View Full Version : Possible new New-comers?
london-boy
11-Dec-2004, 21:03
This thought has been going through my head for quite a while now, and now it is time for everyone to know about it... Err..
I was thinking, it seems that in the past years the console market was invaded by different new-comers, some more successful than others.
So, now that the richest company has entered the console market with arguably mediocre results, who's left?
Panasonic had a go, and they sem pretty happy where they are now.
Philips had a go, more or less, and i don't see them doing anything in the future...
It seems electronic manufacturers who are willing to enter the console market have decided to go the partnership way, in that they just partner with Sony or... Sony (hey, have you seen the list of partners on PS3?? :wink: ) and off they go.
What i was thinking of was... Sit down and don't laugh too much... Virgin?
They are one hell of a big company which spans many very different markets quite successfully, music, TV and movies, radio, mobile phones, airlines, trains, so what's stopping them having a go at the console market?
They never showed an interest in hardware per se, but hey, they've gotten into airlines and trains, they will pioneer "space tourism" (err...), i think they could have a go...
So, who's left?
digitalwanderer
11-Dec-2004, 21:12
I could see Virgin releasing a portable and net connected gaming device, that'd be pretty cool. 8)
Evil_Cloud
11-Dec-2004, 22:47
Samsung anyone? Or a rather obscure company like Infinium Labs. ;)
I can also see a Chinese corporation taking it's chances on the market somewhere in the future. Not next generation though.
For me any of these companies could be a Newcomer:
-HP.
-Samsung.
-Apple.
london-boy
11-Dec-2004, 23:32
:shock: DELL!!!!!!!! :lol:
Vivendi. They own quite a few gaming companies, though I think they mostly suck.
Electronic Arts. The #1 software publisher in the world, and do they still have a deal with square? A square/EA machine would be quite scary indeed, final fantasy and EA's mass market titles sell millions every year.
Sammy. They have sega.
Guden Oden
12-Dec-2004, 00:43
I don't think there will be any new console manufacturers. It's simply too expensive to enter the market at this point, not just from a hardware development standpoint, but to establish a brand name and recognition, customer base, reputation, not to mention recruiting an army of loyal fanboii followers... ;)
Then on top of all that, one has to woo developers too so they'll produce kickass games, and set them up with a nice and comfy environment. Sticking a piece of hardware and MAYBE an assembler like was the case in the early 8-bit years don't work anymore. Not even Sony could do that now.
Only way we'll see new players in this market is if someone buys up one of the existing brands (Nintendo most likely obviously...)
I don't think there will be any new console manufacturers. It's simply too expensive to enter the market at this point, not just from a hardware development standpoint, but to establish a brand name and recognition, customer base, reputation, not to mention recruiting an army of loyal fanboii followers... ;)
Then on top of all that, one has to woo developers too so they'll produce kickass games, and set them up with a nice and comfy environment. Sticking a piece of hardware and MAYBE an assembler like was the case in the early 8-bit years don't work anymore. Not even Sony could do that now.
Only way we'll see new players in this market is if someone buys up one of the existing brands (Nintendo most likely obviously...)
Nintendo is quite expensive to buy, I'd think buying and reviving sega would be more likely.(especially as sega has more 'street cred' left than nintendo does at this point)
Megadrive1988
12-Dec-2004, 01:07
EA already had a partial go with the 3DO. there were one of the original partners, iirc. maybe they dropped out like AT&T (yeah AT&T was one of the partners on 3D0 back in 1992, before launch in 1993)
anyway....hmmm new newcomers.
Motorola? rumored to have this Blackbird set-top box several years ago. I could see them producing a rival to the N-Gage.
Intel?
Capcom, Namco, Taito (and others) all had 16-bit and 32-bit consoles in the works.
PC-Engine
12-Dec-2004, 01:30
You can only buy SEGA if SEGA is for sale, otherwise you'd have to buy SAMMY/SEGA which isn't going to be cheap.
rabidrabbit
12-Dec-2004, 01:37
nVidia?, IBM? :)
Pioneer?
Apple, well they had their "Pippin" already... so they would not exactly be newcomers.
london-boy
12-Dec-2004, 02:00
nVidia?, IBM? :)
Pioneer?
Apple, well they had their "Pippin" already... so they would not exactly be newcomers.
Nvidia and IBM already are in to the neck.
Pioneer, not sure if they manufacture chips for current hardware, sound chips maybe?
How about..... MacDonald's............ :lol: MacGames for everyone!!
Tagrineth
12-Dec-2004, 02:49
I could see Sammy making a console.
Nintendo is quite expensive to buy, I'd think buying and reviving sega would be more likely.(especially as sega has more 'street cred' left than nintendo does at this point)
How much 'street cred' would you say Sega has after this past year or so of games?
Besides for Monkey Balls nothing of their's this generation has impressed me which is quite depressing considering I used to like their games :(
london-boy
12-Dec-2004, 02:57
Sega has "street cred"?
Do you know what "street cred" is?
GTA has street cred, Halo has street cred (for some obscure reason), those crappy Def Jam wresting games have it...
Sega... Not so hot on the street cred front.
Mulciber
12-Dec-2004, 03:02
best buy could make a console :?
Nintendo is quite expensive to buy, I'd think buying and reviving sega would be more likely.(especially as sega has more 'street cred' left than nintendo does at this point)
How much 'street cred' would you say Sega has after this past year or so of games?
