Future Gaming Consoles

[Deep Thought 0]

Many of you might be boggling your minds on how the next generation of gaming consoles will be like. How will they look? What new companies will arrive? What company will fall from the market? What orientation will they take? Are they going to be for the casual or the hardcores? What will they cost? What are the new features? The questions go on.

First of all, I can inform you that the new consoles will not be named Xbox 720 or Wii 2. That's just ridiculous. If not some thing radical happens in the console market, these are the probable names of the 9th generation:

Sony: PlayStation 4 a.k.a. "Reactor"

Microsoft: Xbox Napalm

Nintendo: Wasabi

This is what i think the consoles will be like:

PS4

It will be covered by brushed aluminium and a semi-transparent blue plastic and look like a sphere cut in half. It will contain a blu-ray burn drive, a 1 TB hard drive and you will download games via WiFi. The controller will be following the new standard that Nintendo's Wii put the previous generation with advanced motion-sensoring. It also has a multi-touch screen for even more control. A pre-installed program lets you create your own games with enviroments, AI, characters etc. You can also play your PS4 games on Sony Ericsson F-series cell phones via internet connected to your PS4 with all games and progresses. The PS4 also has a huge PlayNow store for music, movies, music videos, games etc.

XBN

It's rather a medium for social interaction rathewr than a gaming console. Sure, you can still play games, but there is only one game that is á la Second Life. Although new enviroments is constantly being created by players and developers. In Napalm, you can play with or against them in any enviroment, whether it's a Middle East battlefield, a fairy tale forest, a futuristic city or a paleothetic jungle etc. You can share music, videos and pictures with eachother or just have a chat. The game is controlled with a keyboard and a Wii-mote alike controller as a mouse.

Wasabi

It will take you to the next level of gaming. No really, it does. Wasabi will be a VR platform that doesn't make your eyes bleed. Thanks to fresh Augmented Reality technology, Wasabi scans of the surroundings and your room has now become a sewer for example, through transparent monitor glasses and 3D surround sound headphones, both connected to the main computer at the back. Thanks to five electrodes connected wirelessly to your brain, buttons are goodbye. By pushing a trigger or collecting an item, you just have to think of that action to see it in the game. Games on the Wasabi will need vast playing areas, so it's a good idea to take it outside, riding on your back like a backpacker. That is possible thanks to a litium ionide battery that can last for 24 hours of playing, and the loading it from empty to full power only takes two hours. For added realism, the Wasabi will include a device, put on your chest, that gives a painul shock, everytime you get hurt in the game. In difference to similar products you find on a tech grocery for proffesionals, this device is safe for small children and people with pacemakers.

If the case is true, the 9th generation will be SO much more awesome than this current.

So, any opinions? Questions? New ideas? Alright, then.

Best Regards,

-Deep Thought

P.S. This is NOT spam. I just wrote that way to add realism, and make it look like it's coming from each respective company.

[Duke87 1,070]

I think it's fairly obvious that if Sony makes another console it will be called the Playstation 4. They're rather uncreative that way. But what the next Microsoft or Nintendo consoles will be called is anyone's guess.

...and what you're saying about the next consoles here is just pure fantasy of your own imagination. Nothing based in reality at all. It's rather early to say much about what's next, anyway. We've still got a few more years to go in this generation.

That said, the Nintendo DS came out in 2004. We're due for a new handheld system sometime in the next couple years. As to what it will be, that's, again, anyone's guess.

[Theirishnintendonerd 13]

well i don't really think a new nintendo handheld is in the works because they are going to launch the nintendo DSi on November 1st  of this year. As for the other  consoles who knows....

-Trevor

[zangle06 0]

i heard on gaming trailers that sony and mircosoft wont bring out any new console unit the way we play them like on tvs changes

but they will just keep making newwer version much bigger

[Herodotus 2]

Sony won't even think about developing a new gaming system until the have fully maxed out that capabilities of the PS3. The abilities of the PS3 are mind boggling. It is one of the worlds fastest supercomputers that has been put nicely into a box. Imaging playing World of War Craft expect not on-line. The PS3 has the ability to control and create entire worlds populated with human like AIs that could fully interact with the human player without a scripted set of interactions (not just 100 or 200 AIs, but entire populated cities). The only limitation right now is that we don't have a clue how to even program a game that will even use a small fraction of the PS3s total computing power.

