Console Wars: The Killing of Creativity, but the Trendsetters of Futures in the Gaming Market.

I’m a video game outlier, one that doesn’t normally fit the statistic of the gaming industry. I was excited by the creation of the Phantom console, which would’ve been spectacular if crowd sourcing was popular back in 2005, because we’d all be wondering why an console that is holistically about downloading wasn’t such a bad idea. I root for steam boxes, and I hope that other companies jump into the fray to break up the monotony of Microsoft/Sony, which has grown far too fat and happy in this giant niche market. I will concur with you that Nintendo does indeed fit a nice wedge into the gourmet pie that is the video game industry, and their demographic is the largest by far, but they are no even close to the superiority of the Big Two. Perhaps last console run, I’d call it the Big Three, but Nintendo has gone the wayside of all fads, and that includes the likes of Angry Birds, and Candy Crush. Games that will stay on top for a long, long time, but not make the cultural impact as say other games, like Pac-Man, or Halo, or even Assassin’s Creed. I don’t want to be the one that goes out of his way to say that Nintendo is in dire straits, nor would I like to say Sony is the only behemoth to come out of the console war so far, especially when you consider that “console wars” are no longer applicable with the introduction of tablets. The PC market is the dominant force, even though it takes more money to get the same quality of gaming that console gamers, and even application gamers get on the same devices. Remember, for every “console generation”, there are about five tablet generations to consider. For every PS4, or Xbox One, there are nearly 3.5 iPads, and 5 Samsung Galaxy devices that are already shaming their predecessors. Consoles are going strong, but for how long? I don’t make it secret that I love Sony’s consoles. I think that their other hardware is great, and they have grown to include some relatively decent software to market that said hardware, but their marketing is damaging. The Vita is an incredible piece of hardware, but it isn’t as tangible to buy that than to buy the latest tablet that loads fast, and can be upgraded within six months. Again, the quality of the games on the Playstation Vita are perhaps the best ever seen on a handheld, and the idea that any WiFi spot can become a high-quality video game tournament is impressive, but it just doesn’t hold up for anyone other than that slight demographic that wants the Playstation Vita. Truthfully, I would use it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it, even after the price has dropped down to ridiculously low, used levels. I just don’t see the reason to buy it, no matter how impressive the tech may be, I just don’t need it, and that’s why Sony is going to hurt four years from now. As a gamer, the idea of having a handheld console in my possession sounds awesome, and having it sync with my home console is smart, but I think if Apple, and its tablet competitors were smart, they’d spruce up the gaming capabilities of their systems, and have them sync with home consoles, and Sony/Microsoft products. I know this globalization of products goes against all things free-market, but people want universal control, and the future will be universally tangible. Why can’t I play Halo on crossover hardware, legally? Why not be able to upload and play Uncharted from mobile devices that I prefer? Shouldn’t software be used to breach the confines of hardware? Shouldn’t we be able to say that we love the game for the artistry it is, and not the corporate overseers that bought the rights? Trust me, I’m as free market as the next guy, but there comes a point where even I’ll choose convenience over commercial priority. I play favorites, and I loathe, and speak out against the companies I don’t like, because consumers should be aware of false idols in the market, and I prefer some quality with my quantity, because choosing one over the other is settling for an inferior product. I’m happy that Sony is looking to win the console wars for a third time through, (The Playstation 2, and the Playstation 3, along with the PSP, which was the most popular handheld on the market for most of its lifespan, have allowed for the sixth and seventh generation console wars to be dominated by Sony. This eight generation of consoles looks to also go to Sony, as the Playstation 4 is the system to beat. Some may disagree with my logic, but not even the Xbox 360 could compete against the PS2, and now that the last generation of consoles has dropped to prices so low, they might as well give them away, the Playstation 3, with its library of first-party titles looks to consume any Xbox 360 sales, post-generation.) and this will make the ninth and tenth console generation (unless impeded by a change in the social demographics of games) very interesting. I was mentioning steam boxes, which by now are probably going to be more of a pipedream (pun intended, a little bit) than a reality, and that saddens me, because I always love to see the big boys have their feathers rustled. Tablets claim to be in a market of their own, but when it comes to toys versus tools, they dominate as both in so many different ways. I’m looking towards the future, which means the PS5 and the Xbox Two?