OT: Video Game Talk (oh, also the Week before the All-Star Break Pre-Game Talk "archive")

[Avsboy]

Id prefer an Xbox the way Microsoft is buying up companies. Plus I support American made. Make America Great Again.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Xbox has been trending down for a while, they have barely released any quality exclusive content since the peak 360 days

 

[Avsboy]

Xbox has been trending down for a while, they have barely released any quality exclusive content since the peak 360 days

Oh, but they will

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Oh, but they will

This has been said for a decade now and it still hasn't happened while the competition is delivering. They better get their act together or it's two weak console generations after a strong start.

 

[henchman21]

I'll get a PS5 eventually (have a Series X), but there are so few games for either that really scream at you to buy them. Hopefully this is the year to change that. I got my XSX because I simply went into WalMart on release day and they had it in stock. Otherwise I'd probably still be gaming my PS4 Pro and XOX.

That said, I am real curious to try the new Playstation Plus at some point. Gamepass is amazing and I enjoy it immensely on Xbox. I pretty much get it for free at this point, so paying for PSP isn't as appealing yet. When I get a PS5 I will give it a chance.

My Switch still gets as much, if not more use than any other system. My XSX got some extra over the past couple months with the next gen patches of Cyberpunk and Witcher (and High on Life). But I find myself playing my Switch over almost anything else. Easy to pick up and play at a moments notice. A lot of the types of games make it easy to enter and exit. It is a no brainer, but portable makes it so much better to travel with. No more trying to lug around a console to hook up to a hotel TV when you're on a 5 day business trip. I take the Genki dock (though I understand the risk) and a HDMI cable... and I'm pretty much set. Works amazingly. Even in my short two weeks in the Bahamas, with a lot of sightseeing and work time, I completed 3 games in my backlog.

This has been said for a decade now and it still hasn't happened while the competition is delivering. They better get their act together or it's two weak console generations after a strong start.

Soon enough Activision and Bethesda will be exclusive sans CoD. That alone is a huge pull.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Soon enough Activision and Bethesda will be exclusive sans CoD. That alone is a huge pull.

For sure. Personally both companies have been getting worse at a steady pace, but will attract a lot of people. CoD sells like crazy even if I think it's mostly been mediocre stuff since the early games. The original CoD 1 and 2 + World at War were great fun.

 

[sethro109]

I always prefer gaming on the Xbox series X. Their controller with the offset joysticks(Which I vastly prefer) and game pass make it an easy first place for me to game on. I'm a game junkie and also have a Switch, PC and PS5, but other than a few PS5 exclusives I never really touch it. I also just recently got a steam deck and so far I'm enamored by the device. It's like the switch, but I can use it for soooo many more games. But the biggest draw so far has been it's ability to emulate pretty much everything. Switching from Pokemon Emerald to Metal gear solid to Banjo Kazooie on a whim is great. Games on both Switch and PC run infinity better on the Steam Deck so you end up with a much better portable experience.

 

[henchman21]

For sure. Personally both companies have been getting worse at a steady pace, but will attract a lot of people. CoD sells like crazy even if I think it's mostly been mediocre stuff since the early games. The original CoD 1 and 2 + World at War were great fun.

I'm not a CoD fan... just not my thing. But Bethesda really puts out a ton of high quality games. Probably the most AAA games outside Ubisoft if we exclude sports games. Arkane/id/Tango release games all the time that are just fantastic games. Apparently the silent drop of HiFi Rush by Tango is quietly going to contend for game of the year. Can't wait to try that one. Then Starfield has ultra high expectations.

 

[henchman21]

I always prefer gaming on the Xbox series X. Their controller with the offset joysticks(Which I vastly prefer) and game pass make it an easy first place for me to game on. I'm a game junkie and also have a Switch, PC and PS5, but other than a few PS5 exclusives I never really touch it. I also just recently got a steam deck and so far I'm enamored by the device. It's like the switch, but I can use it for soooo many more games. But the biggest draw so far has been it's ability to emulate pretty much everything. Switching from Pokemon Emerald to Metal gear solid to Banjo Kazooie on a whim is great. Games on both Switch and PC run infinity better on the Steam Deck so you end up with a much better portable experience.

