New tech could make consoles obsolete

[nanoseq]

If games go to download-only, I will not buy ANY of them. When you download, you can't transfer from console to console, and you don't really OWN a copy of the game, there is no physical game disk.

Not to mention you can't resell the game, something the publishers are trying very hard to make a reality for all consumers. Maybe if they didn't overcharge for games (and likewise didn't make Hollywood-style multi-million dollar games), the used game market wouldn't be so massive right now. Not to mention the economy... at least in some countries such as the USA.

Streaming games...? The cost and latency of downloading multi-gigabyte game data over and over again is one of the most blatant cases of "progress for the sake of progress and expanding our profit margin" that I've ever heard of. It would be cheaper and less power-hungry to manufacture a disk instead of taking all that bandwidth just to transfer games.

Streaming DOES work for games like Second Life or other online games, but that's different. The game is usually free and the data works better as streamed content because it is dynamic and may be always changing.

I will tell you right now, if Sega rereleased their old consoles and games again as brand new, I would pay full 1990-whatever prices for them. Totally. But no downloads!

[Tsuruneru]

Well yes it would be a bad idea because many kids and adults don't have the requirements to buy games on line let alone anything else. So the gaming market would fall faster than maybe anything in the history of stocks.

[yuujirou]

consoles are already obsolete to me xD
i haven't even touched one in about 3 years
lolz

[Tsuruneru]

I see, thats interesting.

[iPhantom]

Originally Posted by BucktheWolf

The consoles seem to do pretty well with their internet gaming...
Isn't WoW an internet game?
There's lag, but people groan and get over it.
The internet is not the problem. It's the streaming vs. downloading a hard copy.

Yeah, but that's the reason console games are more popular than MMOs. Lag. They get none and are much more fun to play.

Unless we have some super reliable and uber fast internet, this won't get any far.

[Tsuruneru]

Originally Posted by iPhantom

Yeah, but that's the reason console games are more popular than MMOs. Lag. They get none and are much more fun to play.

Unless we have some super reliable and uber fast internet, this won't get any far.

Yes but say you are getting board of all your games? And the lag could just be small and not the problem.

[iPhantom]

Originally Posted by Tsuruneru

Yes but say you are getting board of all your games? And the lag could just be small and not the problem.

You can get bored with MMOs as well so I don't see your point. Actually you get bored easier because of the repetitive monster killing and pointless quests they do.

The lag happens in many servers. And when your connection has problems you can't play.

[Tenchu]

I don't really think this tech will have a massive impact.

I mean, first, the gaming industry is huge money. It's bigger than the movie industry. How game makers choose to distribute their games is going to be based on how they can make the best money.

I mean, if the technology did become available (though the tech is years away) to stream decent games straight into your televisions, there would be a massive subscription fee that'd probably reflect the amount of money that you'd alternately be spending to buy new games anyway (maybe $100 US per month?). You'd also have to buy special controllers.

Realistically, I think a lot of things will become more involved in the internet, but it will be done through consoles, mostly; the consoles already have massive online features, and these will only get better. Consoles will get better and more inclusive each generation. In the end, I would not be surprised if they almost completely replace DVD players, and also replace the PC for a large number of people who only want the PC for stuff like what we're doing now and bashing and stuff.

[Tsuruneru]

Originally Posted by iPhantom

You can get bored with MMOs as well so I don't see your point. Actually you get bored easier because of the repetitive monster killing and pointless quests they do.

The lag happens in many servers. And when your connection has problems you can't play.

Well thats like games similar to wow but oh well I'm not for this idea anyway.