A FABLE FROM AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE

In about 2010 a meeting is being held at Sony to finalize specs for the PS4. Realizing that HD isn’t going to get any more “H” so once you can achieve all that and high enough frame rate, there’s really no where to go they decide doubling the cells,  going to multi graphic cards, doubling the ram, keeping Blue-Ray and adding in a TB size hard disk would just about make the ultimate gaming console. And, says the chairman, “I think we can keep the price down to where we lose very little the first year and reach profitability by year two.” Everyone looks pleased until a very junior assistant to the assistant assistant quits typing on his Sony notebook and holds it up and says, “but sir my notebook computer  already  has multicellular architecture and SLI graphic cards, a 2 TB harddisk  and HDMI output. It can already outperform what you’re proposing and costs very little more. Everybody already owns one, and when you’re not playing games you can use it for school and making a living. And besides, it has its own HD screen and battery power so I can take my game with me where ever I go. Why would I spend money on a separate machine when I have this already.”

“But said the president, what about our teenagers, they’re our best customers?”

The young assistant shrugged. “From middle school on, they all have computers too and theirs tend to be even more advanced.”

“Well then,” yelled the president, “who the hell does that leave us for a console market, just the kiddies?”

“Well no says the vice president, “    not really. We always considered them too casual because they liked things like Nintendogs and Animal Crossing and dumb games like Mari Karts so we pretty much let Nintendo have them.”

“Well then,” thundered the now very irate chairman, what’s left, just the retirees that don’t need good computers?”

“Well not really,” the ex-senior vice chairman says sheepishly, “You remember that day I kinda foolishly announced we weren’t interested in the seniors; now they won’t even talk to us.”

The president sat down looking very glum. “Damn he says, it looks like we’ll just have to concentrate on building better notebooks and better games. We’re going to have to pay those SOBs over at Microsoft  a license for every gaming PC sold. Someone want to explain that waggle thing to me again?”

In Redwood Washington, a similar meeting is breaking up except the president says. “It looks like all we can do is write better versions of Halo and concentrate on creating a really good operating system for gaming and collect billions in licensing fees. If only those SOBs at Sony weren’t finally going to make money on that damn Blue-Ray. Someone want to explain that waggle thing to me again?”

Another meeting of software designers had just taken a vote on the resolution that the console wars and the incredible demands in developing graphics were making it impossible to make a profit so given the fact that most games were developed first on a computer, then the console makers would just have to take that and make it work. It passed unanimously.

At Nintendo, a great party was going on.

In the end, many computer manufacturers benefited by getting into the business. Microsoft did better by getting out of the hardware business where they didn’t belong and finally wrote the kind of operating system they should have written years before. Sony went back to doing what they do best and made probably the best gaming computer of all, and actually made money.

Game developers could concentrate on a single well known architecture and the number and quality of games went up while small companies could now afford to take chances of  bold new IPs.

Hardcore gamers were thrilled because of the quality of the games was better since every game was always on the development platform and never ported and because they now had access to all games. Best of ll, Mom and dad (or the boss) were happy to pay for their computer since it wasn’t a silly gaming thingamabob.

Nintendo, well they just stayed Nintendo. The Wii2 actually turned out to be the only “console” left and it was little changed except it added HD and BR. Motion + perfected motion control so it was still accessible to everyone  and even became popular with the hardcore who couldn’t even imagine a light saber battle fought any other way. And for the casuals, it looked like Mario would continue rescuing Princess Peach forever.  

So the end of the console war actually began the golden age of gaming.

The End