Current console generation to last 9 years

[ph0b0s123]

Microsoft And Sony Targeting 2014 For New Consoles, Leaving Nintendo In The Clear

The next Xbox and the next PlayStation won't be released until 2014, if Microsoft and Sony have their way, industry sources tell Kotaku.

Both companies are hoping to wait out the current generation, and extending an already elongated console life-cycle despite clear signs that Nintendo will launch its next machine by the end of 2012.

"Both MS and Sony are telegraphing to each other that they're delaying, to milk the current [generation] and fill in previous craters better," one insider who has worked with the first-party companies like Sony and Microsoft told us.

From:
http://kotaku.com/#!5794000/microsoft-and-sony-targeting-2014-for-new-consoles-leaving-nintendo-in-the-clear

9 years?! As a gamer who loves their gaming being cutting edge this is bad news. I know others will love not having to buy new hardware for a long time or be happy that dev's will have to focus on gameplay rather than better graphics etc to sell games. But for those of us who are always looking for the games that push the technical envelope this will be the most stagnant generation ever.

 

[Megacherv]

Well, remember that they've been going for quite a while now, about 5 years. Also remember that that's just the life-cycle of the one console, another console normally starts about the 7th/8th year of the current console's cycle (this is just judging from Sony's previous consoles, but Microsoft seem to be following their pattern)

 

[Harlief]

People have invested a lot of money in this current generation of consoles, the sunny side of this decision is that people who've spent all that money won't be forking out for the next generation console for some time.
If you want cutting edge tech, PC is the best way to ride the wave.

 

[ph0b0s123]

Well, remember that they've been going for quite a while now, about 5 years. Also remember that that's just the life-cycle of the one console, another console normally starts about the 7th/8th year of the current console's cycle (this is just judging from Sony's previous consoles, but Microsoft seem to be following their pattern)

Yeah, but what is being talked about is the launch of new consoles in 2014, not their end of life, so the current Sony and Microsoft console lifetime could be 10 or 11 years....

And so far Sony has kept a six year gap between console launches, so a nine year gap is be out of the ordinary.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

I personally think it's great. Even if it is the best graphics you are looking for I think you'll find that those sort of things only get better and better as a consoles life cycle gets longer, as developers get more and more experience in learning how get the biggest bang for their buck out of the technology.

If you look at the history of the previous generations (especially the PS2) some of the greatest games came out right towards the end of the cycle.

And yes, as stated I'm more than happy with my current XBOX 360 HDTV setup and don't really want to spend another $600 - $800 upgrading to a new console that, frankly, I don't feel would add a huge amount to things like graphical fidelity (though lower loading times would be nice Bioware!)

 

[MrStab]

well, this makes me glad im pimarily a PC gamer although in saying that PC has always been at the front for graphics and top of the line tech.

 

[Buizel91]

Well i'm happy with this ^_^

I hate it when companies just rush out a console, i mean look what happened with the Xbox when it was released.

Lets hope that doesn't happen again.

 

[ph0b0s123]

I personally think it's great. Even if it is the best graphics you are looking for I think you'll find that those sort of things only get better and better as a consoles life cycle gets longer, as developers get more and more experience in learning how get the biggest bang for their buck out of the technology.

If you look at the history of the previous generations (especially the PS2) some of the greatest games came out right towards the end of the cycle.

And yes, as stated I'm more than happy with my current XBOX 360 HDTV setup and don't really want to spend another $600 - $800 upgrading to a new console that, frankly, I don't feel would add a huge amount to things like graphical fidelity (though lower loading times would be nice Bioware!)

The question is though did those great end of generation PS2 graphics look as good a what was on the PS3 at launch? I'm am all for optimizing and getting what you can out of hardware, but at some point it is a case of diminishing returns as new hardware is needed...

well, this makes me glad im pimarily a PC gamer although in saying that PC has always been at the front for graphics and top of the line tech.

Yeah, cause this won't mean even more years of DX 9 console ports....

 

[DustyDrB]

Move and Kinect were their ways of extending the life of their current consoles. Besides, what advances in technology are they in dire need of? The games on them look fantastic despite being outdated for years. I know better graphics and overall performance are necessary (for some) at this point, but I think they're going to need to do something else to make an upgrade seem more worthwhile to people[footnote]And I don't mean the kind of people who frequent video game forums. I mean the kind of people who just see games from ads and don't know anything about the technology itself. So I'm not talking about you, the person who will quote me and tell me how far behind PC gaming the PS3 and Xbox 360 are.[/footnote].

For Nintendo, the new console is going to be able to distinguish itself easily from the Wii if only because it will be more powerful and will support HD. How will Microsoft and Sony be able to distinguish their next gen machines?

