Multimedia Solutions
It was only ten years ago that a games console did exactly what it said on the tin. Your N64 played N64 cartridges and little else, lacking even a home menu. Now a console is required to be an all purpose entertainment centre to stay competitive and, whilst this leads to versatile hardware, it results in a diminished focus on standard gaming. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but, if I’m primarily using my 360 to stream movies on Netflix and Lovefilm, why would I need to upgrade my hardware?
Console Conservatism
As money becomes tighter amongst all industries, what few console games still sell well now resort to outrageous conservatism for fear of losing out. I suppose there’s the old “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” argument, but you can’t deny that some series are really getting old. Call of Duty is but one example of a series that has barely changed since 2006 and, even when other AAA developers claim their next game is a great breakthrough, this is almost always an overstatement. Consumers are bound to get tired of these rehashed ideas at some point and look for more exciting gaming experiences elsewhere.
The Cloud
Belying my usually cynical demeanour is my unwavering respect for cloud gaming services like OnLive. Of course OnLive hit financial trouble in 2012 and was only bought out for a meagre sum, but this kind of cloud powered service makes more sense as the future of gaming than dedicated console hardware. Once internet becomes reliable enough worldwide to handle it, cloud gaming could become the new standard. Hell, even Sony and Microsoft are relying on cloud solutions to provide extra processing power and gaming services to their systems, so it’s only a matter of time before full game streaming services become the norm. With their servers handling the load, users won’t be required to upgrade their hardware ever.
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