I'll just have to send you my PS3 at some point. Not really joking.

Outstanding. I will treasure it as if my own child.

I'm scared. :) I think there might be something to the argument that competition between Microsoft and Sony has made both better and by certain metrics created better value for gamers.

Don't be. ;) "Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind." Well, at least, that's the goal.

I'm weird. As a Mac gamer, I was used to being in the cold, but not being able to play everything kind of refined my choices. I don't know if I ever would have become a Bungie fan if I were not a Mac user first. Although I was interested, I didn't live and breathe gaming (unlike many around here), and part of that was that I didn't have a console (save for PONG) growing up, and I didn't get into it enough to invest in a PC rig. When I finally made the leap with the original Xbox, it began to open things up for me (despite the fact that I was primarily a Halo gamer for years), a console was generally cheaper than a good gaming PC and provided state of the art gaming for a longer period of time.

I'll return to this later. The bus waits for no man.

This community owes a lot to the limited and consistent nature of consoles along with its relatively low price of entry.

This is a good point.

It's going to be interesting to see how it all develops given that we all won't be able to play together for Destiny.*

*At least I think that's a very safe prediction.

Kermit

Perhaps an excellent goal for the next gen (or this one, if possible) would be eliminating this possibility. While the Bleeding Edge of Technology is nice, it's not really needed to experience great things. Consoles do open that gate, which I'm all for. They should take the brave step and open that gate even further, if only because it's the right thing to do.

I'm weird. As a Mac gamer, I was used to being in the cold, but not being able to play everything kind of refined my choices. I don't know if I ever would have become a Bungie fan if I were not a Mac user first. Although I was interested, I didn't live and breathe gaming (unlike many around here), and part of that was that I didn't have a console (save for PONG) growing up, and I didn't get into it enough to invest in a PC rig. When I finally made the leap with the original Xbox, it began to open things up for me (despite the fact that I was primarily a Halo gamer for years), a console was generally cheaper than a good gaming PC and provided state of the art gaming for a longer period of time.

I was thinking about my own history on the way home, and it's basically going with whatever was available, which is what my parents will willing to buy me or let me have. Atari 2600, Apple IIe, Nintendo, PC, and then when I hit college it was XBOX then a long dry spell before the 360 and back to PC gaming.

Our discussion makes me realize I'm not anti-console by any means, just, perhaps anti-exclusivity? Anti-luxury? I hate the idea that only folks with means and privilege get to experience this stuff, cause it's so awesome. I also wonder if with the the new gen, and folks making games for the previous and current gen, there might be more openness to say cross brand play in the future.

I bet it's probably there amongst the studios/devs/whatever, it's just maybe the dudes at the top keeping the flood gates closed.

Of course, gamers buying habits will influence a lot of this, which are influenced heavily by games media propaganda, so that sucks. Eh, we'll see where it goes.

Why not play Halo on Playstaion? Why not Metal Gear on XBOX?

You know that MGS V is on both Sony and MS consoles right? MGS2 even got a release on the original Xbox, albeit without the pressure sensitive button functions.

Exclusives are getting rarer the more costs go up.

I have been massively happy as a Mac gamer. I missed out on a lot but I enjoyed the games I had. And there's something to be said for the kind of competition the console wars bring us. Imagine Sony had the Xbox and 360 not come along. Imagine Microsoft had Sony not finally gotten their head out of their ass and hustled. Imagine Apple had they "won" the PC wars as well as Microsoft did...

The point about enjoying media is always well-made, though, and it's sort of the eternal tension for digital media, which is very transient and highly dependent on platforms... I'm fortunate there exist hacks to still play my old Mac OS 9 games on a OS 10.9 computer, but aside from owning the original hardware and spotty emulation a lot of our favorite games might slip through the cracks.

Victory!

Ideally, all three big console makers would find their own niche like Nintendo did with the Wii. Cross-platform play wouldn't be desirable because... well, honestly, are you going to play Call of Duty: Ghosts on the Wii?

Interesting - any notion what those niches might look like for Sony and Microsoft? Maybe toss Valve in there too just for funsies, because Steambox.

As the market is now, though, exclusives are the best way to compete for the same demographics. I'd like to see Microsoft and Sony competing with features like reverse compatibility, but alas.

Competition can be good for you, but it can also lead to decisions that eliminate possibilities like reverse compatibility. It's probably not an efficient return on investment for the owners, since the main reasons I've seen for it are historical preservation, recreational enjoyment/nostalgia, and so on. Those things are important, but not profitable. Sad face.

But, of course, I'm not competiting for any demographics in order to satisfy my bosses and continue my employment. Haha.