Besides for Monkey Balls nothing of their's this generation has impressed me which is quite depressing considering I used to like their games :(
Sega is still remembered for genesis for dreamcast, most people don't even think sega exists anymore and have no idea what it has done for the past year or so. Sega has had a very low profile since the end of dreamcast, nintendo hasn't so people's dislike of it is much fresher.
cthellis42
12-Dec-2004, 08:47
The main company I could see driving something forward right now is Intel, since they've slipped out of sight again. They would likely lean more towards a DISCover-like concept (or may push one of the existing ones to give it viability) to be "hey, we're PC's in a console-sized box!" but with enough behind them, they might be able to get other developers to aim specifically at that configuration. Perhaps come up with a custom configuation that could operate like an efficient computer, but if you code specifically to the machine could avoid a lot of the general PC bottlenecks the way consoles streamline themselves.
Optionally, they could try tag-teaming with a big software provider (EA would be scary :shock: ...but as they make the most money by playing to everyone, I doubt they'd ever tie themselves down, even for the prospect of higher profit margins) to make a custom machine that could get off the ground running.
Four machines though--two with definite PC ties...? I don't think the market would take to that.
I only see 3 companies willing or capable of getting into the console market:
In order of best to worst possibilty:
1. EA
2. Sega/Sammy
3. Apple
Now that EA has Criterion they seem to be the biggest possibility. They also have a huge game library. They've already have a EASports plug-n-play device made by Jakks Pacific. Seems like they're testing the waters. Eventually EA is going to get tired of spending all that money developing on multiple platforms and instead go with their own hardware.
Sega and Sammy seem to be more interested in the arcade, but something tells me they're getting themselves ready for another stab at the console market. Maybe not full assault. Might be a handheld or retro hardware.
Yes, Apple. Look at what they've done with iPod. If they do one, it probably won't be a fully capable game machine. But, they could get there in steps. The next major device could be an entertainment hub for the house capable of playing games, but would mainly be a music/video device.
Tommy McClain
I once thought EA would head this route, but i no longer think that. The extra money thy spend on porting between platforms is well worth teh return in sales. In most cases (not always) a port team doesn't cost as much as a full dev team.
If EA had thier own platform with addional hardware costs and a smaller chance of selling thier games, I honestly think they would make less money then they currently do.
Guden Oden
13-Dec-2004, 17:12
Seriously guys, I'd sooner expect Google to launch a console (along with web browser and god knows what else the rumor mongers are going on about) before any of the other names you've mentioned so far. It simply isn't feasible to go from scratch and become successful.
Look at how much money MS has thrown at their attempt, are they even making an overall profit yet these days? Only a decade more of that then before they've earned back their initial investment and accumulated losses! :)
Even back when the console market was much less complicated it still wasn't easy, as witnessed by the ultimately ill-fated namesake of our current biggest forum troll. Today? Forget it. Won't happen.
The day the bottom finally goes out of the console market, that's the day consoles die. Fortunately I don't think that'll happen, but we could absolutely lose one or two players along the way.
Nintendo could get marginalized until the point where their only presence is in the handheld market, and then I'd expect them to become a 3rd party, probably for Microsoft. If Sony doesn't become profitable again things could go badly for them.
MS will never run out of money, so they're probably the strongest at this point, even though their machine isn't doing all that good compared to PS2...
Ok, that's my loony predictions. I could very well be wrong, but hey, it's fun to speculate! :P
london-boy
13-Dec-2004, 17:18
I keep hearing the "If Nintendo stops making hardware, they'll go with MS..."
Now, IF it ever happens, why would Nintendo decide to go with MS, of all people?
Personally i see them much better in the hands of another Japanese company. they might have been fierce rivals, but so were Sega and Nintendo and also Sony at one point.
Why would a very traditional Japanese company ally themselves with an American with a completely different agenda than they have?
Just a few doubts that's all, it's not gonna happen anyway so...
If anything, they could just focus on the handheld market and make super powerful handheld machines (compared to today's), with the money they would save from exiting the Console Market.
Guden Oden
13-Dec-2004, 17:26
Now, IF it ever happens, why would Nintendo decide to go with MS, of all people?
Coz of bad blood between them and Sony...
Nintendo has shown to hold its grudges for a very VERY long time, I don't expect them to EVER forgive Sony for usurping the console throne from them. :)
london-boy
13-Dec-2004, 17:29
Now, IF it ever happens, why would Nintendo decide to go with MS, of all people?
Coz of bad blood between them and Sony...
Nintendo has shown to hold its grudges for a very VERY long time, I don't expect them to EVER forgive Sony for usurping the console throne from them. :)
And MS not being able to do the same would give them credit over Sony?
Cause really, MS didn't usurpe Nintendo's (or anyone's) throne, first cause they were kinda late, second cause they were not able to, surely not because they are more friends with Nintendo or anything...
All these companies compete for one final thing, being market leader.
Evil_Cloud
13-Dec-2004, 19:10
Look at Gizmondo, they said they only had to sell 100.000 to break-even...
Maybe if hardware for consoles becomes cheaper one day it might be possible to do something similar with a games console?
I once thought EA would head this route, but i no longer think that. The extra money thy spend on porting between platforms is well worth teh return in sales. In most cases (not always) a port team doesn't cost as much as a full dev team.
If EA had thier own platform with addional hardware costs and a smaller chance of selling thier games, I honestly think they would make less money then they currently do.
Depends on its success. Up until gamecube Nintendo was kicking EA's ass by quite a bit.
Personally i see them much better in the hands of another Japanese company. they might have been fierce rivals, but so were Sega and Nintendo and also Sony at one point.
Sega allied themselves pretty strongly with microsoft, and even microsoft's policies towards xbox seemed model after dreamcast.(similar controller, xbox live and sega.net)
Sega was never really a traditional Japanese company though, they weren't even founded by a Japanese person.
Look at Gizmondo, they said they only had to sell 100.000 to break-even...
They're gonna need some real luck with that, I doubt they'll break 20,000.
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