Next Generation Consoles As Entertainment Centres?

With the Playstation it was possible to play CDs and listen to music through your TV. With the Playstation 2 it was possible to play DVDs and enjoy films without needing to fork out on a separate DVD-ROM player.

As the price of technology decreases, and it becomes easier to manufacture these items in high numbers, do you foresee that the console market will kind of be lost as the major companies like Sony and Microsoft combine more functionality into the consoles? Rumours with the PS3’s Cell Technology is to allow parallel processing across a network, meaning that the console is less of a console and more of a node in a computer network. Will the console market be lost as the companies plug the other features?

Thoughts?

Well, we’ve seen rumbles of this already – Microsoft is testing a number of Xbox Next prototypes, including one that practically is a home computer with Xbox functionality – presumably more stylish and non-upgradeable, as well.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has also let slip that Sony is planning to release two models of the PS3 – one a stand-alone games console (with PSP connectivity, no doubt), and one an updated PSX. (For those who have yet to see Sony’s all-singing, all-dancing PSX, it’s basically a PS2 and a DVD-Recorder in one, with a nice big price tag to match.).

Also, both the Xbox Next and Nintendo’s ‘Revolution’ have confirmed to have a video out (the same as the one on the back of your video card) as well as AV outs so that they can plug into computer monitors – allowing a sharper resolution and a higher refresh rate. No doubt Sony will follow suit.

I don’t think the console market will be lost, more expanded – some analysts expect gaming to overtake music as the premier entertainment market amongst youth. While you won’t see EB Games stores popping up instead of record stores all over the place any time soon, it’s bound to happen eventually.

The PC and console will merge soon maybe not quite in the next generation of consoles but probally the one after that. PC gaming companies have all talked about trying to make there games more readily avabile to play out of the box console games so it not only be consoles being more like PCs. The PC will also gain some console like attributes. Until they are one in the same and you have a kind of upgradeable console.