Will you buy a next-gen console?

[James]

Plus Always On is a Buzzword for something that'll eventually turned off.

[Psychotic]

Plus Always On is a Buzzword for something that'll eventually turned off.

Oh, on the matter of buzzwords: on1=1, buzzwords are technical words or phrases that become popular in general use, sometimes used as slogans, such as "Web 3.0".

"Always on" is a buzzword yes, but the concept behind it is very real and very annoying. I don't care if it'll be turned off "eventually". "Eventually" could be anywhere from 6 months to 60 years when I shouldn't have to put up with such crap now.

[James]

What I mean is that when they're off, you can no longer access them. That''s even scarier than maintenance and out of order downtime!

[or 1=1]

I'm not going to trust a computer assembler on the future of an unpredictable industry.

Programmer, web designer and webmaster*
I do, assemble some pcs if they ask me to.


There is something about human nature whic is pretty much predictable. Humans always try to semplify and speed up things and PCs are getting chewed by this mechanism.

[James]

No, humans adapt. We simplify complex things so we can focus on more complex things.

[Kaiden]

Considering D2 is still going I'm not expecting them to shut down D3 any time soon, then D4 will be out in another 14 years and we can all play that.

[James]

But what if I want to play Diablo 3?

What about these PS2 titles?

What about these PS3 titles?

[Kaiden]

Don't you have offline and online characters in D2? Can't really remember, but when they eventually shut down D2 won't you lose those characters, or are they stored offline (SP) too?

[Psychotic]

I never really played D2 offline, at least there was the option not to.

[Cozmo]

In 2013? Looking at the way consoles are going, I think I'd rather get a PS3 finally and catch up on what I've missed out on there. If the next Xbox has some good games and can handle newer engines without screwing up their graphics, maybe I'll get that in a few years too.

Not sure why they bother with the non-gaming features; even the casuals have an Android at least.

[James]

You never keep online Battle.net characters in D2. Infact they're wiped frequently under a schedule.

Kaiden you sound awfully sure there will be an offline service for Diablo 3 (No local data saved at all), what about these people who liked Socom, Demon's Souls, Metal Gear Online and much more?

[Psychotic]

When a game has "online" in it's name then one should assume it's online only. The same principle applies to MMOs. You should go in knowing that one day, servers will shut down and it'll end for everyone.

But with services like Steam or games like Diablo 3, the same shouldn't apply. Diablo 3 has singleplayer components and many people will never play with a group at all, preferring to stay solo players. Steam is in the same boat since if it shuts down people could lose access to hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of games (though Valve have said in the past they'd make offline alternatives available).

The entire problem lies squarely in the industry trying to force the idea that games are no longer a product like your TV or a couch is. Instead, they are a "service" and the money we pay only gives us the privilege to use that service under the publishers terms and conditions and at their expense (which they love to remind us of).

Just because they can do it doesn't mean they should but now that Steam's set the precedent and make this sort of behaviour "acceptable" it's not exactly going to change now, no matter how much people hate it (and I always hated it).

[Siva]

Forgot to say

OnLive is nice and all

But if you want to play any video game on it at even a semi-serious level you are wasting your time, because the delay will be noticeable until there is no such thing as latency.

[James]

More PS4 rumours

AMD Fusion APU – Codenamed ‘Liverpool’

lol

[ynnaD]

A CONSOLE ONLY LPOOL FANS CAN PLAY

[James]

Under achieving hybrid CPU/GPU, under achieving football club, underachieving videogame company.

[Psychotic]

Definitely a word that I think will stick for a few years, bare minimum.

[Aidan]

Forgot to say

OnLive is nice and all

But if you want to play any video game on it at even a semi-serious level you are wasting your time, because the delay will be noticeable until there is no such thing as latency.

I agree. I think that there will never be a complete turnover to cloud gaming as you must always have access to a fast internet source to stream, and are paying for games you don't physically have on your own hard drive. #FuckDRM

[Psychotic]

I think cloud computing will occupy every electronic sector at some point. I've never had an issue with the concept and it sounds very cool, I just don't want to become the norm (which I think it will someday).

I don't like Steam or games that use Steamworks because it's forcing certain things down your throat, like being forced to have an internet connection to begin with. It's fine as an option but the game industry isn't giving us the option, and that's what gets me so riled.

[Siva]

I don't like Steam or games that use Steamworks because it's forcing certain things down your throat, like being forced to have an internet connection to begin with. It's fine as an option but the game industry isn't giving us the option, and that's what gets me so riled.

Steam really is the best implementation of an evil concept. Say what you like about Valve, they aren't an evil entity. DRM has to come in some shape way or form, and Steam's implementation is the best. Offline mode, Steamcloud, robust community features, well priced games (sometimes).

Leaps and bounds ahead of Origin or Impulse (or whatever the hell that was called)

[Psychotic]

Steamcloud is a great thing and indeed, as is cloud-computing, but it has it's downfalls. As I've said time and time again, these are all fantastic concepts but their downfalls are incredibly painful. They can be unreliable when needed, are entirely dependent on something many people don't have or want to use all the time, and have the potential to be extremely dangerous to the security and privacy of the person using it (I doubt Valve would use cloud services for malicious intent but my point is it's possible).

I don't think DRM is an evil concept, I think it's a worthless one.

I understand the necessity of creating ways of preventing copyright infringement but the current methods of DRM do not work and this has been proven so many times. Steam is no exception. It has been bypassed and will continue to be.

No copyright protection will ever work for very long. So long as there is greedy people there'll always be ways of obtaining what you want for no cost. But it should be noted that not all those who pirate are doing it primarily out of greed. That may not make their reasons justifiable but it would be nice if publishers tried understanding the reasons why before trying to develop the cure.

