Ummm... n0t quite:Are free to play (microtransaction/pay to win) online MMO's also behind the Xbox Gold subscription paywall?Any type of online play requires Gold. (This will be the same for the Xbone,
and while there are no such restrictions on the PS3, will require a PS+ subscription on the PS4.)
Sony Online Entertainment has already decided its [free-to-play] MMOs won't require players to have a PS Plus subscription.
"As far as free-to-play games are concerned, it’s a publisher’s decision whether they put it inside or outside of the PlayStation Plus requirements," he said.
Free-to-play games for the PlayStation 4 that won't require you to have a PlayStation Plus subscription are currently confirmed to include DC Universe Online, PlanetSide 2, Blacklight: Retribution and Warframe.
But unless I see otherwise I will assume MS are continuing their old policy.
(which makes as much sense as the requiring Live Gold for Netflix policy)
Isn't this the same logic you used in reverse regarding backward compatibility....I do have 4 HDMI ports (though only 2 in the other TV), but then again I also have a Blu-Ray player that does Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, etc. already anyway, why do I need the XBone to do it for me?You don't.
It's a decent feature but not one that should be any sort of selling point.Again, not to you.
I don't get this mentality. "I'll never use it, therefore no one will think it's cool."
The logic for both is the same - Microsoft is well aware of what their target audience finds attractive in a console, and it creating a platform to provide what they believe to be the best balance between those features and affordability.
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I think it's been decently established that MS doesn't always predict their audience's reaction that well.
Microsoft will now include a headset with Xbox One The U-turn continues...
I would guess they realized their previous stance of the Kinect microphone being sufficient for in-game chat would not hold up to reality...
"As far as free-to-play games are concerned, it’s a publisher’s decision whether they put it inside or outside of the PlayStation Plus requirements," he said.
Free-to-play games for the PlayStation 4 that won't require you to have a PlayStation Plus subscription are currently confirmed to include DC Universe Online, PlanetSide 2, Blacklight: Retribution and Warframe.
Ah, yes - you're right. And I knew that too (though I don't pay a lot of attention to free-to-play online games, or online games in general)...
But for some reason, PlanetSide 2 keeps poking me.
Well, the microphone thing is now unclear, the original source was their UK distributor listing it would come with a wired microphone contrary to MS' previous stance, then they said that was in error, now they are just saying "no comment". Whatever that all means...
But at least one thing seems to be going to plan...
Xbox One built with advertising in mind, Kinect integral to next-gen adverts
The strategy goes hand-in-hand with Microsoft’s ‘Nuads’ campaign, which resulted in adverts that housed interactive polls, as a way of making users feel like they were participating in adverts, rather than absorbing them passively.
The Microsoft employee added that Nuads, “transform passive TV advertising into something interactive, immersive, and actionable, redefining the relationship between consumers and brands with amazing new advertising opportunities”.
“the 360 console wasn’t built with advertising in mind, it was more of an afterthought, so we’ve had to adapt to the technology and how we work to fit them in to the console, whereas this new one is going to have advertising in mind.
“So a lot of the limitations that we have now, hopefully the release of the boundaries will widened so the opportunities will be a lot greater.”
When it comes to Kinect and advertising, all adverts created for the current Xbox dashboard must be compatible with the controller and with Kinect, whilst ensuring that they “work exactly the same”. Interestingly enough though, the Xbox LIVE advertising team don’t have any current data on the engagement split between those who use a controller or Kinect, but they “would like to know”. What they do know is that “the users will turn on the Kinect when they are prompted to do it.”
Anyone else bothered they tried to make advertisements sound like a good thing?
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Not "advertisement", "Nuad".
Don't worry "Consumer", you will Enjoy(tm) your new boundary-shattering relationship with "Brands".
MS just had to drop their DRM and make this a debate again.
I for one have always love playstation, but I passed on the PS3 for various reason. I have had to miss out on some good games because of that decision. Now the PS4 rectifies the problems I had with the PS3 and matches or stomps the Xbone in every other category.
But what has really sold me on the PS4 is requiring PS+ for multiplayer and the "free" games that come with PS+. "How does making something that was free a subscription factor into you wanting that system?" Well for one I don't compare to the PS3 because I have and never will buy 1. Two, free multiplayer doesn't make sense to me from a business standpoint. What incentive do I have as a business to maintain servers for old games if I receive no money for it? By having a subscription service the servers are maintained by virtue of people still playing the game. It pays for itself. Three, subscription multiplayer makes PS+ worth it. Free games are nice, but that gamble does not justify the $50/year price for me. By combining them both, you create something I am willing to pay for.
