News MS: Xbox 360 to continue for five more years, at least

Personally i dont think its going to make any difference tbh, We already get crappy console ports and the likelyhood of this changing is slim.

I suppose whilst it may have another 5 years in it, doesnt mean a newer console couldnt be released before this time.

My perspective of PC gaming has changed alot in the last couple of years, imo it now all about the indie/smaller devs that are offering something new, rather than the rehashed sequals from the bigger studios.

Dont forget you dont need a massive budget to create an awesome game, But what would be nice if if the larger studios could have dedicated PC porters so that we PC gamers get the experience designed for the PC.

 

I don't think it is so cut-and-dry as "ending the console market"

What we're seeing now is the gap in functionality between HTPCs and consoles closing.

In a decade, we’ve gone from consoles that don’t have a real OS, and won’t boot up without a game in them (i.e. N64) to consoles with an OS that has a lot of functionality outside of gaming. My brother’s 360 can stream music and video over the network, and can do some messaging stuff through Xbox Live. The hardware is capable of doing everything that a HTPC is, plus gaming. I would be shocked if internet browsing does not arrive on the next generation of consoles. Sony markets the PS3 (and forgive me if I don’t know all of its features, I’ve never used one – although my new roommate has one, and I’m going to make him get GT5) as a HTPC type device that you could use for all of your gaming, video, and music needs. I think that the current “Media PC†type devices will converge with the current “Game Console†type devices. Fundamentally, the only difference is customizability – the consoles use a specific set of hardware, and a proprietary OS, whereas the PCs have user-interchangeable customized hardware, and a standard OS. I can’t predict which features will survive, but I’d be shocked to see no next-gen consoles, or a next-gen console without a web browser, media player, and all of those other things that used to be PC-only and are now making their way into the console market. With keyboard and mouse support, you could probably put most of the functionality of a basic home/office PC onto a game console. They’ll appeal to a lot more than just gamers. You can see with the current console generation, they’re trying, but I don’t think that they’re fully there yet.

 

I'm not too sure what you're trying to say here... Microsoft software often last far longer than 2-3 years. A prime example being Windows or the office suites. I know many people who are still using windows 2000 and office xp.

Additionally, most machines that I come across which are more than 4 years old are well past their prime and often need replacing.

I should point out that I am speaking of standard users rather than enthusiasts.

 

That will never, ever end.

 

problem is 13eighty most people cant afford a new console at this moment in time Cost of hardware is still rising to even put in a decent gpu with cpu combo is looking at above £500 now assume they get it at cheap cheap rates say its only £300 including the motherboard. add on blue ray drive hard disk memory and the cost breaks £500 and we not started yet.

New controller design new leads audio development. list goes on and on

ps3 was cheap compared to next gens consoles. Which will cost nearly £500 + at launch id guess. Its a cost most cant or wont pay. Wii is highest selling console for a reason and thats cost. 2 wiis or 1 xbox at launch.

Game development now is at the point were the casual market dominates

Biggest selling games on pc are the sims and WOW both are quiet casual games these days.

people now are more and more looking at cost as the reason for purchase. ps3 and xbox360 have had poor uptake if you compare it to old gen consoles. Ps2 sold 100million units nither the 360 or ps3 will reach that figure.

you can browse the internet on both the ps3 and 360 (ps3 im certain not so on 360)

As for the media player / games console. wasnt ps3 that and it badly effected sales because of the cost of the console. now they have removed some features and cost it is selling well.

 

Honestly.... I'm kinda happy to see the 5 year cycle for console hardware turn into a 10 year one.

Maybe it will mean more game devs can focus on new, original games with cool game mechanics rather then having to chase the latest graphical effects and learn how to optimise new hardware. It also means the £2000 I just dropped on my PC will be a better investment over time...

If this had happened during the Xbox/PS2 era, Duke Nuke'em forever might have actually been released

 

The COST of upgrading and playing games on PC is one of the most ecxaggerated things ever. I have spent more on my PS3 the last 2 years then My PC, and I have a high end system.

 

New xbox 360 slim hope they fixed the rrod problem my first xbox only lasted 3 months

 

It's exxagerated because people here always need to have the best equipment. $800 or so, every couple years, is enough to get a PC that can play most games at decent settings. But there is that appeal of having the best hardware around, so you get guys who will go after those last few clock cycles, no matter the cost.

Financially, it makes sense to buy a new $800-$1000 PC every 2-3 years than it does to spend $1500+ on a PC and expect it to last 4-5 years. The bang for the buck just isn't there once you get in the four digit range for building a PC. Right now, a nice Phenom II X4 or Core i7-900 rig with a decent Radeon 5700 or 4800 or a Geforce 200 is like a thousand bucks, and has 80% of the performance of the top-of-the-line Radeon 5900 or Geforce 400 at half the cost. In another two years, the newer generation intermediate hardware will be on a par with current generation top-of-the-line hardware.

