The Next-gen Situation discussion *spawn

[zed]

yeah we know console developers never take shortcuts, unlike those cheating IOS programers
true different things, having no 'proper' controls really chances the way youre forced to develop the games, eg a lot more handholding for the player, since a lot cant be controlled like they would do with 'proper' controls

 

[Grall]

Regardless the hate we may heap on mobile/iOS/android gaming D), there's no doubt we're approaching current consoles FAST.

Apple A6X is a 45 nm chip. If it had been 2x nm fin-fet instead we'd practically BE at PS360 level performance... Think about that. Pretty mindboggling really.

 

[Rodéric]

Regardless the hate we may heap on mobile/iOS/android gaming D), there's no doubt we're approaching current consoles FAST.

Apple A6X is a 45 nm chip. If it had been 2x nm fin-fet instead we'd practically BE at PS360 level performance... Think about that. Pretty mindboggling really.

Not by a long shot.
Wait at least 3 years before mobile/tablets reach PS360 power.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Not by a long shot.
Wait at least 3 years before mobile/tablets reach PS360 power.

And even if so, that's 8 years to get console power into a portable, which means next-gen has potentially 8 years before the handhelds catch up - they're not going to be a direct replacement (for AAA, top tier games, but the market may shift somewhat).

 

[BRiT]

Current consoles are 7 years with another 3 until the handhelds catch up to that, so wouldn't that mean at least 10 years? Or is the pacing different since handhelds hadn't really been trying to keep pace?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I was saying even if A6X was released at 2x nm and PS360 quality, that'd be 8 years. Give or take, considering time the consoles are on the drawing board and time it'll take to get this 28 nm A6X produced.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

A6X is made on a 32nm process...

 

[wco81]

Mobile devices don't have to be at parity to impact the consoles market.

$60 games are becoming hard-sells, except for maybe about a dozen franchises.

 

[Brimstone]

Going back to the 7" Xbox Surface tablet for second. It doesn't make sense to include the kickstand built-in or the Windows RT OS. So is it possible that the device could have other features that make it stand out as a gaming & media device? Is it possible that it could have some exclusive Smartglass integration? Or some interaction with Xbox Kinect? Maybe it has a Kinect-like camera in it that allows some motion sensing capabilities similar to Wii U? Maybe it can do some fancy hand motion recognition? Or maybe it has a touch sensitive back cover similar to Vita? Just throwing some ideas out there. If Microsoft just made a 7" version of their Surface tablet & stuck the Xbox name on it & then didn't let you download Windows RT apps, then I think it would get a very big yawn. If they're going to be putting the Xbox name on it then they need to be doing something innovative with it. A Kindle Fire inspired front-end would be cool, but I don't think that would be enough unless it's really cheap($200).

Tommy McClain

Autostereoscopic 7 inch lcd screen.

Imagine Halo 5 and the ability to see a 3d overview map of the current level. Also further reason to include its own IBM processors...so it doesn't impact X-Box 720 performance.

Touch sensitive back like the Vita makes a lot of sense.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Autostereoscopic 7 inch lcd screen.

Imagine Halo 5 and the ability to see a 3d overview map of the current level. Also further reason to include its own IBM processors...so it doesn't impact X-Box 720 performance.

Touch sensitive back like the Vita makes a lot of sense.

Minimum system price of XB720 hardware and 3D tablet?

 

[AzBat]

Minimum system price of XB720 hardware and 3D tablet?

$200 plus a 2 year Xbox Live Gold contract for $15/month?

But seriously I agree that a 3D tablet might be a bit much expect along with a next-gen console. But personally I don't see the Xbox Surface being required part of the next Xbox experience. It'll be a companion, but I can see it having exclusive features that will make it more appealing than an iPad or other tablet using Smartglass. It will be interesting to see how it all works out. We probably have no clue.

Tommy McClain

 

[Brimstone]

Minimum system price of XB720 hardware and 3D tablet?

xb720 = $399

xb surface tablet = $299

Years later ditch the autostereoscopic 720p LCD for autostereoscopic OLED at 1080p. Improve the CPU/GPU and memmory as well.

 

[Brad Grenz]

xb720 = $399

xb surface tablet = $299

Years later ditch the autostereoscopic 720p LCD for autostereoscopic OLED at 1080p. Improve the CPU/GPU and memmory as well.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but the way auto stereoscopic screens work would require rendering at (1/2) the screen's native resolution, no? You couldn't suddenly change the screen and expect older software to work on it.

 

[McHuj]

Autostereoscopic 7 inch lcd screen.

Imagine Halo 5 and the ability to see a 3d overview map of the current level. Also further reason to include its own IBM processors...so it doesn't impact X-Box 720 performance.

Touch sensitive back like the Vita makes a lot of sense.

Hadn't thought of the potential for a stereoscopic 3d tablet. If done right, I think that would be awesome. I'd take a tablet with my 720 over Kinect any day.

 

[JasonLD]

I don't think releasing XB surface would be a good idea. Instead, they might want to go for some kind of integration between 720 and any Windows 8 based tablets.

 

[Squilliam]

Maybe the idea of the Xbox tablet is something akin to Onlive? I.E. You can buy a tablet and still access all of the game functionality plus the ability to wirelessly stream to the TV using wireless HDMI or something similar as a standard?

 

[onQ]

Hadn't thought of the potential for a stereoscopic 3d tablet. If done right, I think that would be awesome. I'd take a tablet with my 720 over Kinect any day.

What if the next Kinect is good enough to make your whole Living Room like a touchscreen & come with it's own AR Glasses?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

xb720 = $399

xb surface tablet = $299

That's a $700 console. And if you sell the components separately, you lose the support for the screen. Vita+PS3 can do some of this, with Sly Cooper Thieves in Time having an AR mode that uses Vita on the PS3 game, but it's going to be very niche and hardly a significant selling point due in considerable part to the price.

 

[Brimstone]

That's a $700 console. And if you sell the components separately, you lose the support for the screen. Vita+PS3 can do some of this, with Sly Cooper Thieves in Time having an AR mode that uses Vita on the PS3 game, but it's going to be very niche and hardly a significant selling point due in considerable part to the price.

I see a Xbox Surface Tablet being a worthwhile device on its own but it meshes with the Xbox 720 enviroment. Power PC based to allow for playback of all downloaded games.

Halo 5 Forge map maker: use the tablet to help lay-out levels.

As I already mentioned a good autostereoscopic map would be useful. Playing on certain maps in Halo 4 players are either above or below you, an autostereoscopic map would allow you to see players positions better. A Golf game would make great use out of a 3d terrain map.

In Halo 5 maybe it would allow you to record/save some kill camera shots, and then play them back in autostereoscopic 3d to show friends. A minor thing but it could be neat. Put 2x cameras on the tablet to take 3d pictures...I think this has been done on some phones already.

For games like Minecraft there is probably some good uses. Same with Forza...tweaking the cars or creating simple tracks.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I see a Xbox Surface Tablet being a worthwhile device on its own but it meshes with the Xbox 720 enviroment. Power PC based to allow for playback of all downloaded games.

Sure, but there's a big difference between device synergy across a product range and a console with a packed in smart controller. A PPC based tablet will presumably eat batteries and so not be workable (I don't know of any mobile PPC devices). An MS gaming tablet would have to be designed first and foremost as a tablet, and then run software via a compatibility layer. Which is MS Surface. I'd expect a gaming tablet to be a Win8 7" tablet using SmartGlass and being an optional extra for devs to target on XB3. I don't believe for one moment XB3 will feature a tablet based control as standard.