There is are already threads about what Nintendo or Sony or Microsoft should do next based on current comeptition
But lets see a little bit more into the distance.
Where is the whole console industry going?
There was a time when Sony and MS were trying to integrate multmedia features as primary functions into their consoles but they both didnt fair well for various reasons, mainly because these functions were sacrificing from the function people cared the most about.
Gaming.
Where these additional functions seem to succeed is when they find their way into console without any perceived compromise for the consumer.
Blu Ray caused a few trouble for Sony the previous gen (delayed launch, and extra costs), but now it found its way as a standard disk drive in both the PS4 and XBOXOne. Thus gen they didnt bother to add a 4k BR drive perhaps for their own cost reasons.
MS tried to incorporate into the XBOX One TV viewing features and Motion Controls via Kinect at the cost of performance and priced. This of course didnt do them favors. But with universal windows apps the XBOX platform will be getting very much desired multimedia features for free in the future. This will undoubtedly lead to a console which will automatically be a well rounded system, probably starting with Scorpio. This could attract anyone interested to have gaming and an impressive list of features like video and sound file support and not only that is currently only found on PCs. Add the 4K into the mix and it might be a winning situation. MS seems determined to improve the XBOX experience beyond gaming. So much thay they even bothered to add 4K Blu Ray support on the current XBOX One without an additional cost for the consumer which has won a lot of consumers back
But all this integration and universal access to games between PC and XBOX really makes someone wonder if the Next XBOX will eventually become an enclosed PC sold as a console or simply a brand found in the PC Space with a Windows market place that may or not compete with Steam.
Nintendo is trying to get people from the console and portable space, including the consumer that abandoned consoles and dedicated gaming systems in favor or smart phones and tablets. The intriquing part is this network feature where all systems could be sharing performance, and the docking station(?) in the household. But what lies ahead for Nintendo after this? Can they really compete or find a new kind of consumer beyond Sony's and MS's and the people who play games on tablets and smart phones? Nintendo has not built any resources/portfolio on non gaming features that Sony and MS have been accumulating for 2 decades now. Unless they partner with someone who already has a huge presence in the portable space, things will be pretty uncertain for them.
And I think Sony will be caught in a very strange situation too. They do care about non gaming features, despite the "Only for The Players" moto. They are just not sacrificing gaming for those other features anymore. But they do add them when they come for "free" to the consumer not unlike MS. But they dont have something that can compete with Windows. They tried with Linux but failed. Today the most powerful ecosystems are Android, Windows and iOS. None of which is owned by Sony. Android is not a safe area when it comes to piracy, I am not so sure that Sony could incorporate an Android ecosystem they can monitor succesfully, and it has been evolving towards the needs of portable devices. They have no alternatives to MS's Universal Windows Apps. PS Now, PS Vue and other Sony services didnt take the world by storm. Quite the opposite. People dont care much
So there will be a point where Sony will be able to offer a competing hardware in terms of performance at best, but in terms of features? I dont see them beeing able to compete. I cant think of any special competitive advantage in the future. Whereas the PS and XBOX platforms were more or less in line and exclusive games were the deciding factor for purchase, there are high chances both consoles could be selling at a similar price and performance, but with a huge disparity in terms of features later on (next gen). Which I think will favor MS hugely.
MS has improved amazingly well their product and strategy for the XBOXOne including featurewise which I think is a sign of things to come
But lets see a little bit more into the distance.
Where is the whole console industry going?
There was a time when Sony and MS were trying to integrate multmedia features as primary functions into their consoles but they both didnt fair well for various reasons, mainly because these functions were sacrificing from the function people cared the most about.
Gaming.
Where these additional functions seem to succeed is when they find their way into console without any perceived compromise for the consumer.
Blu Ray caused a few trouble for Sony the previous gen (delayed launch, and extra costs), but now it found its way as a standard disk drive in both the PS4 and XBOXOne. Thus gen they didnt bother to add a 4k BR drive perhaps for their own cost reasons.
MS tried to incorporate into the XBOX One TV viewing features and Motion Controls via Kinect at the cost of performance and priced. This of course didnt do them favors. But with universal windows apps the XBOX platform will be getting very much desired multimedia features for free in the future. This will undoubtedly lead to a console which will automatically be a well rounded system, probably starting with Scorpio. This could attract anyone interested to have gaming and an impressive list of features like video and sound file support and not only that is currently only found on PCs. Add the 4K into the mix and it might be a winning situation. MS seems determined to improve the XBOX experience beyond gaming. So much thay they even bothered to add 4K Blu Ray support on the current XBOX One without an additional cost for the consumer which has won a lot of consumers back
But all this integration and universal access to games between PC and XBOX really makes someone wonder if the Next XBOX will eventually become an enclosed PC sold as a console or simply a brand found in the PC Space with a Windows market place that may or not compete with Steam.
Nintendo is trying to get people from the console and portable space, including the consumer that abandoned consoles and dedicated gaming systems in favor or smart phones and tablets. The intriquing part is this network feature where all systems could be sharing performance, and the docking station(?) in the household. But what lies ahead for Nintendo after this? Can they really compete or find a new kind of consumer beyond Sony's and MS's and the people who play games on tablets and smart phones? Nintendo has not built any resources/portfolio on non gaming features that Sony and MS have been accumulating for 2 decades now. Unless they partner with someone who already has a huge presence in the portable space, things will be pretty uncertain for them.
And I think Sony will be caught in a very strange situation too. They do care about non gaming features, despite the "Only for The Players" moto. They are just not sacrificing gaming for those other features anymore. But they do add them when they come for "free" to the consumer not unlike MS. But they dont have something that can compete with Windows. They tried with Linux but failed. Today the most powerful ecosystems are Android, Windows and iOS. None of which is owned by Sony. Android is not a safe area when it comes to piracy, I am not so sure that Sony could incorporate an Android ecosystem they can monitor succesfully, and it has been evolving towards the needs of portable devices. They have no alternatives to MS's Universal Windows Apps. PS Now, PS Vue and other Sony services didnt take the world by storm. Quite the opposite. People dont care much
So there will be a point where Sony will be able to offer a competing hardware in terms of performance at best, but in terms of features? I dont see them beeing able to compete. I cant think of any special competitive advantage in the future. Whereas the PS and XBOX platforms were more or less in line and exclusive games were the deciding factor for purchase, there are high chances both consoles could be selling at a similar price and performance, but with a huge disparity in terms of features later on (next gen). Which I think will favor MS hugely.
MS has improved amazingly well their product and strategy for the XBOXOne including featurewise which I think is a sign of things to come
Last edited:
But what about the present?
