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Offline KesaTopic starter

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The death of gaming consoles?
« on: February 13, 2013, 10:21:47 AM »
Does anyone else think the upcoming consoles from Sony and Microsoft are going to be the end of gaming consoles as we know it?

My predictions for the next 5 years are this:

Consumers will get sick of being controlled by tech companies like Sony and Apple and will start demanding gadgets that put them in control. I think Microsoft are playing a dangerous game by requiring the Xbox720 to be constantly connected to the internet with the aim of locking each individual game to each individual console. I also predict Sony will try and do something similar and this will cause consumers to jump ship or remain with their current consoles. This includes me.

People will start wanting more upgradeability than the option for memory expansion.  

I think overall there will be a pendulum shift in the market and i think there could be a new market opening for a open platform like the Amiga 1200/CD32. I mean, look at the extent the A1200 has be modified beyond its original design. Same with the CD32 with the SX32. Compare this to the PS3 or any tablet. The future is an open design not a closed one.

What does everyone else think?
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Offline djukon

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Re: The death of gaming consoles?
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2013, 12:42:09 PM »
Kesa, you just tapped the tip of the iceberg.

The whole world is going through a major paradigmatic shift, it is not just consoles and computing platforms. Whether it is people who are left out of the system mainly due to the ever increasing speed of automation which they can't possibly keep up, or they are just conscience that an infinite growth paradigm is physically not possible on a finite resource planet.

Open source is one of the pillars indeed of what the new civilization is built upon, just look at where Open Source Ecology is going, for instance. We are gradually replacing the proprietary market that came up 200 years ago in with a more efficient localized productive capability, that will eventually be able to have a complete open source civilization technology tree. Just like the technical industrial revolution allowed for new social-economic paradigms to emerge beyond feudalism, the recent digital revolution (computing + inter-connectivity) is also allowing us to see the world differently.

The most difficult for most people I have encountered when dealing with this great transition subject is each one's ability to overcome cognitive dissonance. As practically everyone was educated in an industrial model and anything that introduces ground changing information, invalidates the education process, this leaves the ego very uncomfortable. I personally have had a hard time copping with this since 2011 when I started to investigate the myriad of concerned topics, and I'm still learning.

I won't sugar coat it, the death of the industrial civilization is what is really at stake here. The most practical way I have found to deal with all this is through the Transition Network movement (mostly developed in the UK).

On the Amiga/C64/retro side I'm looking into preserving the history for future generations and also be on the lookout to be able produce new efficient computing machines locally (using 3D printing concepts). The older technology (like the almost perfect 6502) didn't have so many layers of profit-driven decisions on top as today's industrial technology. We can look back to the old designs for some inspiration when designing the new technology tree which seems to me to be prosperity-driven.

If this is the first time the topic of the great transition comes up your alley, and you need some suggestions where to start, you can always go take a look at the Wall of Films! and pick what may captivate you more. There is no single movie that has "the whole picture", you'll have to make that yourself and discuss with other people as you go along.
 

Offline AJCopland

Re: The death of gaming consoles?
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2013, 01:50:48 PM »
I dunno, I don't think console gaming will look quite the same as it does today but everyones been predicting the death of everything forever :)

Look at the PC and the spate or articles over the last few years about how it's "dead", then look at the success of Indies and PC titles in the same last few years.

The next Xbox might require installation and always one connection but if there's any push against that then they'll relent just as they did with the resolution requirements with the Xbox360. A lot of stores have also told them flat out that 2nd hand sales are a requirement if they want them to stock the next Xbox at all. Same goes for the PS3.

Interesting consoles like the Ouya with it's 1 year update cycle are what really interest me. Much cheaper than a PC, backwards compatible, fixed target to develop for but updated every year so you don't get the RIDICULOUS 7+ year cycle like the Xbox360/PS3. Quite a good compromise proposition between the PC and traditional consoles - more open to develop for as well.

The traditional consoles won't die off though, they'll adapt, rapidly if they must. There's too many billions of dollars/pounds/euros/etc of development and talent behind them.

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ChuckT

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Re: The death of gaming consoles?
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2013, 04:33:23 PM »
Quote from: Kesa;726207
What does everyone else think?


