Is the console dying? Will it ever die? When will it die?

As a follow up to my thread about the advantages of computer gaming. They're growing. And many predict that the console will soon be phased out.

And yes indeedy, this makes me sad in many ways. Consoles are what I grew up on. For all I talk about the advantages of computer gaming and the coming death of console gaming(both TV and handheld, in favor of PC and Cell Phone gaming), I'm certainly what many would call a console gamer, or perhaps as PC-Console gamer, in my case(enthusiastic for Console style gaming, but on the computer with computer limitations instead of console ones), I'm used to gaming on a controller, and when playing on the keyboard, am used to using buttons like 'z', 'x', 'a', 's', 'd' and 'c' for gaming with my left hand, and the traditional directional keys, not wasd. Or rather, a j-gamer, you might call me. I've spend my years spending my computer time to play games that were meant for consoles and trying to scrounge up those console or Japanese style things on my computer since I was a child. Emulating the things that couldn't be for windows, and downloading the things I actually could for the PC outside of emulating, such as the DOS version of Mega Man X.

But I understand that as a point of nostalgia. Just like the people on computers, who made videos like "Okkusenman". The computer is the hub, it's always been exciting, and now it is on the path to being everything, not a shoddy replacement for a console with all of the best games being developed specifically for it. Getting bigger and better and more addictive and convenient, and consoles, less so. And I think it is coming, the death of my beloved console, being fused into my beloved computer that does everything. And I want, and have wanted the things I love to adapt for years. And I hope they do and can.

I'm a console/j-gamer. But I'm also a PC person instead of TV person. As the computer was always my DIY window to the outside world which the TV was not. A treasure trove of internet goodies. Now that I'm not so unusual in preferring the computer to the TV, and the worlds are bridging and the PC is doing better and more encompassing than ever before, I can't deny this possible change many are hinting at. I embrace it, for the most part, as long as I don't lose something. I love my old Japanese hardware and being rooted in something like that, the innovations they made, I like that standard, but that standard can't last, can it? And I'm rambling emotionally.

Basically, do you think this common assertion is true, that PC gaming will kill console gaming? And that the hardware companies will all become software, Nintendo going the way of SEGA(whom I might add, has many of their games for download on Amazon)? And if so, how soon? Losing having things like a Nintendo console or a Sony console, wouldn't be so bad, if we started seeing things like Nintendo and Sony and SEGA models of various graphics cards, and the like. Or even Nintendo P Cs to compete with Sony P Cs. May seem farfetched, but it's possible. I'd definitely have a bias in favor of a Nintendo version of an ATI graphics card, even if I had I had to pay a $100 premium for that brand name(nostalgia before logic, ahhhh).

I totally bloated this OP, rambling on and not even really getting out my emotion and views into words that reflect them properly, sorry. They're in spoiler so you can ignore them, as they're not central to the thread.

edited 26th May '11 8:47:55 AM by Ukonkivi

Genkidama for Japan, even if you don't have money, you can help![1]

Dear god, I hope not.

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

Why would Nintendo drop out of the console market when the Wii is miles ahead of its competition in terms of sales?

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

I too hope not =/(cell phone gaming is horrible for me )

Consoles are not alive, so they cannot ever die.

(/Troll)

To answer the thread title question, I don't think it is dying, it could quite easily die and I have no idea when.

edited 26th May '11 8:55:57 AM by HellmanSabian

There is still one advantage the console has over the PC, mainly that of stability. Most people just don't feel like constantly future-proofing their computers to my understanding.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Much as I talk about how I love PC gaming, I certainly don't want the console to die out. There ARE some games that just work better with a controller. That, and putting in C Ds will always be faster and more satisfying than having to wait for a download.

Also, consoles are nice-looking machines! They have their set purpose and do what they're supposed to. With P Cs, most people probably use them for work or browsing first, and gaming either second or not at all.

Plus, you don't have to worry about a console getting a virus or having outdated specs.

And I doubt that Nintendo or Sony could make P Cs, Microsoft has the gaming PC market dominated completely.

edited 26th May '11 8:53:57 AM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

But... Where will the exclusives go when the consoles die out...?

That is my main concern when the consoles die out.

Shutdown sequence initiated.

They are ahead of other consoles and above computers in terms of games that sell for them. But it can only last so long. Many are predicting the decline of the console altogether. And this is the fist time I've ever noticed such a claim become common.

