buttonBASH! Forums - Retro Gaming and Emulation - Stu15

So I used to be an admin on the forums for buttonBASH! Forums, which nobody will remember
, user name was Stu15, we used to talk about shit and games, it was great for the best part, but got to the point where video-game companies were really cracking down on Emulation Sites, so my mate Dave would've gotten into a bit of trouble, so the format had to change a little, and eventually it became just a forum, which slowly dropped in users, and Dave didn't want or have the time to deal with the site any more. So he handed it to my fellow admin, Chris, and eventually it was shut down, but popped back up at some point for a month...?

A selection of my stupid Signatures from the forum.

A couple of Signatures I made for other members.

The scene had changed, emulation was still alive, in fact it was easier to just find the ROMs that you wanted to, and you didn't have to be part of a forum community any more. It was less of a niche due to Sega releasing SEGA Megadrive Collections on all platforms so people could play the games on their current platforms. Hardware companies don't have the licence to stop other people making copies of their old machines, so handheld Sega's with built in games are released often, even retro-bit's 'Super Retro Trio' - a console that has Sega Genesis/Megadrive, SNES and NES hardware all built into one machine, and you can get a Gameboy advanced adaptor for it, plug it into the SNES port and play GBA games, All native hardware made by a third party. For $100. It's a shame it will never release in the UK.

retro-bits Super Retro Trio

So, Smartphones came along and offered the same freedom of using emulators, with Android actually been a huge platform where you can plug a HDMI dongle into your TV and use a bluetooth controller to game on it, and because everyone is able to game with their friends in these social gaming networks like PSN, XBL, Steam and whatever that Nintendo thing is called, the majority of places for chatting are on YouTube, Game Sites, or Facebook groups, full of trolls and fan boys, finding a niche site for your gaming needs, might be hard but not impossible. Magazines still cater to Retro gaming, like Retro Gamer, and often EDGE features retro games, and websites report on anything retro-inspired or related! Diverse times we live in, where all your games can be played right where you are!

Moving along to HD remakes, they would release the games anyway, as before, but now the current hardware is better, they can put 6 months to a year into 'remastering' the game, making it high resolution and better textures, and whatever additional content they decide to add to it. Like Persona 4 Golden on the Vita.

And the other trend is for people to make games that are similar to the older games, like difficult platformers; Spelunky, Rayman Origins/Legends, McPixel.

There's also; Hotline Miami, Retro City Rampage, Luftrausers, Fez.

Pixel art is defiantly a big thing for a lot of these indie games, but some games like Rayman have the classic feel, but been a new, updated version of the old game... I wonder how long it'll be before a new Battletoads?

Review: Velocity Ultra

Around May last year, Velocity Ultra was available on PlayStation Plus at no extra cost, I didn't know anything about the game, but I did find out it was a remake of a mini's game that had been released previously, and this was the improved version that was native to Vita.

It took me 3 months to finally get around to playing the game. OH. MY. LAWD.

This game was great.

Then game is very simple in concept, but becomes quite a dynamic puzzle later on, when you have to use your memory and reflex skills to navigate at break neck speeds around the levels.

The purpose of the game is to clear a level, 100%. With enemies or bases to tackle whilst you go, but the main objective is to rescue the escape pods with humans inside. It's kinda like a classical version of Resogun, but with more a maze concept. (I should also note it's taken me 6 months to actually write this)

Playing the game, using the left stick to navigate and the right stick to fire the bomb 'special' weapon, shoulder buttons control speed, square button is the warp (or touchscreen when enabled) and the cross button fires normal weapons, circle also deals with the bombs but can be trick as you have to flick your ship into the direction you want to fire it, however the game might become easier if you learn to do it like this, I avoided it in favour of the simpler right stick method. The triangle button also allows a warp beacon, which is a fundamental feature of the game, that allows you to warp back to an earlier stage of the map to go down a different route for example.

The game is a test of your memory and reflexes, and does it particularly well, it's at it's best when it tests you with a huge level that you have to go back over yourself numerous times to complete the objectives, often you can't get through the level until you destroy the numbered nodes in order, which are also coloured, so imagine having to navigate a large map with 4 different colour nodes, with 9 nodes in each colour, along 3 different routes, the nodes usually power a force field that might be necessary to destroy to get to either something significant, or even to the end of the level. Going back and forth throughout the level reveals the map, and learning the level might take a few attempts but can often be only a few minutes, as you're racing against the clock, but it's better to learn the level first, sometimes they aren't too difficult and you can get a gold or perfect on your first run, but you'll often find yourself revisiting most levels at least once.

The game really want's you to aim for a perfect award, and that's really what it's about, though highscores are kinda pointless due to the limited content of the zone, unlike Resogun which is a longevity game that throws new things at you and is based on survival, the score system in Velocity ultra means when you approach a perfect score and do everything in a level, your position on the leaderboard might be 200 or 800 but only a mere point difference. The point system kinda feels like it's not necessary, but you need the points for the platinum so make sure you do it.

Speaking of trophies, the game offers a platinum, which is always nice to see, especially in a game which has a small price point and could be considered more of an indie game, which often don't all have platinum's. The game has plenty of content for a justifiable platinum, however some of the trophies are tedious or very hidden, and referring to a guide online is necessary.

The gameplay itself, whilst great, has a slight imbalance in it's controls, it's very hard to do well with the analogue sticks, you really have to stick to it to and hope you get it perfect, however with long periods of playtime, it only makes it harder to control the game. The other option which can be hit or miss is to have the touchscreen warp enabled, as useful as this can be, it can become a problem when playing the game as when using the analogue sticks your thumbs can touch the edge of the screen and warp you to an undesirable location. So choosing when to enable this feature might help with some levels, but due to that occasional problem, you might want to stick with the button warp, which requires a little more time, care and accuracy. As I also found you can accidentally warp into solid objects or just on the edge of them and become trapped.

The combat in the game is a little weak and unnecessary at times, that's not to say it's not wanted or needed, but it's a different angle from the memory side of the game, and it can break the balance which offers a little break to relax your brain, but you can ignore the enemies for the most part if you're not going for points, sometimes you will miss them as they are more of an obstacle than a threat to your health, as the smaller ones can fly through the zone and be out of sight before you know it, where the big ones often stick to moving in a pattern in large groups, and often get in the way and have to be destroyed. The levels with the enemies are usually the easiest to get a perfect score on. Though there is an enemy similar to the nodes, a turret, and this often appears on stages without enemies, and can offer a more balanced and simpler but in spread out and can be in crucial places of the map, they fit the game a little better but I wouldn't want to get rid of the other enemies, just make them more crucial to destroying them, otherwise they don't fit the rest of the game as well.


My experience with the game was weeks of obsessive playing, not going onto the next level until I perfect the last one, I actually got some perfect's quite easily, there are 50 levels so the difficult changes between each, but for the most part this is a fun, yet sometimes frustrating game, a bit unbalanced and controls can be iffy at times, but overall a fantastic game that suited the Vita well, as for the PS3 and Steam versions I can't comment. But the game is a must for anyone interested in shoot-em-ups, or especially if you own a Vita.

I highly recommend this game. 4/5




Check out the trailer here:

My Modest Sega Megadrive / Genesis collection

Excuse my voice and words.

Simulators, assemble!

So I just found out about Car Mechanic Simulator, I wasn't aware there was a demand for this sort of game, not specifically the simulation part, but the Car Mechanic, a very specific choice for a simulator...

A quick search of Steam yields results such as;

Car Mechanic Simulator
Trainz Simulator
Airport Simulator
Woodcutter Simulator
Farming Simulator
Bus Simulator
Euro Truck Simulator
Agricultural Simulator
Train Simulator
Skyscraper Simulator
Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator
Surgeon Simulator
Ship Simulator
Railwork 3 Train Simulator

Many variations of the similar concept, of 'Simulation'. Where it's worth noting many of the games are open world, like Grand Theft Auto, just without the sex, guns and violence, unless it's Farming Simulator then welcome to the south west!

