Sunday, June 2, 2013

Gaming Landfall

     E3 is around the corner and I couldn't feel more nervous or excited for the future. Microsoft and Sony are setting a stage of interest and possibilities which could fundamentally change the way we game as a community. The potentials are polarizing. A world of complete freedom and discovery or a world held siege by keepers of your information. 

    Each of these companies has much speculation surrounding their final announcements, and I couldn't be more excited. Few gaming moments have held such potential and now is the time to take note of the coming storm. Rumors of each are thrown carelessly into the stream of blogs, forums, and comments and while engaging to read, the summation of their words merely point to concerns and questions needed for safe passage to this new land.
 
     Does Xbox One HAVE to maintain the 5:3 split? What is the PS4's Split for OS versus Game? Is the concern over Used versus New legitimate and if so how are each dealing with the differences? What exactly does "Always On" mean for each system and what are the consequences if I am not? These are but a few of the questions unearthed when you sift through the current anxiety of data online and they are great questions.

     Waiting for this new information gives me the feeling of standing on a ship to an undiscovered land. Eager to spread across the globe, each new land is riddled with danger and possibility. There could be such fruitful experience or such damning confines. For me, my reactions to these feelings needs to be calmed. To properly assess the future and how it will affect my gaming adventures to come, I will need to be observant and dedicated.

     I have been a Microsoft fan for several years. Sony has disappointed me in its service camp but is not unimportant to the world of gaming. Nintendo has lost my interest as every year it merely gives me that brief feeling of being a child again, only for me to realize they insist on stunting my growth. I enjoy my memories to influence my new experiences, not to constantly emulate them. Consider if you will trying to play Shadow of the Colossus at the age of 8. As smart as you may have been, many of the themes would be lost on you. I honestly want Samus and  Link to mature sometime. Just once. Even so, I am still a fan of gaming and support each of these companies in their endeavors to bring gaming to their respective communities. So while Sony and Microsoft will determine what the future brings, I am still curious to see what Nintendo presents for E3. And not just Nintendo.

     With this future being so uncertain and energetic, there are other companies who are looking to make their mark in the now. Companies who are envisioning a gap in gaming that needs to be filled. Ouya is an example of this company. Whether you see Ouya having any possible competition in the field or not, it has a community willing to give it the chance, and it is not alone. 

     The future of gaming starts in 2013. It is my hope that it becomes one of new and wonderous surprises that cross genres and concepts in the way Proteus did. With this new technology we are granted new ways of engaging our hobbies. Hopefully these new boundaries are not stifling and we can immerse in ways we simply did not think we would enjoy as a community. At E3 2013, this possibility comes more solid. At E3, we get one step closer to the next 5 years of our lives, and hopefully a world that both understands who we have become as well as tantalizes us with new ways to let loose.

     I am excited and nervous to see where this ship makes landfall. Surprise me. -Adam

2 comments:

  1. What do you mean by Xbox One 5:3?

    I'm a little more optimistic about Xbox One than many of the people I hear claiming that it is the death of Xbox. But I still have to wonder what Microsoft is planning. The biggest fear I have is not that Microsoft will "ruin" Xbox but that many gamers will perceive that they have done so and the community and my community will suffer.

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  2. The "5:3" is the ratio that the 8GB of DDR3 RAM is using on the console. 5GB goes towards the games themselves directly. The remainder, 3GB, is to be used as the system's OS and other processes. The current Xbox 360 has 512MB of DDR3 RAM. PS4 uses GDDR5 which runs CONSIDERABLY more bandwidth. To put it simple: PS4 has this advantage. The issue is we don't know (as a public) how they are used. (Interesting comparision here: http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/156273-xbox-720-vs-ps4-vs-pc-how-the-hardware-specs-compare)

    I think what people are doing right now is reactionary. Many people are bound in the now, as would be expected. They are still having fun with their current generation of games and at the same time are excited for the potential benefits a next generation can bring. Unfortunately most do not observe that this level of change is going to come with many differences. One example is to improve the new consoles are using X86 architecture. As this is NOT the PowerPC architecture that is currently in use, your old games wont work.
    Most people don't "care" about the why. They only care their current state is changing when they're not ready to let it go. The reactions we are seeing are in part due to missteps by the console creators as well as the ignorance the public in general has over the processes that businesses must go through to achieve such ends.

    The good news is, as with every console cycle, the information will get to the people and their reactions will be solidified or cancelled. Two months prior to the launch, the majority will know what they want and as the dust settles, all we'll see is the mud flinging and slinging of the Fanboy Elites in anger. They are important to the ecosystem as the common gamer. It's just difficult to tolerate blind faith in any environment. -Adam

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