Predict: The Next Generation Console Tech

[Shifty Geezer]

I've entertained this notion before, but what about a portable home console hybrid? Wii shows a generation behind in rendering tech doesn't mean the death of your system as long as you can appeal in other ways. So how's about a WinPad portable computer that can output via HDMI to your TV and be controlled by Kinect and wireless controllers, and the touchscreen used to interface with TV games like a giant DS! It'd be a system that concedes the high-power console space but offers greater flexibility (a touch-pad computer in addition to games console) and chic.

 

[Squilliam]

I've entertained this notion before, but what about a portable home console hybrid? Wii shows a generation behind in rendering tech doesn't mean the death of your system as long as you can appeal in other ways. So how's about a WinPad portable computer that can output via HDMI to your TV and be controlled by Kinect and wireless controllers, and the touchscreen used to interface with TV games like a giant DS! It'd be a system that concedes the high-power console space but offers greater flexibility (a touch-pad computer in addition to games console) and chic.

You'd be limited to playing handheld games on the big screen because its quite likely that you wouldn't be able to fit a sufficient optical drive to that kind of format. Therefore you'd be limited to the style of games which could easily be downloaded to a home broadband connection. In short you would have an iPad, am I right?

 

[Prophecy2k]

You'd be limited to playing handheld games on the big screen because its quite likely that you wouldn't be able to fit a sufficient optical drive to that kind of format. Therefore you'd be limited to the style of games which could easily be downloaded to a home broadband connection. In short you would have an iPad, am I right?

What if the console came in two parts; one part the portable touch-screen part that can be removed and carried around, the other a docking section containing the optical drive etc...

If they followed the same philosophy as with the current Xbox 360, then the portable bit could have a large enough HD, such that games could be ripped from the optical disk onto the portable drive.

Then again, on the otherhand, you'd probably only want to play the XBLA games on the go given that you'd be limited by control input, so you don't even need to rip your full size retail games ;-)

Not a bad idea i think...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

What if the console came in two parts; one part the portable touch-screen part that can be removed and carried around, the other a docking section containing the optical drive etc...

Yeaah, something like that. The dock would house/connect their 3D camera and optical drive. Could have an (optional) media HDD to work as a standalone media centre/extender too when the main pad is out and about. Although I've just realised you couldn't do a DS type interface without a big HDMI cable running from the pad to the TV/docking station. I suppose they could compress the video out and beam it via Wifi N to the docking station, but you'd need an extremely robust wireless connection to enable video streaming.

It's not going to be a system without compromises, but I think the overall package would be very compelling. It'd fit between the console and the phone, providing a versatile go-anywhere, do-anything system. They can address some of the shortcomings of iPad to make it more useful around the home/office, while not having the issues of IHVs who compete with iPads and struggle with price, as MS would own the content dsitribution helping to offset HW costs, much as iTunes and the App store helps Apple. It also seems to me to be a natural progression of technology, that you no longer have different boxes for different jobs, but your ever-present portable computing system. And I doubt anyone else could attempt this, save maybe Sony who'd struggle with an OS and applications. MS are better positioned to pull all their threads together.

Considering MS exist in the console space due to the battle for the living room, if the living room has gone portable, it only makes sense for them to chase the battle there.

 

[homerdog]

Are you guys joking about the next round of consoles taking after the Wii? After all I've heard from developers like Crytek and Epic, I'll eat my right testicle (the bigger one) if Microsoft goes that route.

I have my doubts that even Nintendo could recreate the success of the Wii.

 

[NRP]

And no one wants homerdog munching on his testicles!

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Are you guys joking about the next round of consoles taking after the Wii?

That's focussing on only one side of the story. The other side is making XB360 portable and revolutionising the way people use/think about their entertainment system. It's worth noting that just upping the RAM will introduce some improvement to what an XB360 type spec could achieve next gen.

 

[homerdog]

That's focussing on only one side of the story. The other side is making XB360 portable and revolutionising the way people use/think about their entertainment system. It's worth noting that just upping the RAM will introduce some improvement to what an XB360 type spec could achieve next gen.

1 Device to rule both gaming realms (hardcore and portable/casual) isn't happening until processing power is no longer an issue, or perhaps if everything is streamed OnLive style. Seeing as how processing power is still very much an issue and broadband in the US has mountains to climb before streaming is a viable option, it's safe to say Microsoft's next console will not be an iXbox. It surely won't be XB360 + more RAM.

