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The
current generation of game console, now more than four since
introduction is now at about the half way point it their life
cycles. While there are years of life ahead for the
Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Xbox 360, there is many who are
looking a head of what the next generation of game systems will have to
offer. Despite what Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft say
officially, the next game systems are being developed now.
Nintendo
The big N has been criticized for since
the days of the Nintendo 64 that their console technology has lagged
behind the competition. Since the launch of the Wii in 2006
many have and still slag Nintendo for not having high definition
graphics on the Wii. Needless to say, Nintendo's
next system will have high definition.
A Wii with high definition is just going
to be a Wii with high definition. While Nintendo's version of
multiplayer game play usually requires players sharing the same
couch. While there is online capability built into the Wii,
it's used for downloading classic games and add on content for current
games. Since the games that Nintendo develops and publishes
in house are the leading games for the Wii building better online
multiplayer game play is something that Nintendo can do now but it will
be something that Nintendo must do with their next console.
The Wii current has 512 Megabytes of
storage onboard with an SD card slot to add an additional 2 gigabytes,
with downloadable content becoming popular on the other systems, adding
greater storage capability is something that Nintendo will need to do
to make downloadable game content popular on their next system.
Microsoft
The Xbox 720 (the development code name
if the rumors are to be believed) will need to address the big
shortfall of the design of the system, no I am not talking about the
overheating leading to the red ring of death. Microsoft
released the 360 using DVD as the distribution media for game software
which the same DVD's that games came on for the original Xbox and the
Playstation 2. