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[Robb]

I think the future is pretty clear personally. Even if consoles/hardware disappear you’ll end up with ‘platform exclusivity’ in the same way any of the streaming services have their own exclusive shows.

But as long as Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft hardware exist I think exclusive content will too in order to entice people to buy it.

 

[Arsic]

If you’re in the console racket you need a reason for people to invest in your eco system.

Once that’s gone you’re a ticking time bomb for when you close doors.

The exception? Xbox which can afford to flush billions lead by a retard because their parent company doesn’t care lol.

 

[MasterCornholio]

I think it really depends on what the objectives are. If a company still wants to push hardware sakes then a console exclusive title can certainly help even if it's a timed exclusive. There are benefits to having a title on a platform that you own such as not having to cut out the revenue to platforms like Steam or competitors ecosystem.

It's definitely going to be interesting to see how this evolves especially with rising dev costs and inflation.

 

[Guilty_AI]

No handheld PCs are finding mainstream success…their sales are a drop of piss in a bucket compared to what Nintendo and Switch did and will continue to do. They aren’t competition.

There’s no eyeing anything…if the Wii U didn’t force Nintendo’s hand, nothing will.

It did actually, they began investing more heavily on mobile games after Wii U's flop. Probably also what pushed them to support only one hybrid console instead of the Home Console + portable model they had previously.

 

[SNG32]

Tbh everything eventually comes to PC. Now you’re able to play a lot of 7th generation games through emulation using RPCS3 for ps3 and Dolphin for Wii games. Hell even Xenia has quite a bit of playable games for Xbox 360 games. I think embracing PC is the way to go and a lot of third parties plus Sony and Microsoft are smelling the coffee towards releasing games there. Nintendo seems to be the ones fighting and to be honest they should release games on PC as well. They hate emulation so give people a reason not emulate. The switch 2 will eventually get cracked and then games will be open through the backdoor again. Why fight with lawsuits when you could be making money on your games on other platforms. Nintendo doesn’t even need to release day and date either but they should embrace PC especially now since handhelds will be more powerful or on par with the switch 2 by the time it releases.

 

[March Climber]

If you're taking those comments from places that specifically talk about EGS, like some youtube video explaining why people don't like it, its still only natural you'll get these comments. For the same reasons you'll get people praising the store and its giveaways, or "not minding it" if you go into the Epic Store or Fortnite subreddit.

No, I’m taking them from general places like r/gaming or youtube comments under a new showcase or new trailers because quite a few happen every month. On instagram it would be general pages like IGN or Gamespot, where people flock to comment on every post. Every trailer that has the EGS logo anywhere on it immediately raises questions.

Now you're talking about the average player, not the enthusiastic one that frequents gaming forums or watch related youtube videos. At most they'll just use steam because its all they know or what they're familiar with, but wouldn't be against using other stores even if they didn't turn them into their main one.

Again we’re just going to disagree about this as I feel this is a hill you’re willing to die on for some odd reason. I feel that you’re underestimating Steam’s impact and general favor over other platforms on PC. I think you also understimate how many people on steam simply won’t bother because a game isn’t on steam. The one exception we both agree on is GoG for multiple reasons. However I bet if GoG announced they were moving their business to steam there would not be a big uproar about it.

I also don’t like that it looks like I’m attacking Steam because I’m not trying to. I like Steam. I’m literally just trying to point out the obvious.

For example, I have never once read or heard anyone say ‘add me on EGS’ to play a game together on EGS. Even you yourself see EGS almost like it’s a joke. How do you think other people see it?

 

[Jerm411]

Tbh everything eventually comes to PC. Now you’re able to play a lot of 7th generation games through emulation using RPCS3 for ps3 and Dolphin for Wii games. Hell even Xenia has quite a bit of playable games for Xbox 360 games. I think embracing PC is the way to go and a lot of third parties plus Sony and Microsoft are smelling the coffee towards releasing games there. Nintendo seems to be the ones fighting and to be honest they should release games on PC as well. They hate emulation so give people a reason not emulate. The switch 2 will eventually get cracked and then games will be open through the backdoor again. Why fight with lawsuits when you could be making money on your games on other platforms. Nintendo doesn’t even need to release day and date either but they should embrace PC especially now since handhelds will be more powerful or on par with the switch 2 by the time it releases.

