Is Microsoft Really in Trouble?

The console war is a real thing and though it may feel that Sony is up to its shoulders with weaponry while Nintendo and Microsoft are busy playing with sticks, it's closer than it may seem. For the sake of brevity (and because I really don't think they belong), I'll be mostly keeping Nintendo out of the conversation for now. Well then, shall we?

"Let's use black. It's slimming."

Recently, it was found out that one of the most commercially successful franchise's new game, Call of Duty: Ghosts, would be running at 720p on XBox One while it would run at 1080p on Playstation 4. Admittedly, I'm no graphics buff, but this is a flop that could be costly considering Sony's current control over the next generation. Now, when I say Sony has "control" over the next generation, I should clarify. Sony's control comes from the more read gamer.

The above image was taken from a Gamespot Twitter poll asking readers of the website which console they were supporting. As you can see from the numbers, the support for PS4 is astoundingly larger than for XBox One. Now, one must take these numbers for what they are and not an indication of the population. Participants in this poll were a) Gamespot readers and thus more likely to have read stories regarding the XBox's shortcomings and b) had a Twitter account with which they could participate. With that said, the ratio of 88% to 12% does make me feel more comfortable in stating that people who visit gaming websites for news are more supportive of Sony than Microsoft.

This comes from a plethora of reasons. One can cite Microsoft's 180 on what was considered "essential" DRM, the aforementioned graphics revelation, the partnership between Sony and indie developers, or the slight difference in tech. Hell, that's not even considering that Sony boasts a price tag $100 cheaper than Microsoft. However, despite this trend of gamers flocking towards Sony, Microsoft still boasts an adequate amount of pre-orders, possibly as much as Sony. How can something so counter intuitive happen? There are a variety of possible reasons, but this is how I see it.

The console war cannot be decided until after the consoles are released. There are different types of gamers and though the more dedicated or "hardcore" gamers may prefer Sony at this point, there are still those who don't read up on this information. These may be less dedicated gamers or maybe just those with less time on their hands. In the race to reserve a next gen console, maybe they went with continuity or subjective preference over any objective reasoning. Furthermore, how many people buy consoles strictly because of these objective reasons?

Gaming has moved towards being a social hobby. I think back to when I started playing video games and how my relation with them has changed and I never saw online multiplayer as a plausibility. Granted, I was younger and less educated back then, but even a few years ago I wouldn't believe the prospect of a game succeeding like Call of Duty has almost solely on multiplayer. With consoles set up as they are, there isn't much available in terms of cross console multiplayer gaming, so when we invest in a system, this is something to consider. Sure, one may object to how the XBox has been marketed or the laughable public statements made (remember the XBox 360 comment?), but in the end, one might get more value out of that console because one's friends might be buying it. Perhaps the value of playing with friends is highly valued by this individual.

So is Microsoft really in trouble? So long as enough gamers purchase the console, these few could sustain them by getting their friends to join the community. The flaws or flops Microsoft have had leading up to the console release might mean nothing if by a month from now, there is a strong online community. I question Microsoft's position in the console war as much as the next person, but as of right now nobody can conclusively say that the next Xbox is in trouble. The beauty of the modern market is how much information is available to the consumer, but such information may be moot if the consumer makes decisions on extraneous factors.

Why I Never Played World of Warcraft

When I look back at my history as a "gamer," there are glaring omissions on my list if played games. Most prominent of these games is none other than the game that defined MMO's for the current gaming generation, World of Warcraft. It's not that I didn't want to or didn't have anyone to play with, I actually made a conscious decision not to.

Meet people without actually meeting them!

The reasoning behind it was mostly because of my not wanting to get sucked in. To this day, I still hear stories of people losing countless hours to the massive world completing raids with clans or even just exploring. Most of the people I talk to don't regret putting so much time into the game, but every now and again they'll express that questioning curiosity: What if I never played it? I couldn't help but wonder the opposite: What if I did play it? It wasn't until recently that this reasoning became more clear. It was because I didn't want to put a lot of time into the game, but with an added caveat: it was because I couldn't put that much time into the game.

I'm not afraid to admit that I've spent "too much" money on video games for my liking over the years. I vividly remember forcing myself to complete Assassin's Creed 3 despite not enjoying it, trying to put hours into Guild Wars 2 even though I wasn't really committed to it, and the list goes on. These were games I bought at, or close to, launch. The reasoning at the time was to get some enjoyment during my down time at school, but it's clear now just how much I was coaxing myself to indulge myself with satisfaction of completing a game.

In retrospect, I can say with confidence that owning/completing a game was emblematic. As this was the case, the pursuit of playing a game wasn't just for the enjoyment, but to be able to discuss it and dissect it. To be frank, rarely did I even get chances to discuss video games, I just wanted the ability to do so. Part of this came from an insecurity issue that resulted in me constantly trying to measure myself up to other, but the other part was riding the high of a conclusion I had some doing in.

My review of Assassin's Creed III: I had fun, I think

After having an expensive March with the release of the new Tomb Raider and Bioshock: Infinite, I began to question my motivations. In fact, Bioshock: Infinite may have been the game that made me come to this realization. I had completed a game that I had so highly anticipated in a different way, with patience. I consciously told myself to slow down, enjoy the moment, take the surroundings in, and try to truly understand the story. Realizing how different an experience this was, I decided to slow down on buying games not just for my wallet's sake, but to enhance my enjoyment from the games I loved.

So why didn't I play World of Warcraft? I was worried about it being a time sink, but now it's clear just how much of a wasted experience it would've been. I'd be on my own, chasing quest completion, grinding until I could say I had truly "completed" the game. This would be a disservice not only to the game, but to the MMO genre. Sure, there were other hurdles (I'm looking at you, $15 a month fee. Server maintenance be damned, I don't cherish any game enough for that cost) but the primary issue was always about time and the thrill of completion.

My issue with gaming as of late is that it seems to thrive on this "completionist" ideology. Playstation has trophies; XBox offers accomplishments. Both offer boasting material for us to display to our friends. My view of video games has drastically shifted to the point where I view it as a possible artistic medium. But can video games truly reach that point if there is a community of people who indulge in games to garner up symbolic accomplishments? I won't claim there to be a single way to enjoy games nor there being a proper way to play, but I can't help but feel that games will be damned by one aspect that makes them enjoyable: they're games. They're chances to play and if part of that play is to gather up achievements and trophies, then who am I to judge.