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24

Console War, p63

September 17, 2018 by Tim

Well, the free ride has come to an end. Time to start forking over the cash for Nintendo Online.

But hey, at least we get free access to Balloon Fight, right?!

I’ll be more excited when they add some SNES games to the mix. I’ve played all of those (worthwhile) NES games to death at this point.


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foducool
foducool
6 years ago

nintendo ain’t getting any cash from me for the online mode as long as I don’t actually need to play online
I’ll stick to my singleplayer games thankyouverymuch

MRD
MRD
6 years ago

Nintendo still wants a percentage of youtube earnings even though gamers are effectively giving them free advertising, right? Yeah, pass. At least until Nintendo gets their head out of their ass.

Daragh
Daragh
6 years ago
Reply to  MRD

To be honest that’s their prerogative. The content is still copyrighted content not meant for redistribution unless it’s through authorized channels. What you’ve just said there is tantamount to approaching a freelance worker, let’s say a photographer, and saying you’ll pay them in “advertising and exposure” rather than giving them a paycheck for displaying their content in your home.

Dan
Dan
6 years ago
Reply to  Daragh

Yeah if I was letting people come into my house and play it for free that analogy would work.

Or we going to pretend that watching someone playing a game is the same as playing it for yourself now?

not free
not free
6 years ago
Reply to  Daragh

No, it’s not their prerogative. There are laws that govern this sort of thing that Nintendo blatantly ignores. It doesn’t matter if you upload all of the cutscenes of the game or if you use a little bit of footage to demonstrate your points in a review; Nintendo treats them both the same even though the latter has been proven time and time again to fall under Fair Use and be perfectly legal. The only reason Nintendo gets away with it is because going to court, even if you’re right and will win, costs a ridiculous amount of money that… Read more »

Eldest Gruff
Eldest Gruff
6 years ago
Reply to  not free

You are incorrect that those are the only four- you can decline to be a part of their YouTube program, but still send the odd video or two over to them to be reviewed. I believe they take an extra 10%, but then you don’t have to be part of the program.

I don’t know of any serious youtubers who are actually a part of that program.

Destino
Destino
6 years ago
Reply to  not free

I love your work man, realy do. I’ve been following you since your early days. And I agree with your opinions, Most of the time, but that’s one I can’t agree. I remember when I suggested pc gaming into your wars and you told me that pc wasn’t a console and you wouldn’t put it into your wars. I was kinda frustrated by it, but hey, it’s your work and you know what’s best. So I let it be as one thing I would not agree with you. But one thing we can agree, there’s no room for segregation between… Read more »

Henry
Henry
6 years ago
Reply to  not free

Many, MANY people seem to ignore the remainder of the DMCA-style copyright complaint process; it is NOT “someone complains, you must pull your content or go to court.” There is a counterclaim process, as well as penalties for a copyright holder who is found to keep filing complaints then having them overturned during counterclaim. VERY few people seem to be aware of this for whatever reason.

not free
not free
6 years ago

No you don’t. You get cloud saves for $20 a year with your subscription. We also get Balloon Fight for $20 a year. Nothing about a transaction where we pay money is free. Yes, this includes PS+ and Games with Gold. None of it’s free. Free means you don’t spend money. If you spend money, it’s the opposite of free.

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
6 years ago
Reply to  not free

Right. I can’t go into Moe’s and get their *alleged* “Free chips” without buying anything XD

Brandon
Brandon
6 years ago
Reply to  Kaitensatsuma

Shout out to my friends at Moe’s. 🙂

Ven
Ven
6 years ago

Well, the solution here is pretty simple. Guy with gun swaps and uses HIS sub to call for air support while the comms guy lays down covering fire.

D W
D W
6 years ago
Reply to  Ven

The gun is probably locked to that guy’s nintendo account though… or it’ll need a large update downloaded by the other guy in order to use it.

Korvara
Korvara
6 years ago
Reply to  D W

Look in the first panel. Comms Guy has a gun laying by his feet. He might be out of ammo but he wouldn’t need to borrow the Shooter’s gun only his ammo. However, I wouldn’t put it past the “Brass” to make the ammo bind on equip to keep troops from “wasting” rounds.