If it wasn't for PS+, I would wait a few years to grab a PS4. But since I would miss out on X-months of free games, I consider it an investment to get a PS4 sooner rather than later.
My labtop has comparable specs to next gen consoles and will be able to play the early games that port to consoles. This won't be true in a couple of year when the optimization kicks in. I am too cheap to keep up with PC gaming. Getting a $500 console every 7 years with a steam-like digital download center seems like a more sustainable way to maintain my gaming habit and allows me to branch out how I use my PCs to less gaming oriented OS (I'm looking at Arch right now, but I still need windows for Skyrim)
TLDR: I'm getting a PS4 because they put multiplayer behind the PS+ paywall.
TLDR: I'm getting a PS4 because they put multiplayer behind the PS+ paywall.
Its like your volunteering to pay taxes...
Anyone else bothered they tried to make advertisements sound like a good thing?
I don't think they're trying to make the idea of ads sound like a good thing (though obviously this is also directed at potential advertisers, so it makes sense that they want to play the idea up) but rather that they're trying to make the change in how users interact with ads sound like a good thing. Which is cool, actually. I'd much prefer an "ad" experience that asks me for my opinion, or that gives me a degree of interactivity with the product than an ad that I just watch for 30 seconds.
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Anyone else bothered they tried to make advertisements sound like a good thing?I don't think they're trying to make the idea of ads sound like a good thing (though obviously this is also directed at potential advertisers, so it makes sense that they want to play the idea up) but rather that they're trying to make the change in how users interact with ads sound like a good thing. Which is cool, actually. I'd much prefer an "ad" experience that asks me for my opinion, or that gives me a degree of interactivity with the product than an ad that I just watch for 30 seconds.
I much prefer not having any adds pop up, ever.
I much prefer not having any adds pop up, ever.
I have much more of a burn it with fire reaction myself.
"As far as free-to-play games are concerned, it’s a publisher’s decision whether they put it inside or outside of the PlayStation Plus requirements," he said.
Free-to-play games for the PlayStation 4 that won't require you to have a PlayStation Plus subscription are currently confirmed to include DC Universe Online, PlanetSide 2, Blacklight: Retribution and Warframe.Ah, yes - you're right. And I knew that too (though I don't pay a lot of attention to free-to-play online games, or online games in general)...
But for some reason, PlanetSide 2 keeps poking me.
I adore Planetside 2. It's a bit more polished than it was 8 months ago, it still has flaws though. For me, the true joy comes in when I'm a platoon lead during an alert. I'm playing an FPS, but I'm also in control of certain RTS elements, which are being played by real people. A good squad/platoon is what the game is all about and it hits all those sweet spots the human brain loves.
Ryse's protagonist, the young Roman soldier Marius Titus, is determined to make mince meat out of his enemies whatever the player's mood. If you fail to press the required button in time with the button prompt for one of the game's gory executions, you won't fail. Titus is still a "Roman badass", producer James Goddard tells me, even if the player is not.
"You don't have to do anything," Microsoft producer James Goddard, a video game combat specialist who is consulting on the project, tells me. "You'll just kill the guy because you're a Roman badass. Do you get your perk stuff? No. You didn't participate."
This is, according to Microsoft's producers, where the "mastery" comes in. Ryse's combat is based on timing and it rewards you for nailing it. Back to that execution button prompt: press the appropriate button with "Legendary Timing" - that is, within the first couple of frames of the on screen message's appearance - and you'll be rewarded with whatever perk is associated with that execution. It might be a combo multiplier, extra experience points or even some health points. Oh, and you'll get even more violent visuals - a more dramatic camera shake, slower slow mo, bloodier blood spurts. You might even leave your sword in your opponent's neck just a little bit longer.
YEESH.
So the skill of the 'game' is how many optional animations it displays. The outcome never changes. OK.I guess it sounds about right for MS' intended 'enhanced television experience' though.
YEESH.
So the skill of the 'game' is how many optional animations it displays. The outcome never changes.
Really?
...you'll be rewarded with whatever perk is associated with that execution. It might be a combo multiplier, extra experience points or even some health points.
Gaining a combo multiplier, an experience boost, or extra HP where you otherwise would not have received one sounds a lot like a different outcome.
