Sunday Thoughts: 8/8/10
What's the next stage of evolution?
Published: 13:00, 08/08/2010 by Peter [Colossalblue].
28The current generation of consoles is a peculiar thing. In the past I’ve owned games consoles that sat next to the TV, usually in the bedroom, and played games. I used the PlayStation’s CD player a couple of times for novelty value but the TV speakers it was running through really weren’t good enough to make it an entirely enjoyable experience. I used the PlayStation 2 as a DVD player for years (a role it still performs for my mother’s bedroom TV) but it wasn’t a DVD player. It was a games console that occasionally played a movie.
A few months ago my dad bought a PlayStation 3. He hasn’t really got any interest in playing games, although he has become quite a fan of wandering (mostly aimlessly) around the Wasteland in Fallout 3. He didn’t buy it as a games console; he bought it as a media centre. My dad’s PlayStation 3 replaced an ageing Media PC he’d built and had next to the living-room TV for a couple of years. The hard disk was crammed and it couldn’t stream HD media through its Ethernet cable without stuttering a bit. So he researched the best way to do what he wanted to do for the least amount of money. The PlayStation 3 won out in that investigation.
Just this week I was asked by a friend what would be the best way of getting iPlayer to stream directly to his living room TV. He wanted the BBC’s catch-up service, usable with a remote control, on his big screen. I advised him to buy a PS3.
I warned him that the Xbox 360 didn’t do iPlayer (at least not yet) and that the Sky stuff it did do was a bit clumsy and expensive, even though he’s already a Sky TV subscriber. I told him that I’d tinkered with Media Centre PCs in my time but they were difficult to set up and required constant re-tuning and fiddling to make sure they run adequately. He looked into internet TV boxes and Google TV which were both impressive but either not ready yet or quite complicated to learn the basic knowledge needed to make an informed purchase.
He even tried to get iPlayer with his Wii but the streaming quality wasn’t up to much and it looked terrible on his 42-inch plasma screen. He gave up very early in the process. And now he’s looking for the best deal on a PlayStation 3 (and trying to convince his wife that they need one). He has no interest in playing games with it.
This generation of home consoles has seen them strive to become more than just a games machine. Sony started things with their CD-playing PlayStation and their DVD-playing PlayStation 2 and now the PlayStation 3 is, without question, the best currently available console for playing modern media formats, whether that’s DVD, Blu-Ray or encoded and streaming media.
Let’s not forget Microsoft’s contribution though. The Xbox 360 has built on the shaky start to online gaming that the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 and Xbox all supported but never really got right. The Xbox 360 is now the best connected gameplay experience available and, while that is still very much gaming-related, that’s an evolution from the two joypad ports on the front of my old Mega Drive. The closest we got to connected gameplay back then was sending high-score photographs to Teletext’s gaming pages and waiting a few weeks to see them appear on the TV.
Nintendo, too, have added something to this generation. Even though they avoided high-definition and graphical power in favour of control gimmicks and tried-and-tested characters and mechanics, they’ve put games consoles in the hands of the masses. No longer is gaming the niche activity it was in the mid nineties. Everyone from toddlers to teenagers to the toothless nursing-home crowd can enjoy the experience offered by the Wii and the DS. So much so that Sony and Microsoft, regardless of what their official lines are, want to emulate Nintendo and soften their edges a little with motion control systems that they hope will make them more accessible to that wider audience. And I hope so too.
The question that most interests me, though, is what’s next? Surely the big three platform-holders are already planning their next consoles. Even if not in development they must be in the research stages, these things take years to get from concept to retail. Is there room for another big graphical leap? Is that financially viable? Is the so-called casual market about to take over and deliver the previously unimaginable sales figures to all three platform-holders?
More people play Angry Birds than Uncharted 2 and more people play Farmville than Modern Warfare 2. Is the social networking aspect about to take over or are control systems going to be the most important selling-point of the next generation?
It’s hard to tell what the next step in integration will be for consoles. There isn’t a new media available for Sony to put in their machine, at least nothing that’s ready to ship just yet. Microsoft might be able to better integrate social networking but that’s an evolution rather than a defining leap. Nintendo must surely go HD soon and their control systems are so popular that they will surely stick with that route but what developments can be made there that aren’t merely evolutionary steps?