Mark Williams
Mark Williams
6 years ago

Where’s the Comic with the PC Master Race sipping Tea and watching War Footage, while mocking the limitations of the over rated console machines? 🙂 But seriously, recently I picked up Titanfall 2 for a song on the PS Store, and having never played multiplayer on Console before threw it away as soon as I found out I had to pay extra for Multiplayer. Fortunately, it was only 9.99 for the deluxe edition on PC. I’m not going to pay for a PC, a Game, and an Internet Connection, plus someones dedicated network. We’ve been doing without that for decades… Read more »

Mark Willims
Mark Willims
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I apologize, that was meant to be very tongue in cheek. Hence the 🙂 !

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

And let’s be honest, the PC Army would be a ragtag group of mismanaged, inconsistent idiots shouting at one another as half their guns don’t fire, a fourth of their guns fire infrequently and the remaining fourth don’t see what the problem is.

Destino
Destino
6 years ago
Reply to  Kaitensatsuma

Ok, now I’m offended, wtf, once one start the other goes right behind! I’m a gamer, period, I own a Xbox one, a ps4, a switch, a 3ds and my FREAKING PC. I started playing seriously with my pc, my steam library is vast, I can’t. Stand coments that diminish any platform. Every single one has its Strengths and weakness. So first of all respect. I agree that this subscription fee is bullshit, and this time nintendo is doing it wrong big time. But you guys are very biased against p Gamers. Why not. Make fun of this subscription? Why… Read more »

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
6 years ago
Reply to  Destino

You realize that “Master Race” *is* “Third Reich” terminology, and Tim didn’t call him a Nazi, he just pointed out the use of it.

Granted, usually I’ve heard the term “PC Master Race” be used derisively towards PC gamers more than a self-created pedestal to put themselves on. We get plenty of shit thrown at us, and in an age of more and more Cross-Platform that includes the PC in it’s releases Console Exclusive things like Spider-Man on PS4 really hit a soft spot.

Nealithi
Nealithi
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Okay Tim,
I still say ME: Andromeda is a good game, and the reason I broke down and bought a console.

Main reason for PS4 was my friend had one and spoke highly of it. Then he decided to get out of the console debate altogether. . . . I was going some where with this I swear.

Doormaker
Doormaker
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I love console wars & and the rest of the content you create(SCC has become my favorite). I’m pretty aggressive when defending people choosing to do what makes them happy as well–like buying the gaming platform of their choice, and it makes me glad seeing other people think that way too. While I’m willing to change my mind, I do think, with sincere respect, that it’s not that ‘stupid of an argument’ however, and worry that you see people who make it as more shallow than is realistic. My gamer creds are pretty thin these days(and as a new parent,… Read more »

HonoredMule
HonoredMule
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

My PC justification comes from the instant rage I experience every time I try to interact with a modern console controller in any capacity whatsovever.

Being able to play RTS games and arena shooters competently is just icing on the cake.

Honestly, if you _don’t_ include PCs, I’ll just happily bask – roast free – in my pre-existing comfort and sense of superiority and rarity which trandscends from platform choice into more of a generational thing.

Him.
Him.
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Can we at some point get a view of the early days of the Console Wars?
Say, halfway through the first (third? NES era) conflict.

Robert
Robert
6 years ago
Reply to  Him.

Maybe in a “Captain CelecoVision: Civil War” type flashback? Or even those cute little handheld LCD games 😛

Ceph
Ceph
6 years ago

I don’t get why everyone is so up in arms about this change. Nintendo is EXTREMELY late to the party on this. Yes the offerings of the online service is slim but it’s also 1/3 the price of Sony/Microsoft’s online services. Also for $35 you can get 8 ACCOUNTS. So that’s less than 5 bucks a year. I know it sucks when something that was free for so long gets put behind a pay wall but people aren’t currently yelling about PS+ or Xbox Gold, so why is thing Ninetndo change so offensive?

Mick
Mick
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Some people are offended at ththe idea of having pay for games in the first place, of course there are people upset about this.

