Wii-U thoughts so far

[MrPopo]

$20 is too much for a digital only game.

Oh I wish they would see good sales on Duck Hunt for WiiU and decided to make a 3DS release of it as well as it could be great using the stylus to pop ducks.

Why? The majority of cost is in development and marketing, not the packaging/media.

Because reasons. It's ok, though, since he'll be getting out of gaming in 5-10 years when digital only is the norm.

[FerretGamer]

$20 is too much for a digital only game.

Oh I wish they would see good sales on Duck Hunt for WiiU and decided to make a 3DS release of it as well as it could be great using the stylus to pop ducks.

Why? The majority of cost is in development and marketing, not the packaging/media.

Because reasons. It's ok, though, since he'll be getting out of gaming in 5-10 years when digital only is the norm.

The future is a sad place. Good thing my DeLorean will be ready by then.

[KalessinDB]

$20 is too much for a digital only game.

Oh I wish they would see good sales on Duck Hunt for WiiU and decided to make a 3DS release of it as well as it could be great using the stylus to pop ducks.

Why? The majority of cost is in development and marketing, not the packaging/media.

I'm not a fan of digital only either, honestly. For me it's the knowledge that my games can disappear and I don't like that. Yeah, I could have a breakin (and have, but mercifully they only took my current-gen systems not my retro ones). But to know that one day Sony/MS/Nintendo can just pull the plug on their servers and then poof it's gone... just doesn't sit right. Makes me very reluctant to buy digital downloads (Although I would probably go up to $20 for something I REALLY wanted, but overall I'm on the $10 or below train for digital downloads. I see them as diversions, not full games. I would never buy a $60 full release game by download unless there was literally no other way and it was one of my must-haves for the year... even then I'm not sure)

And yes, as already noted, 5-10 years and I won't have the option... but I'm also not entirely certain that console gaming as we know it is going to survive more than 1 more generation. By 10th gen at the latest I think it's going to be damn near unrecognizable vs its current form, so I may just stop collecting (especially since, given the current console generation lifespan, I'll probably be pushing 50 by then)

[Jmustang1968]

$20 is too much for a digital only game.

Oh I wish they would see good sales on Duck Hunt for WiiU and decided to make a 3DS release of it as well as it could be great using the stylus to pop ducks.

Why? The majority of cost is in development and marketing, not the packaging/media.

I'm not a fan of digital only either, honestly. For me it's the knowledge that my games can disappear and I don't like that. Yeah, I could have a breakin (and have, but mercifully they only took my current-gen systems not my retro ones). But to know that one day Sony/MS/Nintendo can just pull the plug on their servers and then poof it's gone... just doesn't sit right. Makes me very reluctant to buy digital downloads (Although I would probably go up to $20 for something I REALLY wanted, but overall I'm on the $10 or below train for digital downloads. I see them as diversions, not full games. I would never buy a $60 full release game by download unless there was literally no other way and it was one of my must-haves for the year... even then I'm not sure)

And yes, as already noted, 5-10 years and I won't have the option... but I'm also not entirely certain that console gaming as we know it is going to survive more than 1 more generation. By 10th gen at the latest I think it's going to be damn near unrecognizable vs its current form, so I may just stop collecting (especially since, given the current console generation lifespan, I'll probably be pushing 50 by then)

Or you can download them and have them and keep them longer on a hard drive...

[KalessinDB]

I'm not a fan of digital only either, honestly. For me it's the knowledge that my games can disappear and I don't like that. Yeah, I could have a breakin (and have, but mercifully they only took my current-gen systems not my retro ones). But to know that one day Sony/MS/Nintendo can just pull the plug on their servers and then poof it's gone... just doesn't sit right. Makes me very reluctant to buy digital downloads (Although I would probably go up to $20 for something I REALLY wanted, but overall I'm on the $10 or below train for digital downloads. I see them as diversions, not full games. I would never buy a $60 full release game by download unless there was literally no other way and it was one of my must-haves for the year... even then I'm not sure)

And yes, as already noted, 5-10 years and I won't have the option... but I'm also not entirely certain that console gaming as we know it is going to survive more than 1 more generation. By 10th gen at the latest I think it's going to be damn near unrecognizable vs its current form, so I may just stop collecting (especially since, given the current console generation lifespan, I'll probably be pushing 50 by then)

Or you can download them and have them and keep them longer on a hard drive...

Magnetic media is far less reliable than optical (to say nothing of carts, but that ship has long since sailed). With flash drives getting bigger and SSDs getting cheaper, that becomes less of a concern, but it's still one.

