Topic: Unpopular Gaming Opinions

I really do hate how you have to copy the entire PS game onto the console before you play it. Makes me have to manage my storage much more hawkishly and I can't play a single game straight out the box anymore.

@jedgamesguy You're not really copying the game though, rather installing it. The internal SSD on modern consoles have data transfer rates way above those of the optical drive so the disc is useless in terms of actually playing the game. The disc nowadays is just a cheap method of getting the game on the SSD and a physical licence key once it's installed.

This has become a bit of a pet peeve of mine, especially as someone who has been using Steam for a long time. Using Steam charts to determine that a game is "dead."

It makes sense for a game that is Steam only, however as more and more games use crossplay, the Steam charts really do not represent the numbers of players playing as it does not take into account players playing on consoles or other PC storefronts (like Epic). So the player count could be higher than what Steam reports with their player count (because Steam can only count its players).

This also makes me miss the days when online games actually reported the number of players playing online. Good example, older Call of Duty games use to show this off in the multiplayer menu.

Counting this as unpopular, because people love using Steam player numbers to prove a game is "dead," even if it has crossplay between multiple systems.

Team Sonic Racing is the most underrated kart racer. I like the teamwork mechanic where you're passing around items to help your teammates out, and I also like the courses themselves. It also has the same great controls as Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and the music in TSR is absolutely awesome. The game may not be as good as Transformed, and it's missing the other Sega characters/courses, but I still had a lot of fun with it. Though... while I did find a good amount of players on TSR online around its launch, I was finding less and less players as time went on. It might be partially because Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled came out a month after this game, but then again, I didn't find a lot of players on Transformed, either. I'm always finding way more players on Mario Kart. Other than TSR's online being kind of a ghost town (last I checked), I still had a good time with the game, even with Sega's other franchises not making appearances in some form.

@MarioVillager92 This! The game is great, it just seemed the louder crowd didn't like it wasn't Sonic & All-Stars Racing, and just a Sonic game. I also remember some being angry about the capsule system to earn parts, compared to lootboxes in other games. However, the difference is you don't use real world money for it, only the credits you earned from racing. At least observations I've made online.

Yeah, Team Sonic Racing is a great game, I've had my copy since launch and double dipped on PC when it was on sale for like $4 on Steam one day.

If you have the Switch version, let me know if you'd ever like to play, I'd be more than happy to.

@Sunsy Agreed, it's a very good game for sure. Yeah, that capsule system you've mentioned was handled well, since there's no way to use real money toward it. And at least Sega didn't add microtransactions into their game later on... that happened with CTR: Nitro-Fueled. As great as that game was, that decision was, um, not a good one. I have Team Sonic Racing on Steam/PC, by the way. Would be cool to play that with you sometime.

@dmcc0 This isn't true. While there are games that need the internet in order for you to even play once- a good number of games are actually still on the disc day 1. Most games aren't like Animal Crossing New Horizons or Pokemon BDSP, where you need a patch in order to play them start to finish with all the features. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a game that's on the entire disc. Sure, there's bugs that a day one patch would fix- but the game is completely and entirely playable with just the one Disc. Same with Final Fantasy XVI, or Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door Remake. You can pop these games in and install them even without an internet connection, with them still working.

A good number of physical games are still at least playable- which means you still own a basic copy of the game itself.

The Crew isn't the only Ubisoft title I'm referring to. Pretty sure there were a few other games that they ripped out of people's libraries that weren't just "online only." I know that Sony and Funimation have ripped movies and games from people's libraries without those being online only, which is why I personally will never buy a digital copy outside of something like steam.

@jedgamesguy The way I see the copying thing is moreso like how downloading or installing a game used to be on PC. When you used to buy PC games, you'd used to have to install it onto the device using the disc. It's not really any different here.

There certainly are Switch games that come without a day one patch. I'd just dispute that there's a good number of them. I've got about five cartridges like that myself. Maybe you'd have more luck if you specifically hunted them out or waited a year or two to pick up the later revisions of games that came with the games already patched.

As before though, preserving the complete versions of games is relatively easy and doesn't require physical media. It's just something that doesn't get talked about much for current generation games because we don't want to encourage the pirates.

A good number come with a Day 1 patch, but those aren't needed to start the game generally. You can still play the game all the way through without the day 1 patch. Sure- there'll be a few more bugs, but most titles are still fully playable without you needing that patch.

I'm mostly talking about playing on original hardware. I know that preserving the game with the patch content is possible, but if you want to play on the original hardware- I'd much rather just own physical. Stop any company from deciding to strip the game out of my library.

@MarioVillager92 Hotter take: I actually like Team Sonic Racing more. I don’t know if it’s the lack of Sonic things relative to TSR, the different mechanics, or what, but I find Transformed to just kinda feel worse in general. I got bored with it really quickly the last time I played it. That’s not to say TSR is perfect, but I still enjoy it a good bit for what it is.

@VoidofLight I was aware of the Sony Funimation removal and some TV stuff (Discovery?), but wasn't aware of any games.

I'm not sure which bit isn't true, but regardless, my point was that a physical version no longer guarantees you can play the full game like it used to before consoles were online. Sure, most are still fully on the disc/cart, but there are probably more games that need a download/online connection where the physical may be useless, than have been games removed from players libraries at this point.

Edit: Just to add that The Crew was removed from Steam players libraries too so it's not just a console issue.

@dmcc0 Even if it were shows that Sony removed, it still sets a dangerous precedent for digital content at large. I just tend to feel uncomfortable with digital game purchases outside of PC now.. and even with PC- I begrudgingly do it because there's often no other choice.

@VoidofLight Yeah I agree. I think all-digital on consoles will happen eventually, but maybe not for a couple of generations. Always online and less content on physical is just their way of pushing customers towards that - it'll get to a point where people start to wonder why they are bothering with physical media and just go digital.

@dmcc0 Exactly. Then people will basically be at their mercy- unless digital ownership rights are clearly defined.

@VoidofLight You can play dumped games on original hardware too. Without reference to current generation hardware, it's not uncommon for people to dump their libraries for older consoles onto a single flash cart or hard drive to save on media swapping and the associated wear and tear.

In any case, I'd think we're talking at least a decade from now until we get to a hypothetical situation where you'd no longer be able to re-download your digital purchases for Switch. Wii and DSi games are still available for re-download after all, so long as you've still got the hardware they are tied to, and the Switch account system should remove that limitation.

That said, I'd still tend to buy my absolute keepers as physical media, particularly if there's a special edition available with extras like art books and soundtracks. I just don't count the cartridges as complete versions of the games because, except in some rare cases, they aren't.

@MarioVillager92 Yup, as long as it didn't use real money I don't see a problem. Even in a few free-to-play games, I only tend to open lootboxes with free currency earned from playing instead of spending real money. That's what I do with Asphalt 9 and Disney Speedstorm. That's correct, especially given Crash Team Racing is a game you already paid for. I feel microtransactions have no place in it. I get why free-to-play games have them, but don't see a need for them in games I already paid for.

I could do that too, I have it on PC and you are on my Steam friends list. I just have to find time to reinstall it.

@Sunsy Yeah. I just don't use real money toward stuff like this. Especially for games I already bought! So I just ignore the microtransactions in CTR, and just play the game normally. I'll have to reinstall TSR as well, since I have a new PC now.

@Mew That's definitely a hotter take for sure, that's the first time I've heard someone say they prefer Team Sonic Racing over Transformed, lol.