Thinking of a Gaming Console: xBox or Playstation? (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

Yeah that would go over great. Let Daddy test out your new system and unbox it all beforehand? Nope.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

That would certainly be better than, "Alright kids, let's connect the Wii U, let the multiple-GB update download and install, then go through the 2 hour process of transferring over all your Wii data!" or "Shucks, all the fun stuff is part of a day 1 update but the networks are all down!"

I believe you can get updates for everything and then wipe profiles off so that the "fun" of setting up the console for the first time is still there, minus the pain of waiting.

 

[DaveF]

I should point out that a lot of gaming websites emphasized the importance of plugging in new systems BEFORE Christmas to install any critical updates and pre-install games in order to allow plug-and-play fun on Christmas day.

That's good advice. (I'd have done that for myself, but family travel prevented me.) but I'm guessing the great majority of console-buying parents don't read gaming websites. And are so busy that they'd be hard-pressed to -- in secret, at night -- devote the hours needed to setup, update, and repack the system.But to take the idea farther, why don't Sony and MS and Nintendo print this advice on their packaging: "Christmas will be ruined if you don't connect and update this system by Christmas Eve. Please allocate at least five hours, depending on your service provider." This is all made more challenging by downloadable games. Those who bought Destiny on disc probably had a much better time than those who bought the digital code version.Hopefully, now that we're past Christmas, everyone's gaming is working fine and recent troubles are forgotten.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Regarding Destiny, it's an online-only game, so there's no offline mode. People who had the disc were no better off than those with digital vouchers.

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of online gaming and digital games as it is, so this whole episode just kind of solidified that for me. Granted that it's relatively uncommon, but still.

 

[LeoA]

Regarding Destiny, it's an online-only game, so there's no offline mode. People who had the disc were no better off than those with digital vouchers.

While I see your point, locally installing some data to a hard drive for a few minutes off a disc sure strikes me as an advantage over downloading many gigabytes of data from a distant server during a time when their servers are very hit or miss.

I suspect that's what he's referencing.

 

[DaveF]

Partly. Disc install will save hours of downloading. But I thought there was some offline, single player stuff.Or , replace Destiny with FarCry in my post and I think those with a disc had a more successful Xmas than the digital code customers.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I think a lot of modern PS4 games (and some XBO games) are designed to allow you to download just a part of the game and start playing while the rest downloads and installs in the background. So yeah, you'll have to wait for a bit for it to download some at least, but you still can't do anything without internet.

 

[DaveF]

I'd read about the partial install playability, but I've not had a chance to try it. And Destiny is definitely not among them. These latest consoles are designed assuming normal internet access, normal usage. In that condition, they're great. I like have digital games install; no disc to swap. And I'm inclined to be part of this experiment and buy mostly download versions.But theyre not designed for stressful conditions: Christmas weekend, nor under extra stress from hackers. I think console makers --among others-- should start designing with a view towards more difficult conditions.

 

[Ejanss]

But theyre not designed for stressful conditions: Christmas weekend, nor under extra stress from hackers. I think console makers --among others-- should start designing with a view towards more difficult conditions.

I don't know what neurotic obsession caused Sony from the beginning to suddenly revert back to the pre-PS2 days and think the PS4 was a "game machine" for gamer nuts who wanted to play games, but the whole concept of developing the PS4 was concentrating their entire presence on online gaming, at the expense of any other function.
(Which naturally meant dependency on their online network, whether or not they were "phasing out" disk games.)

That's what bit them in the rear the hardest, in that they marginalized or flat-out ignored the solo players who just wanted a Blu3D player, a set-top box, or just some good old-fashioned offline disk-game playing.
In a way, they're seeing the same problem that hasn't yet hit the movie-streaming industry, YET--Namely the fact that a machine that delivers all its content online is virtually useless when the lines are down, and not every single function of the machine has to be done in a crowd of strangers, unless it had the bad luck to be designed that way. It's a preview worth noting, for all the game industry's buzzing about "Sony wants to eliminate disks/consoles!"

 

[LeoA]

I think a lot of modern PS4 games (and some XBO games) are designed to allow you to download just a part of the game and start playing while the rest downloads and installs in the background.

Yes, but since Destiny is an online only game and you could be presumably thrown into most anywhere for your first online match, I doubt it supports this unlike a linear single player experience.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Don't you need to play a good chunk of Destiny to unlock the other areas? It's not like we're talking about a CoD-style multiplayer mode where there are dozens of maps that you can access from the get-go.Regarding Sony's servers, the issue squarely falls on the hackers. I'm not an IT expert, but I've read a couple pieces about the DDoS attack and how there's really little for Sony to try and do to stop people if they are very determined to mess with them. I'm sure the PS servers could handle normal Christmas Day traffic and the problems were not Sony's fault.

Ejanss - I see your point about the PS4 being something other than what you were expecting, but by and large the gamer community didn't want all that extra stuff. I think right now, a year after release, it's disappointing to see the PS4 lack some functions that were present in the PS3 at launch, but at the same time nobody is going to buy a PS4 to play 3D blurays because, if they cared about that enough, they probably bought a 3D bluray player a couple years ago. MS focused too much on the non-gaming applications of the XBO and that was a problem. The people who will shell out $400-500 in the first year or so will care about how good of a gaming machine it is, not what extra multimedia features it has. Extra features are meant to appeal to the more fringe or niche crowds. Nintendo already ate up the casual crowd (who has since moved on to mobile games or not gaming at all) and the home theater crowd will probably just buy everything that's out there or nothing at all. Sony sticking with games is what their fans liked the MOST about their strategy.

 

[LeoA]

Don't you need to play a good chunk of Destiny to unlock the other areas? It's not like we're talking about a CoD-style multiplayer mode where there are dozens of maps that you can access from the get-go.

I'm not certain.

Another workaround I suppose for such style of games is to have the game simply throw you into a certain map during matchmaking until installation is finished, with other areas of the game cordoned off.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I don't think Destiny works like that, though. There is a player vs. player component where you play in maps against others, but I believe there is a lengthy-ish story that you need to make progress in to get to that point. It's not a traditional Halo or CoD-style game.

 

[Sam Posten]

If you are playing it solo, yes. If you have higher level friends you can go to any zone they can get in short of the nightfalls and raids.

 

[Edwin-S]

The game sure is loaded against playing solo. You don't get much in the way of equipment or weapons drops if you want to lone wolf it.

 

[Sam Posten]

I disagree with that completely, really. 1-20 and more is easily done solo. If you feel you are outgunned for the missions you are trying to accomplish spend a few hours levelling up in crucible. You obviously won't be able to do the weekly heroic stuff but you can easily get to end game content solo. I'll have my PS4 account running later today and try to meet up with ya Edwin.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I think our comments were primarily concerned with whatever you'd do in Destiny in the first several hours, not the endgame content.

 

[Sam Posten]

The game is eminently playable for even moderate noobs from 1-15. I stink at shooters and Destiny funneled me right through gently while all the while expanding my options and helping me make smart choices and get to be a better player.