PGen98

Do you think that it's right for people who pre-order a game or who otherwise have connections in some way that allows them to get the game early and enjoy some exclusive early access time? I know a lot of people who think this is a bad thing and unfairly gives some an advantage. For me, I think it's perfectly fine, those people pre-ordered the game or they have connections to someone or something that gives them early access to the game, and that's fine. They get a few extra days to play it before the general public, there's nothing really wrong with that, IMO. It doesn't take long to catch up on a few days or early access to those who grind their way through games quickly, so it levels out easily enough. Do you think it's fair or unfair?

So Forza Horizon 5 launched today for those who pre-ordered and other folks, too. Has anyone gotten into it and given it a go? I have, and I have to say, it's really impressive! The map is huge, the gameplay feels a bit tighter than 4, and the cars of course are quite nice to race around in. That Mercedes! Wow! And of course, can't hate a Supra :). I'm a bit of a Forza fan, so I'm loving it totally. Mexico's a lot of fun to drive through :)

Most of the Fable games, any of the Mass Effect games, most of the Saints Row games, etc.

Most of the Mass Effect games have this aboard the Normandy.

No, most of the time I want to finish the challenge myself and know I beat it instead of having to skip it.

A favourite game definitely helps the mood. A new game can go either way, depending on the game. A challenging game can make me feel worse for not getting through it, but a fun game can make me forget about whatever was bothering me.

Playing Forza Horizon 5 tonight, love it! It's a great game in the early stages! Map is HUGE!

Oh absolutely, it's not hard to build up an extremely large backlog very quickly and cheaply. Agreed, it's very rare that you complete your backlog of games, because most you pick up and play for a little bit and then forget about, ignore, or just plain don't like, so that backlog keeps on growing and growing.

It was a genuine first party console with a good amount of original games. You can find them on eBay, but brand new ones are extremely rare and expensive now. Totally understandable, the PSX/1 was an incredible console, hard to look past FF7:D

There's a great video breakdown of the Saturn here:

We've had the NES Classic, SNES Classic, Genesis Mini, PlayStation Classic, Turbo-Grafx Mini, C64 Mini and the Atari VCS which is...sort of a console/mini hybrid idea. What console do you think will be next to get Mini-fied? I think most are expecting the N64 to be next up, and that's a solid option, most definitely, but I'd like to see either the Sega Master System or Sega Saturn next, both great consoles with great game libraries to pull from. How about you all? What would be your ideal next minified console?

Nintendo are and always have been comfortable going their own way with console designs and decisions, and it's worked well for them, mostly. The Wii U was definitely a sort of beta test for what would become the Switch, a good idea refined and released properly. I love the Switch, it works well as a console, works well as a handheld and it it's got some fantastically fun games on it. But what do you think they'll do next? I think they will eventually make the long-rumoured Pro version of the Switch, but it will be interesting to see what a next generation Switch will be. Do they keep going with the hybrid console approach? Expand on it to include other possible use cases? It's interesting to think about what they'll do next!

We hear this every generation now, but it's hard to deny that consoles are getting closer and closer to PC specs when they're released, and then subsequently re-released with the more powerful version later in the generation. Many speculated the One X would be the final console MS released, but of course we saw that was not the case as the Series S/X released, as well. What are your thoughts on these possibly being the last consoles Microsoft releases? I think it's a possibility, but ultimately unlikely. There's a lot to be said for console gaming even still, so I think there's still another generation out there after this, but then....well, I think that might do it for Microsoft's run in the game. Sony and Nintendo still have a lot to offer, I think, but MS can push people to PC and not lose market share. So, for me, I'm thinking they'll do one more generation and stop. How about you all?

Do you guys backup or replicate your data to make sure it's safe and sound? I used to back up just to my external drive and that was it; however, I recently built and setup a NAS device, so now I backup to my external, and have that backup weekly to my NAS, I then also zip up and send a copy of the backup to an offsite backup location, as well so I have my data saved in triplicate just in case. Safety first! How do you guys tend to your data/games/etc?

