Upgrading the Life Upgrade: PS4

[Sakamoto]

So far it seems the Chris is not among the first people to buy a PS4. I can only theorize, but I suspect he's just not able to afford one yet. He's probably already in deep with his credit cards, and there's a good chance Barb is monitoring those. They may have yet to recover from the legal costs of the GAMePLACe adventure.

There's still the old dependable but a PS4 would cost about half month's income, and Chris doesn't get all of that money to begin with. In 2010 when Bob was still around, Chris had $229 for himself after deducting money for bills and "rent". We don't know for sure what he has left to spend these days, but I'm sure Barb still claims a Snorlax's share.

Chris doesn't seem the type to plan ahead, so he probably didn't think to start setting money aside for a PS4 fund, even if he had he would have dipped into it for buying Legos and crap. So the big day comes and Chris is still PS4-free. It could be a real struggle for him to come up with the money for one now, but I think he's probably working on it with the goal of getting himself one for Christmas (or birthday if he needs more time).

Probably something like a new PS4 release of Animal Crossing or any other game that Chris would obsess over would light a fire under his ass and put him into high gear to raise the money. eBay, pawn shop, stealing from Barb, whatever it takes.

 

[Stuff and Things]

So far it seems the Chris is not among the first people to buy a PS4. I can only theorize, but I suspect he's just not able to afford one yet. He's probably already in deep with his credit cards, and there's a good chance Barb is monitoring those. They may have yet to recover from the legal costs of the GAMePLACe adventure.

There's still the old dependable but a PS4 would cost about half month's income, and Chris doesn't get all of that money to begin with. In 2010 when Bob was still around, Chris had $229 for himself after deducting money for bills and "rent". We don't know for sure what he has left to spend these days, but I'm sure Barb still claims a Snorlax's share.

Chris doesn't seem the type to plan ahead, so he probably didn't think to start setting money aside for a PS4 fund, even if he had he would have dipped into it for buying Legos and crap. So the big day comes and Chris is still PS4-free. It could be a real struggle for him to come up with the money for one now, but I think he's probably working on it with the goal of getting himself one for Christmas (or birthday if he needs more time).

Probably something like a new PS4 release of Animal Crossing or any other game that Chris would obsess over would light a fire under his ass and put him into high gear to raise the money. eBay, pawn shop, stealing from Barb, whatever it takes.

But there's no animal crossing for sony lol, but, probably a new game of little big planet or god of war, that is, if that new game of god of war includes more scenes of hanky panky...

 

[Sakamoto]

But there's no animal crossing for sony lol, but, probably a new game of little big planet or god of war, that is, if that new game of god of war includes more scenes of hanky panky...

I really don't know about games, but my point being if a game Chris was really into came out for PS4, he'd go all out to get one.

 

[MrTroll]

Right now, there really isn't much to play on the PS4 at all, especially anything that would appeal to Chris's autistic sensibilities (apart from Knack which has been very badly reviewed). Even a brand slave like Chris might understand on some subconscious level that there's no point in buying a console that doesn't have any games worth playing on it. Though he did buy a Wii U, so maybe not. Maybe he's just broke and waiting for next month's tugboat to come in.

 

[That Chris Guy]

Personally, there isn't much of anything to justify buying the new consoles. Wii U is playing catch-up again because it should have been released last generation, the other two consoles are small upgrades that are already outdone by the PC at the very beginning of their lifespan, and the Steam Machines are Gabe's Monopoly game that further compound the market by releasing PCs that pretend to be consoles.

I may end up buying them as my favourite first-party titles migrate over, but there's hardly any due cause for celebration (unless the annual Call of Duty menace is finally obliterated). No doubt Chris will stick with Sony's machine when he can afford it though, even if he only plays one game in its exclusives library.

 

[DrChristianTroy]

(unless the annual Call of Duty menace is finally obliterated)

Popular franchises?!?!?!?!

