Only a matter of time before Comcast enters the gaming industry

[Anthony1]

Looking ahead towards the next-generation of consoles, I can actually forsee a new competitor entering the arena. Comcast. Comcast you say? Why the heck would I think Comcast would enter the gaming market? It's simple really. Microsoft's Xbox Live Video Marketplace is waking some sleeping giants. AT&T, Direct TV, Comcast, Cox, Dish Network, they are all taking notice of what's going on with Xbox Live Video Marketplace, and what it means for the future of their revenue streams. Microsoft is making a serious play for the living room, and the cable companies and satellite companies can't simply sit on the sidelines and watch their marketshare slowly erode. They will enter the game sooner, rather than later.

The key thing that needs to happen for the big communications companies to enter the game, is that massive hard drives need to come down in price in a major way, and broadband internet speeds need to dramatically increase. Comcast is planning to introduce "Wideband" in a couple of years. Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts unveiled new broadband technology called “wideband,” which can download vast amounts of data and video in a matter of seconds at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association conference in Las Vegas last Wednesday

" wideband can download four gigabytes of data, the entire Encyclopedia Britannica Library—55 million words and more—in just under four minutes. It would take a traditional cable modem about three hours and a dial-up connection two weeks to download the same amount of data, which Roberts said is equivalent to how much the average family consumes online a month.

“It’s kind of mind boggling to think what you’d be able to do with that speed,” said Roberts. "

http://freepress.net/news/23060


I can easily see the Cable and Satellite companies making a play to take a large part of the video game pie with a set top box, that will combine insane amounts of hard drive space, along with super fast download speeds and state of the art CPU and GPU, as well as everything else needed to drive a next-gen gaming experience from the cable box. Video games will simply be a small part of the equation. TV, internet, video-conferencing, on demand HD anything, you name it, it will all happen magically within a set top box that we normally associate with giving us our cable TV. But instead of saying Nintendo or Sony or Microsoft on the box, it will say Comcast or Direct TV or Cox or AT&T.

I'm not sure if this is going to happen in the next cycle of gaming systems, or the one after that. You would have to assume that the next cycle of gaming is going to happen around Xmas 2010 or Xmas 2011. That will be the very beginning of the next cycle, most likely started with a follow up to the Nintendo Wii, and a follow up to the Xbox 360, and then by around 2012, a follow up to the PS3. I'm not so sure the cable and satellite companies are going to be ready to enter the space right then, they might have to wait for the generation after that. The generation after that won't begin till 2016 or 2017, and by that time, the broadband speeds and the fiber optics, and the hard drive storage capabilities should be at the level needed to actually pull it off.

[Stark]

The answer to this is a big fat NOWAY.

Cable companies will not make a video game console.
Now they might work closer with Microsoft/Nintendo/Sony to offer better/faster bandwith which makes every consumer happy that they can play games/dowload without interuptions but you will never see a Combox or a CS3 or even a ComWii ever.

[Joker T]

I really hope they don't. Comcast is a terrible company, in terms of service and quality.

[Flack]

Microsoft is making a serious play for the living room, and the cable companies and satellite companies can't simply sit on the sidelines and watch their marketshare slowly erode.

I don't really get how a videogame console is taking marketshare from an ISP? Comcast provides cable modems, Xbox plays games both online and off.

[Kejoriv]

you must talk in your sleep

[diskoboy]

I agree with Joker.

Comcast thinks I stole a cable box from them (which I didn't). And they're trying to charge me about $500 for something I don't even have.

I wouldn't ever buy a console from Comcast.

[Vinnysdad]

I have DirecTV and they already have an interactive game channel. You can play Uno, Blackjack, some monster truck Pac Man rip off, and a bunch of other crap. Yes the games are shit and if thats what they have to offer than no thank you.

[swlovinist]

The only problem is...ask how much Microsoft has made in the video game industry. I dont see anyone else going into the game market, other than Apple.

[MarioMania]

No, I just hate it when Comcast has those dam Comericals(sp) about how great they are & stuff

[Kejoriv]

The only problem is...ask how much Microsoft has made in the video game industry. I dont see anyone else going into the game market, other than Apple.

I agree. I'm surprised they haven't announced any plans for a Mac game system.

