Tablets and smartphones will eventually take over (uncomfortable truth)

[Do4600]

Okay, imagine that as an all-in-one home hub which can connect to all the peripherals in one house, performing the roles of home cinema, personal computer, stereo, games console, and security system via wireless networking. That is the future, tablets will be relegated to the role of a remote interface.

My prediction? You're going to have a central "entertainment center/device" much like a console that will carry your common computer apps (microsoft office products, tax products, etc.), games, social media, etc. and will be accessible by your tv, mobile devices, etc.

Oh, so you mean a PC of 5 years ago....yeah, I already have one of those.

Back on topic, tablets can't replace everything, it just won't happen. Why? Because there are applications you wouldn't want to use on a tablet because it's not made for long work or play periods, not made for precision and not made to display or process large amounts of data. Those services will always be in demand.

 

[doomed89]

bahahah, it's hilarious that you think I'm buying into PR crap, because I actually COMPLETELY agree with you on the cloud gaming aspect. But what the PS4/Vita is doing isn't cloud gaming, which is why I think this will be the format you'll see in the future.

Where we may disagree is that you seem to think consoles will remain more or less the same for the next several decades. I think that consoles and PC's will be hybridized. In effect, we WON'T lose either consoles or PC's, but we'll have them both available in one shiny little box which will have the processing power to stream to multiple output devices at once, both locally at the home, and afar to your mobile devices.

Again, it has to be stressed, this isn't a crazy futuristic idea. This IS the concept behind the PS4/Vita (and the Wii U/Gamepad to a lesser extent). Where the argument lies is whether or not it will become a "central system" capable of providing for all your computer/entertainment needs. Arguably, this is already happening (at least in the entertainment section) with all consoles providing video streaming services, web browsing, and access to your tv/control of your cable box from your console. Will consoles make the next step towards full fledged computers and allow you to write your school paper on your 60 inch tv? Time will tell. But if Valve's emphasis on the Steambox and Dell's new X51 console-sized PC are any indication of the future, consoles and PC's are beginning to blur.

I must reiterate, this WILL NOT lead to the death of either, but a hybridization that will serve all your needs.

I also think if you follow the industry closely, it's clear this is not some future hypothesis, this IS happening NOW to some degree or another. The question is, how far will it go?

Cloud gaming though? Yea, I think the internet is too unwieldy to allow something as complicated as gaming to occur over a cloud.

It was mostly the cloud computing thing I was talking about. Cloud computing is completely useless, cloud gaming is viable with good internet but not great and certainly not usable on mass.

PCs and consoles will never hybrdize, they will both take ques from each other and improve and stuff like competition always does but PCs will remain open and consoles will remain closed. There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems, this is actually one of the few things I will actually say neither is inherently better (I think people overuse the everything has advantages and disadvantages argument and use it to defend crappy products). Also even if a console or pc had the power to stream to multiple devices at once, it'd be pointless, other devices can already watch movies and only vita has the control scheme to support playing an actual game.

No it's not a crazy idea, but people got their time tables wrong, that kind of change isn't going to happen any time soon, the technology hasn't been assimilated into enough places, there are a lot of draw backs that need to be compensated for, nobody has anything close to the infrastructure required to support something like that for 50-100 million people worldwide, hell some countries they ship in don't have the infrastructure for broadband online, not to mention if games keep getting bigger and disc based media continues to be cheaper then hardware space it's just cheaper to keep physical. We are looking at minimum a decade before it might become viable and even after it's viable I don't think it will happen, it goes with the if it's not broke don't fix it, and there is really no reason cloud gaming, digital distribution and physical distribution can't exist together and cutting one or two out because of some notion of it's the future is just going to lose customers (like we saw with xbone).

I just re-read that paragraph and I think I read it wrong but I don't want to delete my paragraph because it makes really good points, but yeah consoles will get more apps and more ability to be a central device but only because there's no reason not to, the consoles can handle it and it's relatively cheap, while MS is trying to own the living room, Sony and Nintendo just throw it in because there really isn't a reason not to I really don't think it will ever be the focus of a successful console though, it's just extra's that are nice to have it's not even close to a deciding factor for anyone getting a system but yeah, it's not going to change the fundamental console model it's just going to be like ps3/360 only with more apps and connectivity and like I said before pc and consoles won't merge because the open and close system for gaming are both appealing.

 

[absulute]

Well, I have both a smartphone and a tablet and I use my 3DS more than both combined.

