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Mii: I don't have a Wii.
Gamertag: Jimzzor2
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Am I the only one who feels that all three major players in the console market - Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo - are so caught up in their futile pursuit to be crowned 'winner' that they'll do just about anything to appeal to all demographics? It seems that in the current generation especially, our consoles are fast becoming carbon copies of one another in terms of feature-sets. This is most blatantly exemplified in the case of Microsoft's Avatars (or, as they've been unaffectionately referred to as, Mii-Too's). This move was widely lambasted as a cheap attempt to cash-in on the furore, rather than a genuine attempt to enhance the experience of Xbox owners. Are 360 fans - who are already charged through the nose for arbitrary downloadable items like themes and gamerpics - really going to appreciate having these purchases completely devalued when they become secondary to these generic-looking, ostensibly hastily-conceived things? This is only exacerbated by recent pictures that surfaced showing what appeared to be the Avatar-creation interface -- where Mii's strength lies in their simplicity, it appears Microsoft's iteration is marred by an obfuscated and confusing design process. This is just one example of copycat syndrome. There are a litany of instances, however; the Sixaxis motion controls which have thus far seen little use or enjoyed any real acclamation also spring to mind. The Xbox Live Vision Cam - which, up until this point, hasn't seen any real practical application beyond indecent exposure on Uno; Microsoft's upcoming Kareoke title, 'Lips,' is the 360's counterpart to Singstar; and Nintendo's WiiWare, an XBLA competitor. However, while some of these concepts turned out to be worthwhile additions - such as WiiWare - others are clearly just another case of the kind of bandwagon-jumping that lets half-baked ideas come to fruition, and leave consumers with a bitter taste after they shell out for useless content or peripherals. What do you think?
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Living the dream since March 16, 2006
It doesn't. It gets in the road of making fun. Mii's work because they're simple and straightforward. Avatars won't work because they're a corporate tool with profit and mee-too-ism in mind, not customer fun.
"You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time".
They don't give a shit about REAL gamers anymore. They all care about the Halo/Madden/Sims crowd. Pro Tip: they have more money than we do, since they don't sit around playing games all day. Sorry to say it, but its true. I'm sure some of us have jobs, but most of us don't. Also some gamers like to buy second hand games at discount prices, so we're not influencing the big three one way or the other.
Sony constantly shoots themselves in the foot. Metal Gear Solid 4 was great, but what has PS3 got that Microsoft doesn't - for a few hundred dollars cheaper? If I get one, I want the one that plays PS2 games. When the most attractive feature is playing the previous generations games, there is a problem. All the planned features and upcoming games don't look like things I want from a video game console. I
Nintendo has mini games and cute stuff. Most of the gamers I've spoken to dislike that. "Games" that do get released require you to move in the "waggle" control scheme. Backwards compatibility helps, but still. I want more REAL games with less motion controls. Smash Brothers, Zelda, Mario, and a few other titles are worth playing.
Microsoft has games, but their mostly sequels. Online play works, but its full of assholes. Also you have to pay for it, which is complete bullshit. Again most games ARE on playstation 3, but a handful of them weren't on anything else when I made the choice. Most of my xbox games are not playable on my xbox 360 for some goofy technical reason, which is bullshit. There are a lot of other negatives others can get into, and trust me I've heard some horror stories.
All three fail with less than zero out of a hundred points from me. Dead Rising pushed the 360 up a half point, but now that its coming to the Wii with waggle controls, everything looks the same to me now. The prices have dropped, online has been established on all three, so whats the difference between one console and the others? Nothing.
You've also got the choice between two handhelds. I don't like DS touch screen controls or PSP and its analog "nub."
Everything seems lame to me.
Well said.