Let's bust some myths! Game-related only, please

by Nick Doerr { Aug 30th 2006 at 2:00PM }

Loyd Case writes a pretty cool article where he tries to debunk ten of the most common myths held more as fact. We'll outline the myths and whether or not ps3fanboy agrees with them and you can feel free to give us your two cents also!

PS3 will fail -- Case debunks this rumor, citing console cycles and a worst case scenario that isn't so bad. We agree with his conclusion!
PC games are doomed! -- this is easily debunked... some games just don't deliver the same experience as can be given through a mouse and keyboard. We agree.
You need a $500 graphics card -- simply untrue for most games on the PC, really. More reliant on the CPU. Agreed!
Console games are for twitch gamers -- what? This is a dumb myth. RPG's aren't twitchy, nor are strategy games (Fire Emblem on GameCube was slow-paced and fairly difficult to keep your members alive... being twitchy there would certainly spell doom). This myth is untrue.
Handheld games are for kids -- no. There are some tough ones and some that simply aren't made with kids in mind (Brain Age is cited, we again call upon the power of Fire Emblem -- fun for kids and adults, too). Myth busted!
Console games are too simple -- this doesn't deserve going into. Play Devil May Cry 3 and then say console games are simple or easy. That wasn't brought up (Loyd Case doesn't even have a PS2) but hey. It should have. Busted!
PC Games are too complicated -- the man says no, but we're going to disagree slightly. Some PC game interfaces are unnecessarily complex and some (left-handed people in particular) may have more trouble controlling the keyboard/mouse combo. What we agree with is learning curves: just keep trying and you'll be fine in a few hours. Myth... plausible.
PC copy protection is onerous -- complaining about inserting the CD to play their PC game? Consoles do that. Everything else mentioned is completely reasonable (excepting one or two examples). So this myth has been overcome.
Games are too violent -- yawn! Compare games to movies or tv -- for every act of violence of sexual reference in games, there's an equal or greater amount on tv. Conversely, for every violent movie/game, there's a lovely CG kids movie/game.
Embarassment about gaming -- Not really a myth, just a culturally forced stereotype. We're not all socially inept. We just have passion for a unique and maturing hobby. Don't be ashamed to nerd it up, guys!

That was fun, if a bit long. Well, anyone have any disagreements, further examples, etc? We'd love to hear them!

Tags: gaming myths, GamingMyths, Playstation 3, Playstation3, PS3

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

SfGanja @ Aug 30th 2006 4:09PM

I feel like I just wasted moments of my life reading this article.

TheWakeUpCall @ Aug 30th 2006 5:23PM

This article was kinda stupid. Also, number 10 in the UK isnt true. Gaming isnt nerdy atall, well normal games anyway, most guys own a console.

boots @ Aug 30th 2006 6:24PM

I posted this at Joystiq. Some of you may have read it, but in case you didn't... here are 10 (well, 11) more myths of the games industry:

11. Xbox 360 has a wide variety of games and game genres.

12. Xbox 360 will reach a wider audience than the original Xbox in Japan.

13. Blu-ray (or HD-DVD) is not necessary for games.

14. With Xbox 360, everything is "optional"

15. Wii will outsell both PS3 and Xbox 360 by a huge margin due to its price and "innovation".

16. Graphics don't matter. Not even a little bit.

17. High Definition is worthless for gaming.

18. The Wii name will not repel potential adults from buying it.

19. Xbox 360's defect/failure rate is "only" 3%, not a lot more.

20. New input methods is the only thing needed to impress the consumer and revolutionize the industry, not great new graphical, physical and artificially intelligent effects. It won't matter if it's original software as long as you have the same old input, your machine won't sell.

And last but not least...

21. Blu-ray and HD-DVD will end up *exactly* like DVD-audio and SACD, because we all know that MOST people will NEVER get an HDTV, and will NEVER buy HD-DVD or Blu-ray movies on players that would cost near the same as a DVD player, with movies that look better and yet cost the same as a DVD, because people are just stupid like that and don't like better for the same price, or they will ALL simply have media centers connected to the net, because it's a fact that people will easily want not to own any content on discs, and to be charged for virtual content.

I just came up with a new one...

22. Gaming consoles just reached a wall they will not break, on the graphics side.

boots @ Aug 30th 2006 6:25PM

And in case you wondered, I didn't count the last one I came up with. So there goes 12 myths.

Rabish12 @ Aug 30th 2006 8:06PM

I already made a fairly massive response to this on Joystiq pointing out why just about every "myth" on this list isn't a myth at all, but I'm too lazy to do that again so I'll just point out the most flawed one there:

Myth #8 isn't just "complaining about having to put in the CD". It's complaining about having to type out a 105 character CD-key every time you install a game (you have to do this for Neverwinter Nights Diamond), or having to deal with an online distribution system that can make it difficult to play a game on a poor internet connection or impossible to play it without one, and even impossible to play it with one as far as used games are concerned, even though that game is primarily single player, or having to deal with copy protection systems that can prevent legitimately purchased games from working at all on a number of systems and that can cause them to load slowly and even cause severe issues that unrelated to the game, all while being fairly difficult to remove (Starforce, anyone?). It's complaining that, while all of these things can severely hinder customers with legitimate copies of games, they rarely do a damn thing to deter pirates, who will generally have a crack available within a couple of weeks and be able to play the game with fewer issues than those who actually paid for it.

People don't complain about copy protection because you have to insert the CD, they complain about copy protection because it makes it easier and, in some cases, safer for pirates to play the games than legitimate users.