www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/201...y-bring-us-a-console-war-we-didnt-see-coming/
So apparently Apple and Google are interested in making some cheapo 'console' to play their phone/tablet based apps on a big screen.
www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnes...d-apple-samsung-unveiled-games-console-first/
And Samsung have already done it.
But it got me thinking, is this good or bad for console gaming? I mean it seems fairly harmless from the stand point mentioned here, but are we going to see them push into the top end of console gaming? That is, compete directly with Sony and MS?
Because all three of Samsung, Apple and Google are big enough to step up to the plate. This would be more competition so that's good yeah? Well not as far as i can tell. Sony and MS already have such strong competition between then that they sell consoles as cheap as possible, sometimes at a loss. Sony's gaming sector often doesn't seem to perform well financially due to how hard they have to push for sales.
If you start adding more competitors you are going to have the newer players trying to undercut the current tech with shittier consoles for cheaper. This could result in cheaper less functional systems for everyone. Well, maybe not, but it's not the only concern.
There is also the issue of splitting the playerbase. Already there are many games you can't play online because there are not enough people playing. There is currently no cross platform play so you start fracturing the playerbase even more, you reduce the people to play with. Which is a problem, especially if you live in Australia (for example), where trying to play with anyone outside the country is pointless due to excessive lag. I was forced to quit playing MW2 because i only ever got high lag games once BO2 and MW3 were out.
And then there is development issues. Unless development teams are going to try and develop and optimise for all the new systems they are going to have to choose which systems to develop for. Either way, it's a worse situation than now. Especially if the new systems feature different tech to develop for (just think PS3, but with more consoles).
I have never been concerned about the future of console gaming given other arguments (re mobile and pc gaming). Ironic that it is the proposition of increased console competition that has aroused my concern.
Are my concerns misplaced? Just wondering what others think. I'm hoping they don't try compete directly, or if they do, they fail. I just hope MS vs Sony stays strong. I reckon they currently do well competing with each other.
So apparently Apple and Google are interested in making some cheapo 'console' to play their phone/tablet based apps on a big screen.
www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnes...d-apple-samsung-unveiled-games-console-first/
And Samsung have already done it.
But it got me thinking, is this good or bad for console gaming? I mean it seems fairly harmless from the stand point mentioned here, but are we going to see them push into the top end of console gaming? That is, compete directly with Sony and MS?
Because all three of Samsung, Apple and Google are big enough to step up to the plate. This would be more competition so that's good yeah? Well not as far as i can tell. Sony and MS already have such strong competition between then that they sell consoles as cheap as possible, sometimes at a loss. Sony's gaming sector often doesn't seem to perform well financially due to how hard they have to push for sales.
If you start adding more competitors you are going to have the newer players trying to undercut the current tech with shittier consoles for cheaper. This could result in cheaper less functional systems for everyone. Well, maybe not, but it's not the only concern.
There is also the issue of splitting the playerbase. Already there are many games you can't play online because there are not enough people playing. There is currently no cross platform play so you start fracturing the playerbase even more, you reduce the people to play with. Which is a problem, especially if you live in Australia (for example), where trying to play with anyone outside the country is pointless due to excessive lag. I was forced to quit playing MW2 because i only ever got high lag games once BO2 and MW3 were out.
And then there is development issues. Unless development teams are going to try and develop and optimise for all the new systems they are going to have to choose which systems to develop for. Either way, it's a worse situation than now. Especially if the new systems feature different tech to develop for (just think PS3, but with more consoles).
I have never been concerned about the future of console gaming given other arguments (re mobile and pc gaming). Ironic that it is the proposition of increased console competition that has aroused my concern.
Are my concerns misplaced? Just wondering what others think. I'm hoping they don't try compete directly, or if they do, they fail. I just hope MS vs Sony stays strong. I reckon they currently do well competing with each other.