Topic: "Next generation of consoles will be the last"

[Arma]

I'm doing a little research because I was planning to buy one of the next generation of consoles, I was thinking in getting the Wii U, Wii 2 or whatever is called. Since the other companies haven't announced anything yet there's nothing but rumors of this and that.
Among the many rumors of blocking used games, copying Nintendo, the next Xbox being portable, that either Sony or Microsoft are not planning to make a new console and what not I found this one.

I'm skeptical about this.

The next run of dedicated games consoles will be the last generation before digital methods and open platforms take over.

That's the prediction of Fredrik Wester, CEO of Swedish developer Paradox Interactive, who has casted a shadow of doubt over there ever being a PlayStation 5.

"The next generation of console hardware will probably be the last," he said during the company's annual showcase. "I'd be surprised if we see another generation after that," added Wester.

According to StrategyInformer, Wester went on to predict the ongoing decline of boxed products and the rise of "open" platforms - including social networks, mobile and PC.

Wester's notion of digital dominance is unsurprising considering Paradox, known for producing and publishing historical strategy games, has seen its digital revenue increase from 1.5% in 2006 to 97% in 2011 - a record-setting year for the firm.

But can we make such far-reaching predictions before even seeing what the next-gen consoles can and, more importantly, can't do?

Others have predicted that the next generation itself might not happen for one major player. Nanea Reeves, chief product officer for cloud gaming service Gaikai, predicted that the big shocker of this year's E3 will be confirmation of a current platform holder pulling out of the hardware battle altogether.

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/332987/next-generation-of-consoles-will-be-the-last-paradox/

I think is a little too soon to be making such statements. I mean how much money do the companies make by selling consoles and games? I wonder if it's worth to give up all that to move onto digital only bussines. It doesn't sound too feasible, at least not for now.

Would you prefer to play games in Facebook and cellphones over home consoles and handhelds?

Also find this vid
Playstation 4 And Xbox 720 Rumours And Pictures

some of the models looks like space ships.

[Arma]

I see, still they've been doing that for years so it can't be that much of an incovenience.
But I really hope this is not true 'cause I don't want to settle with social networks or cellphones to play, I hate social networks and I don't have a smartphone, not planning to buy one either from those damn phone companies.

I want to buy my games with cash, sit in front of the big screen lcd and play, is that too much to ask of them?
I was recently talking with a friend about dlc too, he was pretty pissed talking about Mortal Kombat 9. Said he bought the game and all the downloable characters to later found out they were going to release the game complete with all the content many already bought digitally, he was pretty annoyed and said DLC is biggest shit on the history of videogames lol
I can see  why he was so mad, it feels much like a scam and discourages people from buy digital content.

[A-Yty]

Sounds like a sales pitch. Doubt it's gonna be the last.

[KaZudra]

you're right, next gen consoles will be the last, then they'll be PCs.

[Abnormal Freak]

It's probably not ever going to happen, but I wish there were only one console. :p I'm sick of all this rivalry shit and having to buy different consoles to play specific games. I have all three of the current gen, and right now I'm thinking all I'll get next generation is the Wii U. Not really interested in plunking down a lotta dough for more than one. Even if there's a game I "absolutely must play," I'll probably hold off and find other means to play it (like, oh, pirating on a PC).

[A-Yty]

Rivalry forces the developers to strive to do better than the competitors. And three has usually been the magic number to prevent things like cartels. Or something resembling a cartel since that wouldn't work in video games; they just do lots of games in a single genre that are a lot alike.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Be kind of interesting to see how long the Big Three can keep up their console lines, and/or if any newcomers will ever manage to force their way onto the console field.

[Mooning Freddy]

I never understood why after sega and Xbox and PS2 they even NEED more consoles. I'd rather buy a PC with a really good video card and stuff like that than a gaming console, since most of the big games are ported to PC anyway. Consoles are darn expensive and they keep coming up with new ones. But then again, I'm no gamer so I wouldn't know.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

I'm the opposite. I prefer consoles to PCs, because I can never afford a decent gaming computer, which can easily rise to be 2 or 3 times as expensive as a console anyway. My current computer hits a critical overheat after playing Team Fortress 2 on Steam for 20 minutes in any case, so the console is a better option for me anyway.

That said, a PC Castlevania would likely do quite well in America, what with the devoted lot of PC gamers we've got.

[TheouAegis]

Then we have the classic story of SNK. They made arcade cabinets. Then they made the NeoGeo home console. Then they went broke. Then they went back to making arcade cabinets and games for home consoles.

Arcades are where it's at. They'll make a comeback, just you wait.

[X]

Arcades are where it's at. They'll make a comeback, just you wait.

Definitely. Arcade cabinets will never disappear. They will evolve as with any other technology but as long as video games continue to exist so-too will they. Maybe what they should do is sell us specialized arcade cabinets that are adaptable with virtually any type of digital game media. And arcade cabinet would no-doubt have the space for all cart and Disk formats.

[knightmere]

Arcades are basically dead... in the US anyways.

[Arma]

haven't seen any arcades around here either but I'd like to see them back

[Las]

I'm glad somebody decided to have this disscusion. In all honesty the arcades were awesome!!!! Something to do and somewhere to go. Unfortunely the younger crowd seems to have little respect for it where i'm from, but it is mainly where console ideas came from(or i'd assume therefore at least influenced by). They brought people together to have fun and play games. Not only that, but arcade games are beatable in a reasonable amount of time(most anyways). You didn't have to sit there for countless hrs on end playing a games like Call of Duty, Halo, WOW that never seems to end and give people a reason to never leave their houses. Those games imo make people less social.   THe arcades were great cause they were never about that. Bring your girlfriend or a friend and play some games for a while,  and have a good time. And yeah chances are if you play a game you don't spend all day on it, they are just to have fun. Yes it's a little diffrent with zelda's, mario's, castelvania's,final fantasy's etc where You go through find all the secrets and beat the game ,but at some point they are beatable. And even still their are some games like soul calibur that are console and arcade, which is cool too;competitive fun that is typically not to addicting! As much as games today are well made,techology on a grand scale is  seemlingly designed to allow people to revert their social abilities on a console. Bring back the arcade!!!!! Those days rocked. They still can!

[Gunlord]

Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn't say it's impossible, but I wouldn't bet on consoles being entirely replaced by PCs for a few reasons. First off, there's something to be said for a device which primarily (not only, judging by the web-browsing capabilities of most systems these days, but primarily) plays games.  Some people prefer to keep their business and their pleasure separate--if you have a PC that has a lot of work or personal-related stuff on it, you may not want to put games on it, perhaps simply to avoid the temptation of playing when you're supposed to do work or whatnot. For those kinds of people, having a console which can only play games would be a way of allowing themselves to play games without being distracted when it really counts. It's a strange reasoning, but one I can imagine.

Secondly, it seems to me that consoles tend to have more longevity than computers. Maybe it's just me, but most computers I've had tend to last a year before getting bogged down with viruses and stuff. Again, you could chalk this up to my carelessness or stupidity (and I wouldn't argue) but my consoles (my PS2 in particular) have lasted for decades and are still operational. Consoles, it seems to me, are generally easier to operate and understand, which gives them an advantage that at least slightly makes up for their lack of versatility when compared to PCs.