Land Theft Auto.

Though, some may have educational intent, some of their main critical acclaim comes from Farming Simulator, been buggy and set in an open world it became a cult following, and similar games are spawning like iOS games, where a game sparks a new wave of copies or inspired games, in this case: Simulation games. What's odd is Microsoft Flight Simulator is something that went on for years, yet it's all but unheard of in the new realm of simulators.
(It might be worth mentioning there is War Thunder and Rise of Flight, which are Air Combat style simulators set during historic war periods)

The last was in 2012 called Microsoft Flight, aimed at been simpler for new users. However since then, the PC side of Microsoft games is closing and these games will probably be unavailable after this happens. It's worth noting that the game didn't seem to be popular due to it having Free to Play aspects and less features because of it's simplicity, which disappointed the hardcore fanbase, because Simulators like Microsofts were seen as purely educational and realistic.

Could simulators be the future of a niche gaming market? I mean for now they're fairly straightforward, but what's next? Bakery Simulator? Gotta' kneed that dough! What about Stock market simulator, where you stare at a screen for 23 hours watching the stock market, buying and selling, playing FreeCell inside the simulator, and when you accidental loose $100 million through bad investments you throw your character off the roof, that is after you've used your stealth skills to avoid your boss to get across the floor to the stairwell.

What it really made me think about when I saw Car Mechanic Simulator is, what IS next? If a game like Bakery Simulator is made, and others like Roadworks simulator, Post Office Simulator, Door to Door salesman simulator. And what if in the future, all the simulators interconnected in one giant MMO world? Where the Post office simulator relies on getting mail across the country through someone's efforts at Train simulator, or the Bakery Simulator was reliant on Farming Simulator to yield a good crop, which in turn delivers Flour via Euro Truck Simulator to the Supermarket Simulator, and to the Bakery Simulator.


This would be interesting to see... I would also like trademark of this multi-trillion dollar idea.

What Sony's getting wrong.

The PlayStation Vita, whilst been a great piece of hardware, undeniably lacks in retail games, or in some people's opinions, it has no games at all. Which isn't true, but the problem is, and it's probably the biggest problem for the marketing team behind PSVita (If there is one) is how do you sell a system which has very little games?. And the answer is; You don't, or rather, can't.

Sony had estimated 10 million units to be sold in it's first year, but estimates show it's probably only a little over 3 million units, in almost a year and a half. A crippling amount in retrospect to the estimate, but what is the problem? At E3 Jack Tretton reported that PSVita owners in the US, on average have bought more than 10 games each, from the online store, and Vita owners are showing their appreciation for digital downloads. (He goes onto saying 60% of all Vita purchases are through the PSN - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XATPQBfugT8 )

There are many games available through the PSN, you just have to be able to access the PlayStation Network to know about them, which is doable with a PSVita, a PS3 or having a PSN account and logging into the store online. However, without the knowledge or having accessibility of these devices or service, there is no way to know what might be available for the PSVita's digital library. The marketing for PSVita is pretty poor, I don't even remember seeing an advert on TV for the Vita, maybe pre-launch and within the early launch months they did. But I would remember if I saw a PSVita advert on TV because it's just so rare.

This device just isn't been marketed, the best games are available on the digital store and you can only know about them if you have access to the store by the fore-mentioned methods, people who go into a game store get laughed at when they buy or inquire about the device. (As happened to my friends). The only respect is the few website's that continue to provide enthusiastic coverage about the Vita, including people on YouTube.

PlayStation Plus has been successful on Vita, offering gamers plenty to dig their teeth into, especially things they may never have picked up if they had to play for it. One of the games that impressed me was Tales from outer space; Mutant blobs attack! I would probably have overlooked this game, but it was offered a few months before I purchased my Vita, and checking my purchase history for compatible software, I saw that game and loved it, needless to say the makers, DrinkBox Studio wen't onto greater success with Guacamelee. Playstation Plus offered my PSVita games, when I didn't have one, I wanted a PSVita, and it really helped me decide I would pick one up and have something to play, I wonder if this has been the case for anyone else?

