The gaming industry moves at a lightening pace. In my time as a gamer I’ve witnessed many different technologies come and go as well as the rise and fall of various hardware manufacturers and software developers. Each of these devices/companies has or has had a legion of fans at their back but, if the loyalty of the fans was as strong as some would have you believe, how come Sega stopped producing hardware or the Gamecube didn’t do as well as it should?
The fact that one console can dominate an entire generation only to have its successor do roughly half as well (but still very well despite circumstances) is evidence that even the most loyal fanboy can ‘switch sides’ in the turning of a hardware generation. This and more suggests to me that there is almost a ‘blank slate’ at the beginning of each console generation. Of course, having a legion of die-hard fans is a factor that can help a fledging console get off the ground but, it seems to me that, the console itself, its launch games and marketing are what truly matters and the fickle fans will turn on the drop of a hat.
The rise and fall and rise (and fall?) of Nintendo is an excellent example of how ‘bad’ decisions during the development of a console can come at the cost of the ‘loyal’ fanbase. I put the word ‘bad’ in that last sentence in inverted commas for a reason, which I’d like to highlight now. It’s hard to call the decisions of a manufacturer bad when they have to pretty much guess what people want from them. It’s like having to plan your meals five years in advance; you don’t know what you might fancy next week let alone years down the line. This is made worse by the fact that the consumer doesn’t even know what the hell they want either, take the Wii for example, the majority of gamers were against the very idea of it at first but now it’s this generations highest selling console. All this goes to show how, with the coming of a new generation of hardware, there follows a level of uncertainty that far outweighs any amount of fanboyism.
I’m getting into this now because I think that next year will possibly see, at least, the unveiling of ‘next gen’ consoles as well as the launch of the Wii U and many people will base their estimates on how well a follow-up console will do depending on how well its predecessor did. This is probably a mistake; however, there are some nuggets of wisdom to be mined from the lessons of the past. Take a look at hardware failure rates this generation; how many people will be picking the next Xbox knowing what happened to the 360 early on in its life-cycle? As a usual early adopter myself I will be looking for MS to offer an extended warranty from the get-go before I repeat my mistakes. Anyway my point is that pretty much anything can happen with every generational step and you should go into each with an open mind as to which console best deserves your hard earned cash (if you can only afford one). It’s a lesson that I probably won’t even heed myself as I tend to pick up any new hardware on launch, like the tech-whore sucker that I am, but I recommend anyone with a stronger will to really think about it.
EK Cooling allegedly has slipped itself into a hot soup of seemingly endless financial woes, where it has not paid its staff, suppliers, and contractors for many months as the company is facing liquidity problems and a surplus of inventory left unsold, stuck in the warehouse for a more extended period. Gamers Nexus investigated these claims made by former and current personnel, where he found trails of unpaid bills lasting as long as three to four months and unpaid raises that accumulated for almost a year.
EK Water Blocks has two entities—a Slovenian-based headquarters and a US-based subsidiary, EK Cooling Solutions. Steve narrated the series of events in detail, stating that the company was reportedly irresponsible and negligent regarding payment. Consequently, partners and employees are forced to share the burden of alleged mismanagement. It all begins with its extensive range of products, leading to a surplus of goods. EK has over 230 water blocks, 40 liquid cooling kits, 85 reservoirs, 40 pumps, 73 radiators, and 212 miscellaneous accessories.
Yes this is not about video games directly but indirectly this will impact the pc gaming/workstation space hard.
This company is massive one of two in the water cool space so if it goes poof then thousands out there have no spare parts or half built computers.
SO yeah i know not about a video game but think of it as amd leaving the pc space but this is ekwb that could be leaving water cooling in the pc space
Jayz2cents a supporter of there products also has issues
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Originally launched in 2011, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is coming to Nintendo Switch, so It's time to look back at the original.
With the defense MO failing, many players think that a change in how these missions work is called for.
To answer your title, it does for a healthy majority imo. I think your examples prove just how few "die-hard fans" there are in comparison to the numbers of consumers who just want X console becuase that's what my friends have/will have. Given that this is the first generation with a superfluous amount of avenues for fanboys to "display their loyalty", we'll see just how rooted in a future console some people will be (despite not knowing everything it's going to offer).
Personal prediction: I imagine some people will talk about "The Cell 2" for the PS4 around E3. Where I would've initially thought this would be an announcement to a terrible Inception-like movie made in...the early 2000's, I now know this arbitrarely bestowed name originally given at PS3's announcement is referring to the PS4's components. Along with this comes speculation that this new device shall rival super-computers 20 years from now.
It's all to do with the companies tendency to suck people into buying their console. Then they can have all the fans they want. I'm half asleep, so that didn't make much sense, but that's the way I see it.
The carry-over mostly depends on whether the next console has backward compatibility. If someone only had one console this gen, having the assurance that their current games will remain playable is usually enough to keep them sticking to the same brand.
Other than that, humans are selfish creatures, and they'll usually go for the cheaper deal (or whatever they feel gives them the most bang for the buck)
Fanboyism will still be there as the people who buy the more expensive system will try to justify their purchase by bashing the cheaper platform, while those that bought the cheaper platform will try to comfort themselves by arguing that they're happy with what they have.
These kinds of fanboys don't really have any loyalties. They just want to feel like they made the right choice, and usually, these kind fanboys are the loudest as well.
Yes, i have been recruiting in the name of my lord and saviour Ken Kutagari in preparation for the coming war.
"Take a look at hardware failure rates this generation; how many people will be picking the next Xbox knowing what happened to the 360 early on in its life-cycle? As a usual early adopter myself I will be looking for MS to offer an extended warranty from the get-go before I repeat my mistakes."
People bought the PS3 from the get go, yet the early PS2 had DRE...
People bought the PS2 from the get go, yet the early PS1'a had disk drive issues also.
If you're a gamer you will buy the consoles regardless.