Is the games console obsolete?

[partridge]

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming...arrives-618129

I've seen a few articles about streaming gaming via a browser or set top box. but will the traditional games console really die out in the next few years?

Nintendo, MS and Sony will argue against it, but technology is moving to a place where this could happen.

[Mr. J]

Streaming a game with such caliber as MGS4............i don't think so!

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by partridge

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming...arrives-618129

I've seen a few articles about streaming gaming via a browser or set top box. but will the traditional games console really die out in the next few years?

Nintendo, MS and Sony will argue against it, but technology is moving to a place where this could happen.

Much like with movies, If I can't hold a game in my hand, I don't want any part of it.

Also, Nintendo and Sony might argue against it, so long as Microsoft can sell you something that doesn't work all the time they wouldn't care how they got you the games. As we saw with the tail end of the format war of HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray, most of what Microsoft wants is to digitally distribute stuff {likely so they can get the users to see what they want them to see, with the Microsoft brand all over it} movies, games, whatever.

Personally I think the entire idea is asinine. Much in the same way that digitally distributing a 1080p60 movie is tough to do with the internet connections that some folks have, distributing a game which are starting to push even the PS3's 50 gig information capacity is equally stupid. Providing there's no bandwidth caps or throttling in your area, run the math on how long it would take to download 50 gigs worth of information?

Plus the bigger disks become, and the more info they hold, {or usb drives or whatever} the bigger the information on the games will become. There are laptops now that have in the 350gig harddrives out of the box, that would hold what? Maybe 6 games before the laptop hit it's upper limit of information before the OS etc got in the way?

Logan

[Chordata]

Are they obsolete? No.

[mikejet]

No, but it would be fun to play older games in the browser. Like the old adventure games or maybe even Counter-Strike.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

With the new PS4 and Xbox around the corner, I don't think that the consoles are obsolete.

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by Dr.Zoidberg

With the new PS4 and Xbox around the corner, I don't think that the consoles are obsolete.

By around the corner you mean 2012 right? That's the earliest I see any new console coming.

[Deadset]

In a couple years? Are you joking? I can stream marginal quality movies from netflix, but the quality is not good. No way they can solidify the infrastructure to support streaming HD gaming with decent framerates. Whoever says this will happen in the next few years (2) is crazy.

[Forrestandjen07]

Originally Posted by mikejet

By around the corner you mean 2012 right? That's the earliest I see any new console coming.

New xbox was confirmed for next year.


PS4? Probably not that soon.


And no, Consoles will not be obsolete. ANY TIME soon

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by Forrestandjen07

New xbox was confirmed for next year.


PS4? Probably not that soon.


And no, Consoles will not be obsolete. ANY TIME soon

That's way too soon. Why didn't they say anything at E3?

[Darkhawk9587]

One word: No. I like consoles because new consoles come out every X number of years (some with Backwards compatibility) allowing games to continue playing fantastic titles. Plus, with new technologies like blu-ray, these machines will continue to have the top notch technology of the time in them. And, with consoles, you don't have to worry about playing games via streamline. If that were ever to go down for whatever reason, you probably wouldn't be able to play (like if the internet goes down, you can't play online).

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by mikejet

That's way too soon. Why didn't they say anything at E3?

Yeah, that seems a little soon to be cutting off the production of the 360 like they did with the original Xbox.

I can't wait until the RRoD settles in for all the folks who are beyond their warranty and Microsoft tells them that they don't support that console anymore.

Logan

[brettallica]

" 'Is' the games console obsolete?" No, it's not right now. " 'Will' it be in the future?" Yeah, probably. Not any time in the near future, though. Bandwidth and internet availability simply aren't there to support it to enough users. I can't even get fast enough internet where I live to stream semi-high-def video and audio to my TV. I can only imagine how it is in some parts of the country where they still can't get DSL at all.

Totally sweet idea in principle, but just not practical now. Also, you have those people who really want physical copies of their purchased media. I'm one of those people, for sure. I could see myself shifting that paradigm, though, if enough security measures were in place for file recovery.

[Forrestandjen07]

Originally Posted by jadedeath

Yeah, that seems a little soon to be cutting off the production of the 360 like they did with the original Xbox.

I can't wait until the RRoD settles in for all the folks who are beyond their warranty and Microsoft tells them that they don't support that console anymore.

Logan

I dont believe they are cutting out the 360, its a newer version of it, It wasnt announced at e3, but one of the Head hanchos at MS announced it at some confrence a few days after.

[Forrestandjen07]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10264358-1.html

[jono_0101]

Originally Posted by Forrestandjen07

I dont believe they are cutting out the 360, its a newer version of it, It wasnt announced at e3, but one of the Head hanchos at MS announced it at some confrence a few days after.

right, it sounds like its a new 360, possibly just a bigger hard drive or something, not a new gen of console, if there was something that big coming out, it would have been announced


for the thread topic, absolutely not, consoles are nowhere near being obsolete, you can play old school games online like that, but theres no way they can get the quality up to par with what the consoles are doing now, thats a loooong way off, plus i dont think consoles will ever be completely obsolete, they will be further adapted to fit the gaming market as it changes, sort of the direction the PS3 went this generation, turning into more of an all encompassing mutimedia entertainment center than just a gaming console

[nbxfan]

It seems to me that the current gen consoles may be the longest lived as they are still coming up with new things to do with them. The recent E3 expo showed the move to motion controls and ways to incorporate new ideas into what they have. That plus a recent article on yahoo about not being to far from computers without keyboards and mice seem to point out where things are going. Rather than getting rid of the console, it seems to me that they will be getting rid of the controller or at least minimizing the need for a controller. Could lead to some interesting gameplay in the future. Getting rid of the console may happen some day, I just don't see that happening for some time.

[Batman1980]

To put it succinctly, the game console is about as obsolete as disc media for the home.

[xtop]

Originally Posted by Forrestandjen07

New xbox was confirmed for next year.


PS4? Probably not that soon.


And no, Consoles will not be obsolete. ANY TIME soon

there was not a new xbox confirmed for next year. do i really need to dig up microsoft saying..multiple times..that we're only halfway through this gen

and if you're talking about the dumb natal=new xbox rumor..then...there's just no hope

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by jayvo2008

Streaming a game with such caliber as MGS4............i don't think so!

lol really they are nowhere near that, the avg. internet speed is like 1.5mbps-5mbps.