Console gaming going the way of comics in the 90's?

[Synchronomyst]

Console gaming going the way of comics in the 90's?

This guy thinks so. Feedback?

[Eroo]

Just recently a guy from Orb made a predictio that this was the last generation of gaming consoles. Bullshit! Console still offer the best price to performance/ease of use ratio. Console gaming will die when console/pc/tv/internet are all truly unified under one device. Dont see that happening for a while.

[TriniXaeno]

huh? You haven't heard about an xbox 360 or a PS3??

These boxes are now media masters. Not game machines as their origins. Everything from audio to HD video. Streaming media and downloadable content. Not to mention internet connectivity and keyboard/mouse as an input device.

They only thing they are missing is a TV Tuner and that already comes with your average flat panel / big screen tv.

We are here already.

Next generation it's only going to continue to pound the nails in the coffin of the traditional console.

These devices have long since redefined themselves into something much more.

Can't say the same for comics nor the arcade machines. That's why they "died", if you can call it that.

Real nice listen though. Great post.

I real lol @ Sony's mascot being the blue ray HD man. lol

[Synchronomyst]

Console gaming will die when console/pc/tv/internet are all truly unified under one device. Dont see that happening for a while.

...

[Philosophical45]

Console gaming will die when console/pc/tv/internet are all truly unified under one device. Dont see that happening for a while.

...

LOL.. like he fail to see that already happen..LOL

bro, ps3? xbox360? console/pc/tv/internet... lolz

but the blogger does make a keen observation and it is possible that it can happen.

[Eroo]

Those devices are all separate and while there is some overlapping they provide separate functionality. I remember hearing the device to do this back in the day was the cdi.

Now back to the points in the video.

He is correct that the comic book industry is dying and its largely due to the fact that there were no comics targeted towards children ( and also the influx of manga). People laughed at Archie but it did its job of bringing in younger readers and girls. However this is not the only reason the comic book industry is in the shape it is now. There are two other reasons - Gimmicks and Variant covers.

DC took the gimmicks to a new level - Superman death and return, Batman back breaking, Aquaman mutilated, GL turning heel and dying, etc. Marvel then started the same - Clone Saga, Heroes Reborn , etc. If everything is  a big stunt that ends up having no lasting effect or is a retcon then whats the point reading it in the first place?

Variant covers were marketed as exclusive rare collectibles that were going to be worth a lot. However when everyone buys the variant cover (the reason X-Men 1 is the highest seller because of 5 covers) then its worth nothing cuz its not rare.

There is actually another reason and its because kids nowadays seem more into fads. They dont stay with one franchise for long (Harry Potter being one notable exception). Its probably because there is so much more quality stuff targeted towards them now then when we were young.

The same arguments I dont believe are applicable to console gaming. By his argument then PC gaming should have been long dead. Has PC gaming ever had a mascot?

The difference is just because you don't get into console gaming when your younger doesn't mean you wont get into these new hardcore consoles when your older.
Its just one of those things as you get older you'll get more into.. like porn.

[New Era Outlaw]

I'd have to admit. The guy in the Youtube video makes quite a few solid points. Especially when you consider that the Wii defines itself as a system for all ages, and it's royally stomping mudholes into the PS3 and the X-Box 360, both of whom have yet to even catch up to the Wii's success.

I'll be honest here. The games of yesteryear during the 16-bit wars?
Best era EVER. Some seriously unforgettable games from that period.
And now, as the games of the modern age takes a turn for the more 'realistic' and 'gritty', I find myself slowly being turned off, all because the games of today seem to gear more towards flash than substance.

As a matter of fact, one of the only games that truly moved something in me when I got a PS2 was....(wait for it) a PS1 title. Namely, Mega Man Legends 2. That game didn't have kickass graphics, but damn, did it have charm. And it was the last game I ever played that really stirred up feelings of excitement and anticipation within me.

So, yeah. In my opinion, I'd have to agree with the Youtube guy.

Console gaming will die when console/pc/tv/internet are all truly unified under one device. Dont see that happening for a while.

....wait. What?

[TriniXaeno]

The reason PC (and by extension gaming) won't die is because it is much more than just a gaming console. Every person on this planet will have a reason to own a PC, beyond gaming.

Making them a potential market that can be explored / exploited.

Ditto for the next gen consoles. You can get them in a house for a ton of reasons. They are trying to become a defacto addition to your home media center / living room.

Personall, I think they have made considerable progress.

The Wii is the only console, in the traditional sense and that has it's merit but is a dying breed, no doubt.

