So Long Dear Console. We Knew You Well.

[Punished07]

This article originally came from the December 2013 issue of Popular Science magazine. It states things that Linus has been saying for a long time now. Even to the point of the Nvidia Shield as ,essentially, a console replacement.

 

http://www.popsci.com/bown/2013/depth/so-long-dear-console-we-knew-you-well

 

Forty-one years ago, Magnavox introduced the first cartridge-based console, the Odyssey. Seven generations later, the boxes have become fixtures in our entertainment centers. What’s not to love? Consoles represent the pinnacle of electronic engineering (the PlayStation 4’s graphics processor, for example, can perform 1.8 trillion operations per second). Yet despite that, it’s been a rough couple of years for console gaming. Sales and rentals  of disc-based games, like the ones that are core to the Xbox and PlayStation ecosystems, dropped by 21 percent last year. The console won’t be far behind.

The issue isn’t that gamers have suddenly stopped playing; they’re just getting their games in different ways. Virtual shops, such as Steam, have made it easy to download titles without relying on brick-and-mortar stores. (Digital downloads spiked 16 percent in 2012.) And cloud services such as OnLive stream games directly over the Internet. As a result, developers no longer need to choose between the Sony and Microsoft ecosystems or spend time coding titles for both platforms. Games can now be console agnostic. 

Beyond that, what passes for a console is also changing. The Razer Edge Pro, a Windows 8 tablet, can download and render console-quality titles, such as Dishonored and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The Nvidia Shield, an Android-based handheld, can stream PC games. Both devices have powerful enough graphics engines—the Shield’s chipset can handle nearly a trillion operations per second—to drive an image on an HDTV over HDMI and do so with little sacrifice in quality. 

In this democratized gaming world, where consumers have more places to get games and more ways to play them, consoles can’t compete. Right now, a couple of people in a basement can release a game instantly in the Google Play store and make a solid profit charging a few bucks per download. And it won’t stop at small start-up vendors. If tablets can play blockbuster games, big-name developers can cut themselves off from Sony and Microsoft too. Consoles are going the way of CD players—and for better or worse, the eighth generation will likely be our last. —Colin Lecher

[simtransporter]

I don't know but steam os and nvidia shield do look like better alternatives from a enthusiast perspective.

[EChondo]

This article originally came from the December 2013 issue of Popular Science magazine.

I don't know about you, but it's currently November 2013, Time Traveler

[Punished07]

I don't know about you, but it's currently November 2013, Time Traveler

I get the hard copy of the magazine in the mail so it comes out early i guess.

[EChondo]

I get the hard copy of the magazine in the mail so it comes out early i guess.

Well that's weird.

 

OT: It's great that more and more people are seeing what we've(Linus and others) have been saying for a while now. Really makes me wonder where we will be in a couple years with the Steam Machines released.

[qwertywarrior]

we really need an "open" alternative like gamestream

i know Steam has one but it only works with their games

 

lets hope for one

[naca1227]

I <3 consoles

[DLM_012]

Consoles won't be going anywhere unless the Steam Box comes out and shakes things up like I'm hoping it will. Shield is cool and all but the point remains that you need a gaming PC with an Nvidia card in it. The average CoD player has no idea wtf Nvidia Shield is (or for starters, who Nvidia is and what they make) and I'd doubt they'd want it if they knew what it was.

 

Everyone is lining up to get their PS4 and XB1 not this. 

 

Like I said, Shield is cool but it was designed to fill a niche market that Linus and a few here happen to be a part of. It doesn't help that this is Nvidia's proprietary technology too and they're not sharing it with AMD. 

 

EDIT: And cloud gaming isn't going to be gaining traction until fiber is mainstream and affordable for the average Joe. I doubt that will be happening here in America considering how money hungry these companies are.

[BernardoSLR]

The only game I care for on PS4 is Uncharted. Until it's released I'm sticking with my PC!

[digitalnav]

I actually did a quick article on this.
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/unlocked/the-end-of-gaming-consoles-and-rise-of-mobile-and-pc-gaming-idnum112/

[Kev]

If the current generation of consoles does last a decade+ then this will very likely be the last generation of consoles. Although, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Nintendo release a new console in 5 or 6 years and then go the way of Sega.

[gill2k]

This is the first generation of new consoles I am not excited about.  It just feels so different than past launches I went through since day / week one - PSX, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, GC, PS3, Xbox 360... I was excited for those. 

