Console War: Why this is everyone's issue.

Anyone unfortunate enough to be near me for more than 10 minutes has undoubtedly been bombarded with my unhinged, border-line hipster rants about how corporate influence, artistic sellouts and contrived, self-inflated publishers who proclaim financial shortcuts as "artistic direction" are spreading like a cancerous blotch on the face of electronic entertainment.

Firstly, I would like to say: I told you so and my ego feeds on the blood of the uninformed

Secondly, and perhaps unknowingly to most people, the so-called console wars has come to a cross roads that has perhaps gone unnoticed by the majority of people. In terms of public opinion (at least on the internet) there is obviously a clear divide between the Xbox One and the Playertastation 4. Xbox fanboys and Micro$oft apologists scramble to cling to any possible good news about the upcoming DRMbox and it's $499 piss-on-your-foot coming to a store near you this November while Sony advocates continue to drain their internet ballsacks in the perpetual circlejerk that is the post-E3 aftermath, it's important for all parties to step back from the crowd and really examine the impact and consequences of any potential victory in this generations console wars.

As I've stated before, there is a battle line in this war. Obviously, on one side is the PS3 and on the other the Xbox One but more importantly, it's becoming more and more evident that the true battle lies between a choice of more restriction in terms of the kind of always-online DRM that had even Electronic Arts, the company hell-bent on turning all video game brands into a pale shade of beige, running for the hills.

"Customers"

But not Microsoft. And why would they? Microsoft is a company that could fall on it's face for the next 20 years with every sub-par product they manage to belch out and still manage to limp to the finish line just in time for the release of the next un-optimized version of Windows. What do they have to lose? Customer satisfaction? That's adorable!

So here's what the board looks like and here's the choice we as gamers have to make. We can choose the kind of vision Microsoft has for consumers where optional accessories are no longer optional, games have a 10 person share limit, and console companies are allowed to dictate who we can give or sell our games to. Or we can choose not to. Even as a Wii-U or PC gamer, everyone has to make this choice and the choice is simple. Buy an Xbox One or don't. As for me, I'm of the opinion that anyone who buys an Xbox is either a fanboy, ignorant, uninformed or all of the above, not because I don't think there isn't reason to want an Xbox One, but because I refuse to be so cynical that there are actually people who would support this kind of assault on all facets of game development.

Not only do we, as consumers have a choice, but developers themselves are making choices. This is an easy enough choice for Indie developers as the PS4 allows self-publishing and free patch updates, but also a choice for larger developers. A recent report from a Sony Corporate PDF, the amount of the developers who choose the PS4 over the Xbox has jumped from 126 to 505 since February.

This is a war between the idea that more restrictive DRM will force people to buy more game copies so the empty suits  can continue to feed their fun-sucking DLC fueled destroyer of entertainment, or whether the idea of consumer freedom allows for a free and fair market where the talented thrive. A market where sharing games becomes free advertising for talented game developers and doesn't detract from sales and in fact encourages them by rewarding developers who makes games so good that you NEED to buy your own copy. This is what the current console war is all about.

Even if you're on a sidelines as a Nintendo fan or a PC gamer, if you come across someone who is either uninformed of the Xbox One features and restrictions or continues to make excuses for unacceptable policies, it's your duty as a gamer to enlighten them about customer respect and that supporting this kind of behavior makes you the gaming equivalent of drug enablers who complain about the actions that the company they're throwing money at is taking. And then after you've informed them tell them a god damn wizard set their asses straight.

In the meantime, enjoy riding the tidal wave of flaming and slinging insults at people with different opinions.