But as far as retail games go, it's no lie that the system is a little dry, and Sony aren't seeming to show that they care about it, when asked they generally brush it off by saying "It's going to be o.k, we're confident." or "Please be excited for Gamescom".

Which appears to have been retracted a little, if not totally by a Gamescom competition run on the Official Sony PlayStation Facebook page, where you can win a trip to Gamescom. The description reads;

"A host of next generation titles were unveiled at the PlayStation Meeting 2013 and E3 2013. At gamescom in August 2013 the focus will be on PS4 and its games lineup once again."

So does this mean they are disregarding the PSVita again? Sure they have a new console release, and showing the games is a good thing, but the consoles is going to sell either way, show SOME games, but don't undersell the PlayStation Vita even more. The people who are actually faithful enough to be PlayStation fans, and buy this handheld are the people who give you the benefit of the doubt, and are happy when they see PlayStation games, but there is a lack of them, and if they feel neglected, they're the ones who will leave, they might come back but you can't fix a broken heart so easily.
  Whether or not we see new AAA games, first-party and third-party for the Vita at Gamescom is unknown, but we can be optimistic, and maybe we will get some surprises and redeeming software.

Stay tuned for my guide to the digital store and the games you can play on Vita through the Summer, that won't break the bank. (especially since I have no money)

E3 next week

So E3 is round the corner, and that means there's gonna be games and console goodness, though its going to be weird not seeing Nintendo having a press conference for the first time since pretty much the first, or early E3.
Although Sony and Microsoft are really going to be taking the main stages, and Nintendo doesn't really want to be in the shadows, however marketing would surely be better if they were there, because they are streaming their 'conference' over their Wii Network and probably Nintendo.com that they are basically feeding the information straight to the people who already own a Wii U or are hardcore enough to know about this unconventional decision, to actually see it.

The problem is that they don't just need the games, which is why they are directly targeting people who own a Wii or check the website, they also need better marketing, most families might not even know this thing exists, and it's been out 8 months, it's probably in worse state than the Vita, and the Vita is constantly improving each week with games. Especially if you have PlayStation Plus.

I really have no idea what Nintendo are going to do, I think next to Sony, they are what I'm most interested in seeing from, not because I like the games, I like some but not enough to buy another console, I just really want to see if they come up with some genius ideas to help them out. Look at the 3D, i mean the 3D is pointless and not everyone used it, and the fact that it still only has one analogue stick unless you buy this stupid attachment that turns your 3DS into a wide-load, then the console is really strong and doing well, far better than the Wii U and Vita combined.

Now to the Vita, I love it, I've had it 5 months and I can't get enough of it, I have more games than I can play, And i think one of the problems is most of the incentive, albeit the games that sell the console are things that are available on the PSN Store, so are easily overlooked for the average Joe who is going into a store to think about buying one of these things but can't see any of the games he want's because they are all hidden on the store, which is really only seen fully when you have the console to begin with, sure you can view it online at SOEN, but people who don't have the console, don't know. The new found purpose of the Vita is been this Indie game console where the best stuff is available on the store, and soon enough it's going to compare to Steam as it will start getting games around the same time as PC, If this console becomes known as the Indie console with triple A's regularly available, then it's really going to appeal to the gamer, oh and don't forget the PS4 launch title Killzone Shadow Fall, people are going to see this game, maybe play it when they've never played a Killzone before, and if they enjoy it maybe they will say, "Maybe i'll pick up a Vita and play that Killzone Mercenary that's available". Because they come out around the same time, the Vita version will be a month or two before, and if people know about this who have never done so before, it could really make the Vita take off Pre-PS4 launch, helping to boost interest in the PS4 remote play etc etc.