All I want out of new console technology is potential for making (much much much) better AI.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

I personally think it's great. Even if it is the best graphics you are looking for I think you'll find that those sort of things only get better and better as a consoles life cycle gets longer, as developers get more and more experience in learning how get the biggest bang for their buck out of the technology.

If you look at the history of the previous generations (especially the PS2) some of the greatest games came out right towards the end of the cycle.

And yes, as stated I'm more than happy with my current XBOX 360 HDTV setup and don't really want to spend another $600 - $800 upgrading to a new console that, frankly, I don't feel would add a huge amount to things like graphical fidelity (though lower loading times would be nice Bioware!)

The question is though did those great end of generation PS2 graphics look as good a what was on the PS3 at launch? I'm am all for optimizing and getting what you can out of hardware, but at some point it is a case of diminishing returns as new hardware is needed...

well, this makes me glad im pimarily a PC gamer although in saying that PC has always been at the front for graphics and top of the line tech.

Yeah, cause this won't mean even more years of DX 9 console ports....

You're right, it is a case of diminishing returns with developers getting the most out of consoles without new technology, but the technology itself suffers from this problem as well.

It's been stated by many of the Escapist's content makers much more eloquently, but looking at the graphical improvements between console iterations they are getting less and less pronounced as time goes on (which is obviously going to be the case no matter what).

I feel if the developers brought out a new console within the next year or two then the improvements would be so minor that it wouldn't really be worth getting. They should continue working on perfecting the games for this current gen while we wait to make sufficient technological advances to make a new console worthwhile.

But, unlike many PC gamers I have never chased graphical improvements and have mostly been happy to take them as they come.

 

[Cry Wolf]

I love this current long running console gnereation. It's made PC gaming cheap and I haven't had to upgrade in years, and my PC is vastly superior to a console. It makes my small wallet very happy, so long live the current console generation!

 

[MrStab]

I personally think it's great. Even if it is the best graphics you are looking for I think you'll find that those sort of things only get better and better as a consoles life cycle gets longer, as developers get more and more experience in learning how get the biggest bang for their buck out of the technology.

If you look at the history of the previous generations (especially the PS2) some of the greatest games came out right towards the end of the cycle.

And yes, as stated I'm more than happy with my current XBOX 360 HDTV setup and don't really want to spend another $600 - $800 upgrading to a new console that, frankly, I don't feel would add a huge amount to things like graphical fidelity (though lower loading times would be nice Bioware!)

The question is though did those great end of generation PS2 graphics look as good a what was on the PS3 at launch? I'm am all for optimizing and getting what you can out of hardware, but at some point it is a case of diminishing returns as new hardware is needed...

well, this makes me glad im pimarily a PC gamer although in saying that PC has always been at the front for graphics and top of the line tech.

Yeah, cause this won't mean even more years of DX 9 console ports....

You're right, it is a case of diminishing returns with developers getting the most out of consoles without new technology, but the technology itself suffers from this problem as well.

It's been stated by many of the Escapist's content makers much more eloquently, but looking at the graphical improvements between console iterations they are getting less and less pronounced as time goes on (which is obviously going to be the case no matter what).

I feel if the developers brought out a new console within the next year or two then the improvements would be so minor that it wouldn't really be worth getting. They should continue working on perfecting the games for this current gen while we wait to make sufficient technological advances to make a new console worthwhile.

But, unlike many PC gamers I have never chased graphical improvements and have mostly been happy to take them as they come.

This is in my opinion why console gaming is dying (dying a slow death that won't show results for another 8-15 years but dying none the less) because so many people want the highest level of graphics and tech i believe it will push a lot of gamers to PC gaming. Because think about it if it's set at nine year interval per console release that gap if it doesn't stay the same will slowly increase as it has because it costs so much to design a completely new console to last an adequate amount of time before the tech is viewed as out dated, where as if you use a PC replace a few parts here and there and keep going without having to buy a whole new machine.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

You're right, it is a case of diminishing returns with developers getting the most out of consoles without new technology, but the technology itself suffers from this problem as well.

It's been stated by many of the Escapist's content makers much more eloquently, but looking at the graphical improvements between console iterations they are getting less and less pronounced as time goes on (which is obviously going to be the case no matter what).

I feel if the developers brought out a new console within the next year or two then the improvements would be so minor that it wouldn't really be worth getting. They should continue working on perfecting the games for this current gen while we wait to make sufficient technological advances to make a new console worthwhile.

But, unlike many PC gamers I have never chased graphical improvements and have mostly been happy to take them as they come.

