Consoles needs to change

[mindlesspuppet]

Alright, background info :

When my high end computer works I play computer games, when it fails I play console games and vice versa. I bought the new 360 slim with mass effect 3 and gears of war 3 since my old one red ringed. It was a good feeling to play console games again, especially lying comfortably on the couch.

What I have noticed though, it the big difference between hardware performance. So why cant there be consoles where you can upgrade the hardware? It should be that difficult right? I can imagine consoles being designed in a more compact way obviously, but why not design something where you can replace a graphics card in the same way you can change a memory chip?

I think there are only upsides to such a console. It would reduce the need for "next gen" consoles every 5 years.

Thoughts?

Or! You could do the sensible thing and play your PC from your couch... Wired 360 controllers are plug and play with Windows, the wireless ones require a $15-20 adapter. Even most budget discreet graphics cards have multiple outputs you could use for your TV.

That being said, a console which you can upgrade hardware for would defeat the purpose of a console. If your idea of a console is something that is compact why not take a look at mini-ATX rigs? You can build them damn near console size. The Alienware X51 is console size.


And I'm sorry, but a nextgen console every 5 years? Did you not notice the current gen is almost a decade old.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Not sure if I remember correctly, but didn't the ColecoVision allow upgrades?
Even an upgrade that actually turned it into a computer, with keyboard and printer etc?

 

[Something Amyss]

So your solution to not needing a new console every five years is a need to upgrade components more constantly?

or..you know

better support for the PC platform....

Which, if you're swapping out your components anyway, you might as well be playing anyway. Hell, you can get a 360 controller and play on your TV if you want.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

One of the main selling points of a console is that it's hardware is closed off.

Game devs only have to worry about making their game compatible with those specs and consumers don't have to worry about the games they buy not working properly with their hardware.

Exactly, but in the next generation, there are a few things that need to change, in particular, the memory which a console ships with. With more and more games going for the "install for optimal performance" approach, and downloadable content being a big thing, we are in desperate need for bigger hard drives by default. Possibly more accesibility to add more memory in a way that is simple, as well, perhaps with specially made portable memory. It'd certainly have to be bigger than the average USB, but hopefully still compact.

I hope its something similar to what Xbox is doing, you can install if you want the game to run great, but its entirely optional.

I love my PS3 but that 60GB it came with is running out D: has run out, im down to 25MB

http://asia.cnet.com/upsize-your-ps3-hard-drive-62032875.htm

I have a cheap 500Gb in my Fat 80Gb backwards compatible. If you have a 60Gb then it's pretty much identical (though under the hood yours is better for PS2 games than mine).

OP - the only useful thing to upgrade is the HD. And I've done that.

Thanks for this, ill definitely look into it. Also my PS3 doesnt play PS2 games, unless you meant Its easier to mod to allow you to play PS2 games

 

[GundamSentinel]

Not a good idea because:

- Incompatibility: if developers start making games for an upgraded console, that could easily give trouble for the non-upgraded ones. It even happens now between different versions of the same console. And that's still ignoring possible unfair advantages in MP games.
- Decreased ease of use: a lot of people (including me) buy a console because it's an inert black box that's there to play games and doesn't need fiddling to make it work optimally. It's the reason I switched to console in the first place.
- Developers being unable to optimize their games for a given system.

Making an upgradable console would mean making a crappy (and probably expensive) PC. I doubt there are a lot of people who would want that. Only recently have I returned to PC games, because I bought a new laptop for my university work...

Could I upgrade the processor and get faster loading times? That's the only advantage I can see. By default, my Xbox plays any Xbox game I put into it. My laptop doesn't have that capability due to the system specs. I don't want my Xbox to become like my laptop.

If you want to play games, dont use a laptop.

... a cheap, nowhere near high-end one, which happens to run everything I throw at it at high settings. The difference between laptops and desktops is nowhere near as large as it was. But even then my console remains my primary platform, because I can rely on it to play my games, even though the graphical quality is less than that of games I could play on my laptop.

 

[The_Lost_King]

Could I upgrade the processor and get faster loading times? That's the only advantage I can see. By default, my Xbox plays any Xbox game I put into it. My laptop doesn't have that capability due to the system specs. I don't want my Xbox to become like my laptop.

If you want to play games, dont use a laptop.

But I prefer sitting on my couch with my laptop in my lap rather than hunched over on my desk.

 

[Korten12]

If you want to play games, dont use a laptop.

Bullcrap. I can list all the games I've tried to run on my laptop and fail on a single finger.

That list is as follows:

Metro: 2033

Sure you might not be able to play all the latest ultra-graphical AAA releases, but that's hardly all games available on the PC.

Agreed. I can play BF3 on my laptop with good settings.

Even Crysis 2.