Ceph
Ceph
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

In this comment section alone I can see the statement “I agree that this subscription fee is bullshit.” While the term offended is a bit hyperbolic, the rage I see all over the place about it is comparable to some personal offense. I know the internet gonna do what the internet do, but the level of this reaction caught me off guard.

Eldest Gruff
Eldest Gruff
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

In fact, we all got an extra year of free online past what they promised.

ZORK
ZORK
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

For me, the announcement that playing online will eventually be tied to a fee influenced my purchases for when I eventually got a Switch this year. For example, while I really enjoyed Splatoon on the Wii U, Splatoon 2 is kinda dead to me because I don’t want to pay a fee everytime I want to play this game proper.

In other words, I’ll mostly stick to either solo games or games with a strong local multiplayer.

phLOx
phLOx
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I guess if a game said on its cover something similar to the “needs xbox gold account to play online” (but the Nintendo version) then people don’t get to bitch. If it never did, but now suddenly you need to service, then I get why some could get triggered.
PS: You are a brave man to browse comments.

Ctown
Ctown
6 years ago
Reply to  Ceph

I think people like myself who really had a problem with xbox and Ps subs sold off those systems a long time ago. For me it just stacked onto the crippling lack of game variety that weren’t hard-core shooters. Even now, five years into the Ps4/XB1 life cycle, I couldn’t name more than ten titles that catch my eye between the two of them. It’s all shooters. shooters, and more boring. I mean, “shooters” So ultimately it went farther than just “pay us money for the online services” It was instead, “pay us money for online services that you’ll never… Read more »

Him.
Him.
6 years ago
Reply to  Ceph

Poke Bank seemed crazy until I realized that it costs less than a 1$ a month Patreon pledge.
Granted, Gen 4-5 are personally the most enjoyable (there are more things to do than “endless battles”. PWT, Battle Factory, etc.)
So it sounds like Nintendo is taking it in the back for being late to the party and for being fairly reasonable. I mean, it doesn’t seem particularly good but it isn’t that much of an issue here. Relatively speaking at least.

Erik Heinze-Milne
Erik Heinze-Milne
6 years ago
Reply to  Ceph

I mean, I yell about PS Plus and Xbox Live, but you are right that no one else seems to give a shit. Honestly, the fact that you can play multiplayer for free on PC is the number one reason why I play on it almost exclusively.

Haaly
Haaly
6 years ago

I used to LOVE Nintendo back in the day. But now they just make me sad. They stil make my favorite games but everything else around them just makes me want to walk away.

Croi
Croi
6 years ago

I just don’t see the value in paying for Nintendo’s service. The games I like to play on their platform are singleplayer focused, save for Mario Kart and possibly Smash Bro (I still like playing solo on both of those unless it’s “couch co-op”).

Him.
Him.
6 years ago
Reply to  Croi

And MHGenU

James Rye
James Rye
6 years ago

Man, imagine fighting a war but your army is like “you wanna airsupport? You get one for 20$ per month! You want more than one? Get the premium subscribe for just 39,99% (per week in tiny letters)!!!”. xD

Dan
Dan
6 years ago

I think most people are upset because they bought a product feeling it would have its entirety supported, and now they’re going to have to fork over extra cash each month to retain access to all of the features. Working in software, I understand the predicament Nintendo is in. It costs money to run servers, to maintain, to fix vulnerabilities, etc. Games are also becoming more expensive to produce, as a whole, much more to maintain, and people aren’t willing to spend more than $60 for a new AAA game. All businesses will use every devious and underhanded, anti-consumer tactic… Read more »

Ceph
Ceph
6 years ago
Reply to  Dan

I do have a rebuttal to your first point. Nintendo announced this paid service in January of 2017. It has been a year and a half sure, but they have been transparent that this changed was coming.

Prime_pm
Prime_pm
6 years ago

“Jesus, then you call air support Mr. Ontheclouds.”