 

[That Chris Guy]

(unless the annual Call of Duty menace is finally obliterated)

Popular franchises?!?!?!?!

http://imgace.com/wp-content/uploads/20 ... topus1.jpg

It was good up until about 2009, but now it does more harm every year than good. It has all the hallmarks of a bad game now: Overblown, meathead Michael Bay storylines that make little to no sense, a graphics engine from 2007 that has seen only marginal upgrades and now looks outdated, "announcements" made to entice you into buying the game that never actually see the light of day (destructible elements in MW3 my ass), set-pieces that last only for 1 or 2 levels that don't really constitute an upgrade (e.g: Ghosts - dog, space, underwater), a completely unchanged AI that has only done one thing for seven games now (cover, shoot, cover), mere reskins of old enemies (hyenas = dogs), annual releases that have no carry-over (level the same gun you've levelled for years now *again*!), and purely map DLC.

The problem is that it encourages publishers not to take any risks with their games - just make the same game every year and people will buy it [/rant]

 

[tobacky_vapor]

(unless the annual Call of Duty menace is finally obliterated)

Popular franchises?!?!?!?!

http://imgace.com/wp-content/uploads/20 ... topus1.jpg

It was good up until about 2009, but now it does more harm every year than good. It has all the hallmarks of a bad game now: Overblown, meathead Michael Bay storylines that make little to no sense, a graphics engine from 2007 that has seen only marginal upgrades and now looks outdated, "announcements" made to entice you into buying the game that never actually see the light of day (destructible elements in MW3 my ass), set-pieces that last only for 1 or 2 levels that don't really constitute an upgrade (e.g: Ghosts - dog, space, underwater), a completely unchanged AI that has only done one thing for seven games now (cover, shoot, cover), mere reskins of old enemies (hyenas = dogs), annual releases that have no carry-over (level the same gun you've levelled for years now *again*!), and purely map DLC.

The problem is that it encourages publishers not to take any risks with their games - just make the same game every year and people will buy it [/rant]

Pretty much, Although will be brutally honest and say that people in general nowadays are used to everything being watered down and mediocre. Look at mainstream music for example, Most of the mainstream music out nowadays has watered-down tunes that are very easy to play, and have lyrics that a freaking Chris could write (aka pitbull). There are very few gems of challenging uniqueness nowadays, Sadly most of them are either for kids, too easy, or have been there done that many times. Hello look at deviantART. There are very rare artists were actually Ardussi make absolutely amazing artwork, It's mostly people who make the same generic manga art were the most popular on DA, How all just sit there are very good manga artIsts, but even they are completely overshadowed by people who draw generic naruto pairings.

The point I'm trying to make is people are used to stuff being bland and consistently safe, they are too afraid to try something completely different and new, And they like staying within their own little box. CaUse that's what they are used to.

 

[That Chris Guy]

Pretty much, Although will be brutally honest and say that people in general nowadays are used to everything being watered down and mediocre. Look at mainstream music for example, Most of the mainstream music out nowadays has watered-down tunes that are very easy to play, and have lyrics that a freaking Chris could write (aka pitbull). There are very few gems of challenging uniqueness nowadays, Sadly most of them are either for kids, too easy, or have been there done that many times. Hello look at deviantART. There are very rare artists were actually Ardussi make absolutely amazing artwork, It's mostly people who make the same generic manga art were the most popular on DA, How all just sit there are very good manga artIsts, but even they are completely overshadowed by people who draw generic naruto pairings.

The point I'm trying to make is people are used to stuff being bland and consistently safe, they are too afraid to try something completely different and new, And they like staying within their own little box. CaUse that's what they are used to.

Essentially, yes. But every so often, there will come a need for change, and the previous object of attention is discarded. Take Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk for example: Both used to be crazy popular, now they've burned down to nothing. All it takes is for a new idea that becomes the next big thing. I somewhat hope it's something like Titanfall, or better yet Destiny, but CoD has worn well past its expiration date, so it remains to be seen when the decline will commence.

