Right now, everyone is excited about the arrival of two big game consoles, the XBox One from Microsoft and the Playstation 4 from Sony, both of which will be released this month. These two are today’s “big kids”, the most anticipated gaming equipment since the beginning of the year, or maybe even longer.
While consoles used to be relatively different from one another in years past, this time around, even those consoles met. This is probably due to the fact that developers find it very difficult to program games for very different platforms, and usually end up with a less-than-stellar product when switching to another platform, such as a good old PC.
I’m not here to talk about today’s cutting-edge consoles, or even the beloved game consoles of the past. With all the convergence taking place between personal computers, consoles (set-top and handheld), and even smartphones and other handheld computing devices, I think the trend is moving towards the inevitability that there won’t be a dedicated computer game console in a decade. or so from now on.
Why do I think so? Well…
Very Powerful Computer
Moore’s Law seems to take hold, and the processing power of our computers, from the smallest embedded processors found in handheld devices like smartphones and tablets, to tiny form factors mini-ITXFrom computer-based devices (like game consoles), to desktops, servers, and even modern supercomputers (they tend toward parallel processing with lots of small computers, but large supercomputers still exist), computers are truly amazing.
What do I mean by this? Take a look at your smartphone. This was really the desktop computer of the early 2000s in terms of processing power and usability. Now, wouldn’t it be a waste if all this processing power was just dedicated to gaming and light internet usage?
This may be the end of dedicated game consoles, but a total entertainment “console”, it’s something else. Bring your HTPC/DVR, game console, home PC and other audiovisual equipment (including your TV) together into one package. The next generation of smart televisions that really have all the entertainment options built into them, that’s what I see for the next decade’s consumer market.
Magic Cloud
Then, the growing trend of cloud-based services. What your home and mobile devices can’t process or store (or if you want to access anywhere), there’s the cloud. This may include games, even if earlier models of this idea didn’t work out in the past. With more powerful servers and bigger internet “tubes”, this could become a reality in ten years.
In essence, if Internet bandwidth isn’t going to be a problem in a decade, all we need is the right terminal that will accept the audiovisual stream in the medium we want; your device doesn’t need to work too much, just show it and wait for your input to be sent back. I’m sure everyone won’t like the idea that all the processing happens offsite, but most consumers are fine with it as long as they get their fix, whether it’s games, movies, music, or any kind of digital. distractions that we may find in the future.
I’m excited about the future, really. The way technology really leaps and bounds itself, I can’t wait to see what it brings. Towards infinity and beyond!