Laptops aren't as powerful, but they're viable to an extent.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Thanks for this, ill definitely look into it. Also my PS3 doesnt play PS2 games, unless you meant Its easier to mod to allow you to play PS2 games

I thought 60Gb were the first PS3s. Those were not only backward compatible, but was the only PS3 model that had the emotion engine in it. My 80Gb is gen 2 (no emotion engine, but still fat and BC).

I din't know there were other 60Gb varieties...

There are apparently, I know the 20GB PS3 can run them, but they havent been sold in 2 years

 

[Guy from the 80's]

HAHA behold! Microsoft share my cleverness.

A recent patent filing suggests that Microsoft's next console is based on the idea that it can be scaled up - or down - over time, leading to speculation that the current notion of a console lifecycle could be replaced with rolling hardware upgrades

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-microsoft-scalable-platform-patent

Steve Balmer should call me.

 

[pat34us]

From what I've read, the biggest downfall of the PS3 is that is severely limited in RAM. RAM is also the easiest thing to upgrade in a PC.

It would be great if it were possible to just stick in a new RAM module into the PS3.

Yes, but no games would use the extra RAM, I have had similar discussions and they cannot make a console with upgradeable parts. What they need to do is future proof consoles as much as possible to extend their life spans, the PS3 did a fairly good job, but what were they thinking reguarding the RAM issue?

 

[Weaver]

The Nintendo 64 had a memory expansion thing you could insert into it; that was pretty cool.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

What I have noticed though, it the big difference between hardware performance. So why cant there be consoles where you can upgrade the hardware? It should be that difficult right? I can imagine consoles being designed in a more compact way obviously, but why not design something where you can replace a graphics card in the same way you can change a memory chip?

Y'know, I think there's a name for something that can do that. They're called PC's, if I remember correctly.


I think you're missing the point of a console. The reason they exist is so that you don't have to worry about different hardware. That's the reason console devs exist- they have to optimise for 1 spec and 1 alone, which is far, far easier.
There is absolutely no point, and ruins the one benefit of consoles - You don't have to worry about that stuff. One purchase and it's done.

 

[Guy from the 80's]

The Nintendo 64 had a memory expansion thing you could insert into it; that was pretty cool.

That is pretty cool. I wonder why that didn't catch on.

 

[Guy from the 80's]

The reason they exist is so that you don't have to worry about different hardware. That's the reason console devs exist- they have to optimise for 1 spec and 1 alone, which is far, far easier.
There is absolutely no point, and ruins the one benefit of consoles - You don't have to worry about that stuff. One purchase and it's done.

No no, you misunderstand. It would be 100 manufacturers making upgrades. It would be one selected manufacturer so devs wont have to worry about stuff. See link just posted

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I'm not sure if you mean all consoles in general, but you can actually switch the PS3 hard drive for one that has more memory. I'm planning on upgrading my 60 GB PS3 model by replacing the hard drive with a 500 GB hard drive, which will cost me around $200-.

 

[Guy from the 80's]

I'm not sure if you mean all consoles in general, but you can actually switch the PS3 hard drive for one that has more memory. I'm planning on upgrading my 60 GB PS3 model by replacing the hard drive with a 500 GB hard drive, which will cost me around $200-.

I'm pretty much talking about upgrading a videocard and the likes.

 

[BenefitEvil]

I honestly don't think changing the hardware spec of the consoles are going to change all that much. I think a push needs to be made for a more variety of game types. This may be the old school gamer in my but graphics do not make a game you can have the best picture in the world but if what is being shown is utter crap what was the point?
Getting the devs to make use of the current hardware would be a start, lets focus on that before we start wishing for bigger and better specs.

 

[Guy from the 80's]

We know what you're saying. It's just that most of us disagree with you.

Microsoft doesnt seem to

 

[GangstaPony]

I see a lot of complaints about every new generation of console not being powerful enough but I also thing this is a case of developers not being creative enough to make use of what they have. It's a Ford guys, it's not going to 0-60 in 3 secs no matter how hard you cry. If Skyrim can run on the X-Box then the sky is truly the limit and there should be no complaints. Yet everyone is making shitty shooters and being all... "WAAH! CONSOLES SUCK!!"

Every new game could have an Inception style uniqueness to it but everyone is happy watching Transformers again and again and again. That's the problem. Buy all those indie games everyone like so much.

 

[Guy from the 80's]

We know what you're saying. It's just that most of us disagree with you.

Microsoft doesnt seem to

Since I don't buy MS products... this doesn't affect me.
Didn't they also have the brilliant idea for the next gen that they can limit physical media to one specific console?

Yeah, there's some great ideas coming out of MS... pfft!
(imagine a thumbs down accompanied by my mouth making a farting noise)

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