What next for consoles?

[Snail]

So, we have new consoles coming, but how are they actually going to improve gaming?

The PS2 was a great console when it first came out, because the graphics were soo good (until the xbox), and a bit more memory to make better games.

The xbox came out with superb graphics, and a fantastic online side, which for me revolutionised things (PC online gaming is too geeky and fragmented), and a HDD for game updates, storing my own soundtrack for games, etc.

So where next for consoles? The PS3/Xenon will have even better grahpics, more memory, more online games, but whats going to revolutionise games? what feature would make you desperate to spend £400 on a new PS3/Xenon, as an upgrade to your PS2/Xbox?

[Dave]

Totally agree with your post..

i can't see how games can get any better or faster, unless we move into reality stuff.. and that is still a big leap away i reckon..

I think the next big thing will be putting on suits and headgear and actually 'feeling' the game.. hot when on fire, cold touch of gun metal.. pain when shot etc etc

[Mac]

See your point but you guys are having the same argument that everyone's had since the birth of the Sinclair spectrum.

Erm, that sounded wrong lol. Just meant people have been saying similar stuff for yonks?

It's funny - in terms of pure playability I've never managed to get hooked on a PC or playstation game and yet I can spend hours playing Elite and old CBM64/Amiga games

I have a couple of Amiga 500's - they rock

After a proper C64 now.

Dunno, playstations are great etc. and I really appreciate their capability - but they just don't do it for me

[Dave]

Elite was a cracking game.. but too easy.. in the end i had everything, shed loads of money and was just dealing drugs on the black market.. it got a bit boring..

now take Grand Theft Auto.. VC. how does that get any better ?

[Mac]

Hmmmm, maybe I'll have to try it

No wonder I used to scare my parents - 'Why you late for dinner?' - 'I trying to get rid of the Thargoids.'

[BURTON]

I play both on the PC and Xbox/PSP/PS2, this is down to me understanding there is no one system better overall than the other.

To me PC's have slightly smoother graphics, big online gaming and FPS are alot better on them. PS2 is just a classic which has some classic games and classic sequel games also. The Xbox, a big leap I feel in how games look and feel and what makes a game, Prince of Persia is awesome on the Xbox just everything about it. Also the Xbox seems to get the more grown up games, graphics seem to be alot smoother and so is a better package. The Game Cube and others fell to the side do to the line up of games and thats it. They are great consoles.

The PSP I feel is a turning point. Yes years ago the handheld market was contested and has sort of gone all quiet, until last year. I think people are going to want to be able to interact with the machines more. PSP has a lot of features that enables you to put Movies, Music and Pictures on. So its feature packed, ok can be a sales ploy but a good one at that.

Now the new range of Super Consoles, they are not going to show us anything really new, again graphics and the like will be better and game play also as the games get abit more in depth. Online gaming will still grow, but the key factor as we have seen with the Xbox is the fact to be able to interact with the console have WiFi enbled stuff so you connect everything together and share tunes and the like.

I don't see the next step of gaming to be huge but to be a small step and continuing upward rise.

[Chav]

I'm a game developer.

I havent seen anything new for years.

Just remixes of the same old thing, with every improving graphics. Gameplay is often appauling. Doom3 is utter pants. The graphics arent that state of the art. Anyone can write a game that needs Ninja hardware. Its much harder/rarer to write a game that uses playability, fun and addiction to sell itself....sadly!!!!!

Its funny with console hardware...people read the specs and believe A is better than B because Microsoft or Sony says this etc. If you analyse the hardware, the differences are less than stated.

The handheld market will take off. But it wont be the PSP that makes it happen. Its a strategic product for Sony, not a revenue generator. Dont invest in too many games, its a product designed to have a short life-cycle.

Dont be fooled by hype over PS3, X2 etc. The hardware will be 10 times faster, but the games wont be 10 times better. Only a 10 fold increase in software dev budget would give that, and even then budget doesnt guarantee quality...talent does that.

[Chav]

We've made VR titles in the past.

Its a concept that the majority dont like, eg wearing a helmet..its too restrictive, hence its never properly taken off.

Holographic displays are more likely to generate the hype/funding needed to bring about a hardware revolution.

Video games tend to follow the Movie industry.

When the movie industry start to introduce air/temperature effects into mainstream cinemas, then theres a chance of the video game industry following suit. A new product like that for the game industry would be a huge investment for someone, but likely to fail if VR is anything to go by.

[Rachel]

...and how many of the modern generation of game designers have actually read the definitive early industry bible on game design?

Chris Crawford's

The Art of Computer Game Design: Reflections of a Master Game Designer

(my copy: ISBN 0-88134-117-7 Osborne/MacGraw-Hill)

People forget how addictive and fun the old "simple" games like Pong, Space Invaders, Defender, Missile Command, Dig Dug, Star Raiders and so on were, and still are...

I remember buying my Atari 800XL over a Commodore 64 or Apple II - just because it had Star Raiders. Those amazing jumps into hyperspace followed by dogfights and your front/rear views and all on a cartridge, as the only other medium was a data cassette player (followed a year later by the first Atari 5.25" floppy drive brick).

Crap graphics by today's standards - but good bounded design, simple but fun premise and well thought out game mechanics