Having the speculation of the next generation consoles at a seemingly all time high, there has been talk about gaming even further down the road. With the leaked hardware for these next two systems, being so similar, this begs the question, “Why do we need separate consoles?”
I have always believed that a unified gaming console will be in the gaming future. There will come a time where there is the defiant best tech, and it will be cheap enough that it can be mass marketed in consoles. And at the time the only real difference would be the name on the box.
Right now the fanboys and girls of the consoles, are always going on at each other about what looks better, and plays better, but if the tech is all the same than those arguments go away. I think instead of putting all this money into making separate consoles, and really taking a loss for a while on them, the money could be better spent on the games themselves, and making each game coming out of these first party studios, a gem each time.
Then the only argument would be which company makes the best games, and thats the kind of argument that would be awesome. Cause with the quality games coming out from these companies, there wouldn’t be really any bad experiences. Games would continue to become better and better. And they wouldn’t have to worry about making games for one system, so only that market could enjoy their games.
All this now free money could go into so many different parts of the gaming spectra. It could be invested in better server systems, so lag wouldn’t be a problem. And this would create longevity to games, although a game has been out for 10 years, if it is still popular, there will always be money there to continue the use of those servers.
By combining all the communities, there would never be a game, no matter how obscure, without a fan base behind it. This wouldn’t just benefit the large companies, but would better benefit the smaller companies, having their games being exposed to the grandest audience possible. Being able to go and buy any game no matter who made it, and go home and play it, cause there is only one box, would open the doors to any and all developers, to help their game grow.
These are all great ideals, and something to think about. Believe me, I would love it if this was the future of gaming, it would be simpler, and the best gaming experience for everyone.
But this truly might never happen. Of course there is always the money. Even though the big companies might make more money just on software sales, the console sales are a guaranteed cash cow once they start making the profit after the initial release.
Probably the biggest thing standing in their way, are themselves. Between their egos, and there dedicated following, the biggest companies wouldn’t come together, because there are standing in their way.
