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Are consoles holding back the gaming industry?

by Ren-dog Featured 22 Comments 36 Votes 5207 Views 11/07/2011 Back to Articles

Lets take a step back in time...

2005/2006: The Pentium 4 is still a high end CPU, everybody is using 512mb of ram in their high end machines. The nvidia 7000 series were the most wanted graphics cards. Far Cry was the best looking game we had ever seen with DirectX 9.

The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii were released and were ground breaking technology.

Now lets come back to the present day...
2011: The Intel Core i7 is a high end cpu, (4 times better then the P4) everybody is using 4gb+ of ram in their high end machines. The nvidia 500 series (5 generations more powerful then the 7000 series) are some of the most powerful cards available. Crysis 2 is one of the best looking game we have seen with DirectX 11.

The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii are still the best consoles on the market...

Technology has progressed so far in 5 years but consoles have not changed except for revisions with no performance benefits...

We are starting to see new games come out on these consoles with "Better HD graphics" but when you pay attention the textures from the Nintendo 64 were better, if you compare the game on console to a pc version (with decant hardware at the $1000 mark) you can see a major difference, the textures are clear and crisp, the lighting is much more detailed and things are round, if you throw in some of the latest tech called "Tesselation" which became available in DirectX 11, then console just looks like a dogs bowl in comparison.

With gamers demanding better graphics every day, how can consoles still be the same?

Granted the Wii is a platform for the family gamers and 10 year old girls. (flame shield) But the Xbox 360 and PS3 are aimed at more "Hardcore, 1337" gamers...

This is an important topic and needs to be thought about by every gamer. Since the release of these consoles developers have been held back with what they can do, they have to start making games for the consoles and porting them to PC so they can make it work on consoles by stripping every bit of the graphics engine out and then just throw in some larger textures for pc.

Do you think its time for a new generation of consoles? Or are you still happy with your underpowered system that makes the original GameBoy look good?

Yes im opinionated, Yes i am a PC lover, but it does not make my point any less valid.

Link to us http://pc.mmgn.com/Articles/Are-consoles-holding-back-the-gaming-ind

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Are consoles holding back the gaming industry? Comments

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Kudos: 6

Bjango

I think you have a valid point, but maybe there's another solution: Consoles could see yearly product updates that increase their performance, rather than trying to wow everyone with a giant leap every 5+ years.

You probably won't like me for the comparison, but take a look at iOS. Yearly release cycles, yet all the benefits of a console, including easy hardware capabilities to target.

11/07/2011

Melbourne, Australia

Kudos: 298,757

Tano

I think some developers are hanging for a new generation, publishers too. Ubisoft is hanging so bad for a new generation.

I think consoles need to go the way of OnLive, but I am generally alone in this assumption.

11/07/2011

"Niko! Cousin!"

Kudos: 92,389

GreenThumb

Great read. I do think it's time to step forward to the next gen, But i think because MS and SONY have adopted this 'motion sensing' gaming idea, They are holding out on the next gen to test the waters with how far they can really go with the technology they have (for motion gaming - Kinect)

Although for all we know they're halfway through building the next gen consoles, 2012 will be the next gen (hopefully)

@Beta Why should they go onLive? My console is already onLIVE :P

E~ When you said the Xbox 360 is for the more "hardcore" gamers, Yeah that kind of ended when they introduced Kinect... :S

11/07/2011

I have AIDS (Artifical Intelligence Defense System)

Kudos: 28,110

Ren-dog

@Bjango

Problem with a system like that is everyone would have to replace their console every year, or at least a major component.

You may aswell get a pc.

Software cannot offer the performance increase we want, otherwise the constant xbox updates would actually do something other then add facebook.

Basically what could be made is a simplified PC, A system where you can add and remove parts like a draw in your cupboard.

GreenThumb said:E~ When you said the Xbox 360 is for the more "hardcore" gamers, Yeah that kind of ended when they introduced Kinect...

Even with that released, where is the majority of marketing and sales?... games like COD.

11/07/2011

Kudos: 186,104

Heller

Bjango said: I think you have a valid point, but maybe there's another solution: Consoles could see yearly product updates that increase their performance, rather than trying to wow everyone with a giant leap every 5+ years.
You probably won't like me for the comparison, but take a look at iOS. Yearly release cycles, yet all the benefits of a console, including easy hardware capabilities to target.

Interesting point and one that resonates with a lot of people around here. Lately @Beta has been talking about Apple and how they will take over the console market completely. Given what we are seeing in terms of quality and scope on the iPad already, I'm really inclined to think Apple should definitely be considered a contender for the market.

Interested to know, have you guys had much to do with the HDMI out for games, and then using an iPhone as a controller? What are your thoughts on that?

11/07/2011

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 5,363

Naruto-Sage

I think consoles should be like pc's so we can buy eg sony parts for the ps3 and upgrade and or get it installed. consoles need to be more flexible becouse software and hardware are being updated more often now and waiting every 5-8 years for a system is utter rubbish. i would like to add that times have changed since the GBA N64 days online gaming plays a big role now aswell.

11/07/2011

Leaf Village

Kudos: 92,389

GreenThumb

The only problem would be having the knowledge to install it yourself, Or even finding someone to do it. Then the whole warranty issue + i imagine it'd be easier for modders / hackers.

11/07/2011

I have AIDS (Artifical Intelligence Defense System)

Kudos: 2,486

noobi

the whole thing with consoles though is that there are standard specs across the board and the games are built to utilise this, if you start making consoles modular then game publishers will need to start issues spec requirements for games and so on which defeats the whole purpose of what a console is, you may as well just have a PC market

11/07/2011

Melb

Kudos: 28,110

Ren-dog

Dont judge, sex sells.

11/07/2011

Kudos: 84,372

renagadez

im happy with the way it is now

11/07/2011

Sydney, New South Wales

Kudos: 25,514

maxiboy

I want a girlfriend like that lol [MOG]

11/07/2011

Sydney, NSW

Kudos: 2,300

Codeman34

Can i lick the Sexy one on the neck?

11/07/2011

http://lbp.me/u/CodemanPSX

Kudos: 26,042

BBking

Who changed it? The pic?

Uh oh... What have I started? :*O

11/07/2011

Sydney, NSW. Hills District

Kudos: 73,702

winga26

For me gaming will always be best on a console.

'Or are you still happy with your underpowered system that makes the original GameBoy look good?'

[Facepalm]

11/07/2011

GET YOUR BLOOD PUMPING - GO SWANS!

Kudos: 1,432

luke_skip

yeah id rather play my games on a console than on a pc

11/07/2011

Currently Perth, WA

Kudos: 70,447

Kerosanak

Consoles aren't holding it back, PCs are trying to pull it forward too fast :P

11/07/2011

I'm still kind of a big deal in the Capital Wasteland.

Kudos: 28,110

Ren-dog

I can never be happy with console gaming, every time i play reach or blackops i get frame rate issues. And the PS3 is even worse for it, especially in FarCry2.

But when i use my pc there are no frame rate issues, just set it and go.

12/07/2011

Kudos: 40,740

Desi

I approve of the beginning of this article. [Derp]

12/07/2011

And I love starting sentences with conjunctions! >=D

Kudos: 28,110

Ren-dog

Desi said: I approve of the beginning of this article.

I knew you would Desi.

13/07/2011

Kudos: 10,342

punk

yearly updates would be a pain in the arse. it wouldn't be any different than a pc otherwise. bleeding edge components are only going to make it more expensive.

add-ons have generally proven to suck on consoles too (graphics) because the up take was minimal at best.

as much as I don't like what apple brings to the table in other markets (mainly the iphone and itunes) I can see how some people could see apple taking advantage of this area as no other console maker does.

onlive is another potential market but again its way to early for us in australia at least in regards to our network and quotas. Potentially seeing something like this once nbn is rolled out more over the coming years.

"that make the original game boy look good" gotta have a laugh that one ;)

this is a good breather for pc users in general i think - nearing the end of console generations and a good opportunity for companies to jump in with their ideas. again why apple is being mentioned a lot nowadays.

13/07/2011

Kudos: 28,110

Ren-dog

Half the problem with apple is the yearly and half yearly upgrades... yes the older hardware can use the same software (play the same game) but due to the lower performance it is terrible to use.

The iPhone for example usually sells for around $900 for a current version, if you had to upgrade every year to play the latest games then you may as well use a pc...

Its all very similar and annoying.

13/07/2011

Kudos: 3,347

Mobe1969

What are sales like, consoles vs PC on major titles? Personally I think the consoles sales would always trounce them, but I could be wrong.

Sure consoles might technically be holding games back, but financially, I suspect it is the bread and butter. I don't see it as a bad thing. A high end PC video card costs more than a release version console. PCs are seriously too much mucking about and cost for gaming. An utter waste.

Even if they released a new console every year, you'd still be way better off paying console release prices than trying to maintain a high end gaming PC. But you know what, people still whined incessantly about the PS3 being too expensive for years after it's release. Even though it came with so much, and had so many uses. And was still cheaper than a high end video card... And was a very good reliable blu ray player...

Parity in online gaming is another thing. A lot of shooters, highest res wins for sniping...

04/09/2011

Brisbane, Queensland