Like jean jackets with the leather fringes on the sleeves from the 80's, it looks like modern consoles are starting to go back to the basics. Think back:

The Atari VCS originally came with everything you need: 2 joysticks, 2 paddles, 1 game, power supply, TV hookup. This got you going with one or two players and you could play any VCS game on the market. Other companies followed suit with the two controllers and what-not, but it was the same formula: you got everything you need to play games with no additional hardware (unless you got the more specialized games or wanted a different controller).

The NES started the next generation with (depending on the package) two controllers, a light gun, game, RF box, A/V cables and robot. If I recall, even the starter package NES still came with two controllers, game, RF and A/V cables. Still, everything you needed to play the games on the market, barring the specialiazed controllers. Larger games that you played either had battery backup or a password save.

The 16 Bit era changed this by skimping on a controller (TG-16 owners got the shaft by only having one controller port and have to buy the tap for multiplayer games), but still you could play any game on the market (barring specialized games and multiplayer games) right out of the box.

In more recent times, you really cannot do that anymore. You can't really play games right out of the box as many of the games require a memory card to save your changes and data. Then you still need more controllers for multiplayer games. It was looking like it was going to the illogical extreme where when you buy a new system, you need to buy the power supply, controllers, A/V attachments, etc. all separate. I understand the necessary evil, but the memory cards are still a requirement that's NOT included in the box. An extra investment of $12 to $40. Until now and possibly the future.

The XBox has taken a step back to the heydays where you can at least play every game right out of the box, making memory cards an option rather than a necessity thanks to its hard drive. My brother-in-law and I pitched our cash together and bought a 'Box last week-the special edition version with Sega GT 2002 and Jet Set Radio Future. It felt like the day I bought my Genesis in '90-still needed a controller for multiplayer, but hey I can play anything on the market. It felt good.

With the possibilty of hard drives installed on game machines of the future, do you think we'll get back to the all inclusive package like the Atari VCS for around $200? Thoughts, expansions, smart remarks on this topic?