I just can't see that changing any time soon.

 

[zehydra]

Tablets may overtake laptops, but they will never overtake the desktop computer. The way things are developed, the desktop computer will always be faster better stronger than its handheld counterpart. Add easy customization on top of that.

 

[barbzilla]

I think that mobile devices are the eventual replacement for game consoles and PCs. Granted, all this really means is that both PCs and consoles will go back to being the niche utilities they originally were (giving nerd angst meaning as their beloved hobbies slide back into relative obscurity) while mobile devices go on to replace the television set and movie night as top tier entertainment.

But is this a bad thing? When EA turns it attention from the millions of console and PC gaming enthusiasts to the billions of mobile device users (and they will), all that means is a clear line of demarcation between mediocrity and a project that someone put effort into. When both PCs and consoles become the living-room centerpieces of the elite on either side of the coin, that will divert game choices that aren't actually choices to people who have no choice.

One glorious day, buying full retail for a roster update will be the sort of thing that only Zynga will be able to get away with, while we all have a good laugh at the fools willing to spend money for permission to pay a game they already own. Getting away with that is easier with a smartphone or tablet where

A: You already paid upwards of $300 for the device and...

B: You already pay a monthly fee to keep using it.

So yes, the inevitable future where Microsoft is right about how we enjoy our hobby is coming. However, they'll have a better shot applying it to a tablet or a phone than the new XBOX.

Yeah, the "Let's show them how to bend over so they're ready for it in the future" marketing strategy was still a bonehead move. Doesn't help to be right if you're right at the wrong time.

Hate to break it to you, EA has already turned its attention to mobile devices. I've got a few of their games on my Xperia, and for the most part they aren't terrible (note: They aren't to par with their source material either, but they are well above most mobile games currently on the market).

OT: I agree Tablets and Phones will eventually hold the large chunk of the gaming market, however it will not replace consoles or PCs. Those will remain for those of us who enjoy those experiences. On top of that the PC has the ultimate staying power in the form of variety of function, making sure it will continue to have a large enough installed base to program for. Consoles are moving to become "entertainment boxes" more and more (even though Sony says it is all about the games, it has the entertainment box features as well with access to netflix, hulu, ect) to help them gain staying power.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I really don't see this being a realization any time soon, as tablets are grossly outmatched by any other laptop or computer, and not enough of the masses that have smartphones actually utilize all the capabilities of the smartphones.

A large percentage of individuals with smartphones are only interested in some device that will allow them to link up to various social networks, watch and take videos, take and share photos, and text. The fact that this large percentage of people don't smack themselves in the head whenever they see a commercial for these devices utilizing various useful and cleaver features is a sign that a conquest of these devices over other vastly superior and traditional devices is not at hand. Until the collective intelligence of these smartphone users rises to the point that they no longer underestimate their devices and allow tables to be upgraded, these devices are still ranked second behind computers, laptops, and reasonably sophisticated phones.

 

[MammothBlade]

Okay, imagine that as an all-in-one home hub which can connect to all the peripherals in one house, performing the roles of home cinema, personal computer, stereo, games console, and security system via wireless networking. That is the future, tablets will be relegated to the role of a remote interface.

Eh, I dunno. Something like that would have to use lots of universal connections, which is possible, but no company wants to make a universal device. They want to lock it down with patents so nobody else can make something that does the same thing. We might be getting "hubs" like this at some point (smart TVs are starting to get there, in a way), but I think the landscape of the market won't be too unfamiliar. Microsoft will have their own version that supports a certain list of devices, Apple will have their own that supports their list of certain devices, and so on and so forth. And none of them will be compatible between each other.

Maybe, but software companies would jump at it since they can massively cut the costs of developing for different platforms. And if big developers/publishers jump on such a universal platform, manufacturers will have to follow by making their devices compatible.

Smart TVs don't necessarily have the sort of versatility, or potentially, portability that the equivalent of an entertainment central nervous system might have. They'll use a technology such as bluetooth to ensure compatibility out of the box.

 

[Bonk4licious]

The gimmick with phone games that keeps most of us from playing them is the whole "pay to win" mentality. I had a zombie game I played on off time at work a lot when I first got my phone, that kept destroying me at levels and then telling me to pay money to get the super guns that I would win with. Mostly they're gimmicks that I think will die off, but not take over the industry. The one thing they may try to do, however, like with the WiiU and recent nVidia Shield, is set it up so that you have 1 "super" device, and it can go anywhere or connect to one Cloud or home machine. But I really doubt tablets and phones will affect the gaming market to a point we can say they've "taken over."

