We all know that console gaming is approaching a singularity where it basically just becomes a games-only PC. The PS4 and XBONE being the prime examples, while Nintendo focuses on innovation (or gimmicks in some cases) to prolong console gaming's lifespan.
Regardless of your opinion on which platform is best, there is no denying that the biggest market for games in in fact the PORTABLE demographic.
Games released on iPhone, Android and even Windows 7/8 Phones tend to sell incredibly well versus console games.
For the most part, this may be due to the fact that the games are FAR cheaper, but another obvious answer is that mobile platforms have more to offer than normal games machines do.
The Playstation Vita in fact had the capability to pay console-quality games, and came with smartphone standard apps, and the possibility of playing your games over a cellular network as well as Wi-Fi, but as we all know, the Vita is pretty much a flop.
Even the 3DS, which is doing incredibly well, can't compare to the DS family before it, perhaps due to the ubiquity of smartphones.
As I was pondering on this the other day, I came across an ad for the NVIDIA Shield, which was on sale for $200. Seeing how the Shield was basically an 360-esque controller built into a small screen, I got to thinking that there could be some physical design to allow button based console games to continue onward.
Of course the obvious hurdles would revolve around having a console small, powerful and portable, all while boasting a decent battery life.
Here are the specs of the Shield, for the unenlightened:
CPU: NVIDIA Tegra 4 Quad-Core with 2GB LPDDR3 RAM.
2.3 GHz Max Clock Speed
60 GPU Cores
Display: 5" 720p retinal-quality display. (294 PPI)
Storage: 16 GB Flash Memory Built-in (Expandable by Micro-SD Card)
Wireless: 802.11n MIMO 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.0 + GPS
OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
Battery Life: 6-10 Hours on average settings
Being Android based, the Shield has access to all the apps and content that your Android Phone has to offer.
Consider Nintendo for a second...
They really try to stick to their guns, it's not likely we'll see them release something new until they've milked the Wii U and 3DS dry, but I do worry that their next console/handheld iterations will be just like the ones that came before it.
Yahtzee seemed to say it best:
"
The difficulty is that Nintendo's name is so closely tied to dedicated games machines that you wouldn't take anything else they did seriously. In the mind of the masses, "the new smart phone from Nintendo" sounds akin to "the new washing machine from Etch A Sketch."
"
~ Yahtzee Croshow, Zero Punctuation - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Now here's the million dollar question...
Would this sort of model work for the console manufacturers, if/when people decide they've had enough of consoles?
Regardless of your opinion on which platform is best, there is no denying that the biggest market for games in in fact the PORTABLE demographic.
Games released on iPhone, Android and even Windows 7/8 Phones tend to sell incredibly well versus console games.
For the most part, this may be due to the fact that the games are FAR cheaper, but another obvious answer is that mobile platforms have more to offer than normal games machines do.
The Playstation Vita in fact had the capability to pay console-quality games, and came with smartphone standard apps, and the possibility of playing your games over a cellular network as well as Wi-Fi, but as we all know, the Vita is pretty much a flop.
Even the 3DS, which is doing incredibly well, can't compare to the DS family before it, perhaps due to the ubiquity of smartphones.
As I was pondering on this the other day, I came across an ad for the NVIDIA Shield, which was on sale for $200. Seeing how the Shield was basically an 360-esque controller built into a small screen, I got to thinking that there could be some physical design to allow button based console games to continue onward.
Of course the obvious hurdles would revolve around having a console small, powerful and portable, all while boasting a decent battery life.
Here are the specs of the Shield, for the unenlightened:
CPU: NVIDIA Tegra 4 Quad-Core with 2GB LPDDR3 RAM.
2.3 GHz Max Clock Speed
60 GPU Cores
Display: 5" 720p retinal-quality display. (294 PPI)
Storage: 16 GB Flash Memory Built-in (Expandable by Micro-SD Card)
Wireless: 802.11n MIMO 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.0 + GPS
OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
Battery Life: 6-10 Hours on average settings
Being Android based, the Shield has access to all the apps and content that your Android Phone has to offer.
Consider Nintendo for a second...
They really try to stick to their guns, it's not likely we'll see them release something new until they've milked the Wii U and 3DS dry, but I do worry that their next console/handheld iterations will be just like the ones that came before it.
Yahtzee seemed to say it best:
"
The difficulty is that Nintendo's name is so closely tied to dedicated games machines that you wouldn't take anything else they did seriously. In the mind of the masses, "the new smart phone from Nintendo" sounds akin to "the new washing machine from Etch A Sketch."
"
~ Yahtzee Croshow, Zero Punctuation - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Now here's the million dollar question...
Would this sort of model work for the console manufacturers, if/when people decide they've had enough of consoles?
