The Future of Console Gaming

Console Wars, its the most stupid thing on the face of the planet...so is the fanboy-ism that it creates. I, first and foremost, am a gamer and I love to play fun games. I cannot understand people who can only have want one console just because its so and so's console (apart from people who don't have money to buy all of 'em). There are awesome games on all platforms, which is why I try to get all of them to enjoy them.

So here's the problem with this (apart from creating jackasses trolling on forums): How can we, as an industry, grow if games are divided by platforms? How can gamers know of the variety and pure "awesomeness" of games being released if they only have one console to play it on? Yes, I know that multi platform games are one possible solution for this but I am of the belief that if a developers concentrate on making a game for a single platform their game will be better than if developing for multiple platforms. This way developers don't have to worry if "this feature" will work on X console or if they can have certain effects or not. Anyways, there is a solution to this problem that will benefit most of the industry: One "format".

A few weeks ago David Jaffe (Creative Director of Sony Santa Monica) told 1up that he sees one console platform in the next 10 years. This sparked a lot of controversy among gamers and industry analysts. Today Next Generation posted a feature on how the industry could do a universal console and concluded that it would be very hard to decide a standard without forming a video game standards commission, where developers can get together and decide what needs to be done. While Next Generation has a point I don't think that it would be that hard to create a universal console. Everyone just needs to cooperate to make this happen.

Here's how I see it. Imagine video games as a movie format; if you buy a DVD movie from any store, by any major studio, and it can play on ANYTHING that can play DVDs. What we have to do, as Next Generation clearly indicated, is decide how to standardize the hardware and its requirements to play games (CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.). Once that is decided the current console manufacturers can make their on versions of the "Video Game Player" with the minimum requirements (that it plays games, has online and a buddy list). So how are manufacturers going to make money off the same thing? Software and Features. Take, for example, Microsoft and their LIVE service. Microsoft can make a "Video Game Player" model that includes everything that you need to enjoy games and play online, but it also has a User Interface that is easy to use and Media features that can connect your player to a Windows Vista machine and do all sorts of stuff. Not only that, but they can also have LIVE subscriptions (for an added cost) and build upon the required features to make it an even more attractive and desired player. Then Nintendo can make a bare bones player that only plays games and is the cheapest of all. Sony can then also make their version to satisfy their customers likes and dislikes and add it to the Sony brand of products like their DVD players. One game disc, multiple consoles to play it on.

Do you like Sony's controller better over Microsoft's, but you have the Microsoft player? No worries! Controllers can be connected to any console just like a universal remote. The benefits to this are endless. You give the customer more choices but they can still enjoy all games released no matter what player they buy. There will be better experiences with games because of this as well. Developers need only to concentrate on the required specs to develop their games. The rest of the time they're dreaming up and perfecting new and fascinating concepts. This also deflates the rising costs of developing multi platform games plus the developers and publishers have 3 times the amount of gamers buying the game because of the universal player.

This may seem like a crazy dream but it can happen. The Games Industry can benefit so much from doing this. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo must realize that this is a necessary evolution if we want to expand even more. Its good for business, developers, publishers, and especially gamers.