I've never been a big digital buyer of games, so that has kept me off PC... but Steam Deck might be the push I need. It is like a Switch on steroids with basically every game under the sun able to play in some form.

 

[S E P H]

Not buying a PS5 until they make a slim version. My brethren has the OG and it is monstrous in a bad way.

 

[The Moops]

Steam Deck is the GOAT

 

[henchman21]

Not buying a PS5 until they make a slim version. My brethren has the OG and it is monstrous in a bad way.

The 'slim' is rumored this year and likely won't be all that slim from the sounds of it. Just too much heat to dissipate.

Size is also a concern of mine on the Steam Deck (more weight than physical size... but it is also a thiccboi) compared the Switch. .

 

[sethro109]

I've never been a big digital buyer of games, so that has kept me off PC... but Steam Deck might be the push I need. It is like a Switch on steroids with basically every game under the sun able to play in some form.

Not being able to buy physical is definitely PC's biggest draw back. I am loving the steam deck so far though. Things like humble bundle and steam sales do make it a little easier to amass a big cheap gaming library though.

But if anyone does buy a PS5 I highly recommend buying the disc drive model. Being able to buy used games and rent them will save you a lot more money than saving the $100 on the model without it. Sony has been known to keep their digital game prices high for that reason.

 

[Vaslof]

Id prefer an Xbox the way Microsoft is buying up companies. Plus I support American made. Make America Great Again.

Xboxes are made in China.

Anyway PC is the best, these days there's not much reason to have a console.

 

[S E P H]

Steam Deck is going to be freaking awesome, but the tech isn't there yet for it. Crazy expensive price, has no windows version except if you download other software or something, not all games play well on it, and absolutely awful battery life.

The 'slim' is rumored this year and likely won't be all that slim from the sounds of it. Just too much heat to dissipate.

Size is also a concern of mine on the Steam Deck (more weight than physical size... but it is also a thiccboi) compared the Switch. .

I've seen some "rumour" pics and even though it doesn't come close to the size of my Xbox One slim or PS4 slim, it looks so much nicer and cleaner than the original.

 

[Avsboy]

I always prefer gaming on the Xbox series X. Their controller with the offset joysticks(Which I vastly prefer) and game pass make it an easy first place for me to game on. I'm a game junkie and also have a Switch, PC and PS5, but other than a few PS5 exclusives I never really touch it. I also just recently got a steam deck and so far I'm enamored by the device. It's like the switch, but I can use it for soooo many more games. But the biggest draw so far has been it's ability to emulate pretty much everything. Switching from Pokemon Emerald to Metal gear solid to Banjo Kazooie on a whim is great. Games on both Switch and PC run infinity better on the Steam Deck so you end up with a much better portable experience.

There is a superior Steam Deck that runs Windows

Ayaneo 2 review: A more premium (and pricier) take on the Steam Deck

For people searching for a more premium take on the Steam Deck, the Ayaneo 2 is it. It's got a faster CPU, a much nicer screen and a more compact design, though it costs more too.

www.engadget.com

 

[sethro109]

Steam Deck is going to be freaking awesome, but the tech isn't yet there for it. Crazy expensive price, has no windows version except if you download other software or something, not all games play well on it, and absolutely awful battery life.

Battery life hasn't been a problem for me yet. I don't play it long enough at one time to ever kill the battery. The rest of the time I leave it on it's dock.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Digital is the way to go. Haven't bought a physical version since the xbox 360 days and will never do it again. It's so nice to not have a bunch of games lying around. Definitely makes moving much easier and the house looks better.

There is a superior Steam Deck that runs Windows

Ayaneo 2 review: A more premium (and pricier) take on the Steam Deck

For people searching for a more premium take on the Steam Deck, the Ayaneo 2 is it. It's got a faster CPU, a much nicer screen and a more compact design, though it costs more too.

www.engadget.com

It's better sure, but not many are going to pay two or three times the Steam deck's price to get one.

