Just as a theoretical question - would you welcome it if instead of the current consideration, before each generation, a set of standards were developed for the next gen console, and any company was allowed to produce such a console.

This can be seen in most forms of technology - DVD players are all made to the same standards, and as such any dvd will play on any player. It has also been tried before with game consoles, but it did not work, and that is where I'm getting many of the 'cons' listed below.

As far as I see it

Pros

No more exclusives - anyone would be able to play any game without buying multiple systems

No more fanboy wars (hopefully)

A wider variety of choices in regards to certain things. With DVD players you can buy a $20 one from the cheap store, or an expensive one with all the bells and whistles. Imagine if a company could make a Wii, but give it a harddrive and make it upscale to 1080p

Cons

Who decides on the standards? If we had applied this system to the current gen we certainly wouldn't have an affordable, motion controlled console. Nor would we have a console with Blu Ray. I believe all risk taking would be kept to a minimum, and as a result, innovation would suffer.

No loss leaders, all console makers would lose a huge source of revenue - notably the fee from 3rd parties. As a result, console would be sold at a huge profit - look in the past, it has happened and that is why the console flopped.

No huge need to produce system sellers. The need to survive brings out the best in game developers, and if there wasn't the threat of complete elimination from the hardware business, there would be a lower quality of game made

Thoughts? Who would be happy with such a switch? Who wouldn't?

I've been sacrificing a chicken every single day hoping for 360 and Wii death.

I still need to practice my voodoo I guess.

No. Hell no. Never.

We'd never get new control inputs and the way we interact with games would stagnate. People don't realize how important the ability to deviate from the standard is for an interactive medium.

It would do wonders to loss leading strategy. Basically this has similar idea to 360 being licenced to 3rd parties or NES licensed to Mattel.

This also wouldn't mean an end to licence fees, since there would be a "videogames consortium" to which you'd be paying the fee for each unit of hardware and software manufactured.

Considering what has happened this gen, and what the devs want to support and the way it would take the progress, the consortium would surely get disrupted by someone who'd be doing badly or wanting to enter the market. Removing the competition would create space to the market for competition to enter.

It wouldn't be a complete utopia, but thinking that the consortium would able to remain as the only factor in the market is a bit naive.