Welcome back!
I don’t want to say this week was interesting so much as it was disappointing. Questions about inclusiveness and internet hate were thrust onto our Twitter feeds. But we’re here now, and we’ll have to figure out how to prevent this in the future.
This week we’ll only have three articles this week because of the extra attention paid to online harassment and the criticism of the role videogame journalist play in the community. Then we’ll be taking a look at the PlayStation 4 and its impressive sales numbers, but nobody knows why this is happening. Followed finally by automated cars and how you’ll no longer be allowed to drive, sounds like fun.
This week, however, we’re going with The Big Three instead our usual 4. Why? Well, simply put, not enough really caught our eye this week. To be honest, the first item on the list is big enough that we could write reams about it by itself.
As always, here’s to another good week. Cheers!
The Big Three
The Truth About Videogame Journalism
The nature with which we as humans communicate and interact with each other has dramatically changed over the last two decades. Now at almost any moment it is possible to speak with almost anyone on the planet with the push of a few buttons. This has had some positive effects on humanity: namely, we are closer to one another than ever before and this has led to the spread of new ideas. If you want to talk to a celebrity or anyone famous, all you need to do is tweet at them, and they will most certainly see it and possibly respond.
Unfortunately, these gains have also created new problems. As two differing ideas meet, conflicts will undoubtedly arise. Only now we are able to respond instantly to any differing ideas or criticisms, but not always in ways that are productive and relevant. While this isn’t Twitter’s fault, the site’s 140 character limit and instant uploads have perhaps conditioned us to make unfiltered tweets which often involve little thought. Coupled with the facelessness of the internet, which often dehumanizes those with differing opinions, and we often lose sight that the things we say are directed at real people.
After all, they’re just words, and we should toughen up a little - at least, that’s what we’re often told.
But that’s not how things work, and a culture of acceptance of hate has grown in many online communities. This week that culture bubbled up to the surface with a semi-organized attack by “anti-social justice warriors” against a prominent female game developer whose personal life has been forcefully thrust into the public stage. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this person also considers herself a feminist and often critiques the gaming industry and its approach to its female audience; which for some reason causes problems with a verbal minority of the gaming community.
This is also coming off the heels of the Zelda Williams – daughter of Robin Williams – leaving Twitter after she received countless verbal attacks and images of her now deceased father. What did she do to deserve such negativity?
Seriously, what the hell?
Books can be written about this and more will undoubtedly be said in the future, by myself and others here at Continue Play. Check out the video of Patrick Klepek and Zoe Quinn below from this year’s PAX East on the subject of internet hate, it is long but worth your time.
Further Reading: Game Dev Harassment Remains as Bad As It Was A Year Ago
Why Is PlayStation 4 Selling So Well?
We are so happy. But I for one am a bit nervous because we do not completely understand what’s happening. You need to understand why your products are selling well so you can plan for the future, right?
Sony’s PlayStation 4 is off to the races in terms of sales, and at Gamescom the company proudly announced that they’ve sold more than 10 million units through to consumers since launch. That is incredibly fast, faster than the Nintendo Wii which used to be the fastest selling console in history. This is supposed to be a time of a decline in a need for videogame consoles as mobile, Steam, streaming, and other types of cheaper gaming experiences are rising to prominence. So why is this happening then?
Not even Sony knows that answer. In a recent interview with Eurogamer Sony executive Shuhei Yoshida said that they too are a little worried. Chris Kohler explains his theories about Sony’s resurgence and he takes a look at some of the leading theories that attempt to explain these sales numbers. I encourage you to read it as he gets into some of the Meta aspects of videogame consoles and the companies that develop them.
Personally, I think that videogames will become a streaming based experience with always online games being hosted on one server or another. That consoles will shrink and possibly be built right into our phones. I also think this will happen soon, say the next 10 years soon. But that is the cutting edge, and the average person isn’t on the cutting edge of technology. Money is a big factor here, and the newest and best gadgets could take over a decade before their development cost come down enough for the average person to purchase.
People hailing the death of the home console - and others who look at future market trends - often forget that there is a large segment of the population that doesn’t keep up with the cutting edge trends and lags behind the wave a bit for prices to come down. Most console sales happen later in their life cycle after prices have dropped and the gaming library has expanded.
Microsoft took this for granted, and their gamble for an always online machine failed because of it. They forgot that while broadband internet is a powerful tool to use for gaming, many consumers still have limited access to high speed internet capabilities. Microsoft’s timing was wrong, their vision was for the console of the future, and both the hardware and public were not ready to make that leap.
The future of self-driving cars: welcome to Autocon 2035
This is a follow-up to the “Humans Need Not Apply” video from last week about the impending robot economy, and how unprepared we are for this inevitability. The video has gone somewhat viral, and Ryan Gantz of The Verge made some hypothetical guesses about the future of robots and “autos” as a response.
He has created a timeline about the present and future for self-driving cars and how they will play a part in changing the world. Are you prepared to never drive again? Because he hypothesizes that by 2023 Congress will enact laws that requires all new vehicles to be equipped with automated driving capabilities. Shortly after they’ll ban human drivers all together as accidents and car fatalities decrease.
I don’t want to spoil the whole story for you, but somewhere along the line he brings ownership of autos. The future of ownership is something I frequently bring up here on WTWI, and Gantz sees a future where we’ll be unable to own much of anything. We’ll pay for access and use as cost rise and subsidization becomes more of the norm when making purchases of phones, cars, and robots.
It is important to note that I don’t talk about the future of robots and our economy to be an alarmist, but to raise awareness about an issue that has largely gone unnoticed. We’ll accomplish great things, but the transition will be incredibly rocky for those that will live through it. And if you are reading this now, you will be one of those people.
Give the video a watch if you missed it last week, and check out Gantz timeline for his predictions. If you are interested in this check out “The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century” and “Robots Will Steal Your Job: but that’s ok.”
Visual Stimulation
Why Internet Jerks Aren’t Going to Win, And You Can Help
Is Bloodborne good enough to stand in Dark Souls’ shoes?
When Difficult Is Fun?
Shaq Fu
Extra Study Material
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of From Software’s Souls franchise, and most likely my love of the genre (one of a punishing action rpg) will carry over to Bloodborne. Thomas Morgan has a great write up about his experience with the demo over at Eurogamer and he discusses the “new” rules so to speak. Enjoy, “Bloodborne is a Souls successor with serious bite”
Another topical piece, this one is on the militarization of America’s police force and the role videogames have in that transition. With Ferguson still fresh in our mind - and not fully understood by most – Chris Plante takes a hard look at shooters and Battlefield Hardline in, “The police aren’t an army: the problem with Battlefield Hardline”
Are you brave enough to let Google into your life with the new Google Now app that aims to become your own personal assistant by tracking your daily habits? Google Now Tracks your emails, phone records, gps, browsing habits, and other various sources of information in an effort to compartmentalize your life for efficacy. So, are you brave enough? “Google Knows You Better Than You Know Yourself”
Brian Kale
@brianwkale
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