 

[sethro109]

There is a superior Steam Deck that runs Windows

Ayaneo 2 review: A more premium (and pricier) take on the Steam Deck

For people searching for a more premium take on the Steam Deck, the Ayaneo 2 is it. It's got a faster CPU, a much nicer screen and a more compact design, though it costs more too.

www.engadget.com

I haven't heard of this guy before. My only concern is that I've never heard of Ayaneo before. I'm definitely gonna be monitoring them from now on though.

 

[S E P H]

Battery life hasn't been a problem for me yet. I don't play it long enough at one time to ever kill the battery. The rest of the time I leave it on it's dock.

Based on the info I conducted, wanting to spend 600 bucks (for the largest storage version) for something that has at most, eight hours of battery life is a strange buy for me as a consumer. Normally the majority of the time, the battery is a lot worse than that as, I believe it was IGN, reviewed it by playing Halo: Infinite and it had a maximum of 2.5 hours of usage. For a handheld console that I would want to take on a plane trip, around campus if you're waiting for your next class, or riding a metro train that just isn't worth it when the Switch has shown to reach double digits at times. Again, I think it's going to be freaking awesome, but like version 4.0 of it, many years from now. It has the best potential I've seen though, but Valve never really fails.

 

[henchman21]

Steam Deck is going to be freaking awesome, but the tech isn't there yet for it. Crazy expensive price, has no windows version except if you download other software or something, not all games play well on it, and absolutely awful battery life.


I've seen some "rumour" pics and even though it doesn't come close to the size of my Xbox One slim or PS4 slim, it looks so much nicer and cleaner than the original.

The rumor pics are always wrong... what it comes down to is the heat dissipation needed to maintain reliability. This generation just runs way too hot to be much smaller and the node changes are not happening fast enough. The Series X is about as small as a powerful console can get right now, especially with a disk drive.

Digital is the way to go. Haven't bought a physical version since the xbox 360 days and will never do it again. It's so nice to not have a bunch of games lying around. Definitely makes moving much easier and the house looks better.

I still vastly prefer physical games, but today's PS5 and XSX games are really a key to download. With the GaaS model taking over, just a matter of time before it is all digital. For portability... it really depends on the form factor of the storage. The Switch having basically no onboard storage and limited to rather slow (especially as you approach 1tb) sd cards means that physical carts are just far superior today. The Steam Deck having NVME storage will eliminate that, but NVME storage is insanely expensive still.

 

[sethro109]

Based on the info I conducted, wanting to spend 600 bucks (for the largest storage version) for something that has at most, eight hours of battery life is a strange buy for me as a consumer. Normally the majority of the time, the battery is a lot worse than that as, I believe it was IGN, reviewed it by playing Halo: Infinite and it had a maximum of 2.5 hours of usage. For a handheld console that I would want to take on a plane trip, around campus if you're waiting for your next class, or riding a metro train that just isn't worth it when the Switch has shown to reach double digits at times. Again, I think it's going to be freaking awesome, but like version 4.0 of it, many years from now. It has the best potential I've seen though, but Valve never really fails.

I do only ever go from my house to work, so I doubt I'll ever have a battery life problem. But like you said, if you're a college student constantly on the move I could see it being a problem. I've also heard a lot of people have reported getting better battery life by resetting the battery. Leave it on until it completely dies then leaving it on the charger for 8 hours. Which I guess Valve never did after they got the batteries from their provider.

 

[henchman21]

My Switch is an OG 2017 model with a worn battery... I can get ~2.5-3 hours of AAA sorts of gaming at most, and frankly, that is really enough. If I'm playing for longer sessions, I'll have it docked. If I'm on a flight, I'll plug in a battery pack. Yeah ~4 hours would be nice, but in my real world use, odds of me playing for 2.5 hours straight with no ability to plug into something is pretty rare.

 

[forsbergavs32]

I went ps5 because more exclusive games and all the classic games are starting to finally show up on PS Plus.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

I went ps5 because more exclusive games and all the classic games are starting to finally show up on PS Plus.

The classic game section is a rip-off at this point. There is barely anything there currently and they add a few random games each month. Having the option to only stream PS3 games is another epic fail.

At least the PS4/PS5 stuff is solid.