I found myself at the center of a debate recently. An argument between two others began with one person stating that any real gamer knows that PlayStation is the best console brand to pick from. This was an obvious attempt to spark the never ending console wars. The person that comment was directed at, didn’t offer the rebuttal I was expecting. Rather than playing into the hands of the PlayStation Fanboy, he went on to say that there is no such thing as a Gamer and that people need to stop labeling people that enjoy video games. Their argument escalated while more and more people jumped in to make their points. It was interesting to read and I was staying out of it until a friend of mine tagged me and asked me to drop my thoughts on the matter. Granted, at the end of the day, it’s all opinions no matter how hard people want to claim it as facts. So, after entering the debate, I decided I would share my opinion here as well. Is there such a thing as a Gamer? My answer is yes, Gamers are real people. Is being called a Gamer a label? Yep, It surely is a label. And what do labels do? They identify something you know what it is. It makes life easier. Not all labels are a good thing, but I personally think the label of Gamer is a good thing. Some of us like to use that label to easier explain our passion. Yes, we Gamers tend to be passionate about video games. So what makes one a Gamer? Well, there are several things that can be factored in here, but I’m going to keep this fairly simple for the ones in the back. Simply put, if you like and play video games, that would classify you as a Gamer. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that, but it can also get much deeper when explaining why we like and play our video games. I’m not going to explain all of that, but I am going to continue with explaining just a few other personal opinions of mine. Now that I’ve simplified what makes a Gamer, I want to throw out that Gamers are not restricted to one game type. Gamers are also not expected to play every single game made, let alone like them all. You can like ice-cream and not enjoy every flavor. Just because someone enjoys playing Call of Duty and doesn’t play much else, doesn’t make them less of a Gamer. They just have their favorite game all picked out and that’s ok! I personally play all sorts of titles and genres, but I also have some friends that only play Fortnite. That doesn’t make them any less of a Gamer to me. It just means if I decide I want to play Fortnite, I’ll have a friend to join me. Now, the console wars. This may be … Read More
Microsoft had an impressive show during E3. Should Sony be worried?
So, E3 had a pretty decent event for Microsoft this year. It seems that the Xbox is finally getting a great lineup of first party titles to end the console’s long running drought of exclusives. Xbox and PlayStation fans alike should rejoice! The stronger the competition in the market, the better the games and offers from both companies. It doesn’t matter which console you root for as long there is solid competition. Now, not taking a shot here, but even if Microsoft didn’t have a great lineup during their presentation at E3 the absence of Sony is definitely an advantage. Sony won’t likely show up for another E3 ever again, but the company is still missed. I wonder if Phil Spencer got excited before the show and said “We’re really gonna steal the show from Sony this year!” Just kidding. Phil is obviously a smart guy, but anyway, let’s review some of the Microsoft presentations and discuss what Sony needs to do in response. I can’t honestly say what is the better announcement for games this year because seriously, a bunch of them look and sound great to me. Starfield and The Outer Worlds 2 have both been confirmed to be Xbox exclusives and while that isn’t a surprise, boy does that sting. Well, kind of stings. I’m sorry, but when I think about what Sony has already released and is going to release, I can be pretty ok with losing Bethesda to Microsoft. It doesn’t hurt that I have all of the consoles that have been released, so I don’t lose out there either, but that fact aside, I want to finish this up from a “I only play on PlayStation” state of mind. Halo Infinite has been given a holiday release date for this year and I am sure fans are hoping to see this franchise rejuvenated to some of its former glory. What was once an amazing franchise took a break from stellar development and has become mediocre for sometime now. I imagine it must be a tough job to take on the pressure of making this a great game again. I’ve been plenty disappointed over the years, so I’m sure the major fanbase is hoping, but not expecting something that will be memorable. They’ll find out this holiday! Forza Horizon 5 was announced during the show. Another first party Xbox exclusive and I can say this much, Horizon is one franchise that releases steadily without disappointment. Fans of the series are fans for good reason. As a PlayStation fan, I enjoy Granturismo, but I would rather play Horizon. I know they are two different games, but if I had a say in the matter, I would pluck Horizon right over the PlayStation lineup. The game looks great and it’s hard to imagine being anything less. Forza Horizon 5 releases this year on November 9th. Not everything during the Microsoft show was exclusive of course, but some of the third party titles … Read More
New PS5 model coming 2021?
Word on the web is that Sony is in fact working on a redesign of the PS5 console for 2022. From the sounds of things, it isn’t going to be a slim or pro model of the console, but it is being redesigned to host a different AMD to cut costs and there’s a good reason for that. As you probably know, there is a major shortage of next gen consoles available and that isn’t really because of scalpers as much as it is because there is a world wide Microchip shortage that has not only made it difficult to build the consoles, but it also caused the cost to skyrocket. It’s to the best of my understanding that the chip shortage is the reason for the console shortage, but there are other things to calculate. So, the PS5 is currently using a 5nm AMD microchip and the plan is to switch over to a 6nm for a cheaper cost. I can’t honestly tell you how this will make a difference aside from a lower manufacturing cost. I don’t know much about these chips and in my mind, a 6 sounds like an upgrade over a 5, so I’m not even sure if that’s a fact. Moving forward, this isn’t confirmed by Sony and word came out first from news site based in Taiwan called DigiTimes, and info essentially comes from someone claiming they have this info as they have a subscription for a paywall, which gives its subscribers classified info on certain companies. I don’t know a lot about paywalls, I do know that a lot of insider information has been correct when leaked, but there are also a lot of false claims from people claiming to leak info from a paywall and it’s really just a hoax to grab some new followers on social media’s platforms. Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony is working on a new model of the console. It seems way too early for a slim and definitely too early for a pro upgrade and I really hope they don’t pull the “pro” console out anytime soon if at all, but let’s be honest here, the Xbox Series X is capable of giving a ton of older games 120 FPS when playing. We’re not seeing the same advances on the PS5 just yet. I’m not sure if this will come as an update, but I am positive Sony is watching and working on an answer for this. Sony is dominating the console scene right now, but they have a lot to look at. The Xbox Gamepass is an absolutely amazing service for a low cost. Sony has PS Now, but that doesn’t give us game drops upon release and if you consider the fact that Microsoft owns Bethesda games, I mean, ouch! That’s a huge loss for us as a gaming community if things go exclusive and they likely will, but there was that one day that Phil Spencer … Read More