So they tank their entire business model when they don’t need to change a thing and will still make hand over fist….ok.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Consoles opponents are mobile gaming, TVs and computers. Since consoles arrived on the scene they’ve been advertised as home living room entertainment now it’s people wanting to play on trains, computers and phones.

 

[GHound]

There will be for as long as Nintendo isn't taken over by westoids.

 

[TGO]

How about you come back at the beginning of next gen when all games of available on all platforms and tell us... which you gonna buy.

 

[Guilty_AI]

No, I’m taking them from general places like r/gaming or youtube comments under a new showcase or new trailers because quite a few happen every month. On instagram it would be general pages like IGN or Gamespot, where people flock to comment on every post. Every trailer that has the EGS logo anywhere on it immediately raises questions.

Again we’re just going to disagree about this as I feel this is a hill you’re willing to die on for some odd reason. I feel that you’re underestimating Steam’s impact and general favor over other platforms on PC. I think you also understimate how many people on steam simply won’t bother because a game isn’t on steam. The one exception we both agree on is GoG for multiple reasons. However I bet if GoG announced they were moving their business to steam there would not be a big uproar about it.

I also don’t like that it looks like I’m attacking Steam because I’m not trying to. I like Steam. I’m literally just trying to point out the obvious.

For example, I have never once read or heard anyone say ‘add me on EGS’ to play a game together on EGS. Even you yourself see EGS almost like it’s a joke. How do you think other people see it?

EGS is a joke. But the point i'm making is that people aren't as spiritually tied to steam as you're trying to argue. Most of the spite towards other places comes from publishers forcing their hands to use inferior alternatives or push them towards an ecosystem players have no interest in.

The launchers and stores no one complains about are precisely the ones that cover aspects steam doesn't, rather than being poor attempts at being the "new steam". Be GOG with fully DRM free games and a better selection of old games that even come patched, Itch io with a much larger and wilder variety of indie games, or some +18 store like Nutaku that doesn't have arbitrary anti-porn rules. If steam goes to shit one day, you'd see people migrating in increasingly larger volumes.

 

[Majukun]

xbox failed this gen because they did lack a KA, so I'd say they are as needed as they always were

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Oh one of those Pro Xbox threads. Where we take the demise of Xbox and extrapolate it over every other console in an attempt to turn its demise into natural progression.

The only thing dead about console exclusives is how long they remain exclusive. Its all about timed exclusives now, and that is perfectly fine. No point in keeping something exclusive to a platform if its no longer actively moving hardware. Or in some cases even more than 4 years old. And anyone that was willing to wait 4 years to play your game, was never going to buy your console to play it.

Putting timed exclusives and day-and-date cross-platform releases, or hell lets say 12-18 months timed releases in the same both is reaching at best... delusional at worst.

 

[March Climber]

EGS is a joke. But the point i'm making is that people aren't as spiritually tied to steam as you're trying to argue. Most of the spite towards other places comes from publishers forcing their hands to use inferior alternatives or push them towards an ecosystem players have no interest in.

The launchers and stores no one complains about are precisely the ones that cover aspects steam doesn't, rather than being poor attempts at being the "new steam".

And to bring it all back and expand on my original point, even if they’re inferior or a joke, that should be okay for them to exist as such. Quite a few steam gamers don’t agree on this, and most of them hate when a publisher leaves to make their own launcher.

The attempts at a ‘new steam’ should be allowed, even if they’re not as good out of the gate as an almost 20 year old service. Instead things are slowly going in the opposite direction. The funnel is facing in steam’s direction and isn’t stopping.

The mere fact that you and others call independence from Steam as ‘forcing’ people implies that Steam is seen as the standard. That was part of my original point and my small worry for the future. I accept the reality that Steam is seen as the defacto storefront for all PC games. You are trying to deny what’s already apparent.