(horrible naming of a console system, but this is Microsoft we’re talking about here) because I believe that will be the last great console war before everything goes the way of the singularity, and forces the hand of developers to create free licensing software. Then again, with the next-generation consoles prior to this one, we might all be seeing them come preloaded with a Massive lite software, or even an Autodesk lite software, where we will be building our own games. Our greatest hobby will become our most broadened vocation. I want to see young people developing games with similar technology as the big developers, because they should not have a monopoly on the way we play. Sony will most likely take the first major step, as they always love to see people use their technology in ways they never dreamed of, and encourage the gaming community to hack to their heart’s content (except when it bites them in the ass, but still, I respect a company with fortitude to say, the market can do it better.) and usher in a new way of gaming. Look at LittleBigPlanet, and whatever fascinating game Media Molecule is currently working on for PS4, that may just be the future, today. Either way, I’m more excited about that entrepreneurial aspect than playing yet another rehashed sequel that will be limited fun, and even more limited reward. Console Wars, let’s go back to that for just one moment, because there is something I’d like to add: they used to end, but we’re seeing with globalization, that’s certainly not the case. Imagine if you will: back in 1985/86 for the U.S., and a year or two prior, when the Famicom was announced, perhaps the most popular video game system to date, and one that still can be found in many American homes today. Nintendo’s Entertainment System was exclusively released to most of the Westernized world, and a good portion of the East. A bulk of the Earth was still having trouble with maintaining power, and living in near medieval conditions, especially in countries that were still developing. A small portion of the world even knew what arcades were back in the eighties, let-alone console games, it was predominantly a Western phenomena, even outselling many sales in the home country of Japan. Nintendo was accepted into our culture almost immediately. Today the world is connected, and gaming consoles ship everywhere, and in the highest quantities in recent history. Game franchises like Call of Duty reach and Grand Theft Auto reach pinnacles of success that outdo even the biggest budget pictures that Hollywood can produce. You can find yourself playing against gamers on all seven continents, a feat that would be laughable twenty-five years before. So that means that as one console run ends in one part of the world, it is beginning in another, which means that somewhere right now, someone is buying their first legitimate Playstation 2, or Xbox console, and it is still very brand new to them. This will be the case for other consoles to follow, meaning that consoles will influx in sales at the most obscene times throughout the global market. This means (theoretically speaking) all console wars will last longer than the Afghanistan war (currently twelve years, America’s longest war to date) will, because console life cycles will extend to be near a decade, if they haven’t already. The fact the Playstation 2 (released in the late 1990s, earliest 2000s) is still being bought and played today is a far more interesting tale, because it shows our infatuation with certain technology, rather than disposing of it like yesterday’s garbage. So by the year 2020( a full console generation away) the Playstation 2 will have finally ran its course throughout the world, and the Playstation 3 will be on its last leg, while Playstation 5(?) is in its prime. That is incredible to imagine, and it’s closer than you’d think. I guarantee you’ll also be playing a new vision of games like Call of Duty, or Grand Theft Auto on the ninth and tenth generation consoles. So what does this have to do with now? Who cares about speculation, and easy assumptions? The point is quite important, seeing how I don’t believe in the time from now until the tenth generation console cycle begins will there be room for both Microsoft and Sony to exist in that marketplace, and this is not determining economics, which is an important factor, yet the marketplace is going to swell, and a new company (or perhaps an old company) will rise to challenge the status quo, and I say good! I only hold brand loyalty to the system that works best for me, but I am the biggest critic of Sony, as well as one of their biggest fans. In-the-end, we play what we want, because we are the gaming community, and we don’t care if there’s one brand, we just want great quality, artistic games that challenge our ideas of what a game should be, because they make us question just how far we can push the definition of what a game truly is, and that’s not because it’s stripped down to nothing, or loaded with more graphics than the most powerful of computers. Gamer will be the powers that decide what survives the future, and what goes extinct. Remember one thing: games come and go, but the individual experience is what matters most, because those are the memories that last the longest. Game on, wayward players. Thank you for supporting the Malacast Editorial, you have been an awesome readership, and I appreciate everyone who takes time out of their busy shcedule to read my work. Twitter: twitter.com/mcasteditorial E-mail: mcasteditorial@yahoo.com