There is also the common claim that portable consoles, will die to the cell phone. And developers will flock to this platform until it is not longer feasible for companies like Sony and Nintendo to make things like a new PSP or "DS", if they'll even be called that years from now.

Surely y'all have heard the claims before.

Genkidama for Japan, even if you don't have money, you can help![1]

I don't expect the console to die anytime soon. They've turned into self-contained entertainment centers, and people already have it in their minds that these things hook up to a TV — thus they have an advantage in that regard over computers that have tried the same niche.

Consoles have also proven, repeatedly, that you can do a lot more with the hardware you have than you expected. They seem to encourage creativity in the smaller developers that get ahold of the technology. Their biggest problem going forward is the generally high barriers to entry into the console market. Only the XBox 360 currently has any ease of entry for the startup or individual developer, out of all the current consoles. If that changes next generation, things will certainly be looking up.

^ Sony's newest portable system is an Android phone with PS-like controls. I think you'll find that Nintendo will go in the same direction soon enough. I'm honestly surprised the 3DS isn't a phone already.

edited 26th May '11 8:57:19 AM by GoggleFox

Sakamoto demands an explanation for this shit.

I really, really hope not.

Due to frugality, I usually buy inexpensive laptops or get old ones from my dad. They work really well for word processing, surfing the Internet, and doing general things like that. But the one thing they can't do? Games. Horrible, horrible lag on everything I've played that wasn't Braid (although admittedly it clears up eventually).

Computers imply the ability of the user to make sure they're up to spec, and in all honesty I much prefer consoles.

Personal opinion aside, one also has to consider the question of piracy. It doesn't exactly encourage developers when many copies of their product are being downloaded for free.

This thread is funny, as I've heard evidence of the reverse. More and more gamers and more and more developers are abandoning the PC platform for many reasons among them the ridiculous cost to upgrade a PC, the nerve-wracking of game development for many many types of hardware in the PC market, and an increased perception that PC games are for either elitist snobs who are not worth playing games with or stuck in niche genres like Starcraft, World of Warcraft and small indie games.

. . .where the hell would anyone get the idea that its *consoles* that are dying? None of the weaknesses consoles have versus P Cs are relevant to their marketing.

Home of CBR Rumbles-in-Exile: rumbles.fr.yuku.com

How about you find a professional source backed by some kind of tangible evidence that suggests that consoles are (going) to start to decline?

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

I already tackled that line of logic I'm tired of seeing in the other thread. It doesn't matter whether you're updating your PC, or buying a new console, you're essentially paying for upgrades in either case, that you have to do to "play all the games" every so often. And in the case of console gaming, you have to buy more parts, as old console parts are not recyclable. That you're always having to buy new computer parts to play the new games, is a joke that shouldn't be taken seriously at all. Computers do not require that you upgrade to play new games more often at all, and in fact, again, you have to buy less parts and overall spend less money. As you can always recycle a computer case or a power supply, or sometimes use old RAM or a motherboard(you can buy AM 3+ right now) or the like. Also, people want to buy computers more than they do consoles. Computers they can use for everything. This is a clear advantage computers have over consoles. Even people who never want to buy a console, may end up signing up for Facebook and start playing Farmville.

Look what happened to the Play Station Network.

Then there's also things like the Red Ring of Death.

Yeah you do. Or are you saying my Nintendo Gamecube can play my Super Mario Galaxy 2?

It may not look it, because you're buying a console per generation, but you actually buy more parts with each technology generation with consoles than you do with computers. The only difference is that the PC is more universal. But just because the generations aren't seperated absolutely, doesn't mean that the situation is particularly different. A Play Station 2 cannot run Devil May Cry 4, because it has outdated specs. Just like an old, weaker computer more similar to the Play Station 2 hardware, cannot run Devil May Cry 4, while it can still run Devil May Cry 3. But updating from a Play Station 2 to a Play Station 3 in terms of what it can play(games like Devil May Cry 4 and other games that overlap between the Play Station 3 and PC instead of Play Station 2/XBOX and PC), is cheaper overall and means less updates for outdated specs than buying a Play Station 3. It will also be backwards compatible with Devil May Cry 3.

You do not have to update a computer more often than a console to play the same games unless you are trying to eclipse the console of that generation. This is an advantage of the computer, not the console. The jokes about buying graphics cards all the time is a bit of a funny hyperbole, but it's just that. It doesn't have ground in truth for anything of an advantage for consoles, it is the exact opposite.

I hate running into this argument again, considering how faulty it is. People really need to stop spreading this idea that you have to update the hardware of a computer to play games than a console. You don't. You update far less. And I'll repeat this as many times as I have to, because it's true.