I'm not sure how you managed to take an article that was entirely about the idea that Ryse is a game that rewards you for mastery of its combat timing system and turn it into a jab about non-interactive gameplay, combined with a second, equally-stretched jab at Microsoft for being I guess too casual for your tastes?
Yeah, you GAIN stuff, but you don't LOSE anything for failure.
You're not sure how I managed to critique the gameplay based on the article?
The reviewer themself was critical of the exact same thing, that was the major gist of the entire article.
Anyways, I linked the article so people could make their own judgement based on it...
If that's the sort of gameplay you want, then you should be more than satisfied with it from what I can tell.
(there's also supposed to be some multiplayer component, and I haven't yet played it myself, but I was just sharing the info that is out there)
I'm certain I'm not the only one who doesn't want to play a quick time event that rewards timing, because some whiny brat decided it was too lazy to press more then one button at a time, and was, unfortunately, loud about it.
Hama, do you honestly think that's what this is about?
I really want to know whether this is something you actually believe.
I want a difficult game.
Fighting games like Street Fighter, KoF, SC, and others are all essentially timing-dependent games that reward a combination of razor sharp reflexes and the ability to press the correct button at the correct time. And they can be tremendously difficult. I expect that there will be similar challenges in Ryse that reward high levels of proficiency.
You're not sure how I managed to critique the gameplay based on the article?The reviewer themself was critical of the exact same thing, that was the major gist of the entire article.
The reviewer was critical of the E3 demo, which he acknowledged exists primarily to give players the ability to understand what the game is about in a few short minutes while at the same time making the demo easy enough that someone who has never played the game before is in no danger of being unable to complete the demo.
Anyways, I linked the article so people could make their own judgement based on it...
Right, and I was pointing out that your judgment was factually incorrect, and then went on to question why you made the judgment that you did.
Fighting games like Street Fighter, KoF, SC, and others are all essentially timing-dependent games that reward a combination of razor sharp reflexes and the ability to press the correct button at the correct time. And they can be tremendously difficult. I expect that there will be similar challenges in Ryse that reward high levels of proficiency.
You forgot one, VERY important factor of fighting games: The human element.
Reading your opponent, acting and reacting to their actions and reactions is the larger part of any fighting game, not just timing.
You forgot one, VERY important factor of fighting games: The human element.
Many fighting games manage to be quite challenging even when playing against computer-run opponents. Especially for those who are not yet experts in the game's mechanics.
To argue that a game cannot be challenging without a live human opponent (which is essentially what you're doing here) is silly enough that hopefully we don't need to continue arguing over it.
Well I could list a long list of reasons why most fighting games are either unchallenging with AI opponents, or are only difficult through fake difficulty, but that's really beside the point.
Even against AI opponents it's not as simple as timing attacks properly, except against the most rudimentary and predictable AI possible.
This game, from what was presented in that article, is nothing more than a rhythm game with gore.
Except even rhythm games have fail conditions if you miss too many notes/steps/whatever, and this does not.
When the "combat specialist" says "You don't have to do anything" in a game, a medium that is DEFINED BY ITS INTERACTIVITY, something is terribly, HORRIBLY, wrong.
Perhaps it will surprise when it's released. But from what's been presented there it looks hardly worthwhile.
Though, I'm willing to admit that maybe I missed something. The article was somewhat vague on how things played out.
Is it a straight-up QTE game, like Heavy Rain or something where the game is basically one long cutscene with button presses every now and then (which is what the article made it seem like, and in which case my previous points still stand), or is it a Dynasty Warriors-esque button masher with timed combos and finishers?
The latter seems like it'd be very fun, but that's not the impression I got from what was written.
Even against AI opponents it's not as simple as timing attacks properly, except against the most rudimentary and predictable AI possible.
This game, from what was presented in that article, is nothing more than a rhythm game with gore.
Except even rhythm games have fail conditions if you miss too many notes/steps/whatever, and this does not.
Maybe watch the gameplay demo, then? It's literally in the article, so there's not much excuse. It's pretty obvious that the game is actually pretty similar to games like God of War, where you are only presented with the ability to execute enemies via the timing mini-game after you deal enough damage to defeat them. It's nothing radical. In fact, I'm not sure how you could possibly get the impression that the game has no fail conditions from the article (since it explicitly mentions hit points, which means you can take damage and die) unless you read what Quandary wrote and believed him, and then ignored anything in the article that contradicted what you had already decided to believe.
