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12/12/09
This is a really good idea, I fail to see how anyone would disagree with it.
12/12/09
In other words, this proposed idea, because of the current state of the industry, would only be feasible within a single console maker and publisher. Sony could do this with PS3 games, adding on versions of the game on PSP and perhaps one that would work on a variety of smart phones via digital download. Nintendo could do the same with the Wii and DS systems. Microsoft might want to try it with their Zune HD line as the portable. Moving between the PS3, Wii, and X360, though, would almost never happen.
12/11/09
Plus they're different games anyway.
You buy the console version because you get a complete package in a perfect bundle. You buy a mobile game for entertainment, not because of the IP. I'm gonna buy a game made for a mobile platform not some shitty IP hideously transformed and mutilated to fit into a mobile game. It's not built for the system, it's gonna be a piece of shit.
12/11/09
For what it's worth, I really like the idea of breaking down the "walled gardens" that console vendors have built around their own platforms. I'd really like to see interoperable online services across Xbox Live and PlayStation Network (i.e. being able to play with your buddies regardless of what system they're on). Even better, get Microsoft and Sony to agree on a single save file standard so that you could continue playing your multiplatform game on another system without starting all over.
Not only would it result in a much-improved customer experience, it would also force vendors to better differentiate on features, rather than lock customers into an environment that is by and large the same as its competitors.
On a side note, software application vendors should take a similar lesson. Why should I pay twice just to use Office or Photoshop on both Windows and Mac OS?
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I definitely wouldn't mind having a 360/PS3 hybrid version so I can play with all my friends instead of choosing one set over the other.
12/11/09
Not at all true. Even if this were true, there are huge differences between the hardware that require lots of custom code to get things working on both platforms.
12/11/09
Isn't the whole point of having middle ware (other than saving development costs on an engine) is for cross platform functionality using a single API?
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12/11/09
When comparing games, you have different sources, literally. The game can be programmed by two different teams for two different platforms. Yes the end result is an engine that combines a bunch of wireframes, meshes and skins, throws in a bunch of physics and voice "talent" and becomes a game, but the road to get there can be entirely different for each platform. The advantages for such a packaged game would be seen by very few gamers, let alone the common folk. I had one game for both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 - Orange Box. Unless saved games were port-able, I'd have no part in starting over on another platform - I played it once on the PS3.
I can't imagine this would be just as cheap as a standard game, and I can't imagine anyone I know paying the extra just to get both versions. Deluxe versions for PS3 and PSP I could see, but multiple manufacturer's consoles?
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The video game industry does not have that problem. Since there is no universally usable game platform, ultimately we are going to purchase it for the best platform we have at that time. That is exactly what they want. Yes, that is not in the interest of us geeks who own multiple gaming platforms and would like to try all of the versions, but there is no true benefit to the video game industry by giving them all away for free when we are going to buy the most expensive version anyway.
That doesn't change us from wanting them to follow suit - but I just do not see it ever happening.
12/11/09
DVD and Blu-Ray and iPhone are not direct competitors with each other, and therefore, there is no harm with allowing the media to share all of the devices. No one is getting an iPhone instead of a Blu-Ray because it has better movies on it. However, people are selecting Wii instead of X-box because it has better controls that can be implemented into the same games differently (as an example, some would argue the opposite, that's not my point.) So having exclusive titles and differing price points (Wii games are cheaper for instance) is a feature that the console manufacturers use for competition.
12/11/09
If games became common amongst all platforms, then you'd take away a major pillar of the console fanboy arguments! What would the Wii's reputation be like today if you could play a Metal Gear Solid game on it as easily as you could Mario and Sonic go to the Olympics? "Yeah, the novelty of the Wii was fun...for about five minutes." Have you not heard this classic line? Do you want to castrate this line? What do you have against this insults testicles, Mark?!
I don't think you're really thinking about the consequences of your actions. If games became common amongst all platforms, the only thing left to distinguish between them would be hardware and features. That's a measurable, quantifiable, heck chartable measuring stick. Do you really want to make the console flame wars that reasonable?!
You really should be more careful. You're more influential than you know.
12/11/09
problem is all my buddies are still on xbox. so we can't trade and loan each other games any more. that means that my internet-less ass can't snag MW2 for the single player without also borrowing a spare xbox. no one can borrow borderlands from me to see if it's worth buying (it's ok, but ultimately, no) without trading consoles. and even if the games were cross compatible, i go without GT5 and DiRT2 because my logitech wheel only works on PS3, and really who plays racing games with a conventional controller?