{"id":16430,"date":"2014-09-18T15:46:52","date_gmt":"2014-09-18T05:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=16430"},"modified":"2014-09-18T15:46:52","modified_gmt":"2014-09-18T05:46:52","slug":"state-of-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=16430","title":{"rendered":"State of Play"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"stateofplay\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I<\/span>t’s been nearly a year since the launch of the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One.\u00a0 Meanwhile the 3DS, Wii U and PS Vita have all been plugging away for a few years between them and the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are on their last legs.<\/p>\n

How are they all faring?\u00a0 Where are the best and most interesting games coming from?\u00a0 As a platform agnostic who likes to play a little bit of everything, here’s my two cents on each system.<\/p>\n

Playstation 4<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"ps4play\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Playstation 4 has had booming sales around the world and after the lackluster sales figures for the 3DS, Vita and Wii U preceeding, it has finally bucked the trend and shown that there is still life in the console market.\u00a0 They have effectively recaptured their market-share they squandered with the Playstation 3 and they seem to have done it in the most conservative fashion possible – they released a conventional, modestly priced video game system that slightly improved upon the graphics of its previous iteration.\u00a0 Compare that to Nintendo struggling to explain to consumers that the confusingly named Wii U isn’t an add-on to the Wii and Microsoft spectacularly destroying all of their good will with their planned (and eventually scrapped) always-online games system.<\/p>\n

Highlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last generation, the Xbox 360 was preferred system for third party games.\u00a0 It had a more feature-rich and better populated online community, a lot of games ran better on the 360 and in a lot of instances games were released first or had exclusive content on the 360.\u00a0 This generation, the opposite seems to hold true.\u00a0 I’ve picked up Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes<\/em> and Destiny<\/em> on the PS4 and plan to do so with most future third party games because they seem to have greater graphical fidelity and almost everyone I know has opted to buy a PS4 over and Xbox One.<\/p>\n

First party games will clearly be a strength on the PS4 too.\u00a0 It’s easy to call out The Last Of Us Remastered<\/em> as a cash-in but it was a great game to revisit during a quiet time of the year and the graphical overhaul was pretty significant.\u00a0 In the near future there’s plenty to look forward to including Bloodborne, The Order, Uncharted 4, Little Big Planet 3<\/em> and The Witness<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Lowlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Playstation Plus, the online subscription service that offers free games every month, has been a damp squib on the PS4.\u00a0 Every month seems to bring with it a new wave of obscure indy titles that I struggle to get excited about.\u00a0 Considering the generous selection of games available on the PS3 and PS Vita, its hard not to feel a little miffed at the selection on the PS4.\u00a0 Particularly when there hasn’t been a single retail game made available and the system was originally promoted as having Driveclub at a PS+ game at launch.<\/p>\n

Another disappointment with the PS4 is the ‘Share’ feature.\u00a0 Considering that it has its own button on the controller, its disappointing that the advertised ‘click share to record the last 15 minutes of gameplay<\/em>‘ doesn’t really work in practice.\u00a0 I’ve tried to record some games in NBA 2K14<\/em> and the audio never works and it seems to record a complete random period of time.\u00a0 Editing and uploading the video onto social media is a pain the ass and to delete a file requires navigating all the way out of the video folder and into the system settings menu.\u00a0 In short, its a mess.<\/p>\n

The Playstation 4 is also still a giant step back from the PS3 which had built up a huge library of compatible Playstation One and Playstation 2 games.\u00a0 There have been some really great sales on the Playstation Network recently where many PS1 classics could be bought for as little as $2.50.\u00a0 Too bad you can’t play them on the system hooked up to the TV with the largest amount of hard drive space to store them.<\/p>\n

<\/i>\n\t\t\tBest Games:<\/strong> If you pick up a Playstation 4 today, I’d recommend The Last Of Us: Remastered<\/em> for a polished reboot of the best game of last gen and NBA 2K14<\/em> which offers great graphics and a decent season mode that will keep you occupied until the next wave of games comes along. And download the super-scary P.T<\/em> demo off the PSN store while you’re at it.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n

Xbox One<\/h2>\n

\"xboneplay\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What is the Xbox One?\u00a0 What are its strengths?\u00a0 What are its unique selling points?<\/p>\n

I think these are questions that Microsoft probably need to work out for themselves sooner rather than later because as it stands, the Xbox One is currently a slightly more expensive version of the Playstation 4 that offers less interesting first party titles and slightly inferior graphics.\u00a0 After hastily moving on Don Mattrick as head of their Xbox division after last year’s launch debacle, the company has since simplified their message from being an all conquering media device that does all sorts of tricky things with your tv to being ‘games, games, games’.\u00a0 Problem is, I don’t think they’re there yet.\u00a0 Not even close.<\/p>\n

Highlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Titanfall<\/em> was a fun, albeit brief online mech shooter from Respawn, the development studio founded by some of the creative leads behind Call of Duty 4<\/em>.\u00a0 The parkour mechanics for the soldiers coupled with the heavy weapon bulldozing of the titans make for a fun experience.\u00a0 The only problem is that the game came with just 3 varieties of titans, no campaign mode and a limited selection of maps.\u00a0 To my knowledge, no additional content has been added.<\/p>\n

It’s kind of nice having a BluRay player on a Microsoft system at last.<\/p>\n

Lowlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I end up buying most of my third party games on the PS4, it really does leave slim pickings for the Xbox One software line up.\u00a0 I have literally bought one game for the system this year and it is my least played platform by some measure.\u00a0 The Xbox 360 used to have a wonderful ecosystem for its digital marketplace where new games would launch every week and the store would be stacked with trailers and demos for upcoming games.\u00a0 Today, the marketplace is a barren wasteland.\u00a0 I don’t even know if new games are made available each week (I’m guessing no) and its hard to find anything.\u00a0 When I read online that a Forza Horizon 2 demo was released, it took me a couple of minutes of searching to find it on the store because its so poorly laid out.\u00a0 What happened to all the cool games like Geometry Wars, Lumines, Braid<\/em> and Mark of the Ninja<\/em>?\u00a0 Not being backwards compatible doesn’t help the situation either.\u00a0 There are very few new games to play and you can’t easily access the old ones.\u00a0 Ouch.<\/p>\n

In five years, I’ve bought two Kinect systems (the original 360 version and the Xbox One iteration) and both have been made redundant in the space of 12 months.\u00a0 I actually like<\/em> the Kinect and would be happy to use it in whatever capacity I can, whether it be voice-guided menu navigation or well executed motion control.\u00a0 Unfortunately Microsoft chickened out and less than a year after packing in the Kinect with every Xbox One system sold, they stripped it out and effectively relegated it to the scrap heap.\u00a0 Good going guys.\u00a0 Way to burn the early adopter.<\/p>\n

I’m also disappointed that they completely bailed on the idea of integrating Kinect and the Xbox One with cable television.\u00a0 I would have loved to have seen the interactive stats and fantasy football features integrated into Australian sporting codes on Fox Sports the way they demonstrated it with the NFL.\u00a0 Even if that took a few years to arrive and they at least gave us an interactive BPL watching experience would have been a cool point of differentiation with the Playstation 4.\u00a0 Now I suspect we will never get these features.\u00a0 A real shame.<\/p>\n

<\/i>\n\t\t\tBest Games:<\/strong> Probably my favourite game I played this year on the Xbox One was the World War I puzzle game Valiant Hearts<\/em> but you can play that on any system. I guess Titanfall<\/em> is the best exclusive title, by default.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n

Nintendo Wii U<\/h2>\n

\"wiiuplay\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After the soaring highs they experienced with the sales of the Wii, Nintendo came crashing back down to Earth with the poor sales of the 3DS and then the shockingly bad sales of the Wii U.\u00a0 It’s the worst selling home system they’ve ever released by a country mile.\u00a0 It’s a dud.\u00a0 A dead horse.\u00a0 A blip on the radar.\u00a0 Few gamers own one.\u00a0 The majority of the consumer market hasn’t even heard of it.\u00a0 And it kills me because I think its quietly gone about building a respectable library of fantastic games and 2014 has been no different.<\/p>\n

Highlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hands down one of the best games of 2014 on the Wii U or anywhere else has been the glorious Mario Kart 8<\/em>.\u00a0 The best looking iteration of the Mario Kart<\/em> franchise is also one of the most fun to play with a marvelous track selection featuring both old favourites and new designs, butter smooth online gaming and sensational graphics.\u00a0 This year has also given us a brilliant new Donkey Kong Country<\/em> platform game and there is plenty of good stuff just around the corner with Hyrule Warriors<\/em> and\u00a0a new version of Smash Bros.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lowlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The awesome library of classic games on the Wii’s Virtual Store were second to none.\u00a0 You had classic games from the NES, Super Nintendo, N64, Master System, Mega Drive, Neo Geo, Commodore 64, Turbo Graphix and Arcade hits.\u00a0 Now…now we have a handful of Super Nintendo titles and some expensive Gameboy Advance titles that are admittedly great but really should be on the 3Ds instead.\u00a0 It kills me how badly Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all dropped the ball with backwards compatibility this gen.\u00a0 All three have been woeful.<\/p>\n

