The Video Game Critic

One of the more annoying aspects of modern systems is how they are considered "apps" that need to be "closed" before switching games. With my Switch, I take out a new cartridge and put in a new one without thinking, yet when I turn on the system it thinks I'm still playing the previous game, and chastises me for not "closing" the software correctly. It's the same with the PS4 and XB1. Worse yet, you even need to "confirm" that you want to close it. Nothing's more annoying than unnecessary confirmation prompts.

Do you remove your SNES carts with the game still running? I heard that it can corrupt your saves.

Yeah, this whole "confirm" thing is such a pain. I bet I go through a hundred of those options every day at work.

Closing games on a console is annoying, but there's a reason for it.

A computer program has, let's say, 100 things going on at a time. These must be finalized before the program stops to free up resources and avoid errors. They must make sure that the game's saved, that network connections are closed. Fifteen years ago most games weren't online all the time, and players saved at set points in the game. Finalization wasn't such a problem; players had to wait for the process to complete before doing anything else. Don't think I'm making excuses for the developers; I'd prefer to go back a bit in time, to the era of save points & offline gaming.

Actually, I love the fact that I can shut off the system and still return to a game in progress later. It means I get to have a life, and still enjoy in-depth gameplay.

Plus, I don't know how we ever managed with handhelds before.

ThePixelatedGenocide wrote:Plus, I don't know how we ever managed with handhelds before.

I'd leave my Game Boy on all day, with the game paused, just so I could come back to it after school.