[j_factor]

People have been saying for like 12 years that game consoles would be a thing of the past with the advent of set-top boxes. I've never bought it.

[Garry Silljo]

I get you now. I think I hated you so much becuase I didn't understand you as a person. You have a fetish. You get off on making ridiculous near impossible theories that will never come to be and then posting them on message boards. I won't even bother with all the reasons this won't happen. I'll just be happy for you being able to get off. Hope it felt good.

[Gentlegamer]

Maybe, but if so, we, as gamers, ought to fight this with every fibre of our beings. We want GAME CONSOLES, not multimedia trojan horses.

[Darren870]

Is this a serious topic?

[bangtango]

It'd have been better if you said Comcast was going to throw money into a new Sega console. I suppose the argument would be, "Comcast needs to team up with an established and veteran console maker. Sega's experience in the video game industry will only help Comcast get the market share they are after. Comcast and Sega are mutually excited about their partnership and the upcoming release of their console."

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

I have no idea whether Comcast will ever make a console (or something console-like), but I think it's hilarious that with some changes in the details every single response so far in this thread could have been written about Sony in 1993 or Microsoft in 1999.


...word is bondage...

[rbudrick]

Who knows...the ipod is a music and video player, and Oh, BTW, it also plays games.

If the cable companies snuck some games in here in there with newer cable boxes with enhanced features and there they might catch on, and Oh, WAIT it will accept a standard USB conroller. Could happen, especially when cable boxes are owned by the cable company, so basically the system would be free.

Video on Demand? Games on Demand (hey, some games are free downloads! Some aren't)? I don't think you should all knock this. This is entirely plausible.

-Rob

[Kid Ice]

I think McDonalds will come out with a console because people who play videogames eat more cheeseburgers.

[Emuaust]

I looked at this thread and thought wow this is a strange thread, then I saw anthony1 posted it, it all make sense now, Crazy with a capital C.

[airraid]

Matsushita or Samsung have a better shot at entering the videogame industry.

both of those giants have had their eye on the industry for a long time--Matsushita with the M2 they bought from 3DO, and Samsung with 3DO-designed MX (basicly M2.5 or M3) which was sold to Microsoft in the late 90s.


Comcast with their own console? HA! no way, that would be worse than an Apple or EA console.

[Anthony1]

I don't really get how a videogame console is taking marketshare from an ISP? Comcast provides cable modems, Xbox plays games both online and off.

Ok, so Comcast only provides cable modems? When I'm talking about marketshare, I'm talking about Microsoft selling movies and TV shows over Xbox Live Video Marketplace. That business model is directly infringing on what butters Direct TV and Comcasts bread. Believe me, the Cable companies and telecommunication companies are noticing this in a big way. They aren't going to simply sit idle on the sidelines and let the marketshare erode.

I will admit, that right now, the amount of money that goes to Microsoft from people buying movies and TV shows via Xbox Live Video Marketplace is like a tiny drop in the ocean compared to the revenue that Direct TV and Comcast get from those kinds of offerings, but everything has to start somewhere, and you can better believe that the Cable and Satellite providers are taking this seemingly innocent threat serious.


I also want to clear up a few misconceptions about this train of thought:


1. When I talk about Comcast entering the gaming industry, I'm not saying that Comcast is going to be selling some gaming box at Electronics Boutique and Toys R Us. They aren't going to be selling a console. They are going to be renting a cable box to their cable customers that will essentially bypass the normal console hardware and brick and mortar software routine that we are used to.

2. It's very possible that this will happen via huge partnerships between current gaming companies and cable and satellite providers. For example, Microsoft and Comcast could get together, and Nintendo and Direct TV could get together, etc, etc. . That could very possibly happen, but honestly, that won't happen initially, that will happen later on down the line. I think the video game companies are going to stick to their turf, and the cable and satellite companies are going to try to move into their turf thru the backdoor, and then as the years go by, some of these big companies could decide to join together to help both achieve their goals.

3. This isn't going to be happening anytime soon. This is kinda a long range prediction. The earliest point for this to happen would be 2010 and 2011 or 2012, right around when the next batch of consoles will probably start coming out, but I actually don't think it's going to happen right then. I think it will be a few years after that, so this is definitely quite a ways off, if it ever happens.