<\/i>\n\t\t\tBest Games:<\/strong> Hands down, Mario Kart 8<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n

Nintendo 3DS and Playstation Vita<\/h2>\n

\"3dsplay\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"vitaplay\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The video game handheld market ain’t what it used to be.\u00a0 In fact, its not even a market that we can be sure will exist in five years time after the current generation wraps up thanks to the ubiquitous popularity of smart phone games which are cheaper and have comparable graphics.\u00a0 That’s a real shame.\u00a0 As I’ve championed on The Fat Website for the last few years, I think some of the most enjoyable gaming to be played in the last few years come from software exclusively designed for the Nintendo 3DS and the Playstation Vita.<\/p>\n

Highlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the best things about the portable gaming market for me is that it seems to be the new home of mid-tier games that are high on creativity and are built with modest budgets.\u00a0 Console audiences seem to be so heavily drawn to a handful of big budget titles like Call of Duty<\/em> and Assassin’s Creed<\/em> that there seems to be little room for anything else.\u00a0 On the Nintendo 3DS and Playstation Vita this year, there’s been some wonderfully creative titles like Kirby Triple Deluxe, Danganronpa, Bravely Default<\/em> and Nintendo Pocket Football<\/em>.\u00a0 And I know there’s many more games of their ilk that I haven’t gotten around to yet.\u00a0 For anyone who misses platformers, strategy games, puzzle games and RPGs that play like the classics from the PS2 era, I would heartily recommend picking up either a Vita or a 3DS.<\/p>\n

Lowlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the Nintendo 3DS still has a few more heavy hitters that have been announced including the upcoming Super Smash Bros.<\/em>, it’s software library for 2015 does look a little hazy.\u00a0 It already has a Mario Kart, <\/em>a Zelda<\/em> and a Pokemon<\/em> title so whats left?\u00a0 Likewise for the Vita, Sony have effectively stated that there won’t be any more high end titles along the lines of Uncharted Golden Abyss<\/em>.\u00a0 Its possible that the long term prospects of both systems are already winding down which is a real shame.<\/p>\n

<\/i>\n\t\t\tBest Games:<\/strong> This year you can’t go past the excellent Bravely Default<\/em> for the 3DS and the entertaining murder mystery Danganronpa 1&2<\/em> for the Playstation Vita.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n

Playstation 3 and Xbox 360<\/h2>\n

\"360ps3play\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Time flies.\u00a0 Is the Xbox 360 really nine years old?\u00a0 0_o<\/p>\n

The Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 have both have incredibly long life spans, longer than almost any previous game system that I can recall (other than perhaps the almighty Gameboy).\u00a0 It’s amazing to think they were both blitzed in hardware sales by the Nintendo Wii which had a huge sales spike but effectively ran out of new software nearly four years ago<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So what’s good on the ol’ PS3 and Xbox 360?\u00a0 In short, everything.<\/p>\n

Highlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n

There’s no better time to be a bargain hunting gamer than 2014.\u00a0 What I like about the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 market is that the ‘collector’s market’ syndrome doesn’t really exist.\u00a0 There are very few ‘rare’ games so you can get pretty much the best games of the generation for next to nothing.\u00a0 I’ve found at my local EB and JB Hi-Fi it’s just as easy to find Gears of War 3<\/em> as it is to get something a bit more obscure like the Square RPG Lost Odyssey<\/em> and they both cost me the same – $15 bucks.\u00a0 There are countless great games on both systems and the average game price seems to be fall at around $20 and if you’re patient, most stores tend to run buy one get one free type offers quite regularly.\u00a0 It’s a gamers paradise out there.<\/p>\n

Lowlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Too many awesome games, not enough time.<\/p>\n

<\/i>\n\t\t\tBest Games:<\/strong> My best bargain buy this year were picking up Grand Slam Tennis 2<\/em> for the princely sum of $1.\u00a0 Better still, I was pleased to track down some cult classics like Deadly Premonition, Azura’s Wrath<\/em> and Alpha Protocol<\/em> and they all cost less than $20\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Wii U, 3DS and Vita. What does the gaming landscape look like in 2014?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":16431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[558,1528,396,1702,80,9,1643],"class_list":["post-16430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-nintendo-3ds","tag-nintendo-wii-u","tag-playstation-3","tag-playstation-4","tag-video-games","tag-xbox360","tag-xbox-one"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16430"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16442,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16430\/revisions\/16442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}