Next Gen of Consoles Will Be The Last?

[Clarky]

So there is an interview with Nvidia's GeForce Grid Cloud Gaming general manager Phil Eisler in which he goes on to discuss how issues with cloud gaming are improving and with costs of running servers going down he went on to discuss the idea that the next gen of consoles could in fact be the last. To quote him,

“They say this is the last console, and I am certainly a believer in that.The last one is almost 10 years old now in terms of the technology. As we go through time, the good thing about cloud gaming is it’s going to get better every year. One of the reasons we’re investing in it is we see that there are some issues today, but they’re all solvable and they’re all moving in the right direction. Bandwidth is going up. The cost of server rooms is going down. We’re bringing latency down. The experience will just get better and better every year, to the point where I think it will become the predominant way that people play games. Clearly Sony believes in it enough to put their $380 million dollars into it [by purchasing Gaikai]. That was equally supportive for those people that are pro-cloud gaming. Anybody who’s in the game console business is clearly awakened to the potential of streaming games to TVs.”

While at the present it may seem years away !0 years ago I didn't think we would be using consoles as media centres and playing our music and movies on them or be so obsessed with online gaming. The whole interview can be found here but what is your take on it? Would you support a cloud only future?

 

[Hyro-Sama]

I fucking hate cloud gaming. If the servers are ever down you have no games.

 

[porkiewpyne]

As an additional option, I won't mind. But once you start making it the only way, that's when I get miffed.

 

[SixSenseEagle]

(UpdateEdit) Would you support a cloud only future?


Hmm? Thought about it again Umm no.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Cloud gaming is a rather viable form of gaming, especially as internet technology advances, but I think there will always be new consoles, even with cloud gaming.

 

[Hyro-Sama]

Cloud gaming is a rather viable form of gaming, especially as internet technology advances, but I think there will always be new consoles, even with cloud gaming.

I'd still prefer the option to choose. Thankfully, when Netflix and other VOD services began to be come more common, DVDs and Blu-Rays didn't totally die out. Hoping the same thing happens in this case.

 

[BORTZ]

I think cloud gaming will improve the gaming marking along side consoles.

 

[MelodieOctavia]

Cloud gaming might be viable for some, but certainly not all. Not everyone even has an Internet connection, much less one with the speeds needed for it to be an option. Even if it was, If latency is an issue for you, you can just forget it, no matter how much bandwidth you have.

 

[Foxi4]

The very idea of cloud gaming will appear idiotic to us by the end of the next generation. Technologies to replace silicone-based integrated circuitry are actively in development, IBM already created a good few graphene-based processing units, a method of producing graphene on a massive scale on the cheap was developed by Polish scientists last year, Racetrack Memory technology combines the capacity of standard HDD's with the reliability and speed of SSD's and the first carbon nanotube transistors are already being experimented with.

It's likely that the next generation of systems will be the last generation of systems of its kind, we're heading towards massive breakthroughs in computer science which will completely redefine computing as we know it, allowing the average user to have a supercomputer-desktop by today's standards, and not for a fortune either.

With that in mind, going through the hassle of The Cloud will immediately be dismissed, since anyone will be able to afford consoles or computers that will do the same, just better.

 

[KingVamp]

One doesn't have to take out the other. We can have retail, downloads and cloud in all in one device.
Probably can work together on one device so you didn't have to buy the same game for all the services.

 

[Clarky]

My take on it, if cloud gaming was to take off, I could see if being the death of the way current consoles are done as Foxi4 pointed out. Admittley it could be the beginning of a more fair system as far as 3rd party games are concerned, they could possible all come out on the same day and without any side having to face a loss such as certain glitches exclusive to certain systems. Using The Cloud for today's sake we have all seen the argument about ME3 vs the ME Trilogy right now and as Foxi4 has mentioned EA probably ain't so keen on the costs of porting the other 2 games over, with a cloud based system all 3 could be done ready for them and ready to stream.

 

[weavile001]

i dont think that its a good idea.

some people dont have a good pc or a good internet connection

and i agree with hyro,if the servers are ever down , we wouldnt be able to play games

 

[Hyro-Sama]

Actually, it would make sense to eliminate console gaming in the coming years. There's not only the obvious perks like lower production costs but the ease for the unlearned consumer and more of a focus making the television an all-purpose entertainment system without the need of extra equipment save for an Ethernet cable. Moreover, companies would have complete control over their products and be able monitor them to ensure it's being used for its intended purpose. Although computer science is making significant progress as Foxi4 stated, the ease will make it a contender in the marketplace and said technological advances may be combined with cloud gaming to provide an even more immersing experience than originally imagined.

 

[Clarky]

some people dont have a good pc

how did the pc come into this?

 

[Foxi4]

Actually, it would make sense to eliminate console gaming in the coming years. There's not only the obvious perks like lower production costs but the ease for the unlearned consumer and more of a focus making the television an all-purpose entertainment system without the need of extra equipment save for an Ethernet cable. Moreover, companies would have complete control over their products and be able monitor them to ensure it's being used for its intended purpose. Although computer science is making significant progress as Foxi4 stated, the ease will make it a contender in the marketplace and said technological advances may be combined with cloud gaming to provide an even more immersing experience than originally imagined.