 

[Prophecy2k]

1 Device to rule both gaming realms (hardcore and portable/casual) isn't happening until processing power is no longer an issue, or perhaps if everything is streamed OnLive style. Seeing as how processing power is still very much an issue and broadband in the US has mountains to climb before streaming is a viable option, it's safe to say Microsoft's next console will not be an iXbox. It surely won't be XB360 + more RAM.

That's a mighty large leap of logic there!!!... I would wholeheartedly disagree with that statement and state that the only realm that processing power matters is the home console space.... and as much as even current off the shelf PC HW specs are orders of magnitude more powerful than an xbox360, even if a top end GPU from 2012 is chosen for the NeXtBox it's power will be in the majority of cases criminally underused.

Let's face it... are devs & publishers going to further increase developement investment by the same degree they did this gen? Surely not, i assure you!... So to all intents and purposes we've practically almost already reached the point of deminishing returns. So therefore next-gen will only need little more than a "Wii-like" jump in power from the Xbox360 in order to satisfy the next gimmick (be it motion controls, 3D etc) that will indeed drive the transition into the next console generation.

Neither Sony nor MS will ignore the success of the Wii, and while their NeXtBox and PS4 will be indeed powerful, they'll almost certainly not be the jump in processing power most people are expecting(/wanting)...

Folks like Epic games, Crytek and iD are just trying to cover their back "in case" next gen is delayed so far that we end up with uber-stomping, omnipotent multi-core architectures. If next-gen happens within the next 2-3 years, that's definitely not gonna happen to any meaningful degree.

 

[Prophecy2k]

What i'm essentially trying to say is that i don't believe that an increase in texture fidelity, AA or screen resolution will be the driving force of the next generation like it has been this gen.

We'll quickly get to a point next gen where games pretty much look "good enough"... i mean look at a game like God of War 3 and i'd even say that we almost got there this gen!!!

I think like Nintendo, Sony and MS will be looking for the next technology innovation that they believe will be the "next big thing" in the home console space... something that will arouse the hardcore and capture the minds of the casual users.

The idea that Shifty spoke of earlier of a portable dockable "iBox" is a step in the right direction, and i would be inclined to even bet money on the heads of all three companies putting their heads together to try and dream up somesuch similar gimmick.

The HW of the next round of consoles would then be sensibly chosen to ensure it will be "enough" for whatever technological innovation each company believes will be the driving force next-gen, and of course will be grunty enough to ensure it remains competitive ;-)

 

[homerdog]

Folks like Epic games, Crytek and iD are just trying to cover their back "in case" next gen is delayed so far that we end up with uber-stomping, omnipotent multi-core architectures. If next-gen happens within the next 2-3 years, that's definitely not gonna happen to any meaning degree.

Even if the nextbox was released *today* on 45nm with a modern GPU architecture and the same die area/power envelope as the original XB360 it would be a huge improvement. 2-3 years given the same die area/power restrictions I can't even imagine what we'd be looking at. And yes devs will take advantage of it. They can always license from id/Epic/Crytek if needed.

 

[Squilliam]

That's focussing on only one side of the story. The other side is making XB360 portable and revolutionising the way people use/think about their entertainment system. It's worth noting that just upping the RAM will introduce some improvement to what an XB360 type spec could achieve next gen.

So essentially what you're saying is that they could/should release a console of a console? So you could have your iPad or whatever but give it the most basic of internal performance and instead lean on the console to do most of the heavy lifting. Essentially this would be an Onlive type situation within your own home.

What i'm essentially trying to say is that i don't believe that an increase in texture fidelity, AA or screen resolution will be the driving force of the next generation like it has been this gen.

We'll quickly get to a point next gen where games pretty much look "good enough"... i mean look at a game like God of War 3 and i'd even say that we almost got there this gen!!!

We reach the point where it looks good enough and then we find something which looks even better and suddenly good enough looks fairly dated. Take a look at some of the older movies, especially ones which use any kind of special effects. Those looked good enough at the time but they certainly look dated now!

