Some of this trash talk from industry big wigs is getting a little childish.

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Let’s Grow Up!

The following quotes are taken from the August 2002 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

“Are you going to spend $199 for a console to partake in an experiment or an experience?”

- Kaz Hirai, Sony Computer Entertainment America President and COO, on the Xbox

“Every month there’s less and less reason to buy a PS2. Why pick it up when almost all the same games are available on Xbox and they look and play much better?”

- Ed Fries, VP of Xbox Game Content

“This is the year that our leading characters really go to work in a number of new titles.”

- Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo

The above quotes could also go like this:

“C’mon, baby, you know you want the experience.”

- Edythe Haack, swinging single at the local bar

“Mine’s bigger! Plus, it looks better!”

- Mack Yulelog, swinging single sitting next to Edythe Haack

“Can I have some more of these pretzels?”

- Dwayne Gibblets, sitting between Mack and Edythe

Which set of quotes is more childish? The casual observer will say, “Omni you’re a perv,” but I’d encourage them to look a little closer. (Not at me – the quotes.) Why does it seem the so-called console war is really nothing more than a pissing match between three guys – and one guy doesn’t really care, he’s just enjoying the sense of relief? The other two – Sony and Microsoft – are straining and it’s really starting to annoy me but it represents a wider problem with the gaming hobby. (I fully realize that the quotes above are probably out of context, but bear with me.)

Do Sony and Microsoft make good games? Yes and no – everyone has their hits and misses and these two giants are no different. Do they make good consoles worthy of consumer attention? Yes. The Playstation 2 is a good console, and so is the Xbox. Does each platform sport their own "exclusive" titles? Yes. Will both of these consoles be eclipsed in 4 or 5 years by newer consoles? Almost certainly. Then why on earth do they subject us to constant bickering about whose console is better, superior, and higher on the evolutionary scale?

Well, they want consumers to buy their console. That’s pretty simple.

Nintendo wants gamers to buy their console too – they just seem to take themselves out of the direct line of fire by boosting their games instead of trying to poke holes in the competition. The big N’s catchphrase when the GameCube launched was, “It’s all about the games.” Mr. Miyamoto’s correct – it is all about the games.

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Think about the game that made you a life-long gamer. For me it was Donkey Kong on the Colecovision. Even today I can play it for an hour or two. The graphics are simple, the music dangerously monotonous, and the same three levels repeat themselves forever. I play because it’s fun. Not many people will willingly play un-fun games.

Now take that game and debate with a friend/relative/stranger why your game is better than their favorite game.

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Both of you should be able to draw specific reasons as to why it’s fun: pleasant memories, engrossing gameplay, etc. The discussion would probably never degenerate into a, “It’s just better than yours” argument. More likely, you’d agree that both games are fun, just on different levels, even if the games appear on completely different platforms. Then why is it that people will get into heated arguments about which platform is better?

The most famous platform debate is PC vs. Console, which was especially glaring in recent memory when Microsoft bought Bungie and shifted Halo to Xbox. PC gamers were outraged! (And that scab recently got picked off with the announcement of Halo 2.) A browse through the message boards revealed an onslaught of venomous attacks against Microsoft and Bungie. By most, the move was described as a “stab in the back” – Microsoft was willing to screw over the PC gamers that, in part, put Microsoft where they are. This highlighted an ongoing (and still ongoing) squabble between console and PC gamers about compatibility issues on the PC, CPU horsepower, porting games and expensive hardware upgrades, among other things. That animosity will seemingly always be there but that’s more due to monetary reasons than anything else.

Buying a console or a PC is an expensive proposition for most gamers. (Some lucky few get these items either handed to them or have pockets deep enough to buy whatever console or piece of hardware suits their fancy. No, I’m not bitter.) As a result, there’s this innate fear that you’ve made a huge mistake immediately after buying a console . When I dropped $200 for my Sega Genesis I felt physically ill for a few days. Had I done the right thing? $200 would buy a lot of comic books. After I got the wind back in my sails, I was promptly assaulted by a SNES-owning friend:

“Why’d you buy a crappy Genesis?”

$200 worth of indignation and resentment boiled up and a fistfight nearly ensued. As I think about it now, I realize I was trying to defend my expenditure of $200 of hard-earned cash and not the Genesis. It’s the same reason someone that spends $2500 on a new PC is likely to put down the Xbox, Playstation 2 and GameCube as inferior – almost below contempt, regardless the fact he likes playing the latest PS2 game at his brother’s house and secretly craves getting his hands on the latest GameCube or Xbox exclusive.

Do you think Ed Fries plays PS2 games? Some would argue, “No, Ed’s an android controlled by Microsoft so is physically incapable of playing a PS2 game,” but I think he does and he’s probably not an android. I’ll also wager Kaz Hirai toodles around with the Xbox. Does Mr. Miyamoto play other consoles? Who knows – the man’s probably too busy inventing new legends and re-inventing old ones to care too much.

Constant jabs at the competition is nothing new -- it dates back to about the time sticks were invented -- but it just seems so childish when the gaming industry in general is attempting to be “all grown up.” Constant bickering between gamers regarding consoles is the result of a deep-seeded anxiety that they’ve made a mistake (and possibly a sense of bitterness that past consoles haven't lived up their expectations). But why do the PR executives feel the need to publicly berate the competition?

Once again it’s all about money. Don’t think for an instant that the majority PR people wouldn’t jump ship if they got a better offer elsewhere. They’re essentially hired guns but berating never made anyone better (although it helps some gamers justify their latest purchase). Instead it makes the barater look like slightly asinine and puts the beratee in a better light. How about trumpeting what you think makes your product good in a positive way? That’s not what they’re paid for. Drag the other guy down by the trachea is the modus operandi of most of the industry.

It’s kinda sad really. It really is all about the games, like it or not. Whether you own a PC, an Xbox, a Playstation 2, a GameCube, those “has been” consoles, or all of them, enjoy your games (whatever the genre).

I’m not going to give you one of those trite phrases that attempts to smooth things over like, “Rise up and kill the capitalist swines!” or “Can’t we all just get along?” I think gamers are ready for a more sophisticated marketing approach – an approach that accentuates the positives of a product without pointing a finger at the competition and shouting, “They suck!” And gamers. . . I'm not sure the jabs at each others consoles will ever stop but here's to hope!

Until then I will remain annoyed at the childishness. Let’s all grow up just a little bit when it comes to gaming.

- Omni

(August 14, 2002)


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