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Well consoles will evolve certainly. I'm sure the primary distribution method for the next generation will be to download games rather than buy on a disc. Ther

by jiggy2011 14y ago

Well consoles will evolve certainly. I'm sure the primary distribution method for the next generation will be to download games rather than buy on a disc. There is also the argument that as consoles do more things they are going to blur the lines between a general computer , a "media consumption device" and a dedicated games console. The real killer feature of something like the XBox360 though is that it is designed for games out of the box, any compromises or decisions they made in the design always focused on games first. Sure, tablets are becoming more capable in the graphics department, but the primary method of control is still a touch screen that prioritises usability for things like web browsing and navigating photo albums not shooting people in the head. Tablets are also designed to be lightweight, thin and consume less power. This will always lead to tradeoffs with performance. The article seems to compare current tablets with current gen consoles whereas I'm sure next gen consoles will have significantly boosted graphics performance. I'm also unsure of the market moving to a "free to play" model. It's true that this is becoming a more popular model; however would a game like skyrim be more compelling if you had to purchase each sword upgrade with real cash?

kayoone 14y ago
i agree with most of your points but not all. Sure tablets are a compromise, but the pc/tablet/mobile hardware market is moving MUCH faster than the console market. Current gen consoles have been around since 2005/6, a time when even the iphone didnt exist and things like Free to play or digital distribution were a non-issue. Today all of that has changed dramatically and the console makers reacted to it, but only very slowly and in general they are limited to adapt to these new markets. The PC, tablets, mobile phones however have done a massive step in the same timeframe. Measured by todays standards, mobile gaming didnt exist in 2005, today its the biggest growth market in gaming there is. Even though tablets are still much less powerful than a current gen console, many of todays top notch games on tablets dont look too far off of console games... Of course touch controls are limited and games need to be tailored to those, but in the end its an issue about which market is more attractive to developers. Mobile and Free to play certainly has alot less risk than pay-upfront triple-A titles with millions of budget. That being said i still see a good future for consoles as entertainment devices in the living room, in fact an Apple-TV like device with powerful hardware and Apps (including tripe-A free to play games) could be a massive hit!
- talmand 14y ago
  The reason mobile gaming has major growth is because the market is rushing to fill a vacuum. Once things have settled a bit let's see how it compares then. Plus comparing tablets made today with consoles based on five-year-plus hardware is not a proper comparison. Let's see how they match up once the console refresh has happened. Touch controls don't bother me because eventually bluetooth based controllers will be common once we get used to the idea of hooking a tablet to the TV.
  - kayoone 14y ago
    True but still, even PC hardware todays evolves much faster than consoles because of their very long lifecycle and that is definately holding the state of high end PC games back because today you cant make a blockbuster game that isnt cross-platform. Of course the next-gen consoles will be much much faster, but that doesnt stop their lifecycle from being very long compared to almost all other entertainment devices.
    - talmand 14y ago
      Well, I can't really disagree, especially about the part of PC games being held back because of consoles. But I think that eventually the hardware refresh on mobile and tablets will taper off because they'll have to hit a wall at some point. Unless a breakthrough in battery technology happens you can only go so far in upping specs on mobile devices. Plus there's the heat aspect. Plus, once the market is flush with devices, or when people who want a tablet gets one, will people toss out their old tablet to buy a new one that's better in some insignificant way that matters little to them? I have a tablet and I can't see replacing it anytime soon unless it breaks or I find a large enough amount of software no longer works on it. Although I'm not saying the market would follow my whims but it just seems likely there's a large enough group that thinks in a similar fashion.
- teamonkey 14y ago
  I'm not sure it's correct to say that the consoles haven't evolved. The fixed hardware hasn't changed since 2005/2006, but the software has been very nimble, especially on the 360, which has had 2-3 very different iterations of its OS as it transitioned from games console to full multimedia device. This console generation has been unusually long and one of the reasons is that the console makers got so much right this time that its taken a long time for the consoles to feel dated.

kayoone 14y ago

i agree with most of your points but not all. Sure tablets are a compromise, but the pc/tablet/mobile hardware market is moving MUCH faster than the console market. Current gen consoles have been around since 2005/6, a time when even the iphone didnt exist and things like Free to play or digital distribution were a non-issue. Today all of that has changed dramatically and the console makers reacted to it, but only very slowly and in general they are limited to adapt to these new markets. The PC, tablets, mobile phones however have done a massive step in the same timeframe. Measured by todays standards, mobile gaming didnt exist in 2005, today its the biggest growth market in gaming there is. Even though tablets are still much less powerful than a current gen console, many of todays top notch games on tablets dont look too far off of console games... Of course touch controls are limited and games need to be tailored to those, but in the end its an issue about which market is more attractive to developers. Mobile and Free to play certainly has alot less risk than pay-upfront triple-A titles with millions of budget. That being said i still see a good future for consoles as entertainment devices in the living room, in fact an Apple-TV like device with powerful hardware and Apps (including tripe-A free to play games) could be a massive hit!

talmand 14y ago
The reason mobile gaming has major growth is because the market is rushing to fill a vacuum. Once things have settled a bit let's see how it compares then. Plus comparing tablets made today with consoles based on five-year-plus hardware is not a proper comparison. Let's see how they match up once the console refresh has happened. Touch controls don't bother me because eventually bluetooth based controllers will be common once we get used to the idea of hooking a tablet to the TV.
- kayoone 14y ago
  True but still, even PC hardware todays evolves much faster than consoles because of their very long lifecycle and that is definately holding the state of high end PC games back because today you cant make a blockbuster game that isnt cross-platform. Of course the next-gen consoles will be much much faster, but that doesnt stop their lifecycle from being very long compared to almost all other entertainment devices.
  - talmand 14y ago
    Well, I can't really disagree, especially about the part of PC games being held back because of consoles. But I think that eventually the hardware refresh on mobile and tablets will taper off because they'll have to hit a wall at some point. Unless a breakthrough in battery technology happens you can only go so far in upping specs on mobile devices. Plus there's the heat aspect. Plus, once the market is flush with devices, or when people who want a tablet gets one, will people toss out their old tablet to buy a new one that's better in some insignificant way that matters little to them? I have a tablet and I can't see replacing it anytime soon unless it breaks or I find a large enough amount of software no longer works on it. Although I'm not saying the market would follow my whims but it just seems likely there's a large enough group that thinks in a similar fashion.
teamonkey 14y ago
I'm not sure it's correct to say that the consoles haven't evolved. The fixed hardware hasn't changed since 2005/2006, but the software has been very nimble, especially on the 360, which has had 2-3 very different iterations of its OS as it transitioned from games console to full multimedia device. This console generation has been unusually long and one of the reasons is that the console makers got so much right this time that its taken a long time for the consoles to feel dated.