This is in my opinion why console gaming is dying (dying a slow death that won't show results for another 8-15 years but dying none the less) because so many people want the highest level of graphics and tech i believe it will push a lot of gamers to PC gaming. Because think about it if it's set at nine year interval per console release that gap if it doesn't stay the same will slowly increase as it has because it costs so much to design a completely new console to last an adequate amount of time before the tech is viewed as out dated, where as if you use a PC replace a few parts here and there and keep going without having to buy a whole new machine.

I don't think that's accurate, especially the part about consoles dying out. The great thing about consoles is the fact that more people use them than just those that would know how to change over a graphics card or install a new cooling system in their PC. I'm fairly tech savvy (or at least am for my circle of friends) and that shit scares the hell out of me. I'd be worried about crossing a wire or plugging something into the wrong hole and causing more damage than I can fix. Now I know that, for the most part, you can upgrade things like that fairly easily but you have to understand that from the viewpoint of someone who doesn't do that sort of thing on a regular basis it's easier to just buy a brand new console.

Of course there will always be people who are chasing after every technical advantage, but the happy coincidence is that, for the most part, the people who are chasing after that extra graphical edge also happen to be the people who would feel comfortable upgrading their PC, so that is always an option for them.

 

[Koroviev]

Move and Kinect were their ways of extending the life of their current consoles. Besides, what advances in technology are they in dire need of? The games on them look fantastic despite being outdated for years. I know better graphics and overall performance are necessary (for some) at this point, but I think they're going to need to do something else to make an upgrade seem more worthwhile to people

For Nintendo, the new console is going to be able to distinguish itself easily from the Wii if only because it will be more powerful and will support HD. How will Microsoft and Sony be able to distinguish their next gen machines?

All I want out of new console technology is potential for making (much much much) better AI.

Good points. Perhaps I am incorrect, but wouldn't a significant graphical upgrade result in much longer development periods? I recall reading an article by Shamus in which he explains that FFVII will never be remade for the simple fact that current-gen graphics are a major drain on development resources. Thus, it's not realistic either financially or time-wise to develop certain games of old.

 

[AdamRBi]

That's not so bad, I mean we all know what one of the biggest selling points will be for their next consoles. They'll go the way of Films with 3D and the longer they wait on that the cheaper and more common the technology will be.

Also I picture a solid online distribution system for AAA titles and such, which by 2014 will probably be all we have left after the robots eat all our disc formats for their nutritious sodium hydroxide filled Polycarbonates.

 

[ScoopMeister]

I won't have enough money to buy the next gen consoles straight away anyway, so I'm glad to leave it for as long as possible.

 

[Vonnis]

As a gamer who loves his gaming to be cutting edge, you really should be gaming on pc, not on console. Not trying to incite another pc vs console flamewar but that comment just makes no sense.

 

[Brawndo]

As a gamer who loves his gaming to be cutting edge, you really should be gaming on pc, not on console. Not trying to incite another pc vs console flamewar but that comment just makes no sense.

The problem is consoles are where the money is, so there are few PC-exclusives nowadays that aren't strategy games. Any FPS titles will have to be scaled down to be able to run on PS3/360 hardware

 

[Vonnis]

As a gamer who loves his gaming to be cutting edge, you really should be gaming on pc, not on console. Not trying to incite another pc vs console flamewar but that comment just makes no sense.

The problem is consoles are where the money is, so there are few PC-exclusives nowadays that aren't strategy games. Any FPS titles will have to be scaled down to be able to run on PS3/360 hardware

That is unfortunately true, but we're not talking about exclusives. We're talking about the tech aspect, which is preferred to be "cutting edge", and (gaming) pc's make any game look much better than the console counterpart true the use of higher resolutions, proper AA, and all the goodies using a directx version higher than 9 bring to the table. Sure, developers apparently hate the platform so much that some games don't have proper graphics options, but resolution can always be changed, and if there's no AA option (or if there is one but it sucks) you can select it in your nvidia/ati control panel.

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

Well to be fair, the whole Direct X thing is a bit overrated, just recently Funcom released an update to their game engine used in Age of Conan to add in all sorts of new effect like the fabled godrays, and improved lighting and reflections, and make it all work on the DX9 build of the game too. Much like the Source engine, you can make it do anything you want if you just spend enough time tweaking what you have.

Edit: And well, graphical advancements have been slowing down for a while now anyway, and personally, for me, they don't have to get much better anyway, let's see other aspects of gaming like storytelling, gameplay mechanics and so on, I'd much rather see another Portal, Katamari Damacy or Fragile Dreams than another Call of Duty but ~prettier~. Using a bajillion polygons can only do so much for gaming.