Genkidama for Japan, even if you don't have money, you can help![1]

There are two major things that the PC industry would have to accomplish before I see there being a possibility of them killing off the console market:

1.) The ability to take any newly released PC game and be able to "plug and play" on any current generation PC, regardless of the myriad of different hardware options.

2.) The price of gaming P Cs dropping to less than $400.00 while still being able to consistently run top of the line games with solid performance.

That is by no means all the challenges the PC market would have to overcome, but they're two of the big ones.

edited 26th May '11 9:20:50 AM by Meeble

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As the casual market continues to expand, it's going to be less and less profitable to make expensive AAA titles for consoles. This could, conceivably, cause a decline in the console market. Perhaps even to the extent of phasing out over decades. On the bright side, one result of this is AAA narrative titles being moved to the PC. If consoles are phased out because of the casual market, we might get another PC golden age as per the late 90s/early 2000s.

Swordsman Troper — Reclaiming The Blade — Watch

One, it's relative stability. Two, I never said the the other thing was my thoughts on the subject. It's merely the general understanding of the majority of the gaming population.

edited 26th May '11 9:26:24 AM by rmctagg09

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

...this has happened before.

Consoles are pretty far from dying. The have changed though. It used to be that a video game console just played video games. Now a days, they act as universal home entertainment hubs. They're usually plugged into large HD displays and home theater systems. You can watch DV Ds and/or Blu-Rays on them, they all have internet access and harddrives, they all offer downloadable content, they have services like Netflix and Hulu (most people access Netflix through a console rather than a PC), you can chat with friends and listen to music on them. Do they have Facebook apps for any of the consoles yet?

At this point I don't look at smartphones or other "smart devices" as a replacement for consoles, they're still separate ecosystems. But over the next decade I think there could be a convergence of sorts as processors continue to get more powerful and efficient in terms of heat and power draw. 10 years from now there might not be much of a differentiation from one device to another except what OS is on it. They'll all be similar hardware-wise and be capable of outputing HD video (or greater) to any display (probably wirelessly) and they'll all have internet access, tons of fast local storage, and support many different types of interfaces.

Please, the death of console is wishful thinking. Okay, they likely will die as we know them, when they are taken up by manufactures like DVD players and radios. But they are likely to keep existing.

The main advantage against PC? Interface? Exclusives? Lack Of Viral Threat? More than those it is portability. Even if interest in the Wii fizzles out and everyone opted to hook their towers up to their televisions instead, playing with a mouse, especially in local multiplayer, would be a hassle, leading to purpose built controllers, the PC becomes the Wii and still can't compete with the Gameboy's portability. Cellphones will likely cut into the profits of things like the DS, but dedicated gamers will still buy them. People still buy skates, even though for practical purposes bikes are superior and there is only so much that can be put into a phone and keep it profitable. Nintendo will likely have to downsize in the future, but I don't see why the most successful console maker would leave the market.

Modified Ura-nage, Torture Rack

Here's the problem with this, consoles never do run top of the line games. Computers always do. In terms of gameplay and aesthetics, I tend to like console games(weeaboo desu), but in terms of computing power usage, computer games have always been ahead. And maybe aside from a few very split times that Sony has innovated hardware pricing, are cheaper in terms of parts.

The reason that you hear of constant computer parts upgrades to play the new games flawlessly, is because they're not playing games of the current console generation, they're pushing past it. This is not comparable to the buying of a Play Station 3. The excesses of the PC market are not an accurate comparison to buying a new console every few years. Extreme budget PC buying is comparable to buying a console.

You can definitely buy a computer that will play all of the Play Station 3 and XBOX 360 games that are also available for the PC, on a $400 computer. And when you buy a Play Station 3 right now, you are paying a premium to be able to play console exclusives.

Not "any", but many. As in, enough to continue to give PC gamers a growing library, and this is already the case. If you bought a computer that will play Devil May Cry 4 a while back, it will surely play the upcoming Alice: Madness Returns. The fact that there are games being made as well that push past the capabilities of new hardware is the advantage of PC gaming, consoles can't play those. The existence of these games is an advantage, not a disadvantage.

