Your though of the greatest future console

[Melina]

Well, before you vote, I'd like you to know what I already know about this stuff. The Nintendo DS is a real masterpeice. It has a touchscreen, it will look almost like Gamecube, It has functions for microphones, and may be able to do some more things for the future. Some companies may find the touchscreen not a neccessity. I know this thing will start ch eap. Nintendo has the money. The next generation Nintendo TV console may suprass the Nintendo DS and they know their stuff and they have the specialisation that can go the extra mile. Playstation 3 will probably feel stale and upgraded by the graphics and memory card capacity, though it's always been a big hitting system series. Xbox 2.... don't know yet. That's in a veil of multiple ideas and smoke. Playstation Portable.... may be good for the serius Sony fan that sticks their nose up to Nintendo but the graphics are just good, two buttons removed, and the analog stick a dream, but not a realistic idea. slip it in a pocket, bump something and SNAP! Aaah! your analog stick broke! you need another PSP now! It will go with the fallen legends such as Game Gear if it's just another version of their system. Doesn't that thing take mini disks? Nintendo DS has little game cards that can beat a CD twice. I'm trying to be a hard judger and I really don't have anything personal about these yet.

[Lurch]

Voted PC.

I think people are starting to realise more that computers have many distinct advantages over consoles, and with the way hardware prices are dropping every year, and consoles are not, hmmmmm... Besides I can't seem to get a reliable console, they keep dying for no good reason(PS2, and X-Box) so I gave up on those and now only game on my PC.

[Kasarn]

I voted for PCs, I thought about being a complete dork for a second and voting other for a quantum computer (which is a future system, but since scientists are still trying to figure out how to use them in some sort of permanent memory fashion without affecting them by an outside force, which destroys the q-bits, I discounted it)

/rant on
But anyway, PCs stomp all over consoles... or they would... if people would stop whining whenever a company releases a game with high minimum specs. Which is the only reason consoles are any good, because designers can make games without worrying about catering for the "below average" computer system.
/rant off

But then consoles have experienced a serious shift in the operating systems, so they basically act like a PC, just without a keyboard (...unless you get a keyboard attachment, I guess...).

And then, there are rumours that the X-Box 2 will be compatible with a PC. If that's true it could be interesting.

Xbox 2 for sure... Though they better make it compatable with all the old games (Like what PS2 can do with PS games).
Ive always prefured consoles to PC's.....mainly because my PC is an anceint pice of crap!

[KiyoshiAkita]

I heard about the new nintendo thing in a magazine, I think...it was sounding pretty sweet...but I don't think it will be the best in upcoming consoles.....The PC will always be the best, but some of these cell phone companies have all kinds of prototypes for new gaming cell phones and I'm sure palm-pilot type things will be released for nothing more than gaming, but still able to access the internet and download mp3's and make phone calls and even be used as a universal remote control......but still, so far, the nintendo is sounding pretty sweet......or maybe X-box 2....so many games...so little time.......but NES is still the best....
Oh, and anything that has the words "play" and "station" besides the PS1 absolutely sucks....PS2 blows and I'm sure anything after PS2 will be just as bad.....the playstation 2 really ruined their reputation because it had so many problems

Playstation is going to remain the dominant system, not necessarily because it will be the best system, but because of the way their competition conducts their businesses.

Playstation's game plan, both for their original and for PS2, was essentially to get as many distributors as possible to format for their product.  It meant the PS and PS2 had a lot of crappy games on the market, but it also made way for some very good titles that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Nintento's game plan, all the way back to the days of 8bit Nintendo, has been to recycle the old mascots over and over again (Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., Mario 64, Mario Sunshine).  With both N64 and GameCube, this left their gamers with only a handful of games to choose from, so most people that first chose the Nintendo system ended up getting the Sony system at a later time.

Microsoft's plan seems to be, for the most part, to see which games Sony's clientelle enjoy the most, then offer only those titles and a few others for their platforms (in fact, Microsoft's original game plan was supposedly to format X-Box to play PS2 games, and to format the X-Box games to not work in a PS2).  This allows Microsoft to boast having the better quality games, but since the same titles are available for a system with a wider selection, most consumers can live without trying the three or four games that are available for X-Box, but not the PS2.  Also, most people around the gaming age have heard about how Microsoft conducts 'business' in regards to programs like Netscape Navigator and Corel WordPerfect, so a lot of their potential consumers don't want anything to do with the X-Box.

The best quantity and quality will always be for the PC, but gamers will purchase fewer titles because they will take up memory on their computer, and will be more hesitant to install a PC game since few PCs come in too many different variations for every game to always work properly.  The most popular PC games will be games like the Sims and Neverwinter Nights, which are formatted in such a way that user-created hacks can be easilly implemented.  Beyond those and the occassional Sim games, however, most people will just wait for the hot PC games to be available on the consels (it worked for Half-Life, Sims and Baldur's Gate, didn't it?)

[Humbajoe]

I voted for the next Nintendo television console.

Why?  Not because I'm a fanboy or anything like that, and not because it will or wont have the best features (I don't even really know for sure what features it will have.  Ninty's keeping a nice tight lid on it), but because since I started gaming as a wee little pup, I've always found that Nintendo simply makes the most fun games.  They still do.  Sure they have problems, and they're too stubborn for their own good, but no matter what they almost always release games that you actually don't mind shelling out 50 bucks for.

With that being said, the second console I'd vote for is the next Xbox.  I've been pleasantly surprised with Microsoft's first attempt at home consoles, and am generally pleased with their creativity and how much they try to cater to what gamers want (they jumped right on the controller problems after the console launched, and have completely revolutionized console online gaming).

I just hope Nintendo doesn't develop their next console with ONLY their first party titles in mind (that controller has to go.  It's comfortable for platformers, but I find it annoying for most else.  They also have to really think about how game data is going to be saved.  They havn't had decent memory cards since game data was saved on cartrige batteries), I think they'll be able to pull through and keep from being the laughing stock of the console world for yet another generation.

Unfortunately (or not.  Maybe for my wallet), I'll end up purchasing all the main competor's consoles regardless, as A) I love video games and B) I'd like to keep being able to submit decent quantities of articles to the game sites I volunteer at.

[Hat-Kun]

Quote (Galliwampus @ Aug. 26 2004, 9:22 pm)

Nintendo DS has little game cards that can beat a CD twice

Might I just counter this point here.

The DS' flash chips are only one Gigabit, meaning that in actual fact they are only 128MB.  Since your standard CD-R can hold up to 700MB, it's more true that a CD beats the DS by nearly 5.5 times the size.
Which is what I find a little worrying about it.  If the games are stored on such a small media, then they won't be very long.


Anyway, I'm still holding out hope that SEGA will bring something, anything, out into the market.  The Saturn and the Dreamcast were brilliant consoles with some really great games (I'd still be playing on them if I had been bothered to get myself another memory battery for the Saturn recently, and if my Dramcast hadn't broken down), and for them not to follow them up with anything is saddening, to say the least.  Seeing them reduced to just another 3rd party company is an insult to how good they are, and a big pointer at how the general gaming market doesn't recognise quality, just a label saying Sony.

[Humbajoe]

Unfortunately, SEGA made way too many poor business decisions, and it'll be quite a while before they muster up the courage to venture back into the console business.

They've been making more profits as a software company than they have as a console company, so chances of them making more consoles are slim.

I do, however, feel your pain.  I was one of the ones crossing my fingers and praying that they're "big announcement" a while back was a new handheld or something, and was dissapointed that they were just announcing involvement with The Matrix Online.  One of the few times I let myself get hyped up over a small rumor, and boy was I let down lol.

Quote (Hat-Kun @ Aug. 27 2004, 9:49 pm)

Anyway, I'm still holding out hope that SEGA will bring something, anything, out into the market.

I have a feeling Sega's all but given up on having their own system (Sonic on the PS2 seemed like a good indicator) and is instead just going to distribute their licensed titles on the other systems.  Their strategy used to be to release their XX-bit system before the other companies did.  Unfortunately, all they had to judge their competition by was their previous systems, so the quality was lacking (Virtual Fighter's graphics were horrible, but they were the only ones in 3-D at the time so nobody noticed).  Dreamcast was likely the final system because, since the quality of the games wasn't much different from PS1 games, Sega had a hard time competing with the other systems.  The release of PS2 killed any chances it had left.  I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of Sonic games for years to come, but as far as a Sega system is concnered, I think Sega's given up on that.

[anguis]

Voted PS3... IMO to current date the PS2 is is the top console because of its very wide selection of games and its high performance graphics. Id find it pretty hard not for the PS3 to follow this path. The graphics should be better than any up coming console simply cause the processor (the cell as they call it) is way more advance than even the absolute best PC technology to date. It is able to perform 1 trillion floating point calculations per second (max) Vs the PS2 6.2 billion floating point calculations per second (max). Not to mention a very large amount of people alone like the FF collection and will purchase the PS3 just to get the next part... I think that this also goes double for other game titles.

[Lurch]

Oh yeah, I wanted to add Sony to my "beat with a banstick" list. While I like the PS2 and think a PS3 could fair well in the future, it won't ever in my home. The reasons are many (begining with the NetMD MiniDisc player) so I wont rant here, but if they keep making bonehead moves such as atrac, memorystick, and other proprietary junk, and stop support of thier products so soon, the company is going to start to hurt. Who knows, this may trickle down to the console. Dunno, just a thought. If ya wanna know specifics, just PM me, so I can spare the forums.

On another note, there is no confirmed data availible on the Cell processor (the one that is supposed to be used it the PS3) , only a lot of often conflicting speculation. It is not even confirmed that this technology will be used at all. Who knows? H, E double hockey sticks, the proc is still in development and a release date has not been anounced.

[Maltarius]

Null.

Tough to actualy say really especialy judging from the past trends in the industry. Nintendo has held the market for the longest and the strongest but the games that won them their support are growing up and has started to move to more 'mature' games. GCs lack of adult and older player oriented games hurt it deaperately in the market and Xbox's higher focus on older players has hurt it.  PS2 didn't have the technologly of the Xbox or Nintendo's fanbase but it's wider selection of game types made it the best seller.

From a marketing stand point the 'best' console will have the broadest selection of third party support and selection of games. It wil alsol push the console to the players who are moody and want a wide selection fast. The PS3 will be the best seller if it is PS2/PS1 compatable without a doubt because of the selection and fairly good quality of most games, if sony keeps up it's trend.

From a technologly stand point, Xbox2. Microsoft is a massive shadow and there is simply no way any one can compete with them technologly wise and hardware wise due to their experence(if they use a PC based system of some sort for the heart of the beast) and shere monetary power to pay for research and engineers. They need to expand their marketing a little but they will be able to figure that out with enough research. heh

PC- No. Too expensive to keep up to date, too memory issues and too much problems despite the ability to mod and do things to games you can not on consoles.

I don't really see Nintendo's new console doing much better then their last two unless they expand their selection to appeal to the older and older audience, and work on more third-party support which has been sparse for some time.  

Others? What others are there? I see no way a console that could compete with the tops in any way could be made and even if they could they would not have any support or such and would die fast. Though out of couriousity I think I'd like to see mac try to make a console..I'm just weird probably.

[Kasarn]

Technologically, nothing can top something from Microsoft, they are partners with all the major tech companies. But hopefully Sony won't do to the PS3 what they did to the PS2 (ie, leave out a lot of new coding, basically they had the equivelent of DirectX 6 instead of DirectX 8 for no good reason other than to release it sooner)

And PCs are too expensive. They are definately better overall if you have the money, but in a price vs quality comparison, consoles win hands down.


And if I hadn't already voted for the PC, I'd would've picked the PS3. Simply because of the PS2 (and PS1), which I liked because: -

1) Simple controller. Why is the X-Box controller so big? (I'm lightweight for a 6" tall person, and as such, my wrist gets tired quickly when I'm playing the X-Box, but I can play my PS1/2 all day...)
2) When you are reading the manual, square, circle, triangle, cross, L1, L2, R1, R2 is easier to remember than A, B, C, D, X, Y, whatever (see, I can't even remember what the other buttons were called! '> )
3) You can plonk your cup down on top of a PS2, try it on an X-Box (or a Gamecube) and you're likely to hit an edge and spill your drink. And even if it does spill on the PS2, the top surface is flat, so there are no problem when it comes to cleaning it.
4) You can stand the PS2 on it's side using a stand that you have to buy seperately (btw, the PS2 can stand on it's side without it). How can you beat something when they release a completely pointless add-on and then charge you money for it?
5) The PS2 is black and the logo is blue (I like the colour black, I like the colour blue, nuff said)...

So hopefully, the Sony will stick with all of the above for the PS3, and then include all available technology, and I'll be a happy wolfy...

[Maltarius]

My personal perference is the PC too, just talking all ponderishly. Not much on any console can compare to the mutliplayer online FPS games on the PC which I'm obsessed with despite being horid at them. PS2 comes a close second in my opinion due to the games. I'm fairly big and the xbox controlers gie me no problem but the PS2 controlers just feel better. I have never missed a console. heh. I'm wanting the PS3 most of the next gen though.

[Nohbdy_121]

One way or the other, Microsoft will own the console gaming industry soon enough.

[Melina]

Yeah, the cards are pretty small, but even if they are small, size doesn't matter. We should learn that from the minidisk and the Gameboy Advance cartridge. I'm not sure how much data it can store but it should be able to beat the Gameboy Advance cartridge. I was implying maybe a new handheld or so could come out. The TV titans would be hard to beat, but the handhelds.... maybe...  a few even know about the Nintendo DS, and that's a shame..... I'm also very sure that Nintendo could snap up a patent on touch screen portable games, but that's not a fact whether or not they would do that. Recycling, huh? Well, even though they are the same characters, and have some of the same essence, as long as it's a new game with a whole lot of new stuff it's fine by me. Look at all the Friday the 13th sequals. Freddy Vs. Jason is a new one! Are they going to make another? Hmmm... Final Fantasy is the other way around. They recycle the story with most the basic gameplay elements still left. I like Final Fantasy, but no one should talk about heroes who continue to receive new adventures if they like something like Final Fantasy. Not saying anything was mentioned about that. Playstation 2 has a lot of generic games, even if they have an original feel, after you play it a while you start comparing. At least in Super Mario Sunshine it consisted of water that took away from the close combat punches and kicks. Some Playstation 2 games are good, but I always go back to my Gamecube and thank myself greatly for buying it. Multiplayer games, and good adventure games just makes it my favorite. Okay, I've had my personal feelings expressed to these matters.

[Ante]

PC, definately. I've been updating mine like mad. It can handle just about anything out there at the moment, but I only have 256mb of ram, so I need to upgrade than and I'm getting an identical piece for my second channel so I can upgrade to 512 and get hypethreading and such. I'll buy more RAM later when I have more money, too. I also have an ATI Radeon 9600 XT and 24-bit 5.1 channel surround sound. I'm ready for Half-Life 2.

[-Otakon-]

I voted Future Nintendo, but it can be also Xbox 2.  '>

[Bluetail]

The DS looks to be very interesting technology, but the future leader will likely remain Sony. The backwards compatability was a first (I think?... well, -console- first. Super GB doesn't count.) and was a shrewd marketing move... even if you despise half the PS2's library, you still have another albeit older system to consider. And it's daaaang convenient.

The PS factor was the only reason I kept the 2 early on... most of the titles were sorts, boring or just... already done. Then came King's Field: The Ancient City, Klonoa 2... and now I no longer loathe it.

Due to monetary stability, the two companies who can afford the most risk are Sony and MS. Nintendo's doing okay, but it doesn't have many other enterprises to help aid funding if things turn sour... which is why it has crippled online abilities. Sad.

The risk-takers will be the most intetesting to watch. Doing new things takes a huge capital risk... something few can easily afford.

I'm all for Tecmo's Deception to come back. Dammit, I was my FP-RPG-Strategy building-trapping-summoning game!

[Lurch]

Quote (Ante @ Aug. 31 2004, 12:43 am)

PC, definately. I've been updating mine like mad. It can handle just about anything out there at the moment, but I only have 256mb of ram, so I need to upgrade than and I'm getting an identical piece for my second channel so I can upgrade to 512 and get hypethreading and such. I'll buy more RAM later when I have more money, too. I also have an ATI Radeon 9600 XT and 24-bit 5.1 channel surround sound. I'm ready for Half-Life 2.

You don't need to run dual channel for hyperthreading to work. Just need to make sure your processor is a "C or E core". However dual channel is good to have anyways.

Hyperthreading is really just a half butted fix to make sure most programs can't use more than 50% of the processor at once. Based on how fast the P4 is anyways, I actually like this "feature". Games of course can use all of the processor, and that is software controlled(this is a good thing). Hyperthreading is more for dumb programs (such as Terragen and Winamp 5) when they are rendering or having buggy issues respectively, to make sure they don't hog too much processor.

The old "A and B core" P-4's suffered in performance because there is nothing controlling how much of it can be used(besides the slow FSB speed 400 or 533   )

[-SilentKnight-]

It's really a sticky situation.

Currently, Nintendo and Microsoft are doing really poorly with their console systems. I can easily see Nintendo going the Sega route and just making games and halting console development within a few years. Either that, or they'll anchor themselves into the niche - and increasingly successful - market of handhelds. Right now, nobody makes a better handheld than Nintendo.

Microsoft, of course, has the money and the drive to become a success (eventually). Their X-Box Live thing is a sign of things to come - it's quite possible they'll survive and flourish just on their online architecture alone, driving more console game devs to push heavy-duty multiplayer games onto future generation Microsoft consoles. Sony and Nintendo both already have to play catchup to that - the PS2's online component is crap by comparison, and the Gamecube only has like...what...two games that are internet-enabled? In the west, anyway. I dont even know what Japan has (and although Japan is a great market, and you can survive on it, Nintendo's too entrenched in the european and north american market to withdraw completely and focus on Japan. They'd axe more than half their company in the process).

Sony has a great thing going right now with the Playstation name-brand. It's an extremely recognizable icon of the console-gaming world right now, and will probably remain so. Just based on the fact that everyone and their mother knows what a "Playstation" is will sell them units.


As far as the console world goes, Sony is a safe bet, Nintendo is falling out, and Microsoft is a risky endeavor that will probably turn out to be just as good as, or significantly better than, Sony.


And anyway, as the PC Vs. Console "war" goes, anyone who insists there's a realistic amount of competition between the two is insane. A $1200+ computer and a $200+ console system are on opposite ends of the spectrum, both technologically and economically. They simply dont factor against one another in the market except in a very small way.

As for anyone who's 'worried' about it - No, they will never stop making PC games. And no, they will never stop making console games. Someday, something might be introduced that replaces both of them, or outmodes one and leaves the other, but until then, relax. Go play some games.

there will be an "Other" system, but it will suck, profusely.
it's called the phantom, they were showing it off at the last E3, from what I gather, all controllers are wireless it'll be online and you can play online with people with other phantoms or computers. why will it suck? because YOU WILL NEVER ACUALLY OWN A GAME! that's right, you need to download every game that you want tho play on this thing, and you can't keep it, you have to subscribe to the games, pay for it monthly, what the hell? I need to have some sot of physical thhing with games, not just a dfownload

[Humbajoe]

Quote (Bluetail @ Aug. 31 2004, 1:41 pm)

I'm all for Tecmo's Deception to come back. Dammit, I was my FP-RPG-Strategy building-trapping-summoning game!

I'm right behind you! '>

Those games are one of my all time favorite series.  I particularly enjoy Kagero: Deception 2.  I love setting up traps with those giant stair cases in the first room of the mansion.  Always makes for a good time XD

[Bluetail]

Quote (Humbajoe @ Sep. 02 2004, 10:28 am)

Those games are one of my all time favorite series.  I particularly enjoy Kagero: Deception 2.  I love setting up traps with those giant stair cases in the first room of the mansion.  Always makes for a good time XD

I never liked 2 very much... it was a decent game, but I was still angry at the removal of FP and the thought the lady was a doink. And what the heck is up with the enemies? Oh, are the great Timenoids going to eat me? Phhhbt....

I liked 3 because it actually attempted to have a plot... and a pretty decent one. But 1 is my all time favorite. The castle may have awful looking wallpaper, but, I like building to suit my playstyle. Long thin corridors for all!

If the PS3 keeps backwards compatability it'll have a mondo advantage. If not, someone on the design team has been sleeping on the job.