[ILL Tonkso 1,238]

Sorry to be pedantic but the next generation is the 8th. Not the 9th

[SimRabbit 48]

It is a fact that the PS4 will use the same processor and Sony will focus on making the console cheaper and more appealing.

Nobody knows about the next Xbox or Nintendo console. It was rumored that a new Xbox would come out next year. Or 2010-2011.

[Simcitymaster13 27]

To tell you all the truth the next biggest handheld gaming platform is going to be the Apple Touch because of the new gaming features.

I bet Steve Jobs will start to market it in the future.

[hummer0328 6]

I don't think we will be seeing the next generation of consoles until AT LEAST fall of 2010, if not 2011 or 2012. From a financial standpoint they need to milk the current generation as long as they can. As far as what I expect out of each new console:

Playstation 4 and Xbox 3:

- Similar Processor, similar architecture to what they are now, larger cache, and about 5x faster

- 2GB of memory (total)

- 500GB Hard Drive

- GFX card about 5x faster

- Blue-Ray Drive

- 802.11n

- HDMI

- All games in 1080p native resolution

Might also include:

- Burn from Disk feature with unique disk codes that allows you the option to not have to put the disk in the drive to play the game.

- Digital Download option for all games.

- MS having an option to tie your live account to your Windows 7 account allowing for less limiting digital distribution of HD movies and TV shows which you can actually buy instead of rent. Buying could include limited streaming to any computer (or xbox) with an internet connection (the account can only stream 1 movie at a time as a form of DRM), and download to a limited # of devices. This would allow either your xbox or a home computer to act as a true media hub.

- Wireless controllers are standard!

And as for the next nintendo console, well I'm not going to even try to guess. You can guarantee that it will cost 1/2 as much as it's competitors.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: ILL Tonkso Sorry to be pedantic but the next generation is the 8th. Not the 9thquote>

Generation I: Pong

Generation II: Atari

Generation III: NES

Generation IV: SNES, Genesis

Generation V: N64, Playstation, Saturn

Generation VI: Gamecube, XBox, PS2, Dreamcast

Generation VII: Wii, PS3, XBox 360

Yeah.

[Deep Thought 0]

Well, guess my ideas sounded too much science fiction. But many of technologies that I wrote is actually already in the market. If not, it's at least near completion in the labs.

Originally posted by: zangle06 i heard on gaming trailers that sony and mircosoft wont bring out any new console unit the way we play them like on tvs changes but they will just keep making newwer version much biggerquote>

Yeah, I've seen that too, but remember that the console market is stone tough, so they might be lying, to make sure that their competitors don't steal their own ideas.

Or, they might be telling the truth, and the consoles are now more alike gaming PC:s, where you have to check the system requirements, rather than the brand, to make sure your console can play this game.

When it comes to new competitors, it might be Apple, Asus, Kapsel and/or LG. Suggestively, their will be eMag, Tulpan, NucleShine respectively TC9000. Just a  hypothesis, though.

[GMT 389]

well, as for the ps3 part, noone but herodotus is right.

the fact that you can't adress the ps3's system today makes it the perfect console to last for a long time. that noone can adress the ps3 efficient right now sounds kinda ridiculous at first sight, but at second sight, it opens LOADS of possibilities to work with in the near future, even if MS or Nintendo already released their new consoles.

maybe they change the frame settings of it, like hummer said, but that's about it. there won't be a next generation ps3.

I can even think of upgrade services for people owning the current version of the ps3 to future standards of the... let's call it PS3 2.0

with all the possibilities the ps3 offers today, I guess upgrading the cache and hdd is fairly enough to make it a serious competition for the next generation consoles coming in a couple of years.

