Are the days of consoles gone.....?

[Asylum Seeker]

Deliberately a title to get you to look inside the thread...

However what I mean is that compared to the "golden" age of gaming there are fewer and fewer manufacturers of consoles and we seem to have settled on Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. Microsoft and Sony are relatively new players into the market. Question is do you feel they will all continue to develop new console hardware or will we get to a point where all we have are entertainment centres and downloadable content via the internet?

If you feel this is going to happen, can you put a timescale on it? Do you feel that Nintendo may end up just concentrating on the handheld market for example?

Other question is will manufacturers who used to have consoles on the market such as NEC, SNK (or SNK Playmore now), Bandia, Sega and Apple enter the market as a competitor? The only one of those that struck me as a potential was Apple but I could be wrong.

So what do you think?

[duffmanth]

I think there are fewer console makers because launching a new console is such an expensive thing to do, and you have to have really deep pockets to do it. Companies like Sony and Microsoft have the deep pockets to launch a console and can absorb the losses through software and accessory sales, as well as revenue from their other product/service divisions. Nintendo doesn't have the deep pockets of Sony and Microsoft, but their consoles usually have much lower manufacturing costs cuz they're just simple gaming consoles instead of trying to be multimedia entertainment units for gaming and everything else. I think Apple is the only electronics company right now that could get away with launching a new console and making it successful. I'm sure digital media will become more commonplace as time goes on, but physical media will always be around in gaming especially because so many gamers like myself would rather collect and have the physical copy.

[Asylum Seeker]

I think there are fewer console makers because launching a new console is such an expensive thing to do, and you have to have really deep pockets to do it. Companies like Sony and Microsoft have the deep pockets to launch a console and can absorb the losses through software and accessory sales, as well as revenue from their other product/service divisions. Nintendo doesn't have the deep pockets of Sony and Microsoft, but their consoles usually have much lower manufacturing costs cuz they're just simple gaming consoles instead of trying to be multimedia entertainment units for gaming and everything else. I think Apple is the only electronics company right now that could get away with launching a new console and making it successful. I'm sure digital media will become more commonplace as time goes on, but physical media will always be around in gaming especially because so many gamers like myself would rather collect and have the physical copy.

Yip agree with you in that physical media will (hopefully) always be around. I agree that Apple would be an obvious choice but I don't think they would be prepared to take the gamble....

[crazyjackcsa]

Like the DLC conversation hasn't been beaten to death...

[Asylum Seeker]

Like the DLC conversation hasn't been beaten to death...

Excuse me for not searching for DLC.

Away and bile yer heid.

[Dangerboy]

Ugh, just the break I needed from cleaning...

However what I mean is that compared to the "golden" age of gaming there are fewer and fewer manufacturers of consoles...

Any generation with more than 3 consoles (read: hooked up to the TV) is not a golden era, it's a nightmare. Every great age had just three main consoles - 16 Bit was SNES, Genny, TG16, post 32-Bit was PS2, GC, and Xbox 1.

The 32-Bit Generation, where there was more than 3 consoles, was a complete slaughter fest for some or funerals for others. Sony was the only real company to come out shining from their introductory period during the 32 Bit era...especially compared to the hardware ghosts of the 3DO, Jaguar, CD-I, Sega's downward spiral and Nintendo's loss of a dominant position.

3 consoles is the absolute max allowed in a console race. I actually think this generation is rather perfect - you have two rivals (360 vs PS3) with one spunky kid in the corner doing it's own thing (the Wii).

Microsoft and Sony are relatively new players into the market.

I don't consider 15 years and 4 systems in a new player anymore. Sony has proven that they were able to drag themselves past the '3rd console curse', even with severe bruises and financial blood letting. Seeing how Kutaragi is no longer allowed near hardware development, system #4 should see Sony get back into a better position.

Microsoft, regardless of your stance on the brand name, have proven they're willing to break new ground and not abandon those who got them here in the first place. Yes, they have severe hardware issues, but so did Sony all through-out the PS1 and PS2 (and launch PSP) era. But the fact that so many people still re-buy / re-send out their decks shows a commitment few consoles can admit too. They're the ones in the driver's seat for the next generation.

will we get to a point where all we have are entertainment centres and downloadable content via the internet?