Take a good look at the third party I.P. and tell me that looks good enough. Most developers can't/won't make games which look that good for various production, art direction and budgetary reasons. I believe that God Of War 2 stood up quite well against current generation games for a while, though the third party I.P. still required the increased performance of the current generation to surpass that technology.

We need new consoles because its much easier to push better technology with less effort than it is to push older technology and rely on art direction. In this case often the art style forces a certain gameplay on us because of a need to control the performance requirements and deliver a stable game.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

So essentially what you're saying is that they could/should release a console of a console? So you could have your iPad or whatever but give it the most basic of internal performance and instead lean on the console to do most of the heavy lifting. Essentially this would be an Onlive type situation within your own home.

No, I'm thinking the 'console' hardware is in the xPad - CPU, GPU, RAM - making the whole thing portable. You can play games on the move, wired up to a friend's TV or a hotel room TV. There'd be a docking bay to get games from optical distribution onto your xPad if you/they can't get downloads. the next generation in this approach wouldn't be an advancement of performance, but an advancement of design and portability and lifestyle integration, in the same way Wii wasn't an advancement of performance but was an advancement of interfaces. I think Nintendo did a good jow in showing what a new generation could be.

 

[AlNom]

That would be pretty nice for XBLA. Even better if they can each link with one another wirelessly, say for 4p Castle-crashers in the car. Say they restrict portability to XBLA and update the library (redownload to the portable) for a lower res screen and they can cut-back further on GPU (i.e. not require a 500Mhz xenos proper). mmm... though at that point I'd probably want to position it as a completely separate thing...

 

[corduroygt]

No, I'm thinking the 'console' hardware is in the xPad - CPU, GPU, RAM - making the whole thing portable.

I simply don't think the power of the 360/PS3 can be made portable in the next 5 years, semiconductor tech isn't advancing that fast, and the battery technology is stagnant.

 

[Prophecy2k]

I simply don't think the power of the 360/PS3 can be made portable in the next 5 years, semiconductor tech isn't advancing that fast, and the battery technology is stagnant.

Would it be possible then to have an effective dual-GPU setup with a smaller xPad GPU plus maybe ARM core for the portable unit, then a more beefy GPU plus CPU in the docking unit.

Like i mentioned earlier, it would most likely only be the XBLA type games that would be played on the go anyways, and i don't suppose that the majority of these title are really maxing out the Xbox360 processing resources to any great degree...

It may be expensive, but it'd be like a beautiful amalgamation of the home and portable console all-in-one

I'd pay top dollar for one of those

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Pirice wise, in theory they could meet the cost of an iPad and a console, although that'd be a lot for an upfront initial investment. But they would really meet part way, offering an economy. It'll be cheaper than those two items, but do the same.

Performance in that package will be hard. Battery tech is progressing but not really achieving much. We have polymer batteries, and methanol fuel cells, but whether anything becomes a mainstream, useable tech, I don't know. It may be worth holding off for a next gen for when that tech is available (within limits, of course).

 

[ShadowRunner]

No, I'm thinking the 'console' hardware is in the xPad - CPU, GPU, RAM - making the whole thing portable. You can play games on the move, wired up to a friend's TV or a hotel room TV. There'd be a docking bay to get games from optical distribution onto your xPad if you/they can't get downloads. the next generation in this approach wouldn't be an advancement of performance, but an advancement of design and portability and lifestyle integration, in the same way Wii wasn't an advancement of performance but was an advancement of interfaces. I think Nintendo did a good jow in showing what a new generation could be.

Isnt what you are talking about already covered by the PSP? Except you are removing the ability to play on the the go and rely on having a TV and power scource available? Seems like the worst of both worlds if you ask me.

 

[Rangers]

Sony says PS4 will include physical media.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/40618/Hirai-PS4-not-download-only

SCE CEO Kaz Hirai has ruled out future digital-only PlayStation consoles – despite being the first platform holder to launch one with PSPgo.

“We do business in parts of the world where network infrastructure isn’t as robust as one would hope,” he said.

“There’s always going to be requirement for a business of our size and scope to have a physical medium.

“To think everything will be downloaded in two years, three years or even ten years from now is taking it a little bit to the extreme.”

 

[Prophecy2k]

Well i think we can all safely assume that the next round of consoles will all be equipped with a nice big fast Blu-Ray drive