BulletPoints: PC Sanctuary - Exclusionary Gaming Continued

An interesting new debate has sparked that is similar to console wars and rather than wait a week to get a response up and be behind the times, I figured I’d strike now while the iron is hot and weigh in on the issue. Recently, Microsoft has come out and said they want to integrate Xbox (most likely Xbone features) into the PC for their upcoming Windows 10. No details beyond that have been explained, and we’re supposedly getting more details in January. 

One such question brought up is whether this means Xbone games will function on PC? Furthermore, if they do, do gamers want console games on their PC? You know me by now, I did a whole piece on why I think exclusive games are shit and why all content should be available everywhere to achieve not only maximum profit, but to include EVERYONE in the ability to enjoy the game. To me, it’s a no brainer.  But for some, they are entrenched in the old ways that really don’t make any sense.

I’ve seen comments around the net stating they want console games to stick to console so PC can continue being PC (and apparently that means better, arbitrarily). Now, yes, I’m a PC gamer (as well as a Nintendo gamer). And while I can certainly agree PC offers far more features than average consoles, making PC gaming more attractive to me, I also understand why consoles exist and why, to a degree, they still need to exist (though I don’t think they will for all that much longer).

That being said, the notion that specific games like Halo, Mario, or Uncharted have to stay exclusively to consoles because they’re not good enough to be on PC is laughable at best and disgusting at worst. PC Elitism aside, there is no rational reason to have that logic. Going back to what I said about exclusive gaming before, not being accepting of this option is actively damaging to gaming history and perhaps the future of gaming as you and I know it. Let me ask you something. While every new generation has a new set of consoles out and about to show off new tech or new ideas, what device has remained consistent throughout every generation, while still being as good or better than the average console? PC.

So, by that logic, what gaming device should (and is) perfectly capable of playing games from PRE-NES era all the way to the current generation in games as well as future games? PC, again. What’s my point? If we want to be able to preserve our games from way back in the early days to even fifty years from now, the most efficient way to do so is behind the PC (or whatever the PC will become in the next fifty years). This isn’t fanboyism, it’s cold hard facts.

Two years ago, the Wii was heavily supported by Nintendo. Today, the Wii has basically been abandoned with no online support for it or the original DS. Likewise, the original Xbox and its line-up of games can no longer use online functions. How much longer into the Xbone’s lifecycle will we have to wait before Microsoft decides they can’t afford to keep the Xbox360 servers running anymore? Same applies to the PS3 going to the PS4. But Steam? Not only do they sit on a fortune, but because no matter how you upgrade your PC, their service is still the same on that PC and they don’t need to change a damn thing. Same for Origin, GOG, Greenman Gaming, and so on.

And think of the games that lose so much without their online functions. Games like DayZ would be worthless if the online component wasn’t accessible. Would you still enjoy Halo or Call of Duty once the servers go down for those games and you were relegated to single player only? To think of a more detrimental example, Demon’s Souls and the Dark Souls series. They don’t require online to enjoy and it’s a mostly single player experience. But aspects of the game such as hints from other players, their ghosts, and invasions are LOST completely without online support, which make the unique aspects of these games lost. And that isn’t the way the developer intended the game to be played either, I can tell you that much.

But by having the games on PC where the servers will only die out if the players cease to exist would allow those games to stay alive. And older games would be all centralized under one location so they’d be easy to find instead of needing to hunt them down or figure out compatible devices for them. And to say none of them are worthy to be remembered is just stupidity… save for maybe Custer’s Revenge. We don’t need to remember that at all.

This is why I think Nintendo’s big move to file a patent for emulators on mobile devices is a step in the right direction (one that took entirely too long, but still something positive overall). And other companies would be wise to do the same. It isn’t the same as backwards compatibility, but it’s the next best thing. It’s allowing us to hold on to the history of this great medium and seeing how it grew from the very first pixels to what it is today. And PC is, overall, the best advocate for this because we while we update the PC from time to time, we can keep the data from machine to machine with almost no worries that it won’t be compatible with the next iteration unlock consoles or even smart phones to a degree.

So the very notion or concept that console games aren’t good enough to be on PC and don’t deserve to be preserved in the PC space is absolutely ludicrous. People who truly think this way aren’t forward thinkers nor do they care about the past. They only care about themselves and get upset at anything that doesn’t agree with them. These are probably the same people who get upset at the optional content in Bioware games were you can get into a homosexual relationship despite the fact such options aren’t forced upon you and you can choose to ignore them completely.

That’s all for today’s entry. Since that was a bit short, I suppose I’ll do some housekeeping real quick to let you know that I will be relocating. I’m currently looking into places to live. This also means that I can get better internet which would allow for video content to be back on the rotation. I can’t promise long-form let’s plays yet as I don’t think people want to listen to just me for more than five to ten minutes at a time and I’m all about making sure you get good content that is consistently fresh and (ideally) fun or funny. But I’ll try to have something shortly after getting moved out and into a new place. Like I have said previously, however, don’t expect anything until January at the very earliest.

Once the internet situation is resolved and once we’ve gotten a good schedule of content up on a mostly regular basis, I may get that Patreon started. Allowing us to collect funds for our work from people who want to support us (since Google AdSense’s customer service refuses to answer any of my problems). By getting funds for the channel, blog, and eventual stand-alone site, we can then provide better content and, ideally, afford to have more people than just myself do this without asking them to do so for free. I’ve always felt a little bad asking friends to be a part of the videos without being able to offer them something in return and while some were fine with it, I imagine some didn’t enjoy that as much. With any luck, this solves all those problems too.

Alright, now that’s settled, I think I’ll close out here. Looking forward to more content soon and if there’s anything you’re particularly interested in, let us know in the comments below. And are there any console exclusive games in particular you want to see get ported and preserved on the PC? If you liked this and want to see more content like it, please be sure to like, share, comment, and subscribe. See ya next time!