8th Gen "Consoles" Are Not Really Consoles

[Hydrazine]

Wikipedia defines video game console as simple a "device that outputs a video signal to display a video game". Not a reliable source, but that's pretty much the purpose of a "console". A device that is used to play games. The focus should be on GAMING.

Consoles are not a multi-media set-top box. There are other devices that fit the "multi-media set-top box" better and/or cheaper. Something like chromecast or fire tv can do this for much cheaper than consoles. Something like apple tv or an htpc can do this much better than consoles.

Look at what features Sony and Microsoft are trying to push. A dedicated "share" button on the controller? Media services like Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll, even first party media services like sony's "music unlimited". The console acting as a TV receiver? Xbone even getting exclusive TV content? That's basically a set-top box right there.

And they add even more BS that has NOTHING to do with gaming. Turning on/off the console using voice commands? An camera that spies on you and send all your activities to the NSA? Playstation Playroom video broadcast service that people are abusing to stream sex? What's the hell are modern wrong consoles?

Maybe you think having these "features" are not bad, but think about the consequences. More bugs, large frequent updates, invasion of privacy, increased costs, monthly subscriptions, and taking focus away from gaming. If consoles are android phones, all this BS is pre-installed bloatware, most people don't want it.

If sony and ms wants to make a set-top media box, nothing wrong with that, Just don't call these things consoles. The last "consoles" are the gamecube/ps2/xbox. The 7th gen began to blur the line. The 8th gen are basically not even consoles.

 

[BlackWizzard17]

So this also includes the Wii u since it does Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, Youtube, internet browsing Etc, Etc, Etc

So a Gaming Pc is not really a Gaming PC because you can do Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, Youtube, e-mail, Skype, Programming, Video editing, Etc, Etc, Etc, like etc X100

So the Dreamcast is not really a console because it can connect to the internet and use a browser.

Does that mean i have been lied to my whole life? What does this mean?

Lol nah just kidding

 

[frogboy]

I don't see your point. Every 8th generation console is defined as a gaming console, as that is its sole purpose.

And they add even more BS that has NOTHING to do with gaming. Turning on/off the console using voice commands? An camera that spies on you and send all your activities to the NSA? Playstation Playroom video broadcast service that people are abusing to stream sex? What's the hell are modern wrong consoles?

By that logic, previous gen consoles should be criticized for using wireless controllers.

And another thing; I've never met a person that has changed their mind about buying a console based on what it can do besides play games.

 

[tbgtbg]

Guess what, this is nothing new this gen.

Last gen consoles did most of that stuff too. Before that you had consoles playing DVD movies and CD music.

It's primary purpose, as designed, is games played on a TV. And yes, they still fit that bill. The media stuff, no matter how hard they push it, is a bonus, not a disqualifier.

 

[mr allen]

But it doesn't say a console can only output a video signal to display a video game, only that it needs to be able to do that.

 

[Gahars]

And they add even more BS that has NOTHING to do with gaming. Turning on/off the console using voice commands? An camera that spies on you and send all your activities to the NSA? Playstation Playroom video broadcast service that people are abusing to stream sex? What's the hell are modern wrong consoles?

So the PS1 wasn't a console because it played CDs? The NES wasn't a console because it could be controlled with a glove? If people decided to use the Atari 2600 as a paperweight, would that make it less of a console?

Maybe you think having these "features" are not bad, but think about the consequences. More bugs, large frequent updates, invasion of privacy, increased costs, monthly subscriptions, and taking focus away from gaming. If consoles are android phones, all this BS is pre-installed bloatware, most people don't want it.

Those sales figures sure seem to say otherwise.

If sony and ms wants to make a set-top media box, nothing wrong with that, Just don't call these things consoles. The last "consoles" are the gamecube/ps2/xbox. The 7th gen began to blur the line. The 8th gen are basically not even consoles.

By your definition, the PS2 and Xbox aren't even consoles because they played DVDs and CDs, which have nothing to do with gaming.

You quote Wikipedia's definition of a console and do absolutely nothing to refute it. If a video game console is any sort of "device that outputs a video signal to display a video game," then these devices are video game consoles no matter how many other services they offer in addition.

 

[Jayro]

Going from NES to Wii U, that's only 6 gens, so the 8th gen is in the future, about 10 years. Eat shit.

 

[Necron]

Going from NES to Wii U, that's only 6 gens, so the 8th gen is in the future, about 10 years. Eat shit.

There were consoles before Nintendo.

Also, to the OP, can a VHS be regarded as a console? Since your definition is "device that outputs a video signal to display a video game", but it doesn't say it must be able to play it

 

[Yepi69]

I can say this thread will go well.

 

[Chary]

There were consoles before Nintendo.

Also, to the OP, can a VHS be regarded as a console? Since your definition is "device that outputs a video signal to display a video game", but it doesn't say it must be able to play it

If you wanna be technical, there were those old Trivial Pursuit VHS games...Those could count in some crazy way.

 

[Foxi4]

There were consoles before Nintendo.

Also, to the OP, can a VHS be regarded as a console? Since your definition is "device that outputs a video signal to display a video game", but it doesn't say it must be able to play it

There are worse examples - think Action Max, a console which displayed... Nothing at all because it only counted points while the "game" was a VHS tape which actually required a separate VHS player.

The name "console" is vague and you can define it any way you want - I choose to understand it as "a thing that has a primary purpose of playing video games" and leave it at that. If we're going to get so terribly hung up on definitions, we might as well call calculators "PC's" because they're personal and they compute.

 

[Taleweaver]

Does it really matter how you call them?

Yes, the extra features aren't exactly improvements in the game department. And I agree not many people are going to buy these devices for any other reason than the actual games. But in what other areas should they improve, then?


I could argue that since nintendo isn't pushing most of those services, the wiiu is the last console. As well as the ouya. But what would that prove? Sales figures speak for themselves. The PS4 and xbone may not fit the classic definition of what a console is anymore, they sure as hell sell.

 

[FireGrey]

So you're going by a very weak definition to determine this?
I will literally kill you in your sleep.

 

[Originality]

They play games, they are game consoles. Their media functions are an attempt to take over other devices commonly connected to the TV. Like how many people bought a PS3 because it was the cheapest BluRay player on the market at the time. It's all an attempt to make more sales/money through diversifying services and appealing to a wider audience.

Just because it does something more than what it was designed to do, doesn't make them any less of a game console.

 

[grossaffe]

I'm not a fan of the trend of consoles trying to be more and more. A big part of the draw was that they were machines optimized for gaming getting you optimal performance for budget hardware. Now you've got multiple OSes eating up your CPU cores and several gigs of RAM. In a push to become more general machines, they're becoming more and more like a locked-down PC, why not just get an actual PC?

 

[the_raging_snorlax]

The PS1 was also a CD player. The console market has been poisoned with multi-function devices for a long time. If a device is designed to be used for mainly gaming then I'll call it a console. The technical definition doesn't really mean much. As for smartphones I'd call them multi-function devices with their main purpose being to call and text. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but the PS2 and Xbox could play DVD's so they also "began to blur the line". The Gamecube was the last true console (maybe not if you count the obscure ones most of us have never heard of) and even that can be modded to play DVD's.

 

[JoostinOnline]

The Game Boy had a camera a printer.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

This thread. Oh man. Dumbest thing I've read in a long time

 

[GameWinner]

The OP is dumb and this thread is dumb.

 

[YayMii]

I thought the Share button was for games... If that somehow takes away from the PS4 being a console, then I've been doing things wrong my whole life.
I didn't know that friends and video games were mutually exclusive