There are a few things that really get under my skin when it comes to gaming. Mostly, these are things I cannot control. You might even consider them as pet peeves, but I know a lot of you out there will empathise with the incredible frustration I’ve felt at these things.
New and Improved!
Sure, it’s always nice to have the newest, shiniest version of something, but what happens when you don’t? What happens for instance when you just bought the newest portable gaming device, only to find out that they’re releasing a newer version with bigger screen, better sound, and more storage, complete with laser-guided missiles on the back? So, it may just be wishful thinking on my part about the missiles, but my point still stands. You’ve just spent a large sum of your money on what you thought was the latest and greatest new gaming gadget, only to find out that only a few short months later, your new toy is going to seem old and out-dated already.
I understand the decision by companies to go with this business model for the sake of profit and whatnot, but sadly, this practise, more often than not, leaves gamers with consoles scattered around their rooms that might as well be paper-weights.
Sure, you can show some self-control and perspective and all that nice crap and be happy with what you’ve got, but at the end of the day, you’re forced to miss out on certain key features (sometimes even games themselves) because you decided to get in early and experience the joys of whatever system you bought as soon as you could. This is something that you would think these companies would adore from their fans (and fiscally, I’m sure they do).
If you’re a rationally-minded person and value the contents of your wallet at all, you’re eventually going to get sick of companies doing this over the years and you’re going to hold out on buying new consoles when they come out, because you know for a fact that in the coming months they’re going to announce a newer and better version. Then in the coming months following the release of that, there’s going to be yet another version announced.
An even worse, but equally likely, scenario is that gamers, after a long enough period of aforementioned disappointment and frustration, will begin to lose faith in the system in question all together. Gamers may postpone buying the console indefinitely when they see companies constantly releasing consoles so often and haphazardly (I’m looking at you Nintendo).
If I were a rich man, I’m sure this type of thing wouldn’t annoy me nearly half as much, but since it’s somewhat of an investment to buy a console in the first place, let alone games and peripherals, it drives me crazy when companies offer improvements such as a larger screen or clearer display, that really should’ve been incorporated in the device to start with.
For instance, the PS Vita is an amazing console, and compared to the PSP Go, is leaps and bounds ahead. If Sony had skipped the Go entirely and instead chose to release the Vita earlier, I’d have bought one without hesitation. Because Sony released so many versions of the PSP before the Vita was released, the Vita lost its wow-factor and flew under the radar for a lot of people, and its sales have been affected by this.
If there’s a point to this rant, it’s this: Companies, real gamers don’t want to buy a whole new version of a console they already have simply because it has a bigger screen. That’s simply not enough to warrant a purchase. If you’re releasing a new console, it has to have a selling point that makes us not caring about discarding the old one in favour of this one.
I’ve got enough redundant portable gaming paper-weights already, thanks.
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