 

[tobacky_vapor]

Pretty much, Although will be brutally honest and say that people in general nowadays are used to everything being watered down and mediocre. Look at mainstream music for example, Most of the mainstream music out nowadays has watered-down tunes that are very easy to play, and have lyrics that a freaking Chris could write (aka pitbull). There are very few gems of challenging uniqueness nowadays, Sadly most of them are either for kids, too easy, or have been there done that many times. Hello look at deviantART. There are very rare artists were actually Ardussi make absolutely amazing artwork, It's mostly people who make the same generic manga art were the most popular on DA, How all just sit there are very good manga artIsts, but even they are completely overshadowed by people who draw generic naruto pairings.

The point I'm trying to make is people are used to stuff being bland and consistently safe, they are too afraid to try something completely different and new, And they like staying within their own little box. CaUse that's what they are used to.

Essentially, yes. But every so often, there will come a need for change, and the previous object of attention is discarded. Take Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk for example: Both used to be crazy popular, now they've burned down to nothing. All it takes is for a new idea that becomes the next big thing. I somewhat hope it's something like Titanfall, or better yet Destiny, but CoD has worn well past its expiration date, so it remains to be seen when the decline will commence.

This pretty much sums up mainstream in general. In the mainstream music biz once something like that happens and becomes a new hit on the radio, and the old artist completely dies out and fades into nothing. Same with games as well. Once something else catches the interest of the general public, call of duty will no longer be in the mainstream and it will could be completely faded out into nothing.

Call of duty as far as how people feel about it has already begun to show, people are already getting sick of the same thing over and over. Assuming the main problem is is that when they changed to much in the game, people believe they have destroyed the franchise And that they should've kept it in its original formula (aka the halo series). The general public is very irritating to try to keep happy, Sure no matter what happens I'll buy stuff in mass, but when you start making sequels with the same formula or if you change the formula they will complain about it either way, they're never truly happy.

 

[milkshark]

Both Chris' Wii U and PS3 allow him to play console games on a portable screen. Chris doesn't even need a TV to play any of his video games. The threat of Borb not letting Chris play certain games is an empty one, he can sit in the room with her while Springer is on the TV while playing whatever he wants on a screen she can't see.

Much like Chris, I have Nintendo brand loyalty. Nintendo games have a timeless appeal much like Legos. Sony's new system really isn't for a gamer like Chris. He's not going to buy a FPS, sports simulation or realistic racing game. If you ask me, he bought the right system first.

 

[DrChristianTroy]

(unless the annual Call of Duty menace is finally obliterated)

Popular franchises?!?!?!?!

http://imgace.com/wp-content/uploads/20 ... topus1.jpg

It was good up until about 2009, but now it does more harm every year than good. It has all the hallmarks of a bad game now: Overblown, meathead Michael Bay storylines that make little to no sense, a graphics engine from 2007 that has seen only marginal upgrades and now looks outdated, "announcements" made to entice you into buying the game that never actually see the light of day (destructible elements in MW3 my ass), set-pieces that last only for 1 or 2 levels that don't really constitute an upgrade (e.g: Ghosts - dog, space, underwater), a completely unchanged AI that has only done one thing for seven games now (cover, shoot, cover), mere reskins of old enemies (hyenas = dogs), annual releases that have no carry-over (level the same gun you've levelled for years now *again*!), and purely map DLC.

The problem is that it encourages publishers not to take any risks with their games - just make the same game every year and people will buy it [/rant]

It is what it is. People like to have a product they know and trust that feels familiar. That's just way things are. If it makes the company money they shouldn't have to satisfy the "hardcore gamers." If that were the case I wouldn't see "Where's Beyond Good and Evil 2" once a year. At the end of the day you vote with your wallet. Not like people are forcing you to play the game.

Also Michael Bay gets shit on way too much. Bad Boys II is a criminally underrated action movie.

 

[A-Stump]

Both Chris' Wii U and PS3 allow him to play console games on a portable screen. Chris doesn't even need a TV to play any of his video games. The threat of Borb not letting Chris play certain games is an empty one, he can sit in the room with her while Springer is on the TV while playing whatever he wants on a screen she can't see.