I've said before the Vita is what's going to keep the PS3 a second home console as the games are becoming more often than not some form of Cross-buy and Cross-play, so i think we're going to see that take a lot of the attention at E3 this year, maybe not during the conference but it's there, these consoles are similar in specifications and Sony want people to benefit from having both, it's why I was really happy when I checked the PSN this Wednesday and I got Limbo for free because i had bought it previously on PS3, I wasn't aware it was cross-buy because of the year between it's releases. There are definitely going to be lot's more Cross-buy games for the Vita and PS3, which will be more incentive to buy a Vita as lot's of your PS3 PSN games are going to be free for the Vita, meaning you now have this console that works with the PS4 really well, also having Cross-buy games and Remote play, so owning the Vita will make people think about getting a PS4 if they haven't already got one, it's really going to help the transition from one major console to the next that bit smoother, And that kinda scares me because it could mean Sony make a fuckload of money, which is good but the more money they have, the more their focus might change, then all of a sudden we have another PS3 style console down the line which costs them a ton of money and takes them years to gain consumer confidence and etc etc


Anyway onto the important stuff, some games...

One thing for me that might be quite telling of what Sony are about to announce, well if we look at the store, they have Call of Duty, Killzone and InFamous sales going on, which is known as the E3 Sale, but ignoring that, there is also a PSP sale that has come up a the same time which tells me that maybe we're going to see some new versions of the games in the sale for Vita, and we already know about one... Ok so here is the list...

Little Big Planet
God Of War; Chains of Olympus & Ghost of Sparta
Motorstorm Arctic Edge
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
ModNation Racers
Resistance: Retribution
Socom: Fireteam Bravo 3
Patapon 2
LocoRoco 2
Killzone: Liberation

So lets rundown this list of games and check something;

Little Big Planet - We have TearAway coming out soon, not only that, the Vita LBP did pretty well, though Media Molecule probably aren't going to be doing anymore LBP another Studio might make another LBP game, and maybe that's what we will see, maybe something that resembles the second LBP with customizing features that extend the game further than what 2 did, or at least the last Vita game?...

God Of War - Plenty of people think we're going to see a new GOW for Vita, and it wouldn't surprise me, it would be nice to see what they come up with using the touchscreen and rear pad, I hope this game does better than Ascension, but also hope it has multiplayer too...

Motorstorm - We saw Motorostorm RC launch early on the Vita and PS3 so seeing a new, larger style Motorstorm could be a safe guess, though Evolution Studios have moved away from it with their new IP Drive Club, aiming to be more serious, though it could have been passed to a smaller studio, however my money is on a small group inside of Evolution Studios are going to continue to work on Vita Motorstorm and similar games that might extend to PS3 as PSN games.

Ratchet & Clank - It's hard to say what might be happening with this franchise, as the delayed Vita version has just been released, Known as Q-force here in Europe, and something All 4 One in the US, the game has received really mediocre reviews at best, and with Insomniacs current position of not been tied down to Sony, the bad reviews for Fuse and Ratchet & Clank only just been released for the Vita, I'm not sure we will see anything from them at E3 in regards to PlayStation Exclusives or Vita, and i think this and Resistance is placed in the sale really just to fill out the PlayStation brands and really make amends for the bad Ratchet and Clank and the Resistance game that didn't do too well.

Jak and Daxter - The first few games are been remade as a HD collection and will be available for PS3 and Vita, we will probably see more info and it'll be available to play at E3.

ModNation Racers - Another game that might eb there to make up for the previous ModNation on Vita that didn't do to well, but i also don't think that was the last we've heard of it, i'm thinking there is going to be a slight overhaul on what the game is, almost a fundamental re-design without changing the charm and customization of the original game, whilst bringing it some new features and making it available to PS4 and Vita, It might be in the press conference but maybe as a short segment, or just a quick teaser and a 'More on the show floor'

SOCOM - Unit 13 did well, i still don't have it but the demo was alright, i think i had troubles with the controls but it was forgivable. Maybe we will see another Unit13, i'm hoping for a MAG game perhaps, i doubt we would see it for the Vita, maybe scaled down slightly from 250 people, but this is the sort of game Sony want to go into their free-to-play portfolio, or maybe they won't put it in that as they're going to have a lot of F2P games so maybe MAG would be a more premium game, at least another purchasable game, maybe a PSN game at around £15-20 perhaps. but i really want another MAG. Seriously, iron it out, make it more customization like battlefield, more weapons and 3-team battles instead of 2 teams of 125 people. fuck, i really want MAG now... (also if the new Frostbite engine is REALLY that scale-able we might see a Vita Battlefield...? that wouldn't be too outrageous because COD came to it, though wasn't perfect... Maybe Dice have something loaded to throw at the Vita...)

