Consoles to Die Out in 5 to 10 Years?

From GizmodoFormer Xbox Europe exec Sandy Duncan recently declared that consoles were a dying breed, due to disappear in a mere 5 to 10 years. At first, it's a laughable remark. I mean, consoles are insanely popular moneymakers, why would they disappear? Sure, physical media will be gone by the next generation, but don't you need a standardized set of hardware and controllers for developers to create games for? Well, today that's true, but what Sandy was talking about was cluster computing, the idea that down the line, all the brainpower for game consoles will be located remotely. Consumers will have low-power local units that'll just hook up to a display, which a huge, beefy server farm will run the games themselves and pipe them to you over a high-speed internet connection. It's certainly an interesting idea, as it would stop requiring people to upgrade their PCs with the hottest graphics card and would allow developers to create games as demanding as they're able to power. However, it seems to me that we might still be a bit far away from the bandwidth that would be required for such a setup. Is super-high speed internet really going to be widespread enough in 5 years for us to ditch local consoles altogether? While I think this idea will take hold and become the norm eventually, I'd be shocked if we didn't have one more generation of high-powered consoles that eschewed physical media. It'll be a stepping stone generation, but with current console lifespans looking to be pretty long and the bandwidth requirements for cluster computing gaming still pretty steep, that whole idea seems to be 10 years away at the very least. What do you guys think? Are consoles doomed, or do we have a good long time to wait before they become obsolete?Link1More informationLink2Link3My personal opinion: Heck no, though I can see a system like this comming about in that time period.Consoles to Die Out in 5 to 10 Years?
If it happens it won't be in 5 to 10 years. That is IF it happens.Consoles to Die Out in 5 to 10 Years?
Former Xbox Europe exec Somebody is bitter.
Wow, no way. It's going to take a hell of a lot longer than 5 years for remote gaming to become viable.
[QUOTE=''mjarantilla'']Wow, no way. It's going to take a hell of a lot longer than 5 years for remote gaming to become viable. [/QUOTE]Especially in certain regions.I could see in countries like Korea or Japan - it taking off, even possibly the USA, but in a country like Australia - where we have pisspoor connections - hell no.
never will happen
[QUOTE=''Shazenab'']Former Xbox Europe exec Somebody is bitter.[/QUOTE]he left to start his own gaming company.
[QUOTE=''skrat_01''][QUOTE=''mjarantilla'']Wow, no way. It's going to take a hell of a lot longer than 5 years for remote gaming to become viable. [/QUOTE]Especially in certain regions.I could see in countries like Korea or Japan - it taking off, even possibly the USA, but in a country like Australia - where we have pisspoor connections - hell no.[/QUOTE] No, not even there, I think. What this exec is talking about would require network latencies an order of magnitude lower than what any high speed internet provider currently has. I mean, processing the graphics remotely and then transmitting it as a video signal over the Internet? Think about how much bandwidth a 1080p signal would require, even a compressed one. Both bandwidth and latency come into play at that point.
its not going to happen. but if it does that would be exeamly lame and i would no longer game
No, it won't happen. Consoles are an easy, accessible and affordable way for anyone to jump into gaming. They don't need to worry about the hardware or a high, jumping-in price point. They just go to a store and buy a console and plug it in.I think most people still view the PC, not as a gaming machine, but as a machine that also happens to play games.
It's an interesting idea, but the logistics are mind-boggling to say the least. I do agree that consoles are on the way out, but I think it's far more likely we'll see them replaced with good ol' fashioned PCs.
[QUOTE=''PBSnipes'']It's an interesting idea, but the logistics are mind-boggling to say the least. I do agree that consoles are on the way out, but I think it's far more likely we'll see them replaced with good ol' fashioned PCs. [/QUOTE]



pc will never be the main form of gaming . Its to expensive and is not user friendly .
[QUOTE=''mjarantilla''][QUOTE=''skrat_01''][QUOTE=''mjarantilla'']Wow, no way. It's going to take a hell of a lot longer than 5 years for remote gaming to become viable. [/QUOTE]Especially in certain regions.I could see in countries like Korea or Japan - it taking off, even possibly the USA, but in a country like Australia - where we have pisspoor connections - hell no.[/QUOTE] No, not even there, I think. What this exec is talking about would require network latencies an order of magnitude lower than what any high speed internet provider currently has. I mean, processing the graphics remotely and then transmitting it as a video signal over the Internet? Think about how much bandwidth a 1080p signal would require, even a compressed one. Both bandwidth and latency come into play at that point.[/QUOTE]True, but looking at how fast technology is progressing in 5-10 years time its very possible.The tech will be there, its just up to the government to improve the lines.
Which is why it blows ass here.
With the Wii sales statistics being released every month by NPD. No. Consoles are like mobile phones and iPod's, it will never simply ''die'' out. Even if MS or Sony left the gaming industry, somebody else would take over, replace their spot. Consoles will ''change'' maybe, but not just die out.
[QUOTE=''deadmeat59''][QUOTE=''PBSnipes'']It's an interesting idea, but the logistics are mind-boggling to say the least. I do agree that consoles are on the way out, but I think it's far more likely we'll see them replaced with good ol' fashioned PCs. [/QUOTE] pc will never be the main form of gaming . Its to expensive and is not user friendly .[/QUOTE]It already is the most popular platform:|1. Hardware varies, games vary for hardware. Example: StarCraft. Sims. Crysis.2. Everyone uses a computer. Its natrual for people. Its not hard. By that logic the Sims would have never sold 20 million copies.
Doubtful, but ... I'm sure computers in five to ten years will be smaller, better(obviously), and more affortable for gamers; hence, they'll turn into the family-room entertainment.
[QUOTE=''deadmeat59''][QUOTE=''PBSnipes'']It's an interesting idea, but the logistics are mind-boggling to say the least. I do agree that consoles are on the way out, but I think it's far more likely we'll see them replaced with good ol' fashioned PCs. [/QUOTE] pc will never be the main form of gaming . Its to expensive and is not user friendly .[/QUOTE]thats not what he is saying....in fact if what he says turns out to be true, than desktop PC's in general will not be used any more.
[QUOTE=''deadmeat59''][QUOTE=''PBSnipes'']It's an interesting idea, but the logistics are mind-boggling to say the least. I do agree that consoles are on the way out, but I think it's far more likely we'll see them replaced with good ol' fashioned PCs. [/QUOTE] pc will never be the main form of gaming . Its to expensive and is not user friendly .[/QUOTE] Dude, it IS a main form of gaming, I cant beleive people still believe that consoles have some kinda of dominance ... when its easily even'd out.
Sounds cool but like others said, don't see it happening any time soon, what about third world countries or places where they don't get a server set up, what are they supposed to do...
not a chance. not with the demands of current and future games anyway. between input lag and general network lag...it just wouldnt work with even the best current tech out there. with future games demanding even more....i just cant see it being a real viable alternative for high end games even in 10 years time. ideally u want to keep the network reqs of a game down to reduce ping times and lag.however....for less technically sophisticated and demanding games like, say, puzzle quest a service like that could work very nicely. sky has a simple games service that is streamed to the sky box on demand and are played on the telly using the remote. if telly manufacturers agreed on certain standards for basic gaming hardware in a telly (like a sky box built in or something) then the idea of streaming games down to the telly or having a game channel that ppl can access could be a very vialble alternative for some games.i think the idea in the TCs post is a good one and is a very viable alternative to the usual means of games distribution. will it replace consoles though? i very highly doubt it.