30 replies to this topic 1 votes

[Jason Stillion]

High speed internet availability and price are also keeping console / physical media alive.

Until Internet the price comes down and high speed easily available everywhere, there're too many customers they lose.

I think publisher's end goal will be to purchase a digital license, and stream it to you, no matter what device it is. The infrastructural not there yet, at least not in the United States.

[neufuse]

AR556, on 11 December 2012 - 13:46, said:

Because you have opinionated idiots @ Microsoft that bitch and moan about how keyboards and mice have no place in the living room. They used to spout the same garbage about USB ports on consoles.

the whole USB port thing was because of profits though, if you put a USB port now overpriced memory cards are obsolete...

[AR556]

neufuse, on 11 December 2012 - 14:45, said:

the whole USB port thing was because of profits though, if you put a USB port now overpriced memory cards are obsolete...

That was most likely a factor as well.

[Brandon]

It would be interesting if we see consoles being produced like phones these days. Manufacturers had strict hardware requirements, but it is up to them to design. Like what MS did with WP7

[compl3x]

AR556, on 11 December 2012 - 13:46, said:

Because you have opinionated idiots @ Microsoft that bitch and moan about how keyboards and mice have no place in the living room. They used to spout the same garbage about USB ports on consoles.

This is where steam might come in and make a killing. They already have a decent sized customer base, they might capitalise on it to see steam move into the lounge room. I'd be for it.

[M_Lyons10]

Brandon, on 10 December 2012 - 18:39, said:

This has been discussed before.

Consoles remain because developers can continue to make games and scale them to get maximum performance out of the hardware. Try running Skyrim on a desktop computer from 2005... it probably won't even run, or if it does, it will not be pretty.

The other issue is that console gaming is a lot more social. Friends play together, families play together etc, plus, honestly, I am a lot more comfortable in front of a 42" TV screen than a small 22" computer screen.


If anything, I predict that the next generation of consoles (2018?) will be tablets that you plug into your TV and can continue playing on the go.

Agreed (Except for the tablet bit, I think they will instead continue with the push to phones and other screens than something new entirely). But consoles are going nowhere. If anything the living room will become more dependent on consoles, not less...

[The Teej]

Actually if consoles are similar prices to low-end computers which can run high-end games for 7 years without needing to upgrade - who's to say that people will just end up not buying a PC?

Consoles are basically controlled environment PCs running custom operating systems, especially now with more and more apps coming to them, especially in regards to the Xbox 360. The software and hardware integration is even better then that found in Apple's Macs and Macbooks, and it's at a cost that rivals a low-end prebuilt PC. If it has enough apps that most people will use on a computer anyway, which lets face it, for most people is playing music and going on the internet, then surely a console is actually a better purchase?

The only threat I see to the games console is the recently announced Steambox from Valve - that could potentially through a real spanner in the works for games consoles.

[LogicalApex]

Intrinsica, on 11 December 2012 - 11:15, said:

For me, I will continue to be a console gamer. Don't get me wrong, I occasionally buy games for the computer. But most of the time I buy games for my PS3. My main reason for buying for the console is that I don't need to think about anything. I like the look of a game, I buy it. There is no need for me to think, "will my console be able to run this?" because the answer is always "yes." I also don't have to start every game by trying to find the best setting that will give me decent graphics without affecting the gameplay. I buy the game, put the disc in to my PS3 and I start gaming.

The subject has been talked to death numerous times. "Will PCs be the end of consoles?" "Will <console X> be the death of PC gaming?" The answer is always "no."

This has gotten a lot better on PC in the last couple of years. 8/10 times or so I'll start a game fresh and it has already configured itself for great settings on my PC, including resolution settings and everything else. I end up tweaking them still because I actually enjoy this part of PC gaming, but it can be very much a "click and go" experience now.

Additionally, I find that if you build a decent spec'd PC rig you won't be asking that "will this run on my PC?" question for the lifetime of your machine, seriously. The only time you're concerned about this, and upgrades, is if you're on the fringe of the gaming sector. I mean stuff like wanting to play Skyrim on a 4 monitor at once setup at max detail. If you're a normal gamer, as most of us are, then you won't be seeing any major drop in performance in new games for a long long time.

I swapped from a GTX 260 to a GTX 580 in the early part of 2012 and that was really due to me wanting a newer card. My GTX 260 was running everything I threw at it just fine and it was very long in the tooth at that point.

[ahhell]

MS sold 750k xboxes on Black Friday
Sony sold 500k PS3 on the same day.

Consoles are dead!!

[The Teej]

ahhell, on 11 December 2012 - 15:28, said:

MS sold 750k xboxes on Black Friday
Sony sold 500k PS3 on the same day.

Consoles are dead!!

Pretty much this. Those numbers are good for any console of any age - the fact that they're 7 years old is even better!

[Dushmany]

one word response to the headline...
no

[neufuse]

ahhell, on 11 December 2012 - 15:28, said:

MS sold 750k xboxes on Black Friday
Sony sold 500k PS3 on the same day.

Consoles are dead!!

oh common, you know numbers mean nothing... sell half a billion PC's last year and the PC's are dead right?... so numbers mean nothing! I can sell you a trillion consoles, doesn't mean anyone uses them right?... right?

[M_Lyons10]

The Teej, on 11 December 2012 - 15:23, said:

Actually if consoles are similar prices to low-end computers which can run high-end games for 7 years without needing to upgrade - who's to say that people will just end up not buying a PC?

Consoles are basically controlled environment PCs running custom operating systems, especially now with more and more apps coming to them, especially in regards to the Xbox 360. The software and hardware integration is even better then that found in Apple's Macs and Macbooks, and it's at a cost that rivals a low-end prebuilt PC. If it has enough apps that most people will use on a computer anyway, which lets face it, for most people is playing music and going on the internet, then surely a console is actually a better purchase?

The only threat I see to the games console is the recently announced Steambox from Valve - that could potentially through a real spanner in the works for games consoles.

You make a VERY good point. And correct me if I'm wrong, but a USB keyboard should work plugged into the XBox 360, right (I've never tried this). So, for someone that doesn't do much on a PC, it would make a lot of sense (Except maybe for printing. LOL But then I know a LOT of people that don't have printers...).

[NeoandGeo]

LookitsPuck, on 11 December 2012 - 06:08, said:

Consoles are all about ease of use, access of content, and an even ground for players. PC's are counter-intuitive to all of that.

Steam.

[The Teej]

M_Lyons10, on 11 December 2012 - 17:26, said:

You make a VERY good point. And correct me if I'm wrong, but a USB keyboard should work plugged into the XBox 360, right (I've never tried this). So, for someone that doesn't do much on a PC, it would make a lot of sense (Except maybe for printing. LOL But then I know a LOT of people that don't have printers...).

Well if it works on my Wii I would like to think a keyboard would also work on my Xbox 360...

Also with bluetooth and whatnot Microsoft could quite easily just make bluetooth keyboards and mice work natively. Not only this, but the 360 also has a chat-pad which could be used for a light bit of typing.

Adding even more to my original point, voice control will no doubt be a big part of the next Xbox UI, so for those who would like to use an Xbox as a PC, they may not even have to use any HID at all for half of their tasks! I think voice control is a great user interface and personally I'm really excited that Microsoft will almost certainly make it a more fleshed out feature for the next gen.