Game Consoles: What's Next?

[lpetrich]

 List of home video game consoles Since the early 1970's game consoles have gone through eight generations so far, with no sign of a ninth one coming up.

Console makers have come and gone, with only Nintendo staying in business from the beginning to the present.

Console specs have improved enormously over the years.

• Working parts: discrete components, CPU chips: 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit.
• Color depth: black-and-white (2 colors), indexed color, truecolor.
• Game code and data storage: hardwired, cartridges, optical disks, hard disks with over-the-Internet delivery.
• Onboard writable storage: none, cartridges, hard disks, flash memory.
• Game characters: simple geometric shapes, blocky sprites, smooth sprites, 3D models.
• Operating systems: none, runtime software libraries, full-scale OSes
• Connectivity: standalone, on the Internet: complete with movie and TV access.

The most recent generation has not had much progress in kind relative to what earlier generations have had, though it has had progress in degree. Nevertheless, the flagship consoles, the Playstation 4, the Xbox One, and the Wii U, would make respectable desktop computers by present-day standards.

What might be next for the ninth generation? When might it appear? From how long previous generations have lasted, it should be due around 2019. I've seen speculation about a Playstation 5 and an Xbox Two, but that's about it.

 

[bigfield]

I think we'll see the end of porting due to standardised firmware, OS, graphics drivers etc that.

Steam Machines
http://store.steampowered.com/sale/steam_machines

These are more or less PCs running SteamOS.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

It's looking like VR is going to be the next big change - or at least the next big change that game makers are going to try and be pushing. I don't know how much it's going to catch on, since a lot of VR applications seem to involve a lot more standing up and moving around and a lot less sitting on the couch with a beer than I think most gamers would be comfortable with, so they may not dominate a huge slice of the market, but it seems to be the direction companies are testing out.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Gaming is unpredictable at this point. With the advent of super awesome graphics and massive game budgets... we saw an explosion of nickel and dime games which make a good deal of money without having the risk associated with a massive game budget, and some people will pay a fortune to play it!

Ultimately, follow the dollars. So in general, I think big gaming companies will buy small gaming companies to take advantage of both markets. While VR is making another venture into the market, I remember seeing VR in the movie Disclosure. I'm not sold on VR going anywhere. So in the near future, the birds will be angrier, the linebackers will have better AI, the prices will be insane, and I'll be a generation or two behind.

Also, the Nintendo Switch will do well, once some games other than Zelda are released for it.

 

[Philos]

Hi,

My fave games, first person shooters, seem to have peaked with xbox 360. Also, games with single player campaigns have been superseded a bit by multiplayer.

I don't see much point in upgrading from 360 unless it breaks down on me. But what about the games? There is a lot of repetition already; going stale?

A.

 

[James Brown]

Is it true that with those goofy-looking VR goggles I can fly an X-Wing?

All the ads for those goofy-looking VR goggles show the same thing. Four people sitting on a sectional sofa, one of them wearing the goggles and holding something in their hands, looking like they're having a lot of fun. Meanwhile, the other three people are watching the first person, and they look like they are having even more fun. They look like they're so excited they're about to have a brain aneurysm.

But quite frankly, watching someone else stare into a box doesn't sound all that fun to me.

But if I got to fly an X-wing, something I've been wanting to do since I was nine years old, I'd be willing to tell my three friends on the couch to take a hike.

 

[LordKiran]

I think we'll see the end of porting due to standardised firmware, OS, graphics drivers etc that.

Steam Machines
http://store.steampowered.com/sale/steam_machines

These are more or less PCs running SteamOS.

Overpriced Schwag.

When you buy an Xbox game for your Xbox (doesn't matter what game it is) barring the game itself being broken you can rest assured that it will work. This is the innate appeal of Consoles and what sets them apart from the busy work and technical jargon of PC gaming.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

VR still has a long way to go before it is anything more than a gimmick. It doesn't feel real yet, and having the rig attached to your head isn't comfortable for a long play session.

 

[Gun Nut]

It's looking like VR is going to be the next big change - or at least the next big change that game makers are going to try and be pushing. I don't know how much it's going to catch on, since a lot of VR applications seem to involve a lot more standing up and moving around and a lot less sitting on the couch with a beer than I think most gamers would be comfortable with, so they may not dominate a huge slice of the market, but it seems to be the direction companies are testing out.

Yes, VR is relatively new in the consumer market. It has come quite a long way, though. Free VR porn is readily available (180 degree view of 3D movies, and 360 degree 2D movies), and hardware specs supporting the technology are becoming more attainable and common. Playstation has a VR rig and I suspect all new console offerings will have that addon as standard.
Did I mention VR porn? Cause there is porn in VR... which in my opinion is quite the measuring stick for how successful a new computer technology will be (how much porn you can consume with it).

 

[Gun Nut]

VR still has a long way to go before it is anything more than a gimmick. It doesn't feel real yet, and having the rig attached to your head isn't comfortable for a long play session.

Vive or Oculus + Pornhub dot com... then tell me it doesn't feel real.
I agree the rig on the head is still bulky. Vive has a wireless headset now, but it is more bulky than the original... but still sans a tether.

The vive has quite a screen door effect (very badly)... when new people try it it is the first negative thing they notice. I tell them, "just play the game", and they pretty much instantly forget about the effect and become deeply immersed. You only notice the artifacts when you actively look for them.

Try a game like Windlands, where you "tarzan" around a simplistic, "Mario 64" like world using a pair of grappling hooks in your hands.... stand on the edge of a cliff and jump off with the faith that your hook will land where you want and swing rather than fall to your (characer's) death.... go on... try it and tell me how real it doesn't feel then while your jelly knees buckle beneath you.