acosn said:
[snip]
And I really don't see where you get the idea that the price tag would be what makes it more of a PC than a proper console- think about how much a PS3 cost at it's onset. Now realize that PC gamer regularly checks on the price for the cheapest entry leveling gaming rig, and usually has the price hanging from 450 bucks to 500 bucks. Now realize that a console is effective a computer now, that never has it's specs change. It'll get cheaper to make- that's just how it works.
I'm kind of doubtful the hardware industry is just going to sit by and let a few gaming companies standardize their highly lucrative IPs. "Never have their specs change", tell that to an Intel exec and see how he reacts .... They've built their entire business model on a tick-tock schedule, constantly driving a market for new generations of hardware. If anything, I think we will start to see much shorter lifespans for consoles; where revisions (slim etc) turn into versions with limited compatibility.
In terms of hardware, I think there is a push towards general computing units in the industry, something that will likely see a modification of the good ol' von Neumann architecture. Until that time, however, I think little is going to change in the roles of either machine. Certainly you can transfer some capabilities between the machines, but that's not really accomplishing anything, is it?
