Next generation consoles to be the last?

k'_127

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So with G5 internet connection around the corner, do you think game streaming would eventually be the standard?

Looking back at the other entertainment industries, I think we have 1 or 2 more generations, at most, before game streaming would be shoved up our asses, and the majority of consumers embrace it.

Sony has already successfully (on the technical level) implemented it with current connection speeds. I imagine when 1GB per second becomes widely available, there won't be any need for dedicated gaming consoles.
 

Gamefan

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I am not sure if the next generation will be the last. Let's hope not as I do enjoy seeing the technology get pushed further and further.

What I have read is that Microsoft is now more interested in just getting games out regardless of what platform they are being played on. The Play Anywhere games are great! As for Sony, I cannot see any reason for them to stop making consoles, especially when they sell so well. Good library of games, good console, large user base.
 

snes_collector

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I can't see this happening yet in the United States. I don't think internet connection speeds are quite great enough to give the speed/power needed for to work throughout the country. Many people still only play games offline as well
 

MattBlah

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I can't see this happening yet in the United States. I don't think internet connection speeds are quite great enough to give the speed/power needed for to work throughout the country. Many people still only play games offline as well

Yeah, this would be the problem worldwide I think. A friend of mine is on the same service as me and gets 60MB/sec, but the best I can hope for is 17MB/sec. His house is about 100 yards from mine. Internet lines are just too inconsistent at the moment to go fully streaming. Download only, maybe.
 
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prof

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As long as money can be made by selling video game consoles, they will continue to produce them. And that's a fact, Jack.
 

GutsDozer

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I think for the most part gaming consoles will always be a more affordable way to play games. Even if its digital or streaming only its a lot cheaper to have a game box than an equivalent to a gamig PC to run said games on.
 

Morden

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The console market has changed considerably. Consoles went from being on the forefront of technological advancements, to a PC in a box. Now we're getting hardware revisions left and right. This might continue. We'll be getting PC tech in PlayStation and Xbox cases, and as long as people are buying discs, things won't change much.

I don't think we're ready for 100% digital just yet, but we're getting there. Steam basically killed PC game boxes. A day may come when a game box will be just a special item for the hardcore collector, full of crap and with a download code. Some games are getting releases like that already. Garegga, Child of Light, etc.

The thing that doesn't sit well with me are the hardware revisions. When the next Xbox or PlayStation is released, I'll probably wait for the "S" or "Pro" version, because buying premiere hardware these days is a bad idea. PSOne, Xbox 360, PS2 and PS3 went through hardware revisions, sure, but it was just fine adjustments and reducing production costs, or upgrading to newer manufacturing technology. These heavily upgraded versions make me regret getting the basic models in retrospect. Ok, not really, but I'm not interested in getting the upgraded ones.

This might be something that spoils the market partially in the future. Why buy a 3DS, when you can wait for 3DS XL or NEW 3DS XL. Or NEW 2DS XL for that matter?
 

awbacon

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The minute they go download only / streaming only and ditch physical media...I'm out!

Pisses me off as is I can't get a physical copy of the majority of big title PC releases
 

DevilRedeemed

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The day when console generations as we know them disappear is looming.
In its place advancements in peripheral technology such as VR and AR.
That will be the new frontier, maybe some day holograms too.
But standalone VR\AR units will take the place of standard handhelds and what have you.
Nintendo will be the only company making videogame console toys, they being toy makers first and foremost.

Or maybe non of this will happen.
In any case zzzZzz
 

Tripredacus

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Current gen consoles (not portables) aren't even consoles. They are just computers.
What is the last actual console? The PS2 and Wii?
 

ysselcneogeo

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Current gen consoles (not portables) aren't even consoles. They are just computers.
What is the last actual console? The PS2 and Wii?
Wii u, ps3 and 360. I mean they're unqiue enough that they dont really represent pc hardware. PowerPC had long since died for home use and Cell never had a home market.
 

Tripredacus

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Hmmm IDK doesn't the PS3 run on Linux? And we know Xbox 360 runs on a Microsoft OS... then again under this definition the Dreamcast could be a computer too.
 

ChuChu Flamingo

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You can install Linux and FreeBSD with the OtherOS feature, but they took it out. I remember many years ago our government linking up a gorillion of these into a super computer via the use of the OtherOS feature. I wonder if it is still in use?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OtherOS

Technically they are all computers since they run arbitrary sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically.

Another definition according to dictionary.com is a programmable electronic device designed to accept data, perform prescribed mathematical and logical operations at high speed, and display the results of these operations.

with that said I would say consoles became what most joe six packs think is a computer around the seventh generation. Browsing the internet, messaging, checking social media, and watching netflix/youtube easily. Older generation of consoles did some of these things, but at a rudimentary level imo.
 
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HeavyMachineGoob

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Hmmm IDK doesn't the PS3 run on Linux? And we know Xbox 360 runs on a Microsoft OS... then again under this definition the Dreamcast could be a computer too.

Let's assume computer means your average desktop/laptop/chromebook machine. That means x86. CPU architecture really does matter, there's tons of alternatives to it. PowerPC, POWER/Cell, ARM, MIPS, SuperH, etc...

In terms of variety, the single best generation of consoles was PS2/GC etc. Dreamcast had an SH4 CPU, PS2 used MIPS, GameCube used PowerPC, Xbox used x86. Even the video chipsets were all from different companies. DC used PowerVR, PS2 used the custom Sony Emotion Engine, Gamecube used an ATi "Flipper" GPU, Xbox used an nVidia chipset.

As for the last home console that wasn't a computer, that would be the Wii U. It still uses the same PowerPC/ATi combo that powered the Wii and Gamecube before it. The Nintendo Switch is ARM based, but ARM powers nearly everything portable and even some Chromebooks are using ARM now. Wii U was the last big consumer product to use PowerPC. The last iMac to use PowerPC was from 2006.
 
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White Devil

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I think hard copies of games will be around for a while. There’s still parts of America that barely get faster than dialup speeds so I doubt streaming will dominate in less than 10 years from now. IMO
 

madman

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Consoles aren't even consoles anymore. Technology has advanced enough where there just aren't differentiators other than if one vendor has a license another does not. Who the hell can notice the difference between a ps4 or xbox game? It's not like noticing how much better N64 games were vs PSX or Saturn. I will buy a Switch at some point, though. Nintendo still dominates as they always have.
 

madman

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But they weren't better.

You are correct, I fucked up there. I used the past tense. I should've said "how much better N64 games are vs PSX or Saturn. Thank you for pointing out my error.
 

NeoSneth

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I certainly think so. Businesses have already started moving in that direction.
Onlive was way ahead of its time with streaming gaming.

When a $100 streaming box can deliver the graphics of a $3k computer, why wouldn't we go that route?
No more hardware iterations.
 

Geekman1222

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When a $100 streaming box can deliver the graphics of a $3k computer, why wouldn't we go that route?
No more hardware iterations.

I bet with the right infrastructure marketing and hardware you could sell consoles on a sales platform like Juicero or w/e the eff it was called (which was a pointless item). Or printers. Sell an expensive machine at a loss for cheap make the money back on subscriptions. Eh just a thought.

I mean the console industry already kind of does this but i mean to a bit more extreme level. I wont care enough for the nextgen systems of w/e era that would be from though.
 
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