Patapon - Touchscreen drums. 'nuff said. Though really, i would be very surprised if they didn't announce a new Patapon at E3, or this year at all. I'm new to it, and have put around 20 hours into Patapon 3, but i really want to see a Patapon for Vita, and you have to ask yourself, what are Sony Japan pushing to the Vita? They published Gravity Rush, They published Soul Sacrifice, and are publishing Freedom Wars which was revealed a month or two ago, and doesn't hit till 2014 screens and info - http://www.siliconera.com/2013/05/21/in-freedom-wars-you-play-as-criminals-trying-to-earn-their-freedom/

So in all fairness they could have some Vita based stuff that's ready for E3 and to be launched in 2013, i can put money on it. They will be there for The Last Guardian, Puppeteer, Rain and Knack, but we've known a lot about them already, and Studio Japan doesn't actually develop all those games, so maybe they are unknowns games coming out from that studio.

LocoRoco 2 - Also a Studio Japan published game, this is probably what Sound Shapes became, but wouldn't surprise me if they did something with this franchise, which i've only just bought into, it seems like it would suit the Vita well.


Anyway that's some conjecture out of the way. I could go on about what we could see, but a quick note to what i'm hoping to see, because Music Games seem to work well for Sony and their handhelds... so i propose we might see a Parappa the Rappa game and some Rib Ribbon. A man can dream can't he? a man can dream...

I'm going to leave it here because with the PS4, anything could happen and i'm all typed out.

[Update] I was wrong. About everything. EVERYTHING. #WishfulThinking

Why i don't like hardcore PC gamers.

Many internet arguments later and I find one thing that stands out. I really don't like hardcore PC gamers.

Unfortunately the majority of things i hear from PC gamer's is through the internet. which isn't a great start for getting an good opinion. As the majority of the internet is some of the worst attitude people you can imagine. Hell, it's the internet. What do you expect...

I think it pretty much developed recently since the announcement of the PS4 and the displaying of it's hardware. Most of the PC gamers were laughing, saying "it's not even out yet and it's out of date"



Reason 1: The PS4 is out of date hardware

The PS4 hasn't even been seen by the public and it's out of date. But what's the problem PC gamers? If you look at what it has and what it's capable, it's not 'out of date' compared to what's available, and within a reasonable price bracket.*

*It features an 8 core cpu from AMD, a GPU that is similar to the radeon range we see today. 8 GB of GDDR5 ram that is shared by the processor and GPU. An ARM processor for background proccessing for background downloading and video saves. A large hard disk, and hopefully the OS will run on something like a small internal SSD. 

But PC gamers rejoyced, and it was noted from the video footage people were saying 'it isnt much of a jump in a generation' but this was in relation to what can be done on a PC. PC graphics cards can cost up-to £1000, 3x the price of what the PS4 will probably cost. It might not be the top of the range hardware but it will be able to compete with PC gaming for a while after it comes out, why?

Because it has 8gb of GDDR5 ram, an 8 core cpu and will be optimization as hell. The ps4's performance comes from the following reasons;

It will be limited to 1080p for games, full HD tv resolution, a solid 60fps, which will mean, considering pc games run on high end machines with 100 fps or more, it allows for the downscale from the PC, to actually keep the details that might have other wise been removed for performance issues.

No PC has 8gb of GGDR5 ram, this is the equivalent of the upgrade from HDD to SSD in terms of performance, it's RAM thats currently only seen in graphics cards.