When the "combat specialist" says "You don't have to do anything" in a game, a medium that is DEFINED BY ITS INTERACTIVITY, something is terribly, HORRIBLY, wrong.
You don't have to do anything during the timing-based events. You still have to play the game. And you're rewarded for doing well in those events.
This seems like a really tremendous amount of overblown outrage over a comical misunderstanding of how a game works brought about by someone spreading misinformation for the sake of trashing a company he's not a fan of.
Par for the course on the internet, unfortunately.
Perhaps it will surprise when it's released. But from what's been presented there it looks hardly worthwhile.
Or you could watch the gameplay demo, which is right there. Instead of spending a few minutes typing out the post that you did, you could have watched the demo, and saved yourself the trouble.
Though, I'm willing to admit that maybe I missed something. The article was somewhat vague on how things played out.
Is it a straight-up QTE game, like Heavy Rain or something where the game is basically one long cutscene with button presses every now and then (which is what the article made it seem like, and in which case my previous points still stand), or is it a Dynasty Warriors-esque button masher with timed combos and finishers?
The latter seems like it'd be very fun, but that's not the impression I got from what was written.
Somewhere between Heavy Rain and Dynasty Warriors, with some God of War mixed in.
Quick time events bore me personally, even if they do get a little more rewarding. There a huge difference between QTE and a fighting game like Mortal Combat. They exist on all systems though, so I don't know why we're talking about it.
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Quick time events bore me personally, even if they do get a little more rewarding. There a huge difference between QTE and a fighting game like Mortal Combat. They exist on all systems though, so I don't know why we're talking about it.
Yeah, QTE and fighting games do exist on all systems. Ymmv. I personally happen to like fighting games like Soul Caliber and BlazBlue. QTE games are little more hit and miss, but I have liked several games with QTE elements, such as Dante's Inferno. As far as mass combat games go, I enjoyed the original Ninety-Nine Nights quite a bit. So I have enjoyed games with each of the elements present in Ryse.
Ryse reminded me of the God of War games with its QTE finishers. Ryse seemed to be going for a very macho look and feel also similar to GoW. Now, funny enough I am not a God of War fan because of the over use of macho. Ryse seems to be headed that way as well so I am not that interested in the game atm.
If the mass combat and fighting look to be any good then I may pick the game up.
Or you could watch the gameplay demo, which is right there. Instead of spending a few minutes typing out the post that you did, you could have watched the demo, and saved yourself the trouble.
There's a video?
I see three still images, but no video.
Maybe my Flash Player crashed again. It does that a lot when I'm on the Windows partition.
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Disregard then.
Or you could watch the gameplay demo, which is right there. Instead of spending a few minutes typing out the post that you did, you could have watched the demo, and saved yourself the trouble.There's a video?
I see three still images, but no video.
Maybe my Flash Player crashed again. It does that a lot when I'm on the Windows partition.
=/
Disregard then.
Ah, sorry for snapping at you, then. It's also on YouTube so you can just click over to that once your Flash player decides to show up for work.
If the mass combat and fighting look to be any good then I may pick the game up.
My big gripe at the moment is that many of the animations appear to lack fluidity or don't transition smoothly when interrupted (see this moment and watch as the player's right arm slashes horizontally across the enemy's body, then immediately "teleports" back to the left as the finisher begins; some amount of animation choppiness is expected in an action game where players chain disparate moves together quickly, but this is especially disjointed). In an otherwise very technically attractive game, this is a black mark against it. Maybe they'll give the animations some polish between now and release. Who knows. This is definitely looking like a wait-for-reviews-and-possibly-a-discount-before-buying game for me.
So I saw a commercial for Xbox1 today. They were saying it was your one stop entertainment, it was a TV, internet, and gaming console. So... its nothing a computer can't do? They were trying to state Skype was a feature, but they didn't really say they had anything exclusive or special about it. It felt like they were advertising to people who didn't know what a computer was or was capable of. My opinion anyway.
Edit: Correcting myself, it stated the voice activation was a feature. Not in detail though, other than it being able to turn on and recognize voices.
So I saw a commercial for Xbox1 today. They were saying it was your one stop entertainment, it was a TV, internet, and gaming console. So... its nothing a computer can't do? They were trying to state Skype was a feature, but they didn't really say they had anything exclusive or special about it. It felt like they were advertising to people who didn't know what a computer was or was capable of. My opinion anyway.
