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Thursday, March 16, 2017
Cheaper than buying a console
For the past 20 years or so I have done most of my gaming on a PC. These days I'm also playing a lot of mobile games on my iPad, but still the PC is one of my major gaming platforms. I don't currently have any console connected to a screen in my household. However in the past I did buy a few consoles, namely a PS2, a PS3, and a Gamecube. In each of these cases I wanted to play very specific games (e.g. Final Fantasy, Red Dead Redemption, Zelda) and ended up buying the console for it. Often I then bought only a few other games, so console gaming never occupied a huge percentage of my gaming time except for short periods of time.
These days I am very much in a "too many games, not enough time" mood. It isn't as if I don't think I would enjoy playing the latest Zelda game, Breath of the Wild, or a PS4 game like Horizon Zero Dawn. But buying a Switch console plus the Zelda game is nearly 400 Euro, and a PS4 plus Horizon is between 300 and 450, depending on which version of the console I take. If there are so many other games, why spend 400 bucks to be able to play a game?
Now I am reading the news that PS4 games will soon come to PlayStation Now, a video game streaming service which works on PCs. I'd need to check whether my PS3 controller works on my PC, or buy a new one, but then I would be able to play a range of Playstation 3 and soon 4 on my PC without having to buy a whole console for it. I do have the highspeed broadband connection required for video game streaming.
I'm not quite sure yet whether I will go for it, but at the very least this option is much cheaper than buying a console. I just hope that one day Nintendo offers something similar.
These days I am very much in a "too many games, not enough time" mood. It isn't as if I don't think I would enjoy playing the latest Zelda game, Breath of the Wild, or a PS4 game like Horizon Zero Dawn. But buying a Switch console plus the Zelda game is nearly 400 Euro, and a PS4 plus Horizon is between 300 and 450, depending on which version of the console I take. If there are so many other games, why spend 400 bucks to be able to play a game?
Now I am reading the news that PS4 games will soon come to PlayStation Now, a video game streaming service which works on PCs. I'd need to check whether my PS3 controller works on my PC, or buy a new one, but then I would be able to play a range of Playstation 3 and soon 4 on my PC without having to buy a whole console for it. I do have the highspeed broadband connection required for video game streaming.
I'm not quite sure yet whether I will go for it, but at the very least this option is much cheaper than buying a console. I just hope that one day Nintendo offers something similar.
- posted by Tobold @ 11:22 AM Permanent Link
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The only way Nintendo is selling any consoles at all, is by keeping a tight grip on their exclusive IPs. You said it yourself, you bought a console to play Zelda, just like a lot of people now are buying a Switch to play Breath of the Wild (even with no other major release for many months).
They are even suing (or threatening to sue) fan projects like remastering old gameboy games. You know they will never allow for people to play their games on anything other than their own hardware. Sony doesn't really care because the exclusives are only a minor percentage of their library, and have vast third party support for both games and accessories. For them a service like this makes sense because they can tap on a market (i.e. you) that would be otherwise uninterested. Whereas Nintendo survives by milking its hardcore fanbase as hard as they can.
They are even suing (or threatening to sue) fan projects like remastering old gameboy games. You know they will never allow for people to play their games on anything other than their own hardware. Sony doesn't really care because the exclusives are only a minor percentage of their library, and have vast third party support for both games and accessories. For them a service like this makes sense because they can tap on a market (i.e. you) that would be otherwise uninterested. Whereas Nintendo survives by milking its hardcore fanbase as hard as they can.
Agree with Tith, the last company I'd expect to share games across platforms is Nintendo. Hell, they don't even share the core Pokemon games with their own platforms, keeping it always exclusive to the handheld. They are branching into mobile gaming now (newest Fire Emblem mobile isn't terrible), but again those are new games using an IP vs porting over an actual game (the latest real Fire Emblem game on an iPad would be an easy $15 buy for me, but its never going to happen).
# posted by 
: 16/3/17 14:21
: 16/3/17 14:21
This page seems to suggest that a Dual Shock 3 controller has full compatibility: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/get-help/help-library/services/playstation-now/compatible-controllers/
It is an interesting idea but the monthly sub of €20 is beyond my threshold of pain so there would have to be some game I really wanted to play in order to convince me. The list of game available doesn't seem to be that impressive so far. Mainly older titles and a very limited number of PS exclusives.
It is an interesting idea but the monthly sub of €20 is beyond my threshold of pain so there would have to be some game I really wanted to play in order to convince me. The list of game available doesn't seem to be that impressive so far. Mainly older titles and a very limited number of PS exclusives.
Not saying you should do it, but it's worth pointing out that Breath of the Wild is also available on WiiU which may prove significantly cheaper
Last weekend in the local big electronics shop they had lots of copies of Breath of the Wild for both WiiU and Switch, but they didn't have any Nintendo consoles at all. The WiiU was out of stock for being "discontinued", while the Switch was "sold out".
I have no idea what the going rate for kidneys and children is, but I would think either should cover the 400 bucks for a Switch plus the game. :)
However for me the question is whether I wouldn't be better off if I spent just 40 bucks or less on some other open world RPG. It's not as if I have already played all of them.
However for me the question is whether I wouldn't be better off if I spent just 40 bucks or less on some other open world RPG. It's not as if I have already played all of them.
I know that most games come out for PC nowadays, but during the PS2 era, whole swaths of games were exclusive to consoles!
@Tobold
Nintendo is notorious about under-supplying with consoles, even though they know that the demand is higher. It's one of their 'hype' tactics, and it also allows them to keep hardware prices sky-high because eventually the fans will be desperate enough to get one at any price.
Nintendo is notorious about under-supplying with consoles, even though they know that the demand is higher. It's one of their 'hype' tactics, and it also allows them to keep hardware prices sky-high because eventually the fans will be desperate enough to get one at any price.
I am just like you. I bought an Xbox 360 to play Red Dead Redemption. I bought is second hand, with the second hand game, once I played it and finished it, I sold it at almost no loss (since it was second hand). I did the same with PS3 and the Uncharted games.
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