Yeah, agreed, FIFA, other sports games, quick match games like Destiny or doing a level or two in Captain Toad Treasure Tracker! All good for short sessions!

I don't specifically wait to game at night, but I do tend to enjoy night gaming far more than daytime gaming. Particularly games that have a creepier edge to them!

Fallout New Vegas was a definite bust for me the first time I played it, but I enjoyed it the second and even third time around. I don't even remember why I disliked it so much the first time around, it just hit me wrong, I suppose.

You're not wrong, waiting for technology to come down in price after being released, and the newest technology to get properly tested and broken in is a great approach. I never buy bleeding-edge stuff, I wait for things to get tested and become more readily available. It would be great if we hit a plateau and let things settle for a bit, but you're right, that doesn't sell new gear, new technology or new GPUs, so it won't happen anytime soon. Oh absolutely, gotta' wait a minimum of two years for everything to normalize a bit, IMO, everything gets tested, defects get worked out, availability becomes less of an issues, etc. So what would be a $2k+ at release goes down considerably after time. Of course, yeah, with things as they are right now, it's not ideal for anyone to start building at this point. Yeah, the sad reality of business overtaking common sense. Gotta' move new units of new tech and pump out more new tech at higher prices in order to keep afloat. The circle of business. Couldn't agree more! Consoles do help to keep things in check and stop the PCs from running away into the stratosphere with their requirements.

The Saturn came out in 1996, I believe, so it's very much a console of the past. It was well ahead of its' time, but it was so poorly marketed and support from third party developers was next to non-existent, so it failed outside of Japan pretty quickly. In Japan it lived on for a good 10 years, had some amazing games developed for it, as well!

Yeah, it's been the same on the Xbox side, as well. The games they release are good for short periods to get your interest back up, and then they go back to mediocre games that aren't that fun to play. Still have to give them a download and a try, though, since they're free! Yep, spot on! It doesn't matter if you have a massive collection or a collection of 5 games. If those five games mean something to you and you get enjoyment out of them, then more power to you! This is very, very true. I have games in my collection that I bought to try and couldn't get into, so I pushed as far as I could and then they now sit in my backlog waiting for the day I get back to them. At least I tried it, I'm thankful for that with every game in that situation! In my Steam library, very much so! I get a lot of games gifted to me at christmas and on my bday, and they're usually games that are jokes picked out by friends being funny (Shower with your dad simulator, for instance). I don't play those games and they sit in my Steam library gather e-dust!

Agreed, it is definitely the simplest way to make progress towards luxury items at times when money is tough. I save up, wait for sales, find discount codes, coupons, etc. Whatever it takes to shave that price down until I can actually afford what I want. It's the best way when times are tough. Agreed, I've been in positions where I could go out and get what I want when I want, and I've been in situations like I'm in now where I work as a full time caregiver to my mother who has dementia and I only make minimum wage at 26 billable hours a week and I scrape by and save up for what I want. You just adapt to your circumstances and make do the best you can. No shame in either situation!

Does anyone here plan to snag a Switch OLED before the inevitable console shortages and scalping take hold? I had thought about it, personally, but then I realized that I really love my own Switch just as it is and don't really need the fancier screen at all, so I'm fine with what I have and still very much enjoy those games I have, as well, so there's no point to me upgrading. How about you all, will you invest in the new OLED swtich or keep on trucking with the old up until it runs out of power?

I'm not really in a position to just off and buy games anymore, so sadly what I get excited for a game, I start the fund up immediately to go out pick it up when I can afford it. It's not economical, but c'est la vie!

Some Pokemon game have seasons, and games like Fable change seasons a bit. Otherwise, I can't think of too many more that haven't already been listed!

Remember it? I absolutely adore it! I still break it out every now and then and play a little Clockwork Knights, Three Dirty Dwarves, Shining Force III, Nights into Dreams and more. So many great games for the Saturn, it was so vastly underrated.