Maybe in like, 15 years...but all I can see is fail. I had this conversation with a customer yesterday. He was all bragging and puffing his chest about how some new deck was going to blow away all the systems and usher in a new era. Here's why streaming / DLC only gaming is not coming anytime soon.

a. Too many people like their physical versions. Myself included.

b. Any system that is streaming based holds no market value - it's not a system so much as a tool. When the system's life cycle us over, so it your library. I can sit here and play my Intellivision and PSX till I turn blue - Sega Channel owners get a fancy paperweight.

c. No hunts, no instant gratification, no fanfare for DLC based decks.
PS3 owners can couch for this, especially early adopters. Gamers are in need of instant gratification. It's why we sell games at midnight, it's why we search for the best deal (and have whole forums dedicated to the hunt), and we go to stores like Digitpress, used stores, etc looking for that old favorite.

Take all that away - and you have little more than digital content. Gamers, instead of bragging or sharing stories with each other in line or stuck by themselves, online, waiting for the game to fully download (image 3 million people trying to DLC Modern Warfare 2 at once).

Now realize that there would be no competition in the price points. You can either pay $20 for GTA IV DLC or $12 for a physical copy at your local shop. The physical copy can be later sold off. The DLC is yours. How many people have complained about the prices of On-Demand games or Live / PSN games? Why be at the mercy of the publisher?

All you have to do is look at the PSP GO for proof of this. Top tier companies like Square refuse to make DLC versions, and many of the current games aren't going to DLC either.

Will older manufacturer's return?
Not if they value their existence. There's a reason why they stopped making hardware. Be it refusal to adapt the software (Neo CD), the in-ability to not jump the gun (Sega), p[oor marketing and other choices (Jaguar, 3D0, TG16), all the fallen have taken their bow knowing full well they don't belong in the machine business anymore. Hell, Sega couldn't fend off a CG FMV reel - and look what happened to them, lost in the gutter with a dead mascot to show for it.

Nintendo has the balls to know they can maintain a system by themselves (huge issue, but it's true), Sony knows they still have a brand name to safety net them, and Microsoft knows they have the finances to back up whatever endeavors they have planned.

Right now Microsoft is the new Nintendo, Sony is the New Sega, (turn the 32x into the PSP Go and the Dreamcast into the PS3), and Nintendo is the new Apple - wildly successful with small software gems here and there.

I think all three will be the mainstays for a while.

[Sniderman]

Are the days of consoles gone.....?

I once thought so. I had just purchsed my Commodore 64 brand new. All of my friends had an Atari 800 or Apple IIe or an Amiga. The days of the Atari/Intellivision/Colecovision were over and the days of the home computer was in full swing.

Then an upstart named "Nintendo" released a cart-based "entertainment system."

"Ha!" I said. "What a retarded business move! Why oh why would anyone bother to buy a cart-based system when you can have a home computer? Floppy discs take up less space than carts. You can have more then one game on a disc. Computers can play games or write l;etters or do your taxes or do art programs or a bunch of other stuff. Anyone who would buy a dedicated cart-based "game system" is an idiot!"

And, of course, you know the history.

Ergo, are the days of the console gone? Not by a long shot because, in my eyes, they should have ended nearly 30 years ago - but they didn't. There will always be a market, apparently.

[Ye0ldmario]

I'll take a disc over a download any day.

[nectarsis]

I'll take a disc over a download any day.

Agree 100%

[JunkTheMagicDragon]

i think once the medium matures, all software will be hardware-agnostic, much like any dvd will play on any dvd player. the way the situation is now would be like if sony music said "our cd's will only play on sony cd players." it's kinda ludicrous, but we accept it b/c that's the way it's always been in this medium.

however, i don't think we're very close to that time. i can easily see another 3 or 4 generations of hardware before a generic 'game player/dvr/media center' from wal-mart will connect to the internet and you'll decide if you want to dl a game from ms, sony, ninty, or any other software publishers.

i'm not real crazy about this model, but i can't see the current form of console gaming surviving forever.

as far as other competitors, apple seems the most likely, but i'd say they'd be better served just upgrading apple tv into a light gaming machine, leveraging their successful app store. if i were to pick any company to jump into the current fray though, it'd be samsung: they've surpassed sony as the most popular electronics brand, they made 5x as much profit as sony did last year, and they have their own semiconductor business.

[Lerxstnj]

I once thought so. I had just purchsed my Commodore 64 brand new. All of my friends had an Atari 800 or Apple IIe or an Amiga. The days of the Atari/Intellivision/Colecovision were over and the days of the home computer was in full swing.

Then an upstart named "Nintendo" released a cart-based "entertainment system."

"Ha!" I said. "What a retarded business move! Why oh why would anyone bother to buy a cart-based system when you can have a home computer? Floppy discs take up less space than carts. You can have more then one game on a disc. Computers can play games or write letters or do your taxes or do art programs or a bunch of other stuff. Anyone who would buy a dedicated cart-based "game system" is an idiot!"

And, of course, you know the history.

Coleco thought the same way and tried to integrate the Adam computer with the Colecovision so people could have both. That didn't work out either.

[Kid Ice]

"Ha!" I said. "What a retarded business move! Why oh why would anyone bother to buy a cart-based system when you can have a home computer? Floppy discs take up less space than carts. You can have more then one game on a disc. Computers can play games or write l;etters or do your taxes or do art programs or a bunch of other stuff. Anyone who would buy a dedicated cart-based "game system" is an idiot!"

You know, I heard these exact words the first time I saw an NES at Toys R Us. Are you sure it wasn't played over the public address system? ;-)

Nintendo came out of nowhere in the 80s and cleaned house as did Sony in the 90s. However I don't think that's going to happen again anytime soon since all three consoles are high quality and they all sell well.

[Breetai]

Every great age had just three main consoles...

Yeah, like the 8-bit age. There was Nintendo, Sega and.... ummmm.... well.... Atari 7800? Nope, not a main console...

Apparently you should retract your statement.

[Dangerboy]

Yeah, like the 8-bit age. There was Nintendo, Sega and.... ummmm.... well.... Atari 7800? Nope, not a main console...

Apparently you should retract your statement.

"...3 or less consoles..." 9_9

[buzz_n64]

Yeah, I agree with 3 main consoles, but usually 1 or 2 were dominent.

Early 80s
Atari 2600
Colecovision
Intelivision

Late 80s
NES
Mastersystem
Atari 7800

Early 90s
SNES
Genesis
TG-16

Late 90s
N64
Playstation
Saturn/Dreamcast

Early 00s
Xbox
PS2
Gamecube

Late 00s
360
PS3
Wii

[retroman]

i want to see sega get back into the game

[duffmanth]

I'll take a disc over a download any day.

I second that huge!

[Swamperon]

The cost of developing a new console and decent exclusive software to draw people in from existing brands who already have a following is simply too high and risky for any company to consider.

I think we may have reached a sort of 'stalemate' between the the 3 companies. This is the first generation not to feature any new serious newcomers to the console market (Onlive does not count) and is looking like it won't feature any company to withdraw either. Something which I believe is unprecedented.

If any company was to enter, I'd say Apple would be the most likely as they have the money and brand following. I could definitely see the "iconsole" succeeding if it had the right software. For example, if Apple bought/merged with say EA and all of the franchises that would bring, they could potentially have a winning console. But I can't see this happening any time soon, if ever.

[Flippy8490]

Agree 100%

Yup. I do NOT ever buy DLC content (with the exception of Megaman 9 and soon to be 10) Ever.

I only will if the software is a must have for me and there is no other means of attaining it. I can see nintendo releasing a MegaMan 9/10 dualpack disc at the 30 dollar pricepoint once their download cashflow dies off.

I will buy that as well. Nothing beats a physical copy.

[Flippy8490]

Also, I would really like to see an Apple game console. Sure, it would be expensive as all get out, but quality