I don't think Valve is "evil" (and the entire concept of "evil" falls flat on me - I don't believe in it) nor do I "blame" them. I've always said the Steam service is a great platform for digital distribution but I think my views are very clear and understandable when I say that I would simply enjoy the choice of using Steam or not.

All I truly want is being able to play games without having to be online without the use of a crack. My understanding of the matter is that the only reason I can't is because publishers/developers wish to enforce their idea of "DRM" onto me, a concept that does not work.

[James]

David Jaffe certainly isn’t one to hold back. This man has an opinion about everything and he isn’t scared to voice it either.

His latest thoughts, given to Gi.biz, surround the future of consoles, and the fact that he feels there won’t be any once the next-gen has been and gone.

The first console on his mind was the Wii U, which is a piece of hardware that doesn’t seem to particularly appeal to the developer.

“I don’t see the Wii U and say ‘oh my God I have to have that.’ But with new hardware that’s usually the case; the software’s going to drive it. Or it’s like Apple and the hardware is so elegantly designed that it’s like, ‘Oh they make toilet plungers? I’ll buy it!’ I played some games, I enjoyed Rayman… it’s not like I’m knocking it but I would say that I wasn’t blown away by any individual piece of software that was exclusive to Wii U,” Jaffe said of Nintendo’s latest attempt of at a console.

“I’ll go on the record and say that the next generation of hardware will be the last consoles. And they should be.” Jaffe continued.

“Their audience isn’t necessarily core gamers like you or the analysts you talk to, so I could still see Wii U being mainstream. But honestly though, if I had to put money down, I think that the iPhone and the iPad has basically taken the market that was so excited by the Wii and so I think Wii U is not going to be anywhere near the success of the Wii. But I don’t f***ing know – I mean I thought PSP was going to clobber the DS. I’m in the industry, I make a living in the industry, but I have no track record of guessing this shit,” which is perhaps why we have Michael Pachter.

The main point Jaffe was trying to get at is that he feels consoles are on the way out.

“While I don’t think it’s going to do as well as the Wii, I don’t think any of the consoles are going to do as well as they used to. It’s a declining market, I think. That doesn’t speak ill to any of them as pieces of hardware – it just speaks about the fact that the industry has changed, the business models have changed and the world has gotten even smaller with smartphones and tablets and the internet, and stuff like Gaikai and streaming.

“Look, consoles are going away. I think in 10 years – probably sooner, but 10 years is always the safe thing to say so you don’t sound like an idiot – but here’s what I’ll say: I’ll go on the record and say that the next generation of hardware will be the last consoles. And they should be,” Jaffe asserted.

“The asteroid has hit the Earth, the dust cloud is covering the sun and the dinosaurs are on the way out”

So what does Jaffe think will replace the void left by the lack of core gaming machines?

“You’ll probably buy a television that streams the stuff. And you’ll still have Sony, loud and proud and strong making these great, big, epic games like God of War and Uncharted, and they’ll be making great little games like Sound Shapes, but they’ll become more like movie studios for video games. I’ll be able to stream in the next Uncharted and Plants vs Zombies and you won’t even think about it. It’ll just be like I can watch a public access show on my TV or I can watch Avatar.”

Jaffe concluded, “So this is the last generation of consoles coming up. I’m going to go out on a limb, because why the f**k not? I don’t care if I’m wrong, I’m not a business guy. I think next-gen consoles are going to do 40 percent of [the sales volume] of the current gen hardware.”

“The asteroid has hit the Earth, the dust cloud is covering the sun and the dinosaurs are on the way out – but not the games! We’ll always have great games and bleeding edge graphics… it’s just going to be a new delivery mechanism.”

[Tantalus]

His prediction about TV's is probably accurate, but he is known for running his mouth off about crap which doesn't materialise/is very opinionated and never shuts up.

Also, the console business is not just going to end. Look at Nintendo, look at them! They only make video games and consoles! What are they going to do if the console market just dies? I can see Microsoft going a PC + Xbox Media Centre route, and Sony potentially streaming via their Bravia TV's, but Nintendo can't do any of that. So they'll keep making consoles...and keep selling them in the millions.

[James]

Nintendo's only competitor is Apple.

[Psychotic]

It's possible Nintendo's business could die out but it's unlikely and if such a thought was close to happening then Nintendo would most likely enter into another industry to survive, I don't see them simply laying down their arms and begging for mercy.

[Tantalus]

enter into another industry to survive.

But they have no experience in any other area, they have been a game company since their establishment. They could make board and card games, what other realistic position could they take?

They only compete with Apple in the mobile electronic entertainment market, not in music distribution, tablets etc.

[Psychotic]

I, like you, don't really believe Nintendo's going to hit the bucket any time soon but if Nintendo think such an event is likely to happen then I doubt they'll sit down and take it lightly.

Nintendo as a company might specialize in the gaming market now, but that doesn't mean they couldn't try and adapt to other industries, and it certainly doesn't mean that the gaming market is the only market all of their staff know about.

I would love to see the prospect of this happening, just to see how Nintendo fights back. Would they succumb to the idea that they can no longer sustain themselves, or would they try to survive?

Adapt and survive; Survival of the fittest. I'd find such a scenario very interesting.

I'm not saying it'd be easy or that it'd work, just that I don't expect Nintendo - or any other major company - to lay down their arms and surrender. "Giving up" is not a phrase I'd ever want to see being thrown around in any competitive industry, frankly.

[James]

They're already developing the successor to the 3DS, and no not the new version of it. Wii U was a response to the iPad, SmartGlass a response to the Wii U Gamepad. Seeing as the line between entertainment/multimedia system and videogame console are disgustingly blending, I'm sticking to my mobile platform guns.