 

[doomed89]

The gimmick with phone games that keeps most of us from playing them is the whole "pay to win" mentality. I had a zombie game I played on off time at work a lot when I first got my phone, that kept destroying me at levels and then telling me to pay money to get the super guns that I would win with. Mostly they're gimmicks that I think will die off, but not take over the industry. The one thing they may try to do, however, like with the WiiU and recent nVidia Shield, is set it up so that you have 1 "super" device, and it can go anywhere or connect to one Cloud or home machine. But I really doubt tablets and phones will affect the gaming market to a point we can say they've "taken over."

Even the best of the best of phone games are on par with browser games (granted the best of the best browser games)

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

But if you think that in 5-7 years time we wont be playing better looking and more user friendly games on mobiles and tablets then you are sadly disillusioned

You're just bored and trying to stir up trouble, aren't you?

Remember when people said that other companies would put Nintendo out of business with their fancy graphics? Or when laptop gaming would put PC dekstops into the past because of their mobility and compact size? Remember the dozens of articles all over the web proclaimed PC gaming was going to die because of this, that, the other and the motion of the ocean?

Stop making tin foil hat threads. We don't need more of them.

Mobile gaming is on the rise, but that doesn't mean something has to die in its wake. That's for the laughs though.

 

[Bonk4licious]

The gimmick with phone games that keeps most of us from playing them is the whole "pay to win" mentality. I had a zombie game I played on off time at work a lot when I first got my phone, that kept destroying me at levels and then telling me to pay money to get the super guns that I would win with. Mostly they're gimmicks that I think will die off, but not take over the industry. The one thing they may try to do, however, like with the WiiU and recent nVidia Shield, is set it up so that you have 1 "super" device, and it can go anywhere or connect to one Cloud or home machine. But I really doubt tablets and phones will affect the gaming market to a point we can say they've "taken over."

Even the best of the best of phone games are on par with browser games (granted the best of the best browser games)

I think I see what you're saying, I'm kind of with Dr Pepper here, where it's a rising part of the market, but like web browser games, they aren't going to affect the traffic we throw at major titles, they're certainly distractions and potential profit sources but nothing else really. Just kind of filler to get you through your boring office job, because the work isn't that hard but your boss needs to believe it is, darn it.

 

[Hero of Lime]

Honestly, I think there's a bigger danger that people are being taken over by their smart devices than console gaming in general. I wouldn't worry about console or handheld gaming, most of us won't trade in the types of games we play just cause our smartphones have lots of popular games, there will always be a large enough group of gamers who want devices dedicated to gaming.

 

[doomed89]

I think I see what you're saying, I'm kind of with Dr Pepper here, where it's a rising part of the market, but like web browser games, they aren't going to affect the traffic we throw at major titles, they're certainly distractions and potential profit sources but nothing else really. Just kind of filler to get you through your boring office job, because the work isn't that hard but your boss needs to believe it is, darn it.

The rising is over it's already starting to level off, people thinking that phone games would continue their pace are delusional.

Honestly, I think there's a bigger danger that people are being taken over by their smart devices than console gaming in general. I wouldn't worry about console or handheld gaming, most of us won't trade in the types of games we play just cause our smartphones have lots of popular games, there will always be a large enough group of gamers who want devices dedicated to gaming.

There's also the possibility of people gaming on phones bring them into consoles and handhelds if they start to like it and want to upgrade so to speak.

 

[veloper]

Ouya.

That TV you want to play on isn't portable like your smartphone. Lock that smartphone in your living room and add a controller, then what you get is basicly just an Ouya.
Consoles may be in trouble, but the actual problem is more likely to be M$ and Sony screwing up.

 

[Fonejackerjon]

Stop making tin foil hat threads. We don't need more of them.

Mobile gaming is on the rise, but that doesn't mean something has to die in its wake. That's for the laughs though.[/quote]

Ok ,ok maybe they wont kill console gaming completely but they should. Honeslty though how much more shit are gamers gonna take on the consoles? overpriced games for the same shit year after year. I respect mobile gaming they are changing the landscape good quality, titles are regularly offered for free, the are simple, fun and addictive all next gen will do is make prettier FMV sequences. Do you honeslty think that is worth the investment?