SomeGuyNamedPatrick
SomeGuyNamedPatrick
6 years ago

I see nothing wrong with Nintendo Switch Online (besides the chat thing), but I don’t see much going right, either. Especially when you consider all the stuff that Xbox Live and even PSN offers with a paid membership. I guess we can officially say goodbye to any possibility of decent multiplayer shooters coming to Switch (and no, Paladins doesn’t count).

Drake
Drake
6 years ago

Here is my problem with the pay for online play that consoles are doing. I pay for the console that I play the game on. I pay for the game I am playing, to the game developer, not the console manufacturer. I pay for the internet I use to go online to connect to the game developer’s servers, not the console manufacturer’s servers. What exactly is their fee for? Extra hops to the server I’m actually playing the game on? If it was the Game Developer that was charging the fees, I’d understand, they have to maintain the servers. The… Read more »

Eldest Gruff
Eldest Gruff
6 years ago

I’m not really much of an online player. To me, multiplayer is something that you have to endure when company comes over because it would be rude to sit playing a game by yourself, alone. If Super Nintendo games ever come across, then I think I’ll pitch in my 20 each year to buy the subscription fee, but probably not before.

Tobias
Tobias
6 years ago

Unfortunately, after my dog decided to crash into my TV cabinet and send my Switch flying onto the floor, and after discovering that my almost-finished Breath of the Wild save was lost to the winds because there was no way to copy save data off a damaged Switch, passing up on cloud saves isn’t an option for me. As someone used to playing on Steam, MMOs, and my smartphone, paying for a feature I usually get for free feels a little dirty. But most of my console gaming was back when if the cartridge got damaged, your save was kaput,… Read more »

Him.
Him.
6 years ago

SNES YAS LET’S GET SOME FFVI UP IN THIS
Do you think they’ll be making English localizations for the Japanese only games?

Nyzer
Nyzer
6 years ago

Yeah, the NES games offer doesn’t appeal to me at all. I’ve been able to enjoy NES games since the days of the Wii.

Online N64 and up would be pretty amazing and new, but NES… that’s a resounding “meh” from me.

Him.
Him.
6 years ago
Reply to  Nyzer

Hm, there are some good games (FF1-3, assorted Arcade clone stuff, I think the original Bubble Bobble, etc.) but the really good games start on SNES.
And then you have like 2 generations of bad/mediocre graphics and THEN you get to oh wait we were just there a few years ago.
If the Switch lasts long enough that the Wii U MH3U remakes come out, I’m going to try convulsing until something happens.

Him.
Him.
6 years ago

How much of the cities are actually devoid of conflict…?
How many citizens do not spend their days fearing that this time, the M.A.B (Mutually Assured Bankruptcy) they are taught about in school will in fact happen…?

MARK
MARK
6 years ago

I play games on a PC, I sub to PS +, PS Now (genius, can play on both PS4 and PC) Xbox Gold and the Xbox Games pass. Now i BUY games on PC to play, I do not buy games for either console, i just roll up the subscription included games each month, and use the relevant games passes subscriptions to play other things.. I am in no rush to play “exclusives” The Patient gamer wins in that respect. What i am NOT doing, isdusting off the switch, which is in a draw gathering dust with the 3DS and… Read more »

Baron Voltage
Baron Voltage
6 years ago

First Tim, THANK. YOU for more console wars. Seriously its the one major storyline ya do that I eagerly anticipate each time I bring up the page. Second, I wanna say I think if there’s any concept of an EARLY war of the consoles, it would have been between Atari and ColecoVision. That I think was one of the first major console dust ups before we hit the NES and Sega Master System battles. Hell, Im even thinking of doing a comic of my own doing exactly that if I might be so bold to seek permission to do so.… Read more »

Robert
Robert
6 years ago

Easy fix… maybe. What if they can get a Fortnite package brought in? I hear it has the abillity to avoid subscription woes, and can be powered up from the Xbox and mobile (have we seen those here?) console Soldiers.

Robert
Robert
6 years ago

I’m excited to see what Project Scorpio is.

Jonathan
Jonathan
5 years ago

I’m so excited to see more console wars! Any chance we can see something tied to the big releases this fall? Spider-Man, Black Ops 4, RDR 2, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey? Or maybe Black Friday sales?