It''s easy to build a decent budget gaming PC. However, because we're all registered here, we all go crazy over having the best and the newest, so there is a biased opinion that staying current in gaming means buying a $2000 computer every year, or every time a newer generation of CPU/GPU comes out.

My current $800 gaming PC will be able to play every game I want to for the next three or four years. Considering the PS3 was $600 new, that's not much of a price difference, especially since I would still need a $300-400 PC to do e-mail, internet, office applications, etc. on.

If you're willing to not always have the newest games and best hardware, PC gaming is much closer to console gaming in terms of cost.

 

When you put it in context, PC upgrade costs aren't that exaggerated. Especially when you compare it to a launch PS3 (£400) which doesn't require a single extra penny spent on it for at least 8 years (so long as you don't break it).

You can't leave a PC untouched for 8 years and expect it to play the latest games. What you've probably spent on your PS3 is for accessories, not upgrades.

 

there is a balance, Game development will stagnate since performance is almost at a peak for console games. Thats my biggest complaint but look back 2 years ago when £400 will get you an E2200, 8800gt, 2gb ram and 160gb HDD. Now your looking at an anthlon x3, 4gb ram, HD5770. You can practically play all games at true 1080p with AA smoothly for less cash and thats due to this stagnation. Now PC gamers are looking at tri monitors, 3D, improved physics and lashings of AA to justify progress. Unfortunatley motion controllers are gonna "damage" the market further. a series of mini games of frantic stick waggling. The only one that excites me is Natal but it looks expensive and will probably not get a decent game designed for it.

I think the general idea is, if consoles advance, developers will move away from the EA/Activision model of churning out the same crap every year and increasing the number in the title by 1, and therefore AI, Graphics and game design as a whole can progress since companies can be competive.

 

It's a real shame that game developers no longer reliant on people replacing their game collection for the new console will have to produce decent games to get them to sell.

 

Don't you just hate it when companies try to squeeze every last drop of value out of a product instead of releasing new hardware every couple of years and expecting you to fork out hundreds to keep up with the trend?

 

ftfy

 

he has a good point, the best example is intel. Look at every one complaining about socket 1156 being replaced by 1155 next year, people are going crazy over it but yet microsoft try to do the first decent thigh they ever did by helping people out in the recession and people are responding the exact same way.
look at all the best games Dexus Counter strike ,none of these have great graphics but nobody minds.
This time 10 year pc gamers we (my self included)are still going to be on bit-tech giving out about games being ported,mainly because that is where all the money is

 

i agree with this i have found myself playing lesser known games recently

- the excellent global Agenda whilst being seemingly limited at the moment the game is growing very fast and come September the content should be more than double what it is now and all this is built on a very solid engine

- Mortal online i played during a troubled beta but found myself really enjoying it i'm going to following this more as it progresses

- the witcher this game came from a smaller dev company but is regarded as one of the best recent RPGs

im personally yet to play he likes of MW2 or BC2 as i find it difficult to justify buying a rehash of the same idea (although i do buy pre evo every other year or so)

 

Well great. You don't care. I, however, don't care that you don't care. Some of us like the extra 'shine' (you mean better graphics, more control options) that PC gaming brings. Maybe if your PS3 was being held back by something you'd understand, but its not.

 

There's always other avenues you can explore, like Eyefinity for the time being, that will vastly improve most peoples gaming experience.

 

not until they make boarderless screens so you dont have big black bars down the middle destroying it

 

Thats balanced out by higher cost games, and random accessories. Ps3 isn't the best example but wii is. When I got mine it didn't have any wrist straps for the remotes. The cost of a 2nd controller (eventually 2 more since the wii is a party tool) and numchuck. A few games need the balance board and even for it you can get rubber anti slip mat.

For the 360 you have their own special HDD, wireless controller chargers and even subscription to xbox live. even the HDMI lead. What about the mic for voice chat too and some people even got the little keyboards for more "hardcore" chat if theres such thing.

Basically while consoles are cheaper but they do have alot of hidden costs. Yes most of those things can be argued as non essential but would you really get a 360 without paying year on year (10years worth now) of xbox live or play mario kart with the family with only one controller? Even down to the humble battery costs extra money depending how extreme you want to calculate costs.

PCs do have these costs too but when keyboards can be obtained for £5 or mice for £1 and even carried from each build. I have 3 PS3 controllers and 4 PS1 controllers at home doing nothing these days simply because each new console requires new controllers.