 

[J Tyran]

Yes and no, no as in people are not going to dump dedicated gaming devices to buy tablets or phones. Yes as in they are ultimately going to replace everything eventually. When we finally get good quality wireless HDMI and devices become powerful enough it will be easier to have one single high powered device that can take over from PCs and consoles and media centers.

When mobile devices can seamlessly display on any and all screens and have enough resources to do the job of a computer it will be more convenient, they wont replace AAA gaming anyway you will just see those games on these devices.

Unless there is another radical shift in technology that noone has seen coming yet of course.

 

[MammothBlade]

Ok ,ok maybe they wont kill console gaming completely but they should. Honeslty though how much more shit are gamers gonna take on the consoles? overpriced games for the same shit year after year. I respect mobile gaming they are changing the landscape good quality, titles are regularly offered for free, the are simple, fun and addictive all next gen will do is make prettier FMV sequences. Do you honeslty think that is worth the investment?

Seriously? Point me to some good mobile games that offer the same level of immersion or content that console titles can provide. That and simple, fun, and addictive? That could be applied to a lot of things. And besides, overly simplistic games can't stay fun for long, at least in my view.

Let's put it this way, most mobile games seem like shallow distractions which don't hold a candle to console games. I would play a mobile game to pass time if I had no access to my consoles, handhelds, or PC. So where are the counter-examples?

Also, the freemium model regularly milks tablet & mobile gamers for cash, how is it worth it in the long run to keep paying ludicrous amounts of money just for your next unlock or ingame item? That can easily cost the same as an AAA game, and you get comparatively less value in return. By those standards, mobile gamers put up with just as much stupid shit as console gamers.

 

[klaynexas3]

Ok ,ok maybe they wont kill console gaming completely but they should. Honeslty though how much more shit are gamers gonna take on the consoles? overpriced games for the same shit year after year. I respect mobile gaming they are changing the landscape good quality, titles are regularly offered for free, the are simple, fun and addictive all next gen will do is make prettier FMV sequences. Do you honeslty think that is worth the investment?

Microtransactions. Have you played a majority of phone games? Most will milk you of all your money, hiding most of the content behind a wall. The ones that don't have a play time of maybe 5 hours if you're on a bus or a toilet. The best phone game barely compares to a mediocre console or PC game. If you want to play phone games, go play your damn phone games. I'll take $60 for a Mass Effect or Dragon Age over a $3 Angry Birds.

Also, even when a majority of gaming is done on mobile devices like tablets or phones, you'll see worse price gouging than it is today. Think Australian prices if their dollar was worth the British Pound.

You talk about disillusionment, but companies are companies, so when they know they can milk an audience, they'll milk it dry, and you're the one that can't see that.

 

[Fonejackerjon]

Ok ,ok maybe they wont kill console gaming completely but they should. Honeslty though how much more shit are gamers gonna take on the consoles? overpriced games for the same shit year after year. I respect mobile gaming they are changing the landscape good quality, titles are regularly offered for free, the are simple, fun and addictive all next gen will do is make prettier FMV sequences. Do you honeslty think that is worth the investment?

Microtransactions. Have you played a majority of phone games? Most will milk you of all your money, hiding most of the content behind a wall. The ones that don't have a play time of maybe 5 hours if you're on a bus or a toilet. The best phone game barely compares to a mediocre console or PC game. If you want to play phone games, go play your damn phone games. I'll take $60 for a Mass Effect or Dragon Age over a $3 Angry Birds.

Also, even when a majority of gaming is done on mobile devices like tablets or phones, you'll see worse price gouging than it is today. Think Australian prices if their dollar was worth the British Pound.

You talk about disillusionment, but companies are companies, so when they know they can milk an audience, they'll milk it dry, and you're the one that can't see that.

Microtransactions are generally optional and you usually only need them if your crap at a game. Id rather pay nothing up front for a game then the odd $1 here and there to enhance the experience than pay $60 then $15 for some crap DLC. Again you quote games like mass effect that are little more than interactive movies with no challenge I owned this game! and I get far more enjoyment from a simple challenging game than playing an interactive movie

 

[DragonStorm247]

Yes they might take a more dominant position in the handheld field. No they are not going to replace console/PC. No one wants to abandon the comfort of your couch/chair with a big screen and controller(or kb/m is you prefer) that is designed for gaming. Unless you are saying we will eventually be HDMI'ing our phones into our televisions and bluetoothing a controller to it, at which point it basically is a console.

So no, the only thing that can ever replace that experience would be something like VR.