Discussion MediaNotes / ConsoleWars

How about a folder for the Mini Console Battle?

Personal opinion time: there shouldn't be a section on the "eighth and a half" generation. Just because we haven't seen such a thing in recent generations, where console releases are this spaced out, doesn't mean that we have started a generation where the Switch is the only true console. We really should have learned from the "32-bit era" that never came about, but if we're going to argue that we're beginning a new generation, we didn't. As an example of how console releases were more spaced out during earlier generations, where we didn't have to worry too much about "outdated hardware", the Coleco Vision was released 5 years after the Atari 2600. While that could be excused by the fact that video game consoles had just taken off at that time, the PC Engine was first released in Japan in 1987: meanwhile the Neo Geo was released 4 years later, in 1991. We are beginning the NINTH generation, and Microsoft and Sony simply have yet to release new consoles. The Switch is simply being released before the Xbox Two and Play Station 5 because Nintendo realizes that they don't need to wait until everyone releases new consoles: their consoles have been out of date in recent generations anyway. Plus it lets them get back some of their market share! Even if you aim to keep the eighth and a half generation on the page, at least for now, you at least to need to make note of this interpretation.

Anyone else agree the Eight Gen sections (both for consoles and handhelds) are agressively tl;dr?

As a PC main myself, why are they not considered a part of console wars? It's true games are one small part of what they're made for, but if console Flame Wars are anything to go by, it's definitely a serious contender. PC vs console is another war, but still... After viewing the PC Vs Console page, I think I understand this better.

Is it just me? Or are there dozens of backhanded snide comments about Nintendo on this page?

Hm... [[WMG]]Playstation Orbis, eh?[[WMG]]

All right, so the Zeo character is named Orbus. Still...

Under eighth-generation consoles, how does the Steambox fit in?

I'm bringing this to discussion, because that 7th gen section is definite fodder for it. Although mobile devices are rapidly showing that they have the hardware to compete with current gen hand-helds, they are (so-far) not considered as such by the main developers - which basically rush out "lite" versions of major releases for $5 - at most. In essence, it's treated as a curiosity, or a way to make a few extra bucks off of an additional source.

Now, does that mean they shouldn't be treated as gaming hand-helds? No, after all, they are hand-helds, and you can game on them; but it does mean that they shouldn't be compared to systems like the DS and PSP - because they're not competing - on any level, at least yet.

Most of the reason for this boils down to two important facts. First, mobile games generally sell for between $1 and $6, which is, at most, $14-$24 cheaper than your average handheld game. So of course they're going to sell incredibly well! Second, people, in general, don't buy mobile devices for gaming - whether it to be a stylish way of making calls, or for productivity apps, there's always a different primary purpose. You can't say the same about the DS or the PSP - which are bought exclusively for hand-held gaming.

For now, I'd say leave em out of the console wars - at least until they do start actually competing against the two existing handhelds. Eventually game developers are going to start selling Android/iOS versions of the games they make for DS/PSP, for similar prices, and then - they will be competing. Until then, iPhones and DROI Ds are in an entirely different category - competing amongst only themselves.

Add a seventh-and-a-half generation.

Here's a thought: With the Move and Kinect being add-ons to their consoles, why don't we split the already large section on the 7th gen and call it 7th-half?

"However, shrewd business decisions and pricing on Nintendo's part meant that while they lost market share, the company may have ended up comparably profitable to their competitors, at least the ones not named Sony." I'm wondering what is meant by "comparably". It is true that Nintendo is the only one of the big three that has never been in the red (in fact, Nintendo has never been in the red in the past hundred years) and that Sony and Microsoft have managed to blow all their profits in the latest generation (Sony somehow managed to go so far into the red to negate all their PS 1 and PS 2 profits), but this comment is... rather vague. Perhaps someone should find reliable statistics for each generation, both in terms of sales and profits instead of just saying "x did better than y".

Pandora Console