Is it just me or does the general trend in today's games industry seem to go against the home consoles? In the past few years a lot of gaming news sources have been talking about the PC struggling as a gaming platform. The consoles are arguably still doing better, but is there really any future for the home consoles as gaming platforms?
The most succesful home console by far in this generation is Nintendo's Wii. A console which in most homes seem to be used mainly as an outlet for mini games such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit. Activision Blizzard, the world's biggest third party developer, has talked about future installments of Guitar Hero maybe being playable apart from a home console. Apple's Iphone and Ipod Touch are making serious headway in favour of the handheld market, and Sony seem to rise to the challenge with their PSP Go being released later this year.
At the same time Cloud Gaming services like OnLive and Gaikai are starting to surface. These companies are still in their infancy, but they are planning on being able to launch their service as soon as next year! These services will stream high definition quality games directly to your computer or even your TV! This technology is still years away from being available everywhere of course, but it seems like even Sony knows which way the wind is blowing. The day after OnLive was announced, Sony registered "PS Cloud" as a trademark.
With all these things happening in the industry, will it even be viable to manufacture hardware heavy home-entertainment systems like the PS3 or the Xbox 360 in the future? The production costs (especially that of the PS3) do not, in my opinion, warrant the production of a Playstation 4 or Xbox 720. Not in the traditional sense anyway.
But what do you think? Am I talking out of my arse, or do you see sense in my madness? Please discuss
The most succesful home console by far in this generation is Nintendo's Wii. A console which in most homes seem to be used mainly as an outlet for mini games such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit. Activision Blizzard, the world's biggest third party developer, has talked about future installments of Guitar Hero maybe being playable apart from a home console. Apple's Iphone and Ipod Touch are making serious headway in favour of the handheld market, and Sony seem to rise to the challenge with their PSP Go being released later this year.
At the same time Cloud Gaming services like OnLive and Gaikai are starting to surface. These companies are still in their infancy, but they are planning on being able to launch their service as soon as next year! These services will stream high definition quality games directly to your computer or even your TV! This technology is still years away from being available everywhere of course, but it seems like even Sony knows which way the wind is blowing. The day after OnLive was announced, Sony registered "PS Cloud" as a trademark.
With all these things happening in the industry, will it even be viable to manufacture hardware heavy home-entertainment systems like the PS3 or the Xbox 360 in the future? The production costs (especially that of the PS3) do not, in my opinion, warrant the production of a Playstation 4 or Xbox 720. Not in the traditional sense anyway.
But what do you think? Am I talking out of my arse, or do you see sense in my madness? Please discuss
