Console wars have been going on since the beginning of the introduction of the console home system. Everyone has there own preferences and rightly so. When I think of the video game industry today we have the predominant systems such as the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and although it is not a console the PC (I’ll come back to this one). Each person who games has their own interests and ideas when it comes to each of these consoles, and I am assure that most of you may have cringed when reading the name of the console you choose not to participate with, but is this really necessary?
Do we really need to have a console war? Yes, we have our preferences, but that doesn’t mean we need to mock or look down upon the people who own another system then us. As a game designer, myself I have no preference, nor can I really since I’ll be eventually making games for other consoles. Do I play on one console more than another? Yes, I do. Do I look down at those people that don’t play the same console as I? No, often if they are my friends I’ll have a jape or two for fun, but I don’t understand why we should put down other people for not having the same console.
What I really don’t like, and here is where we return to the PC, is seeing the PC enthusiasts continuously chanting their ever-famous “PC Master Race” quote. A true gamer does not come from what system they can afford, a true gamer comes from the enjoyment of gaming, the ability to appreciate and love each game they play whether it be on console or PC. Truly there is no need for a console war; there is no better system than another they are all the same. The only thing that separates consoles from each other are the exclusive games companies release for specific systems. Console wars tend to rise from personal preference and the exclusive releases, those that own Xbox believe Xbox exclusives to be the be all end all and vise versa when it comes to PlayStation and Wii U. Yes, each system has good content, although some companies recycle the same idea when they release their exclusive.
Now, recycling ideas is not a bad thing and I’m not talking about series exclusives like Halo, Uncharted, or Super Smash Brothers (yes it technically is a series go watch Game Theory about this), what I am talking about is when a company has one thing on their mind when it comes to releasing exclusives, I’m going to use PlayStation as an example. When Sony releases exclusives they seem to have a repetitive cycle, firs they release an exclusive that their fans know and love, and then they release a zombie based game, then they release another fan exclusive, and return to a zombie exclusive, and it continues to go into a circle, but that’s just an observation.
Although there may be exclusives and there may be personal preferences we as gamers should not fight on which console is better or worse. We should appreciate what we have and not get worked up on which system our friends have, although we not play with them, doesn’t mean we have to trash what and how they play.