4. Comcast is a terrible company. I can't stand them. I'm not looking forward to this at all. This will be absolutely horrible for our industry. But you people keep buying all this downloadable, virtual crap, that you "think" you own. Of course ownership means that you can "resell it" to somebody else, and with this virtual shit, you can't resell it. So you really don't own it. You reap what you sow. I'm not buying any of this virtual shit, but apparently I'm in the minority.

5. This is merely a prediction of mine that can turn out to be absolutely 100 percent wrong. But unfortunately, I fear that this won't be the case. Of course, all of you guys will have long forgotten about this thread by the time any of this comes to fruition.

[PapaStu]

I saw a Comcast commercial today touting EXCLUSIVE footage of the Spiderman 3 game on some OnDemand thing. Now thats what i'm talking about!

That being said i'm really worried about what Comcast could do to our precious developers/publishers/hardware makers. *snicker*

[Emuaust]

Hmmm, Snickers, drool.....

[Zap!]

On no, not another non-video game company deciding to just jump in and get in the console business. We don't need another Sony or Microsoft. How about a real video game company entering the hardware business, like CapCom, Midway, Konami, etc.?

[noname11]

personally, id be more worried about Network Neutrality. Those theiving cable/dsl companies are trying to provide "premium" speeds to those webpages who pay them, and lackluster speeds to those who dont. Imagine a youtube at dial up speeds, you'd never use it. Same for network gameplay. But u would use comcast's page for trailers.


And as for game companies prohibiting the resale of downloads, to my understanding they probably could do this with tangible video games if they truly are that greedy via a shrinkwrap license.


One things for sure - the law sucks!

[Ed Oscuro]

Comcast isn't so bad from my perspective; the occasional outages can't really be blamed on them.

I wish it was easier to get to my damn mailbox though. Click, click, click, click...

Also, it seems to me that GameTap (from Turner) is pretty good. The idea of Comcast trying to compete with that makes me anxious, but whatever. There's only so much room in this house for old FPS games.

[Kid Ice]

OThis isn't going to be happening anytime soon. This is kinda a long range prediction. The earliest point for this to happen would be 2010 and 2011 or 2012, right around when the next batch of consoles will probably start coming out, but I actually don't think it's going to happen right then. I think it will be a few years after that, so this is definitely quite a ways off, if it ever happens.

"It's only a matter of time" "if it ever happens"?

[Oobgarm]

If they get in on the 'pie', it won't matter. There will ALWAYS be a market for gaming consoles and related goods.

Is GameTap cutting into the industry like a hot knife through butter/pudding?

I didn't think so. If it was, we'd have seen it and taken notice, and wouldn't need numbers culled from some statistics website to tell us otherwise.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

"It's only a matter of time" "if it ever happens"?
Well, that is still a matter of time. It's just a question of whether we're talking about an infinite amount of time or finite.


...word is bondage...

[Anthony1]

There will ALWAYS be a market for gaming consoles and related goods.




Always? There will always be some type of device that we play games on, but assuming it will be a box with a name like Sony or Microsoft of Nintendo on top of it, is wishful thinking.

[cyberfluxor]

I saw a Comcast commercial today touting EXCLUSIVE footage of the Spiderman 3 game on some OnDemand thing. Now thats what i'm talking about!
Yeah, we've had that for awhile here. There's a lot of content with On-Demand, the problem is most customers don't know they even have it! Working for the cable company for just over 2 years now and all most people know is "I have a box that lets me get music channels". Generally those that do know of On-Demand use it with premium channels (ie. HBO, MAX, Anime, ect.). I've pretty much made it one of my initiatives to make sure customers are knowledgable of what they are getting and how to access that content.

With all of that said, On-Demand games would fail unless it was subscribed to simply because people wouldn't know it was there! It would have to be some massive awareness to digital subscribers that it was being added, why and how it all worked. Then once people look at it there must be an attraction to keep an interest, otherwise they'll forget about it in a week or so.

[Nature Boy]

As crazy as this might sound, wouldn't they be better off simply partnering with MS or Sony or something? You know, to avoid jumping into a marketplace they know nothing about?

I'm sorry this was so short a reply. I just couldn't think of a way to make it six pages long.