Much like Chris, I have Nintendo brand loyalty. Nintendo games have a timeless appeal much like Legos. Sony's new system really isn't for a gamer like Chris. He's not going to buy a FPS, sports simulation or realistic racing game. If you ask me, he bought the right system first.

You obviously don't know Chris much, he buys games he has no intention on even playing. He also plays 'graphic' games and is a fanboy of the God of War series (or at least was) and played Resident Evil Revelations or whatever it was called twice

 

[That Chris Guy]

This pretty much sums up mainstream in general. Inn the mainstream music biz once something like that happens and becomes a new hit on the radio, and the old artist completely dies out and fades into nothing. Same with games as well. Once something else catches the interest of the general public, call of duty will no longer be in the mainstream and it will could be completely faded out into nothing.

Call of duty as far as how people feel about it has already begun to show, people are already getting sick of the same thing over and over. Assuming the main problem is is that when they changed to much in the game, people believe they have destroyed the franchise And that they should've kept it in its original formula (aka the halo series). The general public is very irritating to try to keep happy, Sure no matter what happens I'll buy stuff in mass, but when you start making sequels with the same formula or if you change the formula they will complain about it either way, they're never truly happy.

Concerning Halo, it's shocking to think that the AI - previously criticised for being a little stupid in some aspects - is now a defining example of AI variety because of how many games have adopted the same boring AI strategy of cover shooting. It also took CoD 4 years of being at the top to even incorporate what should be essential features (e.g: Theatre Mode) and even other games have still failed to adopt it despite visual fidelity.

Halo's age was beginning to show by Reach: it was one of the rare games that still relied on map-based weapons as opposed to unlocked loadouts. What they did in 4 was the sensible thing to do, but its aging system conflicted with the new one sheerly because it remained one of the few popular franchises that still did it.

Even then, each Halo game changed the model considerably compared to CoD: 2 completely overhauled physics, vehicles and weapons, 3 added deployable items, Reach added the deployable item loadouts. coD is an example of the opposite - how you can merely reskin more of the same thing without adding any new elements, and still get treated like a rockstar. The last major overhaul was the expansion of everything in MW2; it has remained pretty static since then.

It is what it is. People like to have a product they know and trust that feels familiar. That's just way things are. If it makes the company money they shouldn't have to satisfy the "hardcore gamers." If that were the case I wouldn't see "Where's Beyond Good and Evil 2" once a year. At the end of the day you vote with your wallet. Not like people are forcing you to play the game.

At the end of the day, it's the most successful franchise that will dictate what its competitors will do. And it's unwarranted successes like CoD that hurt the industry while underappreciated overhauls, like the Borderlands franchise, don't make the impact they should. By "unwarranted", I'm referring to CoD's continued success btw, not its original success.

And Michael Bay deserves his criticism. The Transformers movies were terrible.

 

[milkshark]

Both Chris' Wii U and PS3 allow him to play console games on a portable screen. Chris doesn't even need a TV to play any of his video games. The threat of Borb not letting Chris play certain games is an empty one, he can sit in the room with her while Springer is on the TV while playing whatever he wants on a screen she can't see.

Much like Chris, I have Nintendo brand loyalty. Nintendo games have a timeless appeal much like Legos. Sony's new system really isn't for a gamer like Chris. He's not going to buy a FPS, sports simulation or realistic racing game. If you ask me, he bought the right system first.

You obviously don't know Chris much, he buys games he has no intention on even playing. He also plays 'graphic' games and is a fanboy of the God of War series (or at least was) and played Resident Evil Revelations or whatever it was called twice

Oh I know, sorry that kills your presumptive theory. Chris doesn't play the modern game genres that are slated for PS4 releases. God of War and RE are based on classic genres (beat 'em up and survival horror) from Chris' adolescence. There's nothing for Chris on PS4, and he's smart to avoid it. He'd be better served spending his money on Wii U titles or classic PS3 games he never tried.

