In your opinion is the console industry cartelized?

[axel]

Stadia is one of the dumbest tech products to come along this decade but the fact that it even exists shows that Google doesn't see a cartel, or if they do they think they can break it up. But seriously WTF are they thinking, it would be like if Netflix launched with a service that requires you to buy films at full price to stream them, Stadia was supposed to provide a higher quality experience at less cost instead you have to buy hardware anyway and the games look slightly worse than current consoles.

Switch is absolutely brilliant, it's not the most powerful hardware (by a long shot) but it's got a ton of good games and has opened up new ways to play. If other companies want to get in on the fun they ought to be emulating Nintendo, not by copying the same designs but by coming up with products that no one else is making. I'm looking forward to the Intellivision Amico too since it's at least something creative and not another PlayStation/XBox clone. If Sega ever wants to get back into hardware I hope they take a similar route.

I also wish the 3DS was getting a real successor, imagine the 3D effect with an HD display and better support for AR, that could be a lot of fun.

[SegaAMD]

No it's not a cartel. If it were Sega and Atari would still be in the hardware business and Nintendo wouldn't have struggled against newcomers like Sony and Microsoft. The fact that a new challenger (Google) just entered the market should further disprove this.

Google doesn't refute it endorses it because it is estimated that google has invested 13 B in Stadia (for me it's just PR 13B is a lot of money) but Stadia doesn't interfere with Sony and Microsoft as much as Playstation came in using a normal console, invested in exclusives, invested in a powerful console of the time and even sold it at low prices, this is the way of competition. Look at the Genesis and Snes games most of the library is different, as both were competing against each other, now look at PS, XB, PC both have 85% of the games together, as Iwata said a commodity system.

[Ecco]

Why exactly is Bing a joke? I've been using it for a year without a single instance of thinking "this isn't working, I need Google". It's every bit as useful as Google, only it doesn't try to revise my search with a bunch of questions I'm not actually asking.


I've always heard it suggested that when a market gets really competitive, it always comes down the three, which is usually true. Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Apple, Samsung and now OnePlus as LG falls out of favor. Vizio, Samsung and soon to be TCL instead of LG. Walmart, Target, and now Amazon instead of Kmart. Not sure why, but there is usually only about three companies that can refine a product or service down to a science... not just in technology, but also in marketing and distribution, so that it becomes basically impossible for others to break into that market.

We're all a bunch of sheep. Why take a risk on something different when we're content with the way something works? Funny enough, I think for this reason Stadia is going to mostly flop.

Re: Google vs. Bing: I've heard that it's largely a regional choice actually... with Bing being more popular in Britain, Europe etc. And Google in the US, etc. (Yahoo really was a thing of its time IMO, and I can't imagine that much of anyone really uses it anymore...)

Personally I've always loved Google as a search engine, I always considered it the uncontested best, in how it works. When I've tried Bing, it seems like it's trying to overcomplicate the process, or something. Like it's trying to overly personalize the results, or something.

Maybe our brains just work differently in these different regions, so the search engines just work more similarly to how people's brains work.

[Ecco]

Stadia is one of the dumbest tech products to come along this decade but the fact that it even exists shows that Google doesn't see a cartel, or if they do they think they can break it up. But seriously WTF are they thinking, it would be like if Netflix launched with a service that requires you to buy films at full price to stream them, Stadia was supposed to provide a higher quality experience at less cost instead you have to buy hardware anyway and the games look slightly worse than current consoles.

Switch is absolutely brilliant, it's not the most powerful hardware (by a long shot) but it's got a ton of good games and has opened up new ways to play. If other companies want to get in on the fun they ought to be emulating Nintendo, not by copying the same designs but by coming up with products that no one else is making. I'm looking forward to the Intellivision Amico too since it's at least something creative and not another PlayStation/XBox clone. If Sega ever wants to get back into hardware I hope they take a similar route.

I also wish the 3DS was getting a real successor, imagine the 3D effect with an HD display and better support for AR, that could be a lot of fun.

I can see that the Switch is very popular but I don't plan on every buying one. It doesn't look pleasant to hold it, like it doesn't look like it would feel good to hold. I guess I should make a point of actually trying to hold one and maybe it feels awesome lol.

[axel]

I can see that the Switch is very popular but I don't plan on every buying one. It doesn't look pleasant to hold it, like it doesn't look like it would feel good to hold. I guess I should make a point of actually trying to hold one and maybe it feels awesome lol.

It feels better than the monstrosity that was the Wii U tablet. But it can really feel like however you want, you can use the JoyCons separately, or get a Pro Controller, or a Switch Lite, etc. The Pro Controller is very similar to an XBOne controller.

[axel]

Google doesn't refute it endorses it because it is estimated that google has invested 13 B in Stadia (for me it's just PR 13B is a lot of money) but Stadia doesn't interfere with Sony and Microsoft as much as Playstation came in using a normal console, invested in exclusives, invested in a powerful console of the time and even sold it at low prices, this is the way of competition. Look at the Genesis and Snes games most of the library is different, as both were competing against each other, now look at PS, XB, PC both have 85% of the games together, as Iwata said a commodity system.

The Stadia is designed to kill traditional consoles. I don't think it will but it is sold as a direct competitor to Sony/MS. I don't see how games being multiplatform can be evidence of a cartel. If you had a cartel you would be able to get developers into exclusive contracts like back in the NES days. Multiplats are a sign of increased competition not less.

[SegataS]

Stadia is already a flop. Just a matter of time before Google kills it like they always do.

[Team Andromeda]

If other companies want to get in on the fun they ought to be emulating Nintendo, not by copying the same designs but by coming up with products that no one else is making. I'm looking forward to the Intellivision Amico too since it's at least something creative and not another PlayStation/XBox clone.

Nvidia made their own portable version of a shield with a screen, long before the Switch

[SegataS]

Nvidia made their own portable version of a shield with a screen, long before the Switch

Morpheus X300 predates both.

[axel]

Yes the Shield has similar hardware but to me the key difference is that Nintendo actually supports the Switch as a gaming console with an entire ecosystem of hardware accessories and software titles, many of them exclusives. It's the same reason I don't look at my Android tablets as gaming consoles even though they are perfectly capable of running games. Although there's probably more people gaming on Android devices now than any traditional console so maybe it doesn't matter.

[Team Andromeda]

Morpheus X300 predates both.

Nintendo hardly the innovators they are made out to be eh?

[SegataS]

Nintendo hardly the innovators they are made out to be eh?

They are still very innovative but they like anyone who can borrow existing ideas but they blend it really well. X300 is a mess TBH. The Xavix Port came out before the Wii by 2 years but Xavix was a POS. Game.com had touch screen gaming in 1997 but was a giant POS system. Nintendo blends better hardware to a more cohesive system combined with its software which always utilizes the strengths of its features. It's like going from PDA Phones to iPhone. Tablet PC from 2002 to a modern day tablet device. The idea existed before but it just wasn't ready or done well yet.

[axel]

The Morphus X300 was a cool concept but again zero support for games, I can hardly call that a game console. I don't understand how these devices can even be in the same conversation as dedicated gaming platforms.

[Team Andromeda]

They are still very innovative but they like anyone who can borrow existing ideas but they blend it really well. X300 is a mess TBH. The Xavix Port came out before the Wii by 2 years but Xavix was a POS. Game.com had touch screen gaming in 1997 but was a giant POS system. .

I've rarely seen Nintendo ever truly innovate, we even had Gametrak before the Wii... Waits for the Power Glove to hit back

[SegataS]

Power Glove was Mattel.