The Console War | Where I Stand

Gaming, like politics, has become a divisive topic as of late. Gamers are both loved, and hated for what they buy into. It always ends up in a heated debate, and results in someone getting shamed or blamed for their brand loyalty. Well, today is the day I shed the light one what I think about the whole thing. Read on as I discuss the reality of the situation as it pertains to gaming and gamers ...

Everyone in the gaming community seems to be caught up, to some extent, in the console wars drama. Whether you're a PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo only gamer you've likely run across someone on social media dissing your favorite console brand. As a Gamer who has lived through three decades worth of console releases I have personally found fault in all of them though. To one degree or another. 

Nintendo, for one, has been stubborn in it's ways, and remains a dated platform. PlayStation, in it's own right, is a neglected platform rife with censorship and cheater problems. Xbox, the last of the unholy trinity, has turned into an entertainment streaming focused platform that does more harm to developers than any others. Needless to say there is no real winner out of the three, if we were to be honest.

Despite remaining faithful to the PlayStation brand, myself, I do it mostly, because they allowed for a proper gameplay upload feature. Something that Xbox, and Nintendo fails to do to this day. I want to be able to share lengthy videos with or without commentary as an extension to my review efforts, and PlayStation is currently my only option for that. That being said ...

While I stick to mostly PlayStation coverage they are far from my favorite. What I have experienced as a paying PlayStation player is wholly unforgiveable. I literally pay monthly for a multiplayer that is wrought with cheaters and hackers. No one should have to pay for that service for that reason. The added fact that they do not offer proper player reporting options on or off console shows how little they care about the quality of the service they provide. It is this lack of caring, and blatant push against a certain demographic of gamers in regards to censorship efforts that makes PlayStation one of the last consoles I'd recommend anyone buy into.

Now for Xbox ... Xbox had a good ride from it's first debut console to the 360, but after that the Xbox One showed us that new management was so out of touch with what a gamer wants that it flopped, and is flopping like a dying fish out of water to this day. We've seen few worthwhile exclusives for the new Xbox generation, and that which is slated for release reeks of a certain politically motivated agenda. Pushing skin deep propaganda, and catering to the minority instead of the majority. Not only have they failed gamers on the exclusive front, but their Xbox Pass subscription has led to the utter destruction of good studios. If studios don't make it on there, or even if they do they are doomed to rake in little to no profit. It's where indies go to die.

Nintendo ... What can I say? Nintendo was and is a relic of the past. Riding off of the fame of key characters and franchises. Doing little to upgrade their console hardware to modern graphical standards, and accessibility. They are not gamer friendly in a lot of ways, and as I said before they are stubborn. With new management these issues are compounded further through DEI and ESG initiatives. 

It's another established gaming company choosing to alienate the core demographic that helped them get to where they are. It is this disregard for demographics, and the adoption of identity politics agendas that will eventually see Nintendo losing it's sh*t. It will happen, and when it does gaming as we know it will die. For Nintendo saved gaming all those years ago, and in dying that salvation will fade. 

Looking at the trio of console makers it's not hard to see they are on a financially suicidal death spiral. They have adopted bad business practices, and have become so greedy that, that greed grows harder and harder to satiate. Soon they too will hunger. It won't be for the escapism of good games, but for the players and their money they so readily exploited and abused. Given the global economic situation the death of the industry in the hands of PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo is inevitable. It will happen in our lifetime as priorities shift. What are your thoughts? Do you feel the same? Do you have something else worth adding to the conversation?