Isn't that sort of the deal with every console, ever? That's not so much an argument against the Xbox One as it is an argument against the idea of a game console.
No, it's not.
Playstation likes to go with random, creepy ass commercials that tell you little about the console at all.
I refuse to comment on which is the better approach.
No, it's not.
Playstation likes to go with random, creepy ass commercials that tell you little about the console at all.
I refuse to comment on which is the better approach.
I love the Playstation ad campaigns. They know their audience really, really well. The Kevin Butler spots, the "To Michael" spot, the "Greatness" one that ran recently, they're all pretty memorable. I don't know that they'd have persuaded me to buy a Playstation 3 if I hadn't been planning on it, but I appreciate their marketing team's inventiveness.
Isn't that sort of the deal with every console, ever? That's not so much an argument against the Xbox One as it is an argument against the idea of a game console.
I'm not one to compare commercials. I just don't get why their headline was about it being "Personal!" when they don't do anything a PC couldn't. Personal computer is pretty personal too. Also does Skype, plays games, etc. Obviously I haven't seen a new gen console ad in some time now, so maybe its just me.
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Isn't that sort of the deal with every console, ever? That's not so much an argument against the Xbox One as it is an argument against the idea of a game console.I'm not one to compare commercials. I just don't get why their headline was about it being "Personal!" when they don't do anything a PC couldn't. Personal computer is pretty personal too. Also does Skype, plays games, etc. Obviously I haven't seen a new gen console ad in some time now, so maybe its just me.
And also does it much much better.
Only if you have the money/time/know-how to constantly update your rig as new games come out. Some of us don't...
This is a common misconception. You can do just fine with an outdated rig.
You just can't expect to run every game you get on "Ultra". But there's nothing wrong with "Medium".
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Only if you have the money/time/know-how to constantly update your rig as new games come out. Some of us don't...
The amount of money/time and know-how needed is always overstated. You can run games just fine on a rig that would cost about the same as a next gen console, and there are countless buyers guides out there to help you out. Building guides are also available, and it's a lot easier to put a PC together then it was five or ten years ago.
Only if you have the money/time/know-how to constantly update your rig as new games come out. Some of us don't...
There's also the ease of dealing with a problem if it arises. A PC that stops working requires a fairly complete knowledge of the interaction of various hardware components, and the know-how to go about diagnosing where the problem lies. And if it's something you can't fix yourself, you have to identify the hardware responsible for it so that you can send it to the proper manufacturer.
On the other hand, a console that fails requires a call to the console manufacturer, and you can be fairly confident that you don't need to diagnose it yourself, and that you won't need to call anyone else.
It simplifies things. It's uncomplicated, you know exactly what it is capable of, it works (for the most part) exactly like everyone else's, etc. For a lot of people, it makes perfect sense.
It also makes sense for the sort of person who already has a personal computer for gaming, but also wants to be able to play games on a large screen television (with, for instance, a crowd of people).
People need to stop acting like there's no sensible reason to own a console. It's not a particularly well thought-out position.
Err, if you want to talk about "All you have to do is send it to the manufacturer to get it fixed" you might want to mention you can just as easily call a computer repair service or take it in to Best Buy or whatever and get it fixed as well.
There's nothing inherently more complex about fixing a PC than fixing a console.
I also have no issue playing games on my 32" TV with my computer. I was playing Skyrim this way just a few minutes ago.
There are a few reasons to own a console (exclusives, party games/offline multiplayer though that's rarer and rarer these days/the "pop and play" aspect of not requiring installs or configuratons/etc.) but "Ease of repair" and "Larger screen" are not some of them.
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People need to stop acting like there's no sensible reason to own a console. It's not a particularly well thought-out position.
Of course there are sensible reasons to own a console. It's just that those reasons are getting fewer and fewer as the PC Gaming Scene steps up to the plate in a massive way. Sure, if your PC hardware develops a fault, then you might have trouble, but that's why warranties exist. Steam has done a lot to unify the online gaming structure, making it a lot easier to connect with other people you want to game with. And you can even plug your PC into your TV screen and play games on the sofa with a controller in hand, should you wish to. Infact, there's a growing interest in building Mini ITX PC's that can sit discreetly in your living room, connected to your TV screen and working as a home theatre and gaming rig.