I think there is a lot of competition and Nintendo is not going to give up their brand of Mario, Zelda, Pikmin, etc. because it is a monopolisitic practice.  If you give up, you lose everything because once you are dependent on tablets or smartphones to run your games, you give up autonomy and control and there might be more piracy and loss of profits.  The Gates have a no iPod rule for their family and it is protectionism.

Nintendo wanted to join with Atari at one point and Atari said, "no".  Atari lost and Nintendo isn't going away anytime soon.

Game makers weren't making money on sales of games when all you have to do as a consumer is trade your CD with someone else or trade it in at the store which is basically a rip off.

It is the survival of the fittest and giving up means that everyone loses their job so I would see resistance in changing the market a lot.

If you are a customer and love Pikmin, Mario or Zelda, you are locked in to a platform because there is no where else to go.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: The death of gaming consoles?
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2013, 05:08:07 PM »
If anything, I think gaming will be going more and more towards consoles.  The people driving the market could care less about access to the hardware.  They just want to sit down and frag noobs on their 80 inch plasma screens.
 

Offline gertsy

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Re: The death of gaming consoles?
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2013, 10:28:47 AM »
I agree with Kesa,  Gaming consoles will go the way of COBOL in major business systems.  As it's been predicted for the last 25 years..
 

ChuckT

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Re: The death of gaming consoles?
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2013, 01:41:28 PM »
Quote from: TheBilgeRat;726257
If anything, I think gaming will be going more and more towards consoles.  The people driving the market could care less about access to the hardware.  They just want to sit down and frag noobs on their 80 inch plasma screens.


The day I can't own my games and have to play games over the internet is the day I stop buying from any of the companies that dares to try it.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: The death of gaming consoles?
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2013, 02:37:12 PM »
Quote from: gertsy;726334
I agree with Kesa,  Gaming consoles will go the way of COBOL in major business systems.  As it's been predicted for the last 25 years..

http://www.itworld.com/career/341879/cobol-will-outlive-us-all

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Offline AJCopland

Re: The death of gaming consoles?
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2013, 04:15:09 PM »
Quote from: ChuckT;726355
The day I can't own my games and have to play games over the internet is the day I stop buying from any of the companies that dares to try it.


The trouble with this is that it's not entirely in your hands.
You'll still have the PC but Window 8's app-store shows the way MS wants to go pretty clearly.

First it'll be the consoles that will go download only, it'll be sweetened by the fact that you'll be able to go around to your friends house, logon to their console with them and BAM! Instant access to the games that you own so you can both play. They want a copy too? Sure just buy it right there and then from a handy link whilst you continue playing until you go home. Awesomesauce right?

Then Windows8/9 will tighten it's grip and you'll only be able to run software from it's app store or "legacy" software which are sandboxed off and denied access to certain minor things like DirectX 12. I don't know if they'll totally kill none windows-app-store programs, I doubt it, but it'll be less comfortable.

So will a PC running Linux be the last bastion of gaming? I'm sure Steam will help it's gaming credentials... oh wait, that's downloaded titles too. Hmm.

My only real surprise is that this generation of consoles will have physical media at all, but then large parts of the USA still far behind with their broadband rollout and it kinda makes sense. They'd lose 30% of their customers right there. That and people use them for watching DVDs/Blu-Ray etc.

It all seems to be going download only, if only eventually.

Andy
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Offline kedawa

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Re: The death of gaming consoles?
« Reply #9 on: February 14, 2013, 11:33:55 PM »
All of my steam games launch just fine without an internet connection, at least.
I think what people are missing out on when looking at the new distribution model, is that it makes passing on the data disc a trivial concern.  You can just dump it to your console and then give it to a friend, who can play it in trial mode(or full mode with your account), and if he likes it, he can buy it and rip it straight to his console, and so on.  Making the disc unnecessary will only encourage people to share.
 

Offline Hattig

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Re: The death of gaming consoles?
« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2013, 09:13:13 AM »
Quote from: kedawa;726418
All of my steam games launch just fine without an internet connection, at least.
I think what people are missing out on when looking at the new distribution model, is that it makes passing on the data disc a trivial concern.  You can just dump it to your console and then give it to a friend, who can play it in trial mode(or full mode with your account), and if he likes it, he can buy it and rip it straight to his console, and so on.  Making the disc unnecessary will only encourage people to share.


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