 

[SNG32]

So they tank their entire business model when they don’t need to change a thing and will still make hand over fist….ok.

Nintendo will learn this time. I’m willing to bet that the switch 2 or whatever Nintendo decides to call it won’t sell as much as the original switch. You got handheld pcs and now mobile phones are increasing in performance and in quality of games. That space where Nintendo had dominated is starting to catch up and other ways perform better than Nintendo hardware. The PC space keeps growing every year where consoles are either stagnant or decreasing in sales and audience. I’m not saying Nintendo cant survive on their own but Covid helped a lot of those sales for switch.

 

[Quasicat]

Agreed.

But I've always had an Xbox, and unless they change something with their output I won't buy another.

We're 4 years into this gen and there's zero reason to own an Xbox, save for gamepass.

Yep, I was huge into PC gaming about 15 years ago, but moved on to the Xbox as I prefer the controller. Since I bought a Steam Deck, I’m realizing how easy it is to get back into playing on a PC, especially now that they have HDMI ports and can play on a TV very easily.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Short term future: Yes

Mid term future: No

Long term future: Heck no.

 

[Mivo]

I just prefer the console simplicity and i owned a gaming PC.

I'm in a similar boat. I own a decent gaming PC with a 4070, so mid-range-y, and I have been a computer gamer since the 1980s, but in recent years I've shifted more and more of my gaming to consoles. The work/gaming separation just works better for me (WFH) and helps me to actually relax when I sit down to play a game. I find that when I'm at a computer, it's more difficult for me to get out of work mode. This wasn't a problem when I was younger, but something changed. My current preference for a dedicated gaming device really has nothing to do with exclusivity, there's no shortage of games that I want to play on any given platform -- more than I have time for.

I'm not about to ditch PC gaming just now, but my focus has definitely shifted. The PS5 was my first proper home console since the Atari 2600. I did have a PS1 very briefly, but didn't keep it, and I owned all of Nintendo's and Sony's handhelds, but these weren't full-fledged consoles.

 

[Jerm411]

Nintendo will learn this time. I’m willing to bet that the switch 2 or whatever Nintendo decides to call it won’t sell as much as the original switch. You got handheld pcs and now mobile phones are increasing in performance and in quality of games. That space where Nintendo had dominated is starting to catch up and other ways perform better than Nintendo hardware. The PC space keeps growing every year where consoles are either stagnant or decreasing in sales and audience. I’m not saying Nintendo cant survive on their own but Covid helped a lot of those sales for switch.

Again it bears repeating….the handheld PC space is not competition to Nintendo at all and won’t be, that’s hopium of a very high level.

And the Switch 2 doesn’t need to sell as much as the Switch to be a success…and I’m not saying it can’t, I think there’s a good chance it can.

The Covid thing isn’t viable either…did it give it a boost for that period? Sure. The Switch was a sales juggernaut before and after Covid though.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Nintendo will learn this time. I’m willing to bet that the switch 2 or whatever Nintendo decides to call it won’t sell as much as the original switch. You got handheld pcs and now mobile phones are increasing in performance and in quality of games. That space where Nintendo had dominated is starting to catch up and other ways perform better than Nintendo hardware. The PC space keeps growing every year where consoles are either stagnant or decreasing in sales and audience. I’m not saying Nintendo cant survive on their own but Covid helped a lot of those sales for switch.

This again...

Ok... Care to guess how many units every single "handheld PC" has sold since the Steam deck came to market?

And you know Mobile phones have been around since before 2017, right?

And lastly.... do you really believe, that how well any Nintendo platform sells has anything to do with how powerful the hardware is?

 

[DenchDeckard]

When your games cost 500 million to make you either go multiplatform or risk closing a studio after one underperforming title.

 

[odhiex]

For me, *drum roll* Yes!

Of course, it would be nice to make *more money out of other platforms and AAA exclusives cost are just too costly. But without exclusives, what's the point of a platform?

Even that they will be rare commodities in the future, I still believe that there would still be exclusives to some platforms, albeit small or timed.