Nintendo's mascot and brand is sufficiently strong to keep them ahead of this game for years and years to come. Remember Sony and Microsoft are coming from behind in this race, despite their technological advances.

This industry is not @ risk at all. Nor is PC gaming. Though it does make for a wonderful argument and heated discussion. At this stage, they will keep innovating and re-inventing themselves and improving on the stuff that already works.

Chess is still popular and it hasn't changed a bit. People still play starcraft. Don't even get me started on football.

I won't even mention World of Warcraft or Starcraft 2. The arcade and comic book scene has taken a massive hit but the rest of our industry looks to be sitting very pretty indeed.

[Synchronomyst]

The real threat in not console gaming dying as in going extinct (as comics did not)...but console gaming turning into derivative, pedantic shit and new ideas not being fostered and smaller, innovative companies being stifled because the bigger companies are busy selling the same shit in different packages.

[TriniXaeno]

that's not a threat, that's already the reality. lol

Fifa 2009, Tekken 6, Halo 3,  I lost count on Heroes of Might and Magic and Street Fighter.

[Synchronomyst]

So imagine...if it's WORSE!

*insert theme from 'Psycho' here*

[Doomtack]

well... the FIFA 2009 an all dat really being marketed for the fan base eh...
But the other thing is... we already seeing "mash ups", where two universes come together in one game...
but imagine seeing "Banjo & Kazooie meets Jak & Daxter"... lol

[TheApprentice]

It theoretically can happen that Console Gaming could slow down and begin to fade...
But as a console gamer myself...

I've reached a point where I just see Console Gaming continue to grow without end...
Developers are multiplaying in terms of console game development.
Wallets are spending more. And online gaming istruly remarkable.

What could really slow down this progress in console gaming is human issues, such as outgrowing games, relationship problems (gaming, no attention to others...) ... Things like that...

But thats just the minority..

Gaming will continue to grow and span many genres and create new genres...
Games like Rock Band, Singstar.... You put so much hours into those games...
You then ask yourself wtf?

Can't compare comics to gaming.

[camrE]

Console gaming is going to slow down. It's inevitable, and it's definitely not a matter of people growing out of games, or anything even like that. Games are like movies, music, books, they come in genres. Every group likes a specific or multiple genres. There's no risk of people growing out of any genre causing anything to collapse, cause there's another genre waiting to move on to. After all these years, when everyone jumped shipped and went with genesis, I stayed with Nintendo, again with the PSOne, I stayed with Nintendo, again with the PS2, I stayed with Nintendo. Simply put, in hopes that they would grow with gamers, and they sealed it with the Wii and I realized that there was no hope of them really doing anything with software and evolution. So I finally gave up. Zelda was and shamefully, after two years the console being out, still is the ONLY game worth playing. But guess what, I moved over to Xbox360/PS3 exclusively. My point being there's always another flavor to move on to.

As far as consoles dying. Nonsense, like I said it'll slow down, and that's because of technology's advances. HD is the standard, I will not play xbox on n SD tv. It's just not going to happen. 680x480 is VERY far away from 1920x1080. That's a massive jump in textures, pologyonal count, etc... this is where the bottleneck is going to happen. Games are on a far grander scale than they were 5 or even 10 years ago. And we all know a solid title, Zelda, Metal Gear, even a splinter cell, any AAA title takes 2-5 years to be done properly. Now one can say the hardware for development is matching the hardware for software execution, and so it balances out, and that would be right. But it doesn't change the fact that the human element of development is getting left behind. It's alot more work putting together the new size of textures, and while the computer will b up to par in calculations, it's still human eye that finalizes everything. It's still human hands that draw out these levels, and put them together.

This is what is going to slow down production, and triple A titles will, little by little, take longer to complete, console lifespans may soon get stretched out. But I do expect new techniques to come about and for there to be a boom again and everything will run at full speed again. The jump form Atari to NES was big, the jump from nes to SNes really wasn't that huge, the jump from SNES to N64 was monumental, the jump from N64 to gcn wasn't that large, the jump from Xbox to Xbox360 is monumental. I suspect the jump from this gen to next gen won't be that great. I also suspect the focus next time around to be on control scheme in the path that Nintendo took with the Wii, but not for the same reasons.

All in all, console gaming is not going to die. It has too many pros over pc gaming from the industry's POV, and we all need to game. The industry now rivals the Movie industry, infact to the point that hollywood monitors what games come out on what weekends as to avoid releasing their movies simultaneously and losing potential viewers.