What does it take for a Company to leave the console business?

[Steve 3.2]

RolStoppable said:

Steve 3.2 said:
I think there won't be home 'video game' consoles within ten years from now. So most of what is being said is moot.

The convergence of devices is coming. It didn't happen as promised by Sony last generation, and it won't pan out as much as Sony and MS hope this generation. But I think it will make a difference in the PS4, Xbox 1080, and Wii 2. All three will do a heck of a lot more than playing games, though Nintendo's effort will probably be the least feature-rich of the three. And those will be the last systems that will really be called home video game consoles. The playing of video games will become almost a secondary feature to everything else they will be able to do...

If playing videogames becomes the secondary feature of all consoles this will probably be the end for videogames. People don't care much for additional features, they just want to play videogames, that's why most people buy a console in the first place.

Ten years ago people didn't really care for multimedia consoles, the 3DO and the cd-i flopped hard. Today people don't really care for multimedia stuff in their consoles, the PS3 isn't doing good at all, the 360 isn't selling because of its optional HD-DVD drive or its downloadable movies/series.

Why would people care for multimedia stuff in their consoles ten years from now? These features only drive up the costs of consoles with little benefit for the consumer. The majority of people prefers a dedicated device to, for example, watch their movies.

It's not because people prefer a dedicated device.  It's because they want something cheaper.  Why should I pay $500 for a machine that surfs the internet, plays high definition movies, and video games, when I get can a $50 movie player, a $100 web appliance, and a $250 games console. 

When the cost of convergence becomes negligible or even cheaper to the alternative, then people will choose a device that does more than one thing.

It's like the cameras on cell phones.  Sure, they're still crappy and most people don't use them.  But they're in almost every cell phone!  And as the parts are getting better and cheaper all the time.  Once the quality of the cell phone camera begins to equal that of your normal camera (which in all honesty may not happen for a long time due to various reasons), I'd expect normal digital camera sales to start declining.

I'm not saying that video games are on the way out.  I'm saying that they will become integrated into a device that does that and a whole lot more.