 

The lack of excitement pretty much boils down to this for me: I see these new consoles working exactly like my gaming rig in terms of patches, day one updates, DLC this, DLC that... same games I can get on Steam for cheaper and run at better rez / consistent frames per second.  I mean, what's the point anymore aside from exclusives (which would make me consider PS4 in the future with new God of War or Uncharted game) and if doesn't work right out of the box (console and games) like they used to?  Even Nintendo whom I always see as that last bastion of old school gaming followed this route with their Wii / Wii U.

 

I'm glad I jumped into PC gaming fully this year.  I was an avid console gamer - played games on PC here and there - but the shenanigans that went on with these consoles (hardware failures, nickle and diming with DLC / cut content, terrible frame rates and resolutions, ADDITIONAL fee to play online??? etc.) starting with last gen pushed me forward to PC gaming.

[mr moose]

Consoles will evolve and change just like every other piece of technology on this planet, they will not become obsolete, just different.

[Agons]

Pretty soon, getting something like an ps4 and XboxOne will be like back in the day getting a gameboy advance, something parents just got their kids to keep them entertained while core gamer's spent more money on hardware to play core games with the best advancements in gaming and computer tech in the available market.

[Blue fellow]

Consoles will evolve and change just like every other piece of technology on this planet, they will not become obsolete, just different.

 

Even if they do shift to the mobile market, both Microsoft and Sony have offerings there already. So if that does happen, I could see the current console divisions working on more gamer friendly mobile devices/software.

 

I don't know about Nintendo, they have the handheld's, but what's the point of the DS with today's cellphones? But they always seem to survive  :lol:

[JLCitadel]

It depends on how you define the world console. Steambox is a console, with the option to have it not be a "console" by using different versions or itterations of SteamOS and the ability to customize it.

 

If you look at a console as a machine, with a different overlay/system, & games that need to be programmed specifically for it, then yes those most likely will be obsolete.

 

Microsoft and Sony are far from being done with handling the gaming market in terms of living room technology.

 

Yes, cloud storage will take over, & very soon, all you will need will be a box, that has what the steambox is.

 

Game streaming, as said above, will probably take over within 6-7 years every where but America.

 

I'm kind of wondering why one ISP doesn't just shaft all the others, by providing such insane speeds, at low prices, that everyone uses it.

[DLM_012]

This is the first generation of new consoles I am not excited about.  It just feels so different than past launches I went through since day / week one - PSX, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, GC, PS3, Xbox 360... I was excited for those. 

 

The lack of excitement pretty much boils down to this for me: I see these new consoles working exactly like my gaming rig in terms of patches, day one updates, DLC this, DLC that... same games I can get on Steam for cheaper and run at better rez / consistent frames per second.  I mean, what's the point anymore aside from exclusives (which would make me consider PS4 in the future with new God of War or Uncharted game) and if doesn't work right out of the box (console and games) like they used to?  Even Nintendo whom I always see as that last bastion of old school gaming followed this route with their Wii / Wii U.

 

I'm glad I jumped into PC gaming fully this year.  I was an avid console gamer - played games on PC here and there - but the shenanigans that went on with these consoles (hardware failures, nickle and diming with DLC / cut content, terrible frame rates and resolutions, ADDITIONAL fee to play online??? etc.) starting with last gen pushed me forward to PC gaming.

 

I share a lot of your sentiments. Those are all really valid points. The only reason I still have consoles is because of exclusives. Otherwise I'd be PC only. I could care less about playing games online with my friends anymore. They all never have time so it doesn't matter. The main reason I'm jazzed for this launch is that this will not only be my first midnight launch, but my first console launch I've ever attended. That alone is enough excitement. It seems like gaming is going through a wonderful renaissance right now too so that only adds to how I feel about this new gen.

 

Spec wise, they're definitely underwhelming. I was expecting a bit better.

[GeTecknics]

well was there ever any doubt i mean linus is always right....right

[atomicmonkey101]

I think there will always be a console like device under many peoples televisions. 

[James_AJ]

It's not all that bad except when it tries to compete with pcs and other various boxes that do the same thing for less.

Seriously though, can't deny that magic of PS1, PS2 & PS3

[Goldilock]

When PS3 stopped playing games right out the box and then some YLOD happened they are dead to me.