Shogun 2, is one of these titles. No, you can't play "all of the games" with your old Devil May Cry 4 PC, but neither can the Play Station 3 or XBOX 360 play Shogun 2. There have, since the birth of the Play Station 3, and continually ongoing, been releases for the PC that does not require a computer more powerful than a Play Station 3. "Any" would be a disadvantage to the PC below the console, and hold the PC back to the rather pathetic and non-fluid area of innovation in this area. "Many", which is the real advantage that you're arguing for the console, that is, many games you can be sure play on the same hardware, already exists. The major limit to it, being that there often isn't quite the number, mostly due to the fact the Japanese market often exclusively produces their awesome titles, console selling ones, for consoles. Leaving the PC with leftovers from the Japanese market.

Putting it into perspective, the Play Station 3 doesn't play "all the games", it plays all the games for that software, but the computer isn't limited by that and it works in it's favor. Just because the PC won't play some games for it's software if you lack new hardware, is insignificant, and in fact, it means something, by relation, as an advantage for the PC. That is "plays all the games" while the "PC doesn't", is an illusion, or trying to make a significant split where there is none. The PC of a hardware level, the Play Station 3 in this case, plays all of the Play Station 3 level games. It will not play many of the Play Station 3+ level games, at least not with settings turned down, but the Play Station 3 cannot play them at all. The Play Station 3 doesn't "play all of the games" anymore than the PC "plays all the games". Unless you mean "plays all the games" in a really pointless and insignificant fashion, just to mean that it plays all the games specifically designed for it's mass released hardware/software combo. In which I would say that the PC "plays all the games" in a much more relevant fashion.

Genkidama for Japan, even if you don't have money, you can help![1]

I have no idea where the OP is getting the idea that consoles are dying by the PC's hand. Just about everywhere pretty much says the opposite is happening as consoles gain more and more functionality on par with PC's, such as web browsing, music downloading, and video/movie streaming. Common idea this is not.

But for the sake of the argument, let's say that PC's are giving console a run for their money. Let's apply what I call the "Granny Test". All this asks is this question.

Can my grandmother get it done?

For PC's, things can get a bit confusing. Sure, granny can get a PC that's already set up with the software, but now she needs to to get that monitor so she can see what she's doing. But don't forget that mouse and keyboard. That will probably put a dent in her social security check. and let's not forget if she plans to print off something, gotta buy that printer. Okay that's done, now let's install some games. But first, better hope you shelled out for broadband internet, what with anti-piracy measures nowadays so that they can make sure Ol' Connie isn't downloading illegally. Got that done? Great! Now input this 16 digit number that was given to you before you so much as start that download.

For consoles, grandma has it a bit easier. Check your TV in the den. Make sure you have those 3 different colored jacks in the back. Good, now plug those cords into that, and hook up the power. There, now go play your games grandma.

I don't know about you, but grandma would probably like the route with fewer steps.

Look, PC gaming is here to stay, no doubt about it, but so is console gaming. PC's and consoles cater to two different tastes, and unless something radical happens, that's not going to change.

edited 26th May '11 9:50:52 AM by GIG

consoles are the ones that are getting more and more expensive to develop for. Do you guys even know how money moves in the video game market? Developers need to pay Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo a large sum of money to be allowed to create a game for their console. Developers then actually have to pay for development on top of that to make the game. Then they need to market the game and sell enough copies to recoup the losses.

And that first step is a large chunk of money. The larger the installed base, the more they charge (which is why Sony and Microsoft sell their consoles at a loss). Development on Windows? You can use Open GL, which is free, or Direct X... which is also free.

Then there's the problem of the "next generation." Console architecture can change dramatically. Just about any tricks you learned from the previous generation of development has to be thrown out the window after 5 years and everything needs to be re-learned. P Cs, however, give developers much more time to transition. Backwards compatibility is key. There are still plenty of games being released on Directx 9 or 10, which can still be played and still receive performance benefits from Directx 11 hardware.

Lastly, just about everyone has a PC these days. Therefore, if you create a PC game, you automatically have a potential audience of hundreds of millions. That's why there's plenty of indie developers on the PC, and almost none for the console until Microsoft released XNA- obviously, they learned a lot because they promote games on the PC as well.

If you create a high-end, flashy, graphically intensive game, that audience is smaller- about the same size as a console market. P Cs are often cheaper to upgrade than consoles at any given time- for the same price as a console, you can almost always be guaranteed to have better performance by just upgrading your video card and RAM.

Consoles aren't "dying" so much as they are paring away creativity. It's getting to the point where only huge mega-corporations like EA and Square Enix will be able to pay for development, and companies like that try to play it safe. Expect Sequelitis.

edited 26th May '11 10:32:36 AM by willyolio