 

[A-Stump]

Yes, because it's not like Little Big Planet isn't totally a Sony exclusive and one of Chris's favorite titles and it's also totally unlikely that they won't be making a third one for the PS4 because it wasn't massively popular. Oh, and its not also like Chris has a touch of the 'tism which makes him susceptible to brand loyalty, marketing tactics, and will continue supporting a brand no matter how crappy it gets. (Like Sonic '06. Yes, he thinks Sonic '06 is good because it's Sonic and he can't let Sonic down).



You already admitted to being a fanboy but there's being a fanboy and then there's using common sense.

 

[That Chris Guy]

Oh I know, sorry that kills your presumptive theory. Chris doesn't play the modern game genres that are slated for PS4 releases. God of War and RE are based on classic genres (beat 'em up and survival horror) from Chris' adolescence. There's nothing for Chris on PS4, and he's smart to avoid it. He'd be better served spending his money on Wii U titles or classic PS3 games he never tried.

He spends enough gaming time playing Lego as is. I don't think a new console is going to do him any favors.

Yes, because it's not like Little Big Planet isn't totally a Sony exclusive and one of Chris's favorite titles and it's also totally unlikely that they won't be making a third one for the PS4 because it wasn't massively popular. Oh, and its not also like Chris has a touch of the 'tism which makes him susceptible to brand loyalty, marketing tactics, and will continue supporting a brand no matter how crappy it gets. (Like Sonic '06. Yes, he thinks Sonic '06 is good because it's Sonic and he can't let Sonic down).

You already admitted to being a fanboy but there's being a fanboy and then there's using common sense.

Good point. I didn't consider LBP, but now that you mention it, I can see him buying a PS4 if only for that.

 

[milkshark]

Yes, because it's not like Little Big Planet isn't totally a Sony exclusive and one of Chris's favorite titles and it's also totally unlikely that they won't be making a third one for the PS4 because it wasn't massively popular. Oh, and its not also like Chris has a touch of the 'tism which makes him susceptible to brand loyalty, marketing tactics, and will continue supporting a brand no matter how crappy it gets. (Like Sonic '06. Yes, he thinks Sonic '06 is good because it's Sonic and he can't let Sonic down).



You already admitted to being a fanboy but there's being a fanboy and then there's using common sense.

Yeah, I'm aware that the PS4 has one game that Chris is interested in, potentially, sometime next year or later. Chris might buy the PS4, but it's a huge waste of money for him to get it before one of his favorite franchise games comes out. Waiting means smaller, sleeker models, price drops and bundle deals. There are no games out now that are better or more fun to play than what's available on PS3, Vita, 3DS, or Wii U. Chris has a lot of awesome choices on his plate already. Isn't there a new Pokemon game he should be playing on a 3D portable? Last I checked, Chris REALLY likes Pokemon!!

 

[That Chris Guy]

Yeah, I'm aware that the PS4 has one game that Chris is interested in, potentially, sometime next year or later. Chris might buy the PS4, but it's a huge waste of money for him to get it before one of his favorite franchise games comes out. Waiting means smaller, sleeker models, price drops and bundle deals. There are no games out now that are better or more fun to play than what's available on PS3, Vita, 3DS, or Wii U. Chris has a lot of awesome choices on his plate already. Isn't there a new Pokemon game he should be playing on a 3D portable? Last I checked, Chris REALLY likes Pokemon!!

I think the point being made is that given Chris's previous track record and his autism, there isn't much to suggest that he will spend wisely. If anything, he is more likely to splurge than save, though he may be forced to save money even though he doesn't want to.

 

[A-Stump]

There wasn't anything worth getting on the 3DS on launch. He got it anyways. Vita? Day one and a stack of games he likely wouldn't play and that he definitely couldn't afford when he already had the before mentioned 3DS, regular DS, and two PSP's. Taking that into consideration, why would he not get a PS4? He has no friends and fills his life with stuff. It's really simple.