Current Events > What was the most unnecessary self-own in gaming?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yeah that's what was told to at the time by my best friend who is in the marines. It's why when he was deployed we wrote letters to each other.

DuuuDe14 posted...

Yeah that's what was told to at the time by my best friend who is in the marines. It's why when he was deployed we wrote letters to each other.

Yeah, (early on) in the war on terror there'd have been harsher restrictions but the whole world runs on instant communication nowadays that it'd be hard to enforce those kinds of rules for long periods of time.

We('re supposed to) do it for training periods at the Training Centers but that's usually only for 10-17ish days at a time depending on unit leadership, their willingness to actually follow up on their threat they'll track/know your cell phone use, and individual willingness to give up their phone.

In the mid 2010s they'd actually force you to turn your phone into someone and they'd hold them under lock and key for the duration of those training events but people would get broken/damaged phones back and the risk/cost became too high to warrant doing it that way for most units.

The more common way they manage OPSEC nowadays is just monitoring social media.

Saturn bought me some good times, Sega fuck ups notwithstanding. 'Do you guys not have phones' has my vote, it was definitely the moment Blizzards's decline was plain for all to see. Imagine being embarrassed like that at your own convention where previously such a thing happening was unthinkable (keep in mind this was years before we all found out how deplorable Blizzard HQ actually was).

Xbox One also had that cringe announcement that still brings me lols but it didn't change my opinion of Microsoft anywhere near like Blizzcon 2018 did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbWgUO-Rqcw

I've yet to see a far worse self-own than "Do you guys not have phones?".

Far and away the most evil and tone-deaf middle finger to both Diablo's fans and the entire world.

Don't remember the Saturn thing.

N64 was a pretty big one, but honestly it could have gone either way. There are definitely advantages to cartridges too. For example, the SNES does not have the capability to do 3D graphics. It has 3D games because they stiffed more hardware into the cart. If it were early in the 90's, and you were the only dog in town with Star Fox, you'd probably be optimistic about what devs were going to be able to do with an even more powerful base system and said custom hardware becoming smaller and more affordable. You'd also probably be wondering what the hell anyone was going to do with a gigabyte of game anyway.

The GameCube mini discs aren't actually that small in storage compared to the competition, and it doesn't matter anyway because you could swap just like on PS1. The thing that's most weird about them is actually the reverse spiral, which was clearly an anti-piracy measure.

RRoD is up there, along with the system destroying discs with the slightest environmental motion. In the same generation, you also had the PS3's YLOD problem, which was less infamous but if it happened to you, equally devastating.

599 US Dollars managed to become a meme, but I guess for somebody who usually waited a little while for a deal anyway, I personally didn't care too much. I bought mine at 399 US Dollars and it came with MGS4! ... Then I bought my next for 199 US Dollars when that one YLOD'd.

Honestly, the Wii U eff up went a lot deeper than the name. They also failed to market the system at all. At its own reveal, they failed to show pictures of it or even to say "it's a console." They just showed off and talked about the controller. Lifetime gamers who watched the event live were arguing on the Internet about whether it was just yet another Wii peripheral. Like, not even just grannies at GameStop.

No used games was probably the worst, tbh. Because not only was it with intent, but there were actually no upsides for the consumer or the virtue of producing a good product.

"Do you not have phones" was a really dumb thing to say but ultimately saying something stupid isn't as bad as literally any of the other things on the list.

Now, here's a good one not on the list:

[Wii] is a lollipop, and I'm too old for lollipops.

It was a quote from then-Sony-America-CEO Jack Tretton, in 2007.

https://www.engadget.com/2007-07-18-jack-tretton-calls-ps3-steak-wii-lollipop-360-unreliable.html

In 2010, Sony released... a lollipop. The guy was still CEO.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Move

StephenYap3 posted...

I've yet to see a far worse self-own than "Do you guys not have phones?".

Far and away the most evil and tone-deaf middle finger to both Diablo's fans and the entire world.

How is that a self own though?

such a weird thing to be winning the poll. They basically said fuck you to their fans and then laughed all the way to the bank

made a shitload of money with Diablo Immortal, then released Diablo IV and everyone bought that anyway too

Sega Saturn was done out of pure spite. It ruined a legendary company and changed the console war direction forever.

Also SNKs history is pretty embarrassing too.

Oh yeah Diablo Eternal was the mobile Diablo. I forgot about that, even still I am surprised that is suddenly winning now. I passed out and well. I suppose it was a bit of self own since Diablo 4 ain't great either but *shrugs* Blizzard had more problems than just Diablo.

TheGoldenEel posted...

How is that a self own though?

such a weird thing to be winning the poll. They basically said fuck you to their fans and then laughed all the way to the bank

made a shitload of money with Diablo Immortal, then released Diablo IV and everyone bought that anyway too

Some times it's not about the financial cost but the cost of respect from fans.

For the longest fucking time Blizzard was basically an unassailable company. They were damn near the perceived pinnacle of what a gaming company could be. I've never played a Blizzard game and even I was very well aware of their reputation.

When that moment happened, it's been a steep decline in perception and reputation since. Now everybody knows that Blizzard is dogshit as a company. Sure they may still be successful, but the reputation they once had is absolutely eviscerated. To the point where I wouldn't touch one of their titles out of sheer principle. And I'm someone who openly fucks with EA.

At least with the Xbox One debacle it wasn't too unexpected because Micro$oft was known as greedy, power hungry shit bags forever by that point. The sheer naked greed was a bit shocking in it's point blankness but not totally out of character.