Had you asked me four years ago, I'd have laughed off a gaming PC as an overly expensive, elitist waste, only good for MMOs. But man, things have changed. Consoles now only have ease of use over PC's (something that is lessening all the time) and exclusives going for them. Not that tempting anymore.
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the "pop and play" aspect of not requiring installs or configuratons/etc.
It was somewhat amusing to discover that both next gen consoles will require installs to the hard drive before you can play your games. Sure, you can possibly play the game while it's installing, but it's not looking great for this particular advantage!
I do miss the days of putting in a cartridge/CD and playing a game. Those were the days.
Err, if you want to talk about "All you have to do is send it to the manufacturer to get it fixed" you might want to mention you can just as easily call a computer repair service or take it in to Best Buy or whatever and get it fixed as well.
You can, but they will not do it for free. Your console manufacturer will, if it's under warranty.
And before you say, "But you can get your computer fixed for free if it's under warranty!" getting a repair under warranty requires first identifying the problem component, because each component has a different manufacturer and is covered by a different warranty.
This is obvious stuff, guys.
I also have no issue playing games on my 32" TV with my computer. I was playing Skyrim this way just a few minutes ago.
Of course you don't. But that's your display. I have a gaming computer, but it's hooked up to my dual-monitor setup in my office room. I also have a PS3, 360, and Wii hooked up to my 60" down the hall, because I don't want to have to lug my desktop over to the couch whenever I want to play a game with my friends. Now, I do occasionally hook my Surface up to the large screen, but not for gaming.
Had you asked me four years ago, I'd have laughed off a gaming PC as an overly expensive, elitist waste, only good for MMOs. But man, things have changed.
Almost nothing has changed in PC gaming in the last four years. There have been no major advances in PC gaming tech. Meanwhile, the last four years have seen the introduction of the Kinect, and the introduction of second-screen technology to all major consoles.
Don't make the easy mistake of seeing what games look like on PC and assuming that PCs are suddenly an incredible choice compared to consoles. All you're actually witnessing is the end of a console life cycle as the steady roll of PC upgrades outpace the ability of console game designers to squeeze more out of their eight year-old hardware.
There are upcoming novel PC technologies on the horizon (Oculus Rift, for instance) but they haven't seen consumer use yet. PC gaming today and PC gaming four years ago are functionally very similar.
Sure, you can possibly play the game while it's installing,
The PS4 has confirmed that all games will be playable while installing. I believe that the Xbox One has confirmed this as well, but I could be wrong.
You can, but they will not do it for free. Your console manufacturer will, if it's under warranty.
And before you say, "But you can get your computer fixed for free if it's under warranty!" getting a repair under warranty requires first identifying the problem component, because each component has a different manufacturer and is covered by a different warranty.
This is obvious stuff, guys.
Not quite free even if it's under warranty, since they make you pay shipping. Comes out to about $100 all told.
Figuring out what the issue is isn't as difficult as you'd have me believe either.
Of course you don't. But that's your display. I have a gaming computer, but it's hooked up to my dual-monitor setup in my office room. I also have a PS3, 360, and Wii hooked up to my 60" down the hall, because I don't want to have to lug my desktop over to the couch whenever I want to play a game with my friends. Now, I do occasionally hook my Surface up to the large screen, but not for gaming.
Mine's a laptop. Good for moving around anywhere you need to.
Like I said, consoles have some advantages (and some big ones) and they're not worthless, but these are not them.
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Had you asked me four years ago, I'd have laughed off a gaming PC as an overly expensive, elitist waste, only good for MMOs. But man, things have changed.Almost nothing has changed in PC gaming in the last four years. There have been no major advances in PC gaming tech. Meanwhile, the last four years have seen the introduction of the Kinect, and the introduction of second-screen technology to all major consoles.
I don't recall mentioning technology, but you're right. Consoles have introduced some gimmicks, which are great.
Meanwhile, PC Gaming has gone from 'dead' to thriving. More and more games are released on time for PC, without companies putting in their own horrid DRM schemes (U-Play, Securom) anymore. Steam has grown from strength to strength, giving security to companies and massive convenience to customers, both in terms of sales and service. There's a huge amount of choice too, in regards to where you buy games from, be it Steam, Greenman Gaming, GoG, Amazon etc. There's a massive, thriving indie scene, and things like Kickstarter are encouraging more of the old school gaming experiences that were thrown aside in pursuit of the triple A console gaming experience to return.