In cloud gaming, connecting with a beastly computer and connecting with a mid-range one results in the same effect - I don't see how the general public is in any way affected by it, unless you mean that the servers would be far stronger.

Cloud gaming is flawed at the core - it's subject to internet availability, and as we know, ISP's often like to be funny buggers. I've "lost" my connection several times this month due to bad weather - I don't want my gaming to be subject to weather, I'm afraid.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Actually, it would make sense to eliminate console gaming in the coming years. There's not only the obvious perks like lower production costs but the ease for the unlearned consumer and more of a focus making the television an all-purpose entertainment system without the need of extra equipment save for an Ethernet cable. Moreover, companies would have complete control over their products and be able monitor them to ensure it's being used for its intended purpose. Although computer science is making significant progress as Foxi4 stated, the ease will make it a contender in the marketplace and said technological advances may be combined with cloud gaming to provide an even more immersing experience than originally imagined.

In cloud gaming, connecting with a beastly computer and connecting with a mid-range one results in the same effect - I don't see how the general public is in any way affected by it, unless you mean that the servers would be far stronger.

Cloud gaming is flawed at the core - it's subject to internet availability, and as we know, ISP's often like to be funny buggers. I've "lost" my connection several times this month due to bad weather - I don't want my gaming to be subject to weather, I'm afraid.

Cloud gaming is flawed but like any emerging technology, it will get better.

As the internet becomes more integrated into our lives, to the point that constant connectivity is second nature (don't take this as some draconian "THEY'RE CONSTANTLY MONITORING US" paranoia bullshit, rather we have all our devices constantly connected so we can always be up-to-date), cloud gaming may just become very real. I mean it's a rather cool concept. Imagine a console 10x more powerful than what we have now sold for a fraction of the price. Cloud gaming both eliminates the cost of distributable hardware as most of it is centered at some streaming facility and eliminates any piracy so all games are complete profit.

Really I think there's a huge pirate mentality to everything. I see people look at the 3DS and Vita and go "Meh, I'll wait until it's hacked." No one buys a system for purely homebrew or emulation honestly. They're waiting because they want to pirate everything. Cloud gaming is big and scary because they can't do that.

 

[NightsOwl]

You want my opinion?

No.

/done

 

[Foxi4]

Cloud gaming is flawed but like any emerging technology, it will get better.

As the internet becomes more integrated into our lives, to the point that constant connectivity is second nature (don't take this as some draconian "THEY'RE CONSTANTLY MONITORING US" paranoia bullshit, rather we have all our devices constantly connected so we can always be up-to-date), cloud gaming may just become very real. I mean it's a rather cool concept. Imagine a console 10x more powerful than what we have now sold for a fraction of the price. Cloud gaming both eliminates the cost of distributable hardware as most of it is centered at some streaming facility and eliminates any piracy so all games are complete profit.

Really I think there's a huge pirate mentality to everything. I see people look at the 3DS and Vita and go "Meh, I'll wait until it's hacked." No one buys a system for purely homebrew or emulation honestly. They're waiting because they want to pirate everything. Cloud gaming is big and scary because they can't do that.

Cloud gaming also strips video games of their status as a collectible - you can't exactly put printed out subscriptions on your "games shelf", and to me, they will always be inferior to a game in a box, on a physical medium. It poses an immediate threat to software in general - if a company that you are subscribed to goes bankrupt or simply cuts support to a certain system, you lose the capacity for playing your titles - moreover, if they close their doors, all their exclusive titles are lost forever.

...not to mention that a console dedicated for cloud gaming and cloud gaming only would have low specs and thus by proxy, low capabilities *outside of* cloud gaming.

To me, it is, and should remain, an alternative rather than the default mode of distribution, even with all its advantages.

 

[Hyro-Sama]

Cloud gaming also strips video games of their status as a collectible - you can't exactly put printed out subscriptions on your "games shelf", and to me, they will always be inferior to a game in a box, on a physical medium. It poses an immediate threat to software in general - if a company that you are subscribed to goes bankrupt or simply cuts support to a certain system, you lose the capacity for playing your titles - moreover, if they close their doors, all their exclusive titles are lost forever.

...not to mention that a console dedicated for cloud gaming and cloud gaming only would have low specs and thus by proxy, low capabilities *outside of* cloud gaming.

To me, it is, and should remain, an alternative rather than the default mode of distribution, even with all its advantages.

The appreciation for "collectibles" in the video market is dwindling. The rise of cloud gaming may have people like you make their disdain heard and it may give birth to a small increase in purists but I don't see it growing significantly. Moreover, in the case of a company going bankrupt and the consumer being unable to access exclusives from certain services, said exclusives could scooped up by an another existing service doing well. Sony isn't gearing up for nothing. The cloud gaming market will be highly competitive market so developers and publishers will have a plethora of services to choose from in the future. You may not like but cloud gaming is just too advantageous for the corporate world and the majority of electronic consumers.

 

[KingVamp]

I see people saying it gives advantages to the corporate world, but I didn't see it for consumers (even non-pirates) outside
what cloud gaming meant to provide.

Those exclusives and your games could possibly not be "scooped up" as well.