Can 4 consoles survive simultaneosly

[JEMC]

kowenicki said:

JayWood2010 said:

kowenicki said:
I still don't understand the steam thing? is it basically a gimped PC?

If I already have a PC why would I buy it?

It's a PC that is aimed to connect to your PC and is focused around steam.  So in other words a console.  All consoles are PCs focused around a gaming aspect and connects to your tv.  We don't have much information on it at the moment but that is how I understand it so far.

So a gaming focussed PC that you plug into your TV?   A console then?  I'm still struggling with it in terms of standards, i.e. the ever changing PC requirements.

Wont this just hamper PC gaming progression.  It seems to be completely at odds with what PC gaming is about.

From other discussions on the net, it's rumored to be a PC running a Linux distro (because they won't go with windows after their Win8 declarations) that boots directly onto Steam.

The problem they will face is that if they go with a closed machine then it's basically a console and developers will work like they do with console, coding to metal and skipping unnecessary middleware, preventing those games to work with another Linux powered PC with Steam as the hardware will be different, but if they go with an upgradable machine then they will force developers to work with 4 or 5 platforms in mind: PS4, Nextbox, Win-PC, Steambox and WiiU. Will publishers give that extra money to port/develop for Linux when (almost) all the people who use Steam already game on a Win-PC?

OT: 

Yes, 4 consoles can survive and be successful, but only if the makers accept reality.

It will depend on their expectations. If any console maker expects to sell +100 million consoles next gen then they wont be successful, but if their plan is to sell 30-40 millions then they will probably sell that amount and more.

Of course, that implies building and selling a machine that makes a profit with those sales in mind, but that is another story.