Mark Rein has made a bold prediction that the next generation of game consoles could resemble something more like a tablet than a clunky device plugged into your television.
Citing the huge strides made recently in the sophistication of mobile gaming technology, Epic Games’ Vice President makes a fairly convincing argument in an interview with Develop.
Today the companies making the hardware going inside phones know that games are important – they are incorporating processors that suit games and are as powerful as a PC or console…
So we’re going to see really powerful smaller machines emerge – they will be more powerful than a 360. To Epic that’s where our interest lies. We’re not interested in simple 2D games or games for the original iPhone or 3G; we want to bring high-quality, high-fidelity triple-A games to mobile. Epic Citadel woke a lot of people up – they realised it’s real and can be done.
Bearing in mind the studio’s hugely impressive iOS tech demo released on the AppStore just over a month ago, Epic Citadel, it’s clear that Mark Rein and Epic Games are really pushing development of serious ‘hardcore’ games on a mobile platform.
Essentially, Rein sees consoles becoming more of a lifestyle product; something you can take with you to a bar and enjoy a party game with friends before returning home, wirelessly connecting it to your HD television to play some CoD with a typical controller.
What do you think? Will consoles remain gaming powerhouses that sit under your TV? Or are Kinect, Move and the iPad changing the way we play?
Source: Develop
BrendanCalls
I love my iPhone as a gaming device, I play something on it every single day but its just not suited to big games. The control system isn’t there to support anyhting like and fps or sports game. RPG’s are only just passable.
Tablet style consoles are probably the future, but I would predict they are not the next generation but next one after that. A whole new cotrol system would have to be creted to suit the tech and the suit gamers. It would be a monumental shift in the market and one which would need time to integrate into the market.
3shirts
I don’t think tablets themselves would take off either, there is no haptic feedback. I play PS3 without any need to ever look at the control pad. You can’t do that with a tablet becasue you can’t feel where the buttons are
TSBonyman
Yes! This could work if they feature large fold-out screens, dual stick controls and had ability to perhaps block out ambient noise/light variation/people gawking at you completely.
Anyway, DS seems to be unstoppable despite the lack of power and 2D games are more perfectly suited to mobile gaming than any other type of game imo.
Wing-Sabre
a mobile ps4 would be a very bad idea as if it ylod i would actually be able to throw it across the room rather than just down the stairs.plus who wants to game properly while moving ?
bunimomike
We see miniaturisation of components all of the time but this could only happen if we froze specifications of consoles right now. (eg. PS3 super-slim, then a year later the PS3 Anorexic comes out).
I’m not sure his choice of words allows for anything but astonishment. How are the newer, faster computers supposed to be cooled? They’ll generate more heat than ever (theoretically) and require just as much hardware as we’re currently seeing, give or take a pinch. What about where the media resides? 2TB drives need space. Most of us think we’ll need another optical drive too.
If we look at something sitting comfortably between mobile gaming and home gaming, the iPad simply doesn’t have enough power to allow for the truly mighty games we know and love. The next generation Halo, Gears, Uncharted, GT5, etc, will all need supremely powerful machines to tempt the hardcore gamers to throw down before the casual gamers catch-up a couple of years later. Unless, the entire gaming industry has agreed that we don’t need any more power from here on in.
So, goodbye Ultra HD, goodbye 1080p 60fps games (in the very near future). Goodbye (assuming it’s around) 200Hz 3D gaming at those resolutions, etc.
Pfft! Plonker.
TSBonyman
They’ve minituarised everything – except people! Maybe when they can do that mobile games will appear to be more awesome ;)
bunimomike
So that’s where Rick Moranis disappeared to. He’s been miniaturised (more so) ;-)
BalramRules
i dnt really care wat da next console iz, coz i could stay with my ps3 for another decade, at minimum, another 4/5 years, and maximum would be till im 90+
3shirts
Burn
ericzap
Another one bites the dust. So to speak. Maybe he’ll learn to type in his absence.
aerobes
I really can’t see this becoming reality to be honest.
I’m sure I’m not alone (judging by some of the comments, I’m definitely not :) ) in enjoying nothing more than getting settled down in front of the TV and doing some good old fashioned gaming.
MXZ
I enjoy playing on my averge sized HD TV, so theres only a small chance that i would opt for a smaller portable version.
though i wouldnot mind having the option to play PS3 games on a portable tablet, i just dont want the PS4 to be only a tablet.