by Brad Chacos
Traditionally, gamers have voluntary segregated themselves into two camps: console gamers and PC gamers. Hostility between the two runs irrationally deep, and rare is the gamer who’s willing to proclaim allegiance to both sides. Either you’re part of the Alliance, or you’re part of the Horde.
But the times, they are a-changin’.
Convergence is the buzzword of the day, and it’s rearing its head big-time in the gaming world. On one side, the upcoming PlayStation 4 console sports a suspiciously computer-esque core. On the other side, a wave of new technologies is bringing a remarkably console-like experience to PC gaming. The lines are beginning to blur. Mr. Miyamoto, tear down that wall!
The implications of a shared gaming backbone could span a whole series of articles, but this is PCWorld, not Game Informer. As such, we’ll limit our scope thusly: What does this titanic technology shift mean for you, die-hard PC gamer?
Soul Covenant feels like a game from the early 2000s, with its repetitive gameplay loop, waggle controls, and nonsensical story.
Indie developer Carlos Alfonso is working on Cold VR, a game where standing still isn't an option. The complete opposite to SUPERHOT VR.
Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered players are ticked off by the game’s most recent patch, which censors in-game pin-up posters of Lara Croft.
This is why gaming is screwed. When people change things to fit someone’s agenda, it’s a slippery slope downhill.
Even if that agenda is of the developer? Way to remove developer rights.
***One player called it a “huge problem with modern games,” saying they can now be “ruined AFTER people buy them”.***
The level of drama. Yes, I recall sitting there for more hours than I did anything else in the game. These two pinups are the core of the game, after all!
rlow1's cringe catastrophizing aside, I do think developers *ought* to strive to maintain an original work to the best of their ability. The language of a "remaster" tacitly implies that - for good or ill - what's being resold is what fans remember but better.
Games can be ruined after purchasing them yeah we know this not from this but from GTA IV which had half it's radio content patched out due to licensing expirations and to me that was a huge deal.
This pin up poster is a bit of nonsense but the whole argument of modern games can be ruined post launch is Absol true.
It's not their work to censor. They are incharge of restoration & remastering the work, not overwriting it.
It's not the agenda of the developer though, they're pandering and trying to increase their ESG score.
Way to support censorship...
It’s not the end of the world for sure, but I understand the hate towards this kind of change. I believe it’s also a matter of principle.
Imagine a Picasso painting being restored & the restorer deciding there aren’t enough strokes, or some lines aren’t straight enough or curved enough…not sure it would/should sit well with people.
Have all original devs signed off on this change? Even if it’s the case, are we saying older gamers are better mentally equipped to process what was there than current gamers, hence the change?
Enough time ago the case was made that games are an art form. We’re supposed to have won that case.
So which is it? Are games art or not?
Hasn't this been happened for over a decade since remasters? I can't see that it's any worse now. Maybe if Sweet Baby starts getting their hands on remasters we will definitely have a problem.
tbh I dont see something like this as censorship. Does anyone else not find it strange for someone to stick pin ups of themsleves in a locker room?
Now of it was a pin up of some half naked firefighters it might make sense as Lara might like that, and if they removed that I would cry censorship. But removing pin ups of the main character, yeah I get it.
It's a game, and they were placed there for the audience. It's not real life. If it was, she wouldn't have fought a T-Rex now would she?
Yes, it's censorship but it's a bit less in your face. If they were in the original game, then they should have been in the remasters. It's bad enough that they have that ridiculous unnecessary warning at the start, but then they start removing things post launch. I don't care how small the change, they shouldn't be doing it. It's nothing but ESG pandering but in a subtle way.
Look bro, if you have pictures of yourself naked on a bear skin rug up in your house let me tell you, its not normal.
By the year 2030, this remaster collection will totally be changed and censored. Probably will remove Lara as a playable character. It's ridiculous. Glad that my family didn't buy this.
I still have Tomb Raider 2 PS1 as a memory.
It’s mentioned in the article, and it’s a point i 100% agree with, it’s the fact that they can censor a game after you buy it. That’s total bullshit.
Whilst it's an overreaction to say this has "ruined" the game, it's still problematic that this has happened post launch and for many, post-purchase.
I don't want someone to change a product for the worse after I've bought it. The same goes for implementing micro transactions after reviews.
I wonder why they did this? Nobody was kicking up a fuss as far as I'm aware.
So the consoles are glorified PCs now and somehow the PC is becoming "console-fied". No. Your consoles are becoming "PC-ified" and it is a very good thing.
PCs have had gamepad support of all kinds since inception. Consoles however are just this generation adding things like demos, patches, digital downloads, alternative input support, and so on.
The only thing this author hit on the head is streamlined controls becoming more common in PC games. This is done by default rather than using something like joy2key or your gamepad's custom software. This isn't new to PC gaming. It is just new coming with built in support more often than not directly from the game-makers.
I've been a PC gamer since the days of the Commodore 64 and Amiga but I ended up jumping ship to the Xbox a few years ago when my gaming rig went down and I really haven't regretted the move. While I certainly miss user created mods and superior graphics I definately don't miss the intrusive DRM, the necessity of 3rd party software for team speak or the always online requirements that seem to be becoming more and more common place. As an older gamer I also can't deny the "couch factor", it's much easier to just sit back on my couch, pick up a controller and have at it as opposed to sitting at my desk to play games. I know there's been ways to hook up my PC to my TV but like everything with PC's it's a little more of a hassle than it is with consoles. I am excited about these new Steam Box type PC's though and they're probably going to cause me to hold off buying a next gen console so I can way all my options. I just hope the pricing is comparable to the next gen. consoles. If it is I might just make a return to the PC, especially if these new PC systems let me play some of my classic games like Planescape or Jagged Alliance 2.
Console-ification... never read an article when there's a poorly made up word in the title. Just implying PC's are becoming more like consoles is blasphemy... everything offered on consoles has been available for PC for ages now minus the mandatory subscription fee's to access P2P multiplayer.
For you guys paying for Xbox live... all I ask is that you go on strike and boycott your subscriptions for at least a month. Start a petition, demand silver access to multiplayer at least... do SOMETHING besides blindly paying for nothing. Do something before paying for basic P2P becomes an industry standard on top of paying your ISP.