It’s Not You, It’s ME-3 by Frank Hammer
June 16, 2016 7:29 pm | Leave your thoughts
Well, E3 2016 has come and gone and I’ve come to the conclusion that I am now the Srgnt Murtaugh of the Videogame scene. Im getting too old for this shit.
The Internet has been been a buzz with all sorts of hype regarding the release announcements as if gaming has indeed hit another level. Big reveals included new consoles from Microsoft, a huge push on VR from Sony, and Zelda from Nintendo. Let’s get this out of the way. I’m Zelda’d out. I like Zelda but there’s nothing fundamentally new or interesting to me about this. In fact, there was little that really hit me as fantastic at all over the week.
Microsoft left me feeling foolish for buying an Xbox one when I did. I was an early adopter who paid $500 for a system within 6mo of launch. And a scant few years later along comes a smaller, cheaper, and better performing model. A 500gb model of the Xbox One S, which is capable of 4K video, will retail for $299 starting in August.
Other news is that a beast of an Xbox One console labeled project Scorpio is being targeted for Holiday 2017. Hyped to be “The most powerful gaming console in history” (duh first with new tech wins that race every cycle). All titles have to be produced to run on both sku’s, though the Scorpio will be capable of greater fps/texture/resolution etc. This again leaves a sour taste in my mouth that my experience will be inferior to others paying the same amount for software. A first in console history. This will also lead into actual gaming advantages for those playing on more advanced tech. These upgrades are also being done to enhance Virtual Reality performance, but we have yet to hear details of their VR strategy.
Sony on the flip side was all about their VR headset releasing in October for $299. We’ve known that Sony already has plans working on their own mid-generation console update but nothing has been officially announced.
Already down about the push for new consoles already I have to say that few of the games really grabbed me. I’m interested in South Park: The Fractured But Whole (heh), the remaster of Skyrim and Final Fantasy 12, and was happy to see the triumphant return of Hideo Kojima before a river of Konami tears. That’s about it. Lots of updates to titles that were popular that I missed after I had kids. More and more connected and VR games. I guess I’m feeling very out of place in online gaming.I have a wandering eye and due to that, can’t see 3-D very well at all. As VR is reliant of using both eyes to trick you into seeing depth. That’s not something I see myself enjoying and that’s a large investment. I can’t make that leap. Then there’s the social aspect.
I come from a gaming generation where the word nerd was bad. You’d get picked on for reading Nintendo Power. Anything computer or video game related got you called names because geek and nerdy just wasn’t cool. A lot of us still identify with the shy awkwardness that comes from our fandom. Today’s kids in their 20s have always had tech at their fingertips. With all the social media outlets, these kids are raised on being connected all the time and you can’t connect without tech. To some degree, they all have gadgets and it’s now cool and accepted. But that’s who the developers are developing for. A generation used to always being connected. I want to play things I can by myself without having to talk or socialize. It’s my me time. More and more games have fewer and fewer options for solo activities and worse; Online games cannot be paused. Sounds silly to note, but you end up committing a lot more time playing this way than you think.E3 felt completely targeted toward that young hyper connected crowd that has five or more social media apps on their phone. They enjoy being connected all the time where I just need some gaming space to myself. That coupled with VR I can’t use and new consoles I can’t afford, leaves me in an awkward position feeling like a third wheel in this relationship. I’m sorry video games. It’s not you, it’s me.
Frank H.
Tags: E3
Categorised in: Toy Addict
This post was written by Leftover Brian
Leave a Reply