Wasn't Blizzard/Activision already going through workplace accusations and things like that. By the point Diablo Immortal was announced I felt like their past good will was long gone anyway.

I played Diablo 3 and didn't stick around till it got better apparently but eh.

DuuuDe14 posted...

Xbox one was the worst gaming related blunder I've ever seen. Since then I've never purchased an Xbox and I never will.

The sheer audacity thinking that was a good idea was disrespectful.

This is the one. Fuck Microsoft. The only worthwhile exclusive that they literally just purchased is Bethesda. As much as I want the next Fallout/Elder Scrolls games, I wont be buying their garbage consoles.

Kamil posted...

Wasn't Blizzard/Activision already going through workplace accusations and things like that. By the point Diablo Immortal was announced I felt like their past good will was long gone anyway.

I played Diablo 3 and didn't stick around till it got better apparently but eh.

I don't remember accusations from that time frame (2018), but after (2020+), though I could be misremembering.

They weren't quite perceived as being as 'perfect' as their peaks but they were still pretty well regarded up to that point.

I'd say the Xbox One debacle was the biggest one. They've been behind in the console wars ever since.

TheGoldenEel posted...

How is that a self own though?

such a weird thing to be winning the poll. They basically said fuck you to their fans and then laughed all the way to the bank

made a shitload of money with Diablo Immortal, then released Diablo IV and everyone bought that anyway too

Agreed. Activision-blizzard doesn't give a damn about the rep as long as that money keeps flowing. Basically like EA, lol.

How about Microsoft opting to go with HD-DVD instead of Blu-Ray?

Euripides posted...

How about Microsoft opting to go with HD-DVD instead of Blu-Ray?

That didn't really impact the 360 though. (honestly I forgot HD-DVD existed)

It benefitted Sony but if Microsoft had opted for Blu-ray they'd have been paying Sony for the right anyways. So it was either pay your competition or hedge a bet

wackyteen posted...

That didn't really impact the 360 though. (honestly I forgot HD-DVD existed)

It benefitted Sony but if Microsoft had opted for Blu-ray they'd have been paying Sony for the right anyways. So it was either pay your competition or hedge a bet

It won me over in that console war, as I could buy one machine and use it for games and movies. At the time, a stand-alone Blu-Ray player was a few hundred bucks

Euripides posted...

It won me over in that console war, as I could buy one machine and use it for games and movies. At the time, a stand-alone Blu-Ray player was a few hundred bucks

I'm not saying it wasn't an impact at all. Just that between the earlier launch of the 360 and the price difference, the choice was ultimately irrelevant as many consumers opted for cheaper (at least to start). Obviously the PS3 caught up but it had enough exclusives to justify owning both 360 and PS3

It'd have been a different story if the HD-DVD drive was built into the 360 and all 360 games had to be on HD-DVD discs and Microsoft had to basically front money to keep HD-DVD discs being manufactured once the technology flopped.

Definitely the Saturn. All the other things listed were still successful, even if in some cases much less so than their rivals. The Saturn not only was a genuine failure but ultimately led to Sega exiting the console business entirely

wackyteen posted...

Some times it's not about the financial cost but the cost of respect from fans.

There are times when that matters a lot and makes a difference. This wasn't one of them.

i think the dreamcast also self-owned itself with the controller.

it should have had an xbox controller, really would have gone a long way.

also the VMUs are just another point of failure, would have been better without.

also the controller cord should be on the top.

The Saturn was a hit in Japan just it had no presence in NA due to lack of faith. I think the Dreamcast came out swinging but just didn't have the momentum to continue when the PS2 came out. Also Sega of America and Sega of Japan were at odds. So hey maybe they decided to just cut their loses early and try to just be a software developer by that point.

Robot2600 posted...

also the controller cord should be on the top.

I recall AVGN finally doing a dreamcast game and was just expecting some sort of "WTF is this BS?" at the controller cord, and he just shrugged.

I mean, I get why it lays out that way, the memory, but at the same time, N64 controllers, despite being made for three armed mutants, had an expansion port for memory or rumble packs, and they still exited the cord out the front.

Crazyman93 posted...

I mean, I get why it lays out that way, the memory,

Never believe technical explanations for design issues.

Kinda like how they could have called the Windows after 8 "Windows Nine" and that bullshit about ancient software choking looking for folders with certain names just crumbles into dust completely.

RetuenOfDevsman posted...

Never believe technical explanations for design issues.

Did you read the rest of the post? I did say a console from the previous gen made it work

RetuenOfDevsman posted...

Kinda like how they could have called the Windows after 8 "Windows Nine" and that bullshit about ancient software choking looking for folders with certain names just crumbles into dust completely.

Windows is so badly designed in some places I actually wouldn't be shocked if this had truth to it. But I'm sure getting more distance from the marketing disaster that was WIndows 8 was absolutely a marketing choice.

on May 11, 1995, during the first E3, Sega announced their new Saturn console would cost $400 and shockingly had been shipped to select retailers that same day. During their keynote, Sony announced the Playstation would launch at $300. Sega would exit the console business six years later.

lmfao

Xbox One no used games.

Had Sony went along with it instead of straight out rejecting the idea, the whole gaming landscape could have changed overnight. Instead, Microsoft looked like a total greedy moron.

Xbone no used games was probably the biggest bag fumble on that list. MS was coming in strong to gen 8 with the success of 360 coupled with Nintendo's faceplant with Wii U. They would have dominated if they had just been normal. The others on the list were doomed to fail for other reasons (like Saturn) or eventually led to success for their companies anyway (Wii U and Diablo). The no used games thing was really the first domino that lead to MS's gaming division being in the sorry state is today.