Just look at what happened to the PS3, that thing has only 512mb of RAM, 256 system and 256 gpu ram, and it has been used to create some amazing games. Because people learnt how to develop for the system.




Reason 2: Exclusive Jealousy 

Speaking of the PS3, another reason why i hate PC gamer's is because of their attitude towards consoles. Yes, it's dated, but thats because it's been out for a while, with anything thats out for a period of time, it becomes 'dated' because thats what time does.

I've heard PC gamers bitch at companies like Naughty Dog and their game The Last of Us because it's a PS3 game and they don't make games for PC, basically somebody was calling them shit for developing for the shit console. Was roughly their words.

I've also heard people say "All console games should be for PC". This is just plain stupid. If you have no exclusive reason why people should invest into your technical ecosystem then how would companies sell their products over the competition? Well, this one is called an Xbox, and this one is called a Playstation. There is no more of a reason to buy one over the other, they all have the same games. It's just comes down to a decision if you like Green and Black or Blue and Black.

Sony owns at least 12 studios that they fund, and help develop games with each other, including when smaller companies are commissioned to do projects, like That Game Company. Why would Sony give up that huge advantage and just give their games away to the competition. I don't understand some of these peoples brain waves.


Reason 3: PC Gamers are baffled to why all people aren't primarily PC gamers.

This always reminds me of religion, "Our religion is the best, I don't understand why people don't want to believe in our God, with our rules, and our community"

They just don't understand why people play consoles, when PC games are so much better quality and cheaper, right? It makes no sense.

Well, this one is an easy question, and goes back to the reason before, about exclusivity, it's part of the reason why people want to say part of a certain community. You watch series one of Red Dwarf on BBC2 in 1987, you're going to come back to BBC2 for series 2, etc. Though now it's shown on Dave, so not a great point. But whatever!

Other, more solid reasons, is a games console is primarily made for games. PC's are not, even gaming specific PC's are subjective, objectively it is still just a PC, where it's main task is to be a PC, which doesn't mean been a gaming system. I turn a console on and i'm pretty much in a game without any real effort, you can even start up the console to automatically boot strait to the game.

A console is almost always played on a TV screen, opposite a bed or a couch, a comfort zone which isn't as desirable as a PC chair. Which is another point;

Lot's of people work at a PC, whether it's at home or in a workplace, the last thing most people want to do is be sat in the same chair staring at a PC, hunched over a keyboard 1ft away from a PC screen, potentially covered in sneeze, you know who you are.

The use of a controller and the ability to have 4 players playing a game in the living room at once is really almost exclusive to the console experience. Sure you can use a controller with a PC, you can hook a PC up to a TV if you want, but most people aren't really into that. Maybe when the steambox comes out?

And that's another point. Cost. Not everyone wants to buy a PC, if you really want one that's all singing and dancing, it's a lot of money all at once, some people do it over a period of time. But those who purchase a console are bypassing high costs, and the added ease of use and luxuries of playing a console.

Reason 4: This is the last generation of consoles


This one is partially not aimed at pc gamers, but they keep saying it as well. It really is too early to tell this information. But i find it to be nonsense, people will always want to play games, and people will want to play on their tv, on a couch, with a controller. The PS4 is pc hardware but is still a console, so why would there not be another form of a playstation? ever? So Sony are just going to give up their 12+ award-winning studios and one of the biggest gaming brands ever? There is no reason to believe today, that there wont be a sucessor to the PS4, it might not come straight away, because silicon is getting obsolete and limited, so it could well be a gap between the playstation 4 and playstation 5, it's just a waiting game to see if new technology can really allow for that investment. The last thing Sony would want is for the gap to be so big that they loose their studios which make them unique. But who knows, the next 3 years might see technology innovation really make or break how we use computers.