(a couple of months ago I had a loooong and interesting talk with one of my uncle's friends who's a scientist at the DFKI (german AI research institute) which is located just round the corner and he was flabbergasted because of the processing capabilities of the ps3)

there WILL be a new xbox, that's for sure, because the 360 already reaches is maximum in capacity. ok, an upgrade to bluray might give a little more room to breath for it because the storage is the biggest flaw it has, but this might bridge a maximum of one year, maybe 1.5 years if the games-market slows down due to other problems.

just keep in mind that, because of the storage limits of the 360, R* intentionally cut back GTA4 so every console gets the same game.

so, basically, MS is forced to release a new console very soon to be able to compete in the console market.

as for Nintendo, I guess they take their time. the new DSi comes soon to advance a little in the handheld market, but I don't think they release a new console anytime soon. the motion sensitive controller, even tho many different games are available already, still offers a lot of room for new developments.

and concerning the graphics, I think Nintendo don't need to pay too much attention since most people buy the wii as a fun-thing (for parties, sleepovers and stuff) and not as a serious gaming platform.

what might happen tho is a new Sony handheld system or even a MS handheld system. the mobile part of the gaming market is still growing and growing, and with the technological advaces, the necessary pieces (screens, batteries, cpu, gpu, hdd, ram etc) become smaller and more efficient, so theoretically, the handheld market that got kinda lost in the past might come big within a couple of years.

[Shadow Assassin 336]

PS3 has an expected shelf life of 10 years. Sony will keep on making them till 2016-2017 at least. The PS2 will stop being manufactured in 2010, being phased out in 2011 entirely, I suppose. They've said it themselves. And one of Sony's execs has commented that "I'd be amazed if the PS4 had a disc drive"... suggesting a possibility for the PS3's successor.

Rumour has it that the Wii's successor will finally catch up to the new generation of consoles, offering true HD playback and act as a multimedia device. This is to be expected, since it is clearly obvious that Nintendo are building up quite the sizeable war chest.

Microsoft... who knows? The Xbox's successor may very well tighten up media integration with PCs, offering more capabilities than the current 360. It would also be a good idea for Microsoft to learn from their mistakes, as well.

As for storage media, the media of choice for the Wii 2 could very well be Blu-Ray (it is after all backwards-compatible with normal DVD drives) - same for Microsoft's new console, with game saves on SD cards being common so people can take them to friends' places, etc (remember how you could take your N64 memory cards over to friends' places and play games there?). Sony would use their Memory Stick thingies, Microsoft would just use probably USB sticks or something. All consoles would come with hard drives, of course, as they're extremely cheap to put into a console (I'd say 250GB drives would be most common, as it's the right balance between $$ and storage).

As for hand-helds, who knows? Sega are considering coming back onto the market with a "multimedia" device (basically a glorified portable TV). Rumour has it that we may see Apple join the console battle... particularly with hand-helds - the iPod touch was effectively the first steps into such a market.

I think, however, Microsoft would once again be the first to come out with a new console, followed by Nintendo then Sony soon after. Reason being that Microsoft's main motivation is to get a headstart in what could easily be the most important generation we've seen... this generation could determine what happens for the next 15-20 years. The industry has already been shaken up by the Wii's release (which played right into Nintendo's business strategy), we don't know how it will pan out. Sony would wait a little longer, since they have the long-term interests in mind, especially since they've said that the PS3 will have a shelf life of 10 years at least.

The current consoles all have their own flaws.

360 - storage capacity... normal DVDs would've been a big issue...

PS3 - graphics chip (the biggest mistake Sony did was use the 7900. They should have used a graphics chip that was specially designed for consoles, not PCs - this is especially evident in the emulation problems they've had in the past with PS2 games on the PS3). Also, price.

Wii - "gimmicky" reputation, especially with motion sensing. No true HD capability (seriously, how hard would it have been to include an upscaler chip to output 720p)... this may have been a major contribution to the very small (relatively speaking) form factor of the Wii - capability = power = heat = larger form factor (see PS3... the heatsinks on that thing are massive)

This current generation is probably one where casual gamers benefit the most... now, can we have some decent games? Pretty please?

-- Sorry for the long post, but there's my thoughts on the matter.

[GMT 389]

now that I think about it... a little semi-off-topic maybe, but...

why are people (as in scene-related magazines, tv shows and stuff) still reffering to the 360, ps3 and wii as the next generation consoles?