Plus, and this may just be a lack of knowledge on my part, I didn't think all 3 consoles let you back them up? I know in 7th gen that the Wii did, but I didn't think 360 or PS3 did without some sort of modding. And as to 8th gen, I have no idea at all.

But again, preference only. I wouldn't claim "$20 is too much for a digital-only game", rather "$20 is more than I'm willing to pay for something I can't hold in my hands"

[isiolia]

Plus, and this may just be a lack of knowledge on my part, I didn't think all 3 consoles let you back them up? I know in 7th gen that the Wii did, but I didn't think 360 or PS3 did without some sort of modding. And as to 8th gen, I have no idea at all.

I know you can do a full system backup for a PS3, simply onto a FAT32 external HDD, because doing so can be part of swapping in a larger HDD. I haven't messed with stuff beyond that. The PS4 has a similar mechanism for the same purpose, though I couldn't speak to how comprehensive it is.

360 does allow for copying to external USB as well. I haven't messed with it personally, but it's there. I think the Xbox One replaces that with cloud sync for all users (not just Gold) though.


More to the point though, my take is a matter of use. Digital just isn't collectible to me, so, even if $20 would be well worth it, I'm not going to rush out and pay that just to have it in inventory. It'll be there if/when I want to actually play it. If it were on sale for $5 or something, that'd be different - but still less about the dollar amount, and more about not being available at that price all the time.

[casterofdreams]

My school of thought is that everything released digital can always be backed up and played in the future no matter what. It's just the know-how and needing right tools to do it.

I created a thread recently about how licensing worked with the 360 and I created a backup of all DLC that was downloaded to a backup 360 unit carrying both hardware and gamer tag licences. However if my main 360 hits a server I lose the hardware licenses in that unit. This is just one example.

I'm sure if someone creates (if it does not exist aleady) a piece of software where it can read data off of one of those hard drives via an official transfer cable you can back up to PC and go nuts with copies upon copies (assuming someone knows how to remove the licenses).

Off topic.

Anyway carry on.

[Flake]

My school of thought is that everything released digital can always be backed up and played in the future no matter what. It's just the know-how and needing right tools to do it.

This is a reasonable way of thinking but I think that as technology progresses, the user experience should trend more and more towards ease of use.

If I bought an NES in 1987 with 3 games, I knew that until the NES broke or the copper connectors on the games were stripped bare, playing a game would be as simple as pushing 2 buttons to turn the system and TV on. What we're seeing now is a future where entire generations of game experiences will be locked behind servers and networks that, when they go dark, can only be restored with programming, hacking, and soldering.

I feel like these are steps backwards.

[Tanooki]

Funny guy Popo. No in 5-10 years it won't be all digital still because the industry just can't do it at this rate and not lose buyers. They're holding onto physical releases only because their largest market (the NA market) is mostly still just using a mix of crappy DSL and megabit lines, very few markets at all have gigabit. If we were as wired as Japan is (more or less all gigabit) physical would be dead and I've been told that plenty of times from my brother, that's the hold out. They dont' care about people like me who like to own what they pay for and have control over it (keeping, using, reselling, etc.)

Whenever that decade hits where it's all digital I won't quit but I will change my habits. PC gaming I enjoy, and that one you can back the stuff up still to an external drive so that'll be the direction I go. Most of the solid multi-platform ported games go to PC anyway, just not the exclusives that are paid for by a hardware maker or the stuff they make and sacrifices would be made. I was told though that when it goes all digital games would have their prices sliced in half if not a little more.


Kalessin: NO current modern generation console or handheld from Nintendo/Sony/MS will allow you to back your games up legitimately on another medium. Sony/MS has a kind of backup capable last generation but it's sketchy. You're at the mercy of their system. Nintendo being stupid and system based, Sony/MS being account based, but if they take down the service, licenses expire, or they don't host a file anymore, your shit is gone. That's why I wouldn't pay $20 for a download game, not that it isn't worth $20 as it definitely is if it's a good game. I guess I should have worded it as you did, $20 is too much for me to pay if I can't keep a physical backup of some form.

Flake - Well said, and that's a problem. A gamers problem, and an industry boon for control and reselling for more cash something you already bought as most won't do or can't figure out how to program, hack and solder around such things.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I have a WiiU now! I am very excited to hook it up, and I will be sure to let everyone know what I think about it!

Excellent!

By February I bet your Wii U collection will be larger than mine.

Now just buy a Vita and you'll have the three 8th gen systems worth owning.