Reason 5: Those exclusives you hold so dear will be Emulated on PC

People who say this have no idea on how emulation works, 3D emulation is probably one of the hardest things to reproduce, and is irrelevant to the power of current hardware, because it's just so hard to recreate. The people making these emulators are skilled hobbyists, but it really does take them years to get close to something usable. I remember waiting years for a Playstation one emulator to work, you can get them now, however the quality is still not a perfect emulation, it's complex because it takes not only time to build an emulator that acts like a Console, but also takes longer to get the games working, it really is that hard to get right. as each game uses different techniques based on the Hardware and the engine that it's built on. Which is why when you check an emulators settings, it has different 'filters'(probably the best words to use) and these are created by individuals, and won't work with every game.

3D is complicated because it's much harder to recreate than 2D, which is why there are still only a few games that are close to playable using emulators from the 2000 era consoles. Now think about the technicality of the current generation of PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii, they are all quite astonishing in their own right, a PS3 emulator has probably the hardest job, because it's cell processor is just so unique, that the chances are, you will never see a PS3 emulator working on a PC, outside of Sony or Gaikai. And if you do, it could be 20 years before they get Uncharted running at 5fps, we're already 7 years into it's generation, so just shy of 30 years perhaps? Is that long enough to wait for a game, just because it's exclusive?


Reason 6: Console games are not as good.

There is some idea that because the PC has higher quality hardware and can allow for better visuals, that somehow people just aren't having fun with consoles anymore? Really? REALLY? We live in an era where people have so many options to play so many different types of games, with different artistic or visual styles, that we have adopted games that are more traditional in some aspects, along with having the platform to play retro games on your phone, console or PC, which is something that has grown so big, it's lead to developers bringing out their old games, remastering or recreating them for the newer platforms. We're playing a whole range of diverse games, with different levels of production, old and new, and yet somehow i'm supposed to accept that because a PC has higher quality components and games, that my Playstation 3 is worthless? It's absolute nonsense, and with the PC been a home to many of these new indie games that AREN'T in the same production value league as AAA titles, i think that people with this opinion are just so wrong about the consoles, which continue to sell tens-of-hundreds-of thousands of consoles per month.

Reason 7: Console games are overpriced.

Whilst i can agree that games are costly on consoles, there are still people willing to play them, and there is a premium pricetag on consoles due to how they are published. It costs more to publish a game on consoles, and the patches have to be insured in case the patch screws up the game, which isn't on PC, and patches can easily break a game on PC.

One of the argument's however is that console games cost too much, Well, there is a spectrum of game prices, but on average a console game costs £40-45, sometimes more for the bigger games. Where as PC pays significantly less. Sure it saves money in areas, but the market surely can demand more money? If the console gamers are willing to pay more money for a lower quality version of the game, then why aren't PC gamers willing to pay the same or more than the console counterparts. You can't say the game isn't worth it, it's a higher quality product, but not all PC's are created equally. There are different ends of the spectrum for PC's, people that don't meet the minimum system requirements, those that do, and those that exceed recommended system requirements. Developers have to take this into account, that the game might not be played as they intended, the hardware is what makes PC's so open to many people, you can spend £50 on a graphics card, £600 on a graphics card, or use one that's built into your processor. Which means a PC game will not be a unified experience for all gamers. Which is one of the reasons why PC games can't be sold for the same prices as console games.

Console games are lower quality, but optimized to run perfectly for the console, and if not, then this is primarily the developers fault, so the console offers a unified gaming experience  where the game will run at full capacity for the console. Which is one thing the PC can't offer. One way around this for some people was a service like OnLive, set the game to max on a server PC and it does all the work, leaving you and your internet connection to do all the work, regardless of the hardware.


Guild Wars 2 launched last year, and was met with criticism because it cost £50, which is almost twice the price some PC games go for, it's a big game, well made and doesn't charge for monthly subscriptions , for people to think the game wasn't worth it, is either because of the market dictating games should cost lower, or potentially due to not everyone having the hardware to run it perfectly, which would explain hesitant people wanting to buy the game, but put off due to it's price. The game is worth that much money, and more. World of Warcraft commands monthly fees, not to mention charging £20-25 for expansions, which is almost the price of a full PC game. It really is a confusing market. People have payed so much money for a game like that, but are resilient to buy a similar, though unique game due to a slightly higher one-off cost.