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[DenchDeckard]

DF are great. I would much rather have a group of people doing tech analysis and allowing each individual member comment on what they think and feel about software (bias included) and hardware than an individual who claims to know what they are talking about but show their bias the whole time.

It is almost impossible for a human being to be unbiased, so the only fair way is to include more people. I think Df has 5 key staff members now? That should be enough to keep things as fair as possible.

 

[wolffy66]

It absolutely has, it focuses on all the wrong parts of gaming

 

[DenchDeckard]

It absolutely has, it focuses on all the wrong parts of gaming

Which is? Care to elaborate?

 

[Leonidas]

They help a lot more than hurt.

DF shining a light on several bad PC ports has hopefully helped in detering bigger releases from launching in a bad state.
DF does a good job at giving optimized settings for PC games which can improve performance while still having great image quality.

DF also does a great job of showing how modern PC hardware compares to the consoles, though there are a number of Sony warriors who dislike when they do this for some reason...

I can't think of any way that DF is hurting the industry, they mostly just analyze hardware and performance of games...

 

[Robb]

Might help if you had any argument as to why.. They’re informing consumers too much?

 

[Brigandier]

I like them personally though I do feel they are referenced in console wars way too much now and fuels the toxic social media console wars for sure.

But I see absolutely no problem with them lol them and NxGamer are good

 

[Esppiral]

Threads like this hurt the industry.

 

[rofif]

Hurting a lot to uninformed people without their own opinions.
People don’t have their own opinion based on experience and what they actually like or not.
Their requirements are based on what site like df tells them looks and runs good.

For informed people with their own opinion, df is good because it won’t change my opinion but give me info

 

[Kumomeme]

nah that gonna be Kotaku. trash and cancer of industry.


also that other reee site

 

[Hudo]

The problem with DF is that they're solid for getting info on how well a game runs. But as soon as they branch out and start talking about technical things, they're hilariously out of their depth. But they still behave as if they know what they're talking about. And that half-knowledge (at best) is then badly repeated by console warriors and the like on the internet, even on this very forum.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

"I'm just interested in knowing which console version runs best."

And how many consoles do you own?

"One."

 

[LazyParrot]

All those videos where they literally count individual pixels or zoom in to identify minor differences in shadow quality or whatever that you would never notice while actually playing the game are nothing more than platform war fodder, and I'm pretty sure they're very much aware of that.

 

[Team Andromeda]

YES, DF rants were for me part of the reason why CD Project Red dropped their RED engine IMO.

 

[Denton]

YES, DF rants were for me part of the reason why CD Project Red dropped their RED engine IMO.

That is super dumb post considering DF have been, on many occasions, negative about the industry's switch to UE and CDP's abandonement of Red Engine. Hell they almost always praise it when a game comes out on its own engine and performs well.

 

[Zathalus]

That is super dumb post considering DF have been, on many occasions, negative about the industry's switch to UE and CDP's abandonement of Red Engine. Hell they almost always praise it when a game comes out on its own engine and performs well.

Nobody has praised the RED engine quite like DF has.

 

[Spyxos]

You see what you want to see. I've been watching them for years and I've never noticed that. But if you see everything negative about your console or PC as a war. Then every single negative point of criticism is war for you. Every platform has problems, and not just a few. It would be ridiculous not to mention them.

 

[rofif]

DF provides useful well produced videos for enthusiasts. It’s on you if you’re getting worked up over Alex saying a PC port is superior to the PS5 version. Like no shit it is.

Df is not for enthusiasts tho. It’s for stupid casuals who hear something and it’s what they start thinking. They would’ve never formed that opinion without df

 

[yurinka]

I think sometimes are too anti-Sony biased, but I think it's helpful to know how games perform and to know which version runs better for when you have different devices to play them.

They do shady stuff like comparing a supposedly relatively equivalent GPUs for PC vs console comparisions putting in the PC the latest CPU instead of using one equivalent to the console one as if the CPU would be the only thing that matters when in many CPU constrained games isn't the case.

But other than these things and some dumb fanboy takes I think they do valuable stuff.

 

[Portugeezer]

No. You get some OCD people who scream that they won't buy a game because of some graphical or framerate hiccup, but the masses don't care and/or don't know about DF.

 

[00_Zer0]

Despite some cringe worthy takes from Alex once in awhile, such as his take on the sexy Stellar Blade character, I have no issue with Digital Foundry. DF Retro is awesome and now that they have DF Clips I can parse out what I want to see from DF Direct Weekly.

 

[Team Andromeda]

That is super dumb post considering DF have been, on many occasions, negative about the industry's switch to UE and CDP's abandonement of Red Engine. Hell they almost always praise it when a game comes out on its own engine and performs well.

Yeah, years later. DP led to charge on Cyberpunk and knocking seven bells out of the game engine on consoles and the bullcrap of how the game was unplayable and of course, the sheep then followed
You reap what you sow

 

[Clear]

"Hurting" is way too strong a word for the issue. My position is that they simply aren't any better or more expert than any other review outlet.
They've just established a profitable niche format for their content.

They are basically the "Edge Magazine" of video tech coverage; its all sizzle and no steak.

 

[Josemayuste]

I don't mind some fps drops, framepace issues or that kind of stuff, I've played hundreds of hours of Bloodborne which is a technical mess in those fields.

DF is good enough at educating the general public, while it may radicalize them also, a double edged sword, basically.

But got to give credit where credit is due, and they put a lot of time, work and effort into making those videos, so.. it's nice to have them around, as an option, not as a reference or saviour whom to extrapolate everything to the point or judging a game's sucess because of it.

 

[Senua]

Df is not for enthusiasts tho.

Come on dude. Just because a few retards take their info as console war bait doesn't reduce their output to casual fodder. They make great shit, especially John.

 

[darrylgorn]

What? No, what's wrong with you? Lol

 

[AV]

Anyone that cares a lot about what DF say are the ones hurting the industry. They're just reporting facts.

 

[GymWolf]

I don't think so, but sometimes bag of tallia hurt my brain with his stupid takes or their moronic clickbait video titles.

 

[crackajack]

It would help DF and maybe the discussion tone of the gaming audience overall if DF would be joined by actual devs sometimes. (i am at least not aware they ever were) I believe devs are more open than we sometimes think. That GDC stuff seems at least to me like they are telling secrets left and right. Devs might need to make it probably more ELIF. That intel guy explaining driver stuff on iirc Gamernexus recently had the right level of explain it for dummies. We could learn bits and pieces and understand "bottlenecks" or whatever. But maybe that would just add even more fuel to the fire. Blast processing or whatever was thrown around pretty early in the mediums life, so knowing some tech pieces and or marketing terms is always fodder for charged warriors screaming over the reasonable trying to be factual people.

 

[Filben]

OP, maybe elaborate more on this and bring arguments to as why should this be the case. I can't see. Most generally speaking: the industry is tougher than what Digital Foundry could ever do to harm said industry. It is an enthusiast's YouTube channel that caused some developers to patch their games or relase additional notes to technical affairs and/or issues. I don't see how this causes any kind of damage, if any effect at all, to the industry as a whole.

It is more likely that their audience is influenced in certain ways. If they're hurting their niche audience could be another case, but this does not affect the whole industry.

If you're aiming for potential console war, as this is a poll option, this is on the audience who watch their videos with established expectations and emotional baggage; many cannot free of emotional interpretation interpret objective facts but they have to read always more into it. Some people want to see how a GPU compares on a technical level with a console (e.g. what hardware do I need to get PS5 performance and how differs said performance over difference games?), others already see a loaded battle that needs a winner and a loser, see a jab at console and/or PC and see it as fueling war. Change your fucking mindset.

 

[Majukun]

they are more a sympthom than a cause, but they are making damage nonetheless

 

[three_muffins]

DF focuses on the least important aspects of games. The visuals. Sometimes differences are so minuscules but get blown out of proportions.

DF is not harming the industry, but I don’t think that they are in any way helpful

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

They seem to be focused on the presentation of what is on display, not objective realism.

If you create an appealing art style and present it without flaws or hitches, then its job well done. They don’t grade anything on realism from everything I’ve seen, other than if a short cut graphic solution like reflections and lighting look natural. The game industry having lazy goals that require IQ compromises out the ass is the problem.

 

[YuLY]

I cant stand them, and the pretty-boy one, is one of the wokest people on the planet, his purple forum posts are insane.

 

[Ivan]

In their analysis they often seem happy to conclude that something on console tech side WON'T be so nice... I hate the chuckles and stupid faces they make in those moments.

That's that shitty, entitled view and I think you can actually tell what is their message...

 

[BlueLyria]

A bit of B and D (though D is mostly in regards to the bigger console community and not necessarily DF's fault).

We've had so many bad PC ports and it being publicized in a big venue is the best way to be aware that you're spending money on a faulty product

 

[ienjoyrawfish]

I like DF.

I find their insights interesting, especially the DF Retro stuff, and their recommended settings for PC games are good for getting maximum performance with little to no perceptible loss of image quality. Very useful when you can't be bothered to fiddle around with all the settings yourself.

Good to see Richard Leadbetter still going strong too. Used to love CvG, Mean Machines and Sega Saturn Magazine back in the day.

 

[Zephyranthes]

They're simply sharing (mostly) factual information. How people use that information is neither their fault nor their responsibility.

 

[Dr.D00p]

They wind up the pompous Sony fan boys no end.

May DF live long and prosper.

 

[reinking]

Most people that play don't know who DF are. Greed is hurting the industry. Greed and purple dye.

 

[Celcius]

Why is there so much DF hate around here's lately? It's weird

 

[SHA]

I don't care about their age, but I'm %110 certain fanboys are servant to their own desires and willing to cause both damaging and building equally, they have no real standards, they're selfish deep to the core.

 

[Aion002]

It's cool for people that likes those things... For most is just console wars fuel.

 

[DaGwaphics]

A YT channel that tries to objectively look at the technical aspects of game performance is not hurting the industry. LOL

Just don't watch if this is something you have no curiosity about.

 

[Griffon]

They've been an incredibly positive force in raising awareness about frame pacing and stuttering issues.

 

[Trunx81]

I like them, especially their Hogwarts Legacy coverage at launch.

 

[ArtHands]

Why is there so much DF hate around here's lately? It's weird

No idea why too. Just checked their youtube channel and everything looks fine. They even uploaded a new video comparing Horizon Forbidden West PC with the PS5 version.

 

[Cramoss]

It absolutely has, it focuses on all the wrong parts of gaming

this

 

[sachos]

Quite the opposite actually, without them i don't know how many games on average would come out with performance modes or polished performance. They are a way to keep developers in check since most game reviewers don't care about performance when reviewing games.

 

[Mister Wolf]

No. I prefer facts over feeling. If it hurts some guy's feelings finding out his $500 toy is flawed, then so be it.

 

[intbal]

They need to heap eternal shame upon developers who refuse to update 8th gen games for current gen consoles.
Arkham Knight, I'm looking at you.