardware manufacturers popped up out of nowhere wanting a share of the profits? They wouldn't be allowed to join the format because this would make the license fee revenue for each company that little bit smaller; so we would end up with another rival console format, and the trend continues. It just wouldn't work.

Another problem would be that no company would want to manufacture the console itself any more - why lose money on the console when you can let someone else do it?
Sun 08/07/01 at 15:10
Regular
"Eff, you see, kay?"
Posts: 14,156
If there were lots of variations of a console you would get the PC effect, where you have to develop for the lowest common denominator. Therefore, games wouldn't be as good as they could be because you have to account for people with lesser consoles.

As for why there are multiple consoles, well, I think that's just something you're going to have to accept.

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