I mean, they are here, they exist, so they are the current generation, not the next...

ok, back when they where released, everybody was talking about the next generation consoles, so it kinda fixed the term to the consoles, but seriously, how could something that already exists be a "next" ?

[Shadow Assassin 336]

why are people (as in scene-related magazines, tv shows and stuff) still reffering to the 360, ps3 and wii as the next generation consoles?

I mean, they are here, they exist, so they are the current generation, not the next...

ok, back when they where released, everybody was talking about the next generation consoles, so it kinda fixed the term to the consoles, but seriously, how could something that already exists be a "next" ?quote>

It's just a buzz word.

Remember, the previous generation was where the industry really took off, so... I suppose they call it next-gen out of habit, because the PS2, GameCube, XBox, and believe it or not, the Dreamcast, were the most common consoles compared to previous generations till then. The fifth generation (PSOne, N64 and the Saturn) really did bring gaming to the masses, though - after all, it was the golden age for such "cinematic" games such as Final Fantasy, Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid and many other games that introduced the element of "cut-scenes" into games that were either rendered using FMVs or the in-game engine. And well, the rest is history - the PSOne outsold the 64 (which had numerous problems of its own, but was one of the best consoles Nintendo came out with), the Saturn did badly (see, Sony, that's what happens when you throw in multiple CPUs without providing full support to developers) due to lack of software and difficulty of coding for the platform. The interesting thing is, over the previous two (actually three) generations, the "technically inferior" consoles have always outdone their competitors.

How interesting is that?

Actually, that does bring up a point - what happens if we're still calling this generation the "next generation", and the PS4 et al come out? What do we call them, then?

[Deep Thought 0]

So talking about new consoles from current companies is just a useless topic, but what about new competitors?

Many of you might expect that Apple will join the fight, but do gaming consoles really need to be from US or Japan (Besides, didn't Apple give out a GC in the 90's, but became a true failure)? Let's take a look at European possible new competitors, where you can find true entusiasm in programing and industrial design. Any suggestions?

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Deep Thought So talking about new consoles from current companies is just a useless topic, but what about new competitors?

Many of you might expect that Apple will join the fight, but do gaming consoles really need to be from US or Japan (Besides, didn't Apple give out a GC in the 90's, but became a true failure)? Let's take a look at European possible new competitors, where you can find true entusiasm in programing and industrial design. Any suggestions?quote>

I seriously doubt it. Most video games come from Japan. Some come from the US. I can only think of one game that's come from Europe: Tetris. Usually it doesn't happen.

The PAL region tends to be the most neglected of the big three (the other two being North America and Japan). And there are several reasons why:

1) It's the smallest market of the three. There's the least money in it.

2) You have to make it in several languages as opposed to just one.

3) Many European countries, unlike the US, will to varying degrees actively censor, ban, or place restrictions on video games they deem too inappropriate - which makes the market rather unappealing to try and sell "mature" games in (obviously this is not a problem with games aimed at kids).

So it's no wonder that they're pretty much strictly on the receiving end of things. Problems 1 and 2 you really can't do much about. 1 could change with time but you can't really take any action to make it happen. 2 isn't going to change. 3 could be changed immediately but doing so would be politically unfavorable so it's not gonna happen.

[Shadow Assassin 336]

I seriously doubt it. Most video games come from Japan. Some come from the US. I can only think of one game that's come from Europe: Tetris. Usually it doesn't happen.

The PAL region tends to be the most neglected of the big three (the other two being North America and Japan). And there are several reasons why:quote>

I'd have to correct you slightly on your thinking that there are only a few games originating from Europe.

What about Ubisoft?

What about Infogrames?

What about Vivendi Games (well, now Activision Blizzard, so technically not French anymore)?

They're among the biggest publishers in the world... and guess what? They're all French. And last I checked, France was in Europe. Ubisoft, in particular, encourages the development of games within the PAL regions - they're also responsible for spearheading the push of games development in Australia (also part of the PAL region), which really only has taken off in the last two years.

So, really, saying that the Europeans are insignificant when it comes to creation of games suggests you should do a little bit of searching on Wikipedia.