The state of consoles post-Moore's Law

[vlad321]

Grey Acumen said:

The real problem with this whole idea is that it's NOT any technical achievement that allows consoles to remain viable despite the presence of PCs.

Consoles have and ALWAYS will have certain key features that NO PC will EVER have:

1) Hardware specs that remain consistent through every console of the same type. Every Wii can play every Wii game, Every 360 can play every 360 game. There is no minimum specs, or incompatible graphics card because they are designed SPECIFICALLY for that system.

2) Ease of Use - Sorry, but the whole point of playing a game is to have fun. A console is designed with that specific purpose at the forefront of its design (at least any good console is) This means that playing the game needs to be as hassle free as possible. 90% of PC games require you to install something, or at least manually organize the files to run the game, and often require you to set graphic options for the game to run smoothly. With consoles, it's typically "put game in, start playing"

3) Controls - Don't care how much you like the keyboard and mouse. a controller, either dual analog or the Wiimote + whatever the heck attachment you want, will always be more comfortable to use, and allow for faster, more natural response. When the game is designed specifically around those controls, they will always be better than generic controls that have to adapt to multiple types of input.

4) "It is not the console that sells the games, it is the games that sells the console" 3rd parties might be porting to as many platforms as possible, but Nintendo games have always stayed on Nintendo consoles and I don't see that changing any time soon

You may notice that my examples pull heavily from Nintendo. Really, it's cause I see what you're talking about when using 360 and PS3 as examples. They both seem to be far more PC than console, with how the games are run and played, as well as the graphical focus of the games, and how there's so much focus on non-game media as well.
Nintendo has managed to turn all of that totally around, by using what is essentially outdated tech and creating a custom experience. No PC is going to incorporate a standard motion controller that would allow for those type of games that the Wii is capable of so therefore those games will only ever be found on a console specifically designed for them.

 

I got distracted halfway through typing this, so I'll sum up.

PCs and computers in general can really only advance in whatever direction they are already set in. There are too many different companies for any innovation to have any impact on the PC community as a whole. This is where consoles can shine, as any innovation can be incorporated 100% into that console, because of a consoles focus on gaming, and doing it in a low hassle manner, combined with the freedom of innovation is what will always keep PCs from overshadowing consoles as a gaming device, regardless of technological advancements.

 

You have good points and a lot of bad points. 1) is a good point, but the fact that PC software progresses with respect to consoles means that we get the newer games with the shinier grphics, and more importantly, the newer gameplay mechanics with stuff like newish physics, shadows, and other things which we don't know of yet which might add a lot to gameplay.

2) Good point, ecept Most HD games now require you to install something too and many of them have started having patches and what not so it's a moot point. Also I don't know where you get the manually setting up files, but I don't think I've had to do that since mid 90s, maybe even earlier. Also the graphical set up goes hadn in hand with what I was talking about in 1). As the games evolve we will need to lower setitngs, this ensures that my PC from 3 or 4 years can play the newest games, which are also 3-4 years ahead of console games.

3)Plain false.Multiple types of input? Games designed for controllers but not MKB? Hate to break it to you but many many genres were made around the KBD+Mouse set up, FPS is one of them. And how escatly are keyboard controls generic at all? You can actually customize every single key that you have to an action you want it to do. It's anything but generic, it is very personalized.

4) Blizzard games have always been on the PC and even if it changes it in the distant future I doubt it will have much effect on consoles. Remember Starcraft for the PS (or was it PS2?)?

As for innovative games, what about Portal? It has to be one of the most original and groundbreaking games so far this half decade. Also isn't Nintendo supposedly making an HD console for their next generation entry?

 

OT: The consoles are treading drangerously close to PCs and for their sake I hope they start backing off bececause otherwise the PC will overshadow more and more the closer they get to becoming PCs. Sadly I can see consoles coming out where you will be able to upgrade hardware and drivers and what not, and if that happens I predict that consoels will die out.