It’s difficult to imagine what might be possible in the next generation of games consoles but one thing is for sure: They won’t just be games consoles. They’ll be home entertainment consoles and they’ll be in more homes, more living rooms, than ever before.
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08/08/2010 at 13:11
Member since: Jun 2010
Very well written article, I think personally that one of the consoles needs to think about intergrating recordability into its machines if its to a hard drive DVD or Blu-ray!
08/08/2010 at 13:19
Member since: Nov 2008
and dont forget the 3D thing thats hitting TVs and no doubt across all gaming platforms too. Sony have already started, its only a matter of time before MS and Ninty do so too.
3D Mario? Halo? I imagine that will be pretty cool if you like your 3D.
As for other stuff, the internet browsing capabilities will heighten to allow full PC esque compatibility too. Thus allowing games like Farmville and other facebook apps beng widely used via entertainment systems also. And as you mentioned, graphical leaps and developments in motion control are bound to be in the making as we speak.
The future is bright.
08/08/2010 at 13:59
Member since: Jul 2009
Wow, that’s one helluva assumption: that 3D is no doubt coming to all gaming platforms, don’t you think?
Figures are already showing that it’s not reaching targets and those were modest targets too.
Just being realistic about it. Even some games companies are wanting to get on with the “now” and look to 3D if it takes off properly in the future.
08/08/2010 at 14:07
Member since: Nov 2008
im not talking next year or the year after. im talking future as in 8-10 years.
08/08/2010 at 14:27
Member since: Jul 2009
Ah, right. Fair enough *looks away*… Do you reckon? I guess there’ll be a point where maybe it’ll be so cheap that it’ll simply catch on regardless. Yes, that’ll be it. Technology cheap enough (and without the need for glasses but viewable from all angles) where we can all enjoy it and it’s just down to what mediums support it. *nods* :-)
08/08/2010 at 15:28
Member since: Nov 2008
maybe 15 years then ;-)
08/08/2010 at 13:36
Member since: Jul 2010
That was a great read peter but im starting to believe wii might have something up their sleave think about it not aiming towards those who casualy play but back to when nintendo made real consols like the gamecube ect not just remakes of previous ledgends.
08/08/2010 at 13:55
Member since: Jan 2010
good article, wonder if in 10 years 90% of households in the developed world will have a games console, but used mainly as an ‘entertainment system’
08/08/2010 at 14:05
Member since: Jul 2009
I think personally think this generation is the first generation where the consoles take pride and place in the entertainment room (lounge/living room) and people realise it’s not a console that also plays films but something that can do everything (especially with the PS3 having Blu-ray).
Even the new Xbox S looks smart enough to reside in such a place. Let’s be honest, the old one was a bit fugly.
I’ll be curious to see what format MS choose for their next console. It simply has to be Blu-ray as it can’t do digital downloads only. Not on a home console. Hell… not for 10 to 15 years, I feel.
If that’s the case, then we’ll see them both integrate into modern entertainment even more. God knows I don’t think I’ll ever have a separate player when the PS3 does such a great job with HD and upscaling DVDs to a wonderful degree.
08/08/2010 at 14:26
Member since: Jun 2010
I agree this is the first time that my parents have allowed me to have a games console in the lounge for more than just a day, because the PS3 looks like it belongs there, it doesn’t looked out of place like the 360 does (all white and big).
09/08/2010 at 07:20
Member since: Feb 2009
Whilst I agree & my PS3 is my main/only movie player, does no-one else experience the slight judder/jerkyness with a panning shot on blu-rays? Its a minor problem but surely stand-alone Blu-ray players don’t do this?
09/08/2010 at 23:46
Member since: May 2009
You need to have a TV with 1080p24 support, a mode where it switches down to 24 frames per second, otherwise it’s forced to duplicate frames here and there, resulting in this judder.
Also, on the PS3, you need to turn on the option in the BD playback section to enable it.
08/08/2010 at 14:18
Member since: Forever
Connected TVs make most of the PS3s media capabilities obsolete, With a range of catchup TV services like iPlayer with the others coming on board soon like ITVPlayer, 4oD, Demand5 & SeeSaw and subscription services like LoveFilm with more coming on board all time & when these services are combined with the built in DLNA client so they can have content streamed to them, it relegates the PS3 back to a Blu-ray playing games machine, doesn’t it?
08/08/2010 at 14:24
Member since: Jul 2009
It may well do but we don’t have the infrastructure for nationwide services where we’re all hitting it hard. Hell, we’re trying to get everyone up to 2Mbit at the moment. However, in the future, yep… I can see it going that way.
Then again, perhaps the consoles will be able to continue to offer a consolidated service as if they don’t, another box of tricks will do.
08/08/2010 at 15:43
Member since: Forever
Everything the PS3 can do the latest Bravias can do
DLNA, so music, photos & of course movies can be streamed to it.
Internet based TV services, both catch up & live (in fact there’s loads more options on Bravia currently, with all the usual ones planned as well)
Internet Widgets, Facebook, Twitter & other ‘Apps’ which can either be used standalone, or as a way of socially interacting whilst watching stuff.
Podcasts & RSS feeds – Both audio & video podcasts, right to the TV, & RSS feeds to stay constantly updated to your chosen websites.
LoveFilm (Netflix in other regions) plus other providers coming board.
All of the top & middle range TVs (so, £1,000+ & £600) are ‘connected’ in less than a year this will filter to the < £600 TVs as well, meaning its going to be pretty impossible to not buy a Connected one.
Looking at the range of content available it seem that Sony are far ahead of the curve, which is odd for them because usually their hardware is top notch but software takes some catching up.
08/08/2010 at 15:54
Member since: Jul 2009
Ah, no question there, fella. Just the UK broadband infrastructure is the only thing that holds this sort of thing back. Sure, it can kind-of handle the usage levels it’s currently taking but even now we’re struggling to bring everyone up to speed, let alone have a network that’ll cope with major downloading from most of us.
Then you have to keep in mind that we’re ahead of many countries too and the PS3 isn’t just for a handful of select countries with decent-ish broadband.
08/08/2010 at 15:56
Member since: Forever
Yeah, always forget to add that the UK = shit.
40% of people will be just fine within their easily cabled areas and the rest of us will either have to move or put up with 2nd rate shit.
As these things will be (not will be, but actually are being) easily accessed through a TV remote, (and not through games consoles & other confusing settop boxes) it means more people will have access to them making the already crowded network even more crowded.
08/08/2010 at 16:14
Member since: Jul 2009
Aye… fingers crossed demand will actually kick the ISPs (ok, the government and the likes of BT) up the arse and show them that we’re ready and willing to pay for this.
08/08/2010 at 15:11
Member since: Nov 2009
Did you know at launch more PS3 consoles were sold than games
08/08/2010 at 15:19
Member since: Jul 2009
You got a link to back that up? (meant nicely) That sounds fascinating and equally “wow… really?”.
08/08/2010 at 15:22
Member since: May 2010
i use the ps3 for games (of course) but also as the only dvd player in the house and blu ray plus we upload loads of photos onto it and its the only thing i have which can view phots on a big screen (its easier than a computer) plus the internent explorer is very helpful
08/08/2010 at 15:46
Member since: Oct 2008
I don’t expect this to come this generation as the consoles don’t have the power but I imagine the next big thing in motion control will be a mixture of kinekt / move / 3d and Augmented Reality. I imagine us playing a shooting game in 3d with cameras picking up our movements precisely but also with the computer drawing in 3d close to our hands, a gun. This would also work with steering wheels etc and maybe even in game menus. It will be a form of virtual reality but without using the massive helmets that where around in the early 90s
08/08/2010 at 15:54
Member since: Forever
The key sentance for me is
“More people play Angry Birds than Uncharted 2 and more people play Farmville than Modern Warfare 2.”
This is precisely why EA, Disney & Google have all recently spent hundreds of millions on smallish companies who specialise in social network gaming. the future isn’t AAA – The future is small affordable bitesized games.
The explosion in small low powered processors (like Intels Atom etc) will spread to many hundreds of millions of more people than a 32core successor to Teh Cell (or whatever idiots are saying will be in the Xbox3/PS4) This is kind of backed up by the recent interview with a founder of Naughty dog who said developing AAA games is unsustainable, they’re costing millions & millions more all the time but selling to fewer & fewer people. Developers closing down & publishers losing hundreds of millions a year throughout this generation proves this to be true.
The future probably isn’t ever more pixels, but fun experiences to be shared with others. Nintendo’s Wii has had great success in this region & Kinect could well do the same. Titles like Just Dance will prosper, the same can’t be said for all the mega expensive franchises we all know & love.
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