Should games still be played on exclusive hardware?

[Jazz2K]

SvennoJ said:

You are basically describing pc gaming.
Standardized game boxes have been done before, MSX, CD-I, 3DO.

You can get pc gaming in console form too, Alienware X-51
What all these have in common as opposed to exclusive hardware is cost of entry for the consumer.
Specialized mass produced hardware, sold initially at a loss, will always beat licensed hardware that needs to be sold at a profit. Look at the difference in prices between standalone blu-ray players and the ps3 when the ps3 came out. The ps3 was expensive, yet standalone blu-ray players were $800 or more at the time.

Convenience is another big factor. 1 integrated online store and no worries about compatibility issues.

I am curious to see what Valve is working on. A Steambox sounds good, but can it compete with consoles. The Alienware X-51 certainly didn't catch on.

Yea I heard about what Valve is doing and I hope it works out well. My idea is more about a console (even though I think it will happen but through services more than through a unified console) that could just play console games. I think, with this, dvd players will also dissapear and the console you'll get in your living room will just be something that streams all your services if it's not the tv that'll do it.

PCs are not convenient in a living room. Some might like it or find a way to make it available but consoles do it better in the living room than PCs.