Prediction hazy, ask again later. - The Bear and Badger

Blue Swirl

We've got a hell of a lot of options on the horizon. Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Wii U will be fighting for the traditional console space, all be it in new and interesting ways; all have some interpretation of the second screen philosophy. The odd internal architectures of the Xbox 360 (PowerPC) and PS3 (Cell) have been abandoned for a more PC-like AMD based systems, and both have backwards compatibility as a streaming service, rather than something in the hardware.
3DS and Vita slug it out in the handheld space, one doing well, the other looking more promising as time passes. Ouya and PS Vita TV subvert the normal console paradigm into something small and unobtrusive; power is sacrificed for size and convenience. We've got the recent announcement of Linux-based SteamOS and the "SteamBox", to be made by licensed hardware partners of Valve, which also takes the console strategy and blends it with that of the PC; standardised but not, all at the same time.
Who would have predicted in the 90s and 2000s that Linux might finally move out of the server space and into the lives of average users as a gaming system? Wrapping things up, we've got the intriguing prospect of VR finally escaping Hollywood "what if?" films and becoming reality in the form of Oculus Rift, and the further erosion of the gamer/non-gamer dichotomy with the Android and iOS App Store titles. My Mum recently asked me what game she should get next after rinsing Angry Birds.

May you live in interesting times, indeed.

Where does gaming go next? Are we getting to the stage that calling yourself a gamer is going to be as odd as calling yourself a 'film watcher'? Are we going to see a shift in the way we consume and play games, or will things settle back down to routine once the dust has settled; streaming and second screens taking a back seat to discs bought from a shop? Will the living room be dominated by the cheap-and-cheerful (Ouya and Vita TV), the all singing and dancing (Xbone and PS4) or the console-PC chimera of SteamBoxes?

Shake up your magic 8 balls, polish off the crystal ball, get Mystic Meg out of storage; what's going to happen next?

PLACE BETS NOW.

Brooks

Are we getting to the stage that calling yourself a gamer is going to be as odd as calling yourself a 'film watcher'?

It's always been odd.

GooberTheHat

Game streaming services will be the future. I hope. Netflix for games.

RamSteelwood

Everyone will decide on mass it's all a waste of time and go outside and play instead...

dynamiteReady

RamSteelwood wrote:

Everyone will decide on mass it's all a waste of time and go outside and play instead...

Yes. I need a new hobby.

Escape

Yescombe returns.

Diluted Dante

What happens next? Another Android console is announced, and Android consoles finially outnumber Android games.

mk64

Lol

RamSteelwood

to try to be slightly sensible about blue swirl's topic, in the short term i don't think much will change...xbone/ps4 will dominate the living room, windows on the pc, mobile devices will keep getting a bit more powerful, a few people will give steamOS a go...

by the time the next gen rolls around though, i think we will need some kind of revolutionary 'interface' to justify the need for big separate boxes for games (and i'm not convinced oculusVR is it), otherwise devices will just converge and your mobile/tablet will have the power and technology to be all things...you might still have a TV and a joypad, or a desk/keyboard/monitor, but your mobile device will be running/streamingfromthecloud whatever game/app/media you're consuming...

mk64

I predict a riot.

And also sony to exit the market within the next 10.

djchump

Next-next-gen: sticks with x86, actually backwards compatible.

adkm1979

I don't see anything changing from the last thirty years, in terms of there generally being two or three main contenders with alternative options coming and going, sometimes lasting and becoming a main player as others drop out of the race. Android consoles are a flash in the pan, nothing more. Oculus Rift is getting people excited, but I don't see it becoming the norm. Dozens of 'revolutions' in film and TV have come and gone and in the end, people like to consume their audiovisual entertainment, by and large, from a 2D rectangle on the wall. The only way the console war will die is if the manufacturers give up on hardware, and focus on making living room PCs with their own swanky OS. All games compatible on all devices.

beano

Brooks wrote:

Are we getting to the stage that calling yourself a gamer is going to be as odd as calling yourself a 'film watcher'?

It's always been odd.

Why doesn't guitart mean you're against guitars tho.

beano

+is* somehow, somewhere, up there.

davyK

mk64 wrote:

I predict a riot.

And also sony to exit the market within the next 10.

I have oft wondered why Sony doesn't take a punt on building a console into their TVs and absorbing the cost.

Diluted Dante

Possibly because Sony is 20 different companies all fighting each other. And it would be a hell of a cost to absorb. And probably won't work with physical media.

I'm with Andy. Whats next is basically nothing much different really.

[Deleted User]

davyK wrote:

mk64 wrote:

I predict a riot. And also sony to exit the market within the next 10.

I have oft wondered why Sony doesn't take a punt on building a console into their TVs and absorbing the cost.

They did..

Trouble is people want different sized TVs with different features on different budgets. Plus there is the possibility either the console or the TV will break.

Blue Swirl

Liveinadive wrote:

davyK wrote:

mk64 wrote:

I predict a riot. And also sony to exit the market within the next 10.

I have oft wondered why Sony doesn't take a punt on building a console into their TVs and absorbing the cost.

They did.. Trouble is people want different sized TVs with different features on different budgets. Plus there is the possibility either the console or the TV will break.

That's amazing, never knew that existed. Where did it get released, just in Japan, like the PSX? Reminds me of the Amiga (?) PC that had a Mega Drive built in.

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