Mediocre games and Gabe Newell.
348 days 17 hours ago
| by:
GlossGreen
I enjoy video games, and I like to write. What I don't like is reading the same old news in the blog section. My goal here is to write articles, in my own words, instead of doing the standard cut and paste of news stories that seems to be an epidemic on this site. If I want to read about the news I'll go to the news section. If I want to see an opinion of the news, I come to the blog section. Well, enough ranting for the day, on to the point.
I'm a little worried about the state of games for the Playstation 3. We keep hearing about how games coming out look or play worse on the PS3 versus the 360. The current game to go under scrutiny is The Orange Box. I have seen conflicting stories about how it's "unplayable" and about how it's "not that bad". My problem is with the fact that if this is a port and not a new game, why are we hearing "not that bad" instead of it being comparable to the other console. The technology behind the game uses an established engine, nothing new, so what's the problem? Is it the software itself, the hardware, or could it be an ineptitude or indifference with the developer that's causing an inferior product? Granted, the hardware is a completely new design, but after seeing a couple of outstanding games that look and play very well, I am less inclined to believe that is the problem. I know Valve passed on doing the port of The Orange Box and gave it to EA to do instead. Was it because Valve just did not have the personnel or time to make it happen, or was it something else? Gabe Newell's attitude toward the PS3 is disturbing and leans in the direction of being extremely unproductive. I know he doesn't like the hardware, and that Sony made some mistakes with the developers in the first year that they are trying to correct now, but should he punish the gamers for that. If its about profitability, I know the installed base of the PS3 is not close to the 360 yet, but it does have the possibility for a good game to be profitable. How is this going to endear him to the console owners when less than stellar games are given to the fans? I only mention Gabe and Valve because he is definitely one of the most visible and vocal (but by no means only) opponents of the current Sony console. For the sake of the fans, I hope they change their minds. Since a majority of developers are multi-platform these days, having quality games for all the systems will increase competition and be good for the games industry. I'd rather have a choice to spend my money on a couple of good games, then a couple of mediocre ones because a developer just didn't like my console.
I focused on the PS3 for this article, not because I'm a fan of the system, but because this seems to be more prevalent on that system, although this problem can effect all consoles if attitudes like this continue. As gamers we have to demand that the developers take the time to make a game right the first time. If it takes a little while longer to program for one system or another I'd rather see a game delayed and good, then on time and mediocre. If it does take longer, it doesn't have to be perfect but it had better be good.
Tell me what you think about this topic. I'd like to hear your opinion whether you believe the same thing as me or not.
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