So, here we are.  It didn't take Long!  The next generation of Consoles starts with a console that is a TABLET, the Switch!

Read my previous OP from JUNE 2014!!!

Original OP Content below:

Apple announced ios 8 yesterday.  Today, they explained a part of the new os called "Metal".  It essentially is a graphics tech that allows Unreal 4 to be used on an ipad/iphone.  They even demoed Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare.

Is this the begining of the end for consoles?

With a lot of people moving to all digital downloads and cloud storage becoming very common, and Microsoft/Apple/Google all unifying their os's, what will we need consoles for?  Put a good bluetooth controller on a tablet/phone and you might have something.  Hook it up to a 50 inch + TV and away we go!

Sure, all of the old tablets/phones lack the power to do too much, but how about the units coming out in 2015?  With the constant increases in power it seems to be only a matter of time.  The current consoles will last atleast until 2018.  by then, the tech in these portable devices could be something.

Here is the link to the article on IGN that made me think of this : http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/02/apple-reveals-new-graphics-tech-called-metal

Oher thoughts:

I  believe that consoles will die or become mostly irrelevant in 5-6 years.  Not because a console won’t have the power advantage over most if not all tablets/smartphones.  It will be because the “diminishing returns” theory.  If tablets/smartphones reach a point in the next 4-6 years where they can replicate the power of XB1/PS4, what will the masses or casuals really want from gaming? 

Fewer and fewer people are even buying a PC and the same is happening to laptops.  Tablets sales are even slowing dramatically in the last 15 months.  People are already finding that the ipad 2 or cheap Android tablet is good enough for them.  That’s why tablet/smartphone makers are constantly trying to infuse more power and capabilities into them.  They need something to give a good reason for replacing what they have.  It would only seem to make sense that if they already know that they have an exploding gaming market on their devices that they would eventually (with the help of chipmakers) develop a “powerful enough” system to meet MOST gamers needs. 

Sure, the core gamers (30-40 million?) will still want something else.  So, there will be a niche market for that.  But AAA games being designed for that small of market will be greatly diminished.  Developers will aim for mass market adoption.  Does that mean that games will suffer?  No, if anything, they will be more focused on gameplay to differentiate themselves from all the other games.  Most likely, it will be extremely easy to port games to every kind of device out there.

Consoles will be doomed, but gamers will actually be in a better position to play all games without needing to buy a particular device to do it.

Nope

i hope they dont die
which they wont
most likely
they will just have stiff competition

Not for a while.

In time I think "consoles" will become a software subscription rather than dedicated hardware, but iOS 8 or even 18 won't kill the hardware.

Mobile will catch the current consoles in graphical power as soon as the new generation is released.

No serious gamer would go Apple only. Apple was a joke of video game industry till they finally got the casuals on board with ipod, iphone and ipad. No one in their right mind bought an Apple computer to game on in the 90s (considering they either got the game ported years later or never). PC will always be where the real gamers are when it comes to computers. Apple will never be able to take over the video game market unless everyone that grew up during the 80s and 90s dies off.

Nah iPad's can never rival a new playstation/xbox in power. Especially now with systems like the PS4 already being profitable they can release new systems more frequently.

The Wii-U as a console with tablet controller however is doomed, if it wasn't already besides some strong first party titles. Wouldn't suprise me if the next iPad rivals the WIi-U in power.

Ignoring game exclusivity for a second. Go ahead and try to play Skyrim on a ipad. You'll get fed up charging the device, leaving it plugged in. Making it stuck at home in the first place. Awkward controls, and annoying table placement. If you plug it into a TV it turns into a home console. Defeating the benefits in the first place. Are you willing to do a 12 hr game marathon on your 500$ iPad? Wearing out the device thats really for medium work load faster. Not to mention a 20-50GB game on a portible device. That's only one game avabile if you dump everything off it. IF you own the 64GB version. Let alone the $1000 128 GB iPad. You'll be syncing like crazy.

There is no viaiblity to modern games. Ports of decade old games, yes. But games of now. Forget that.

that's my generation and I could see doing it.  Maybe not on an ipad, but on a android or windows tablet maybe. 

Great graphic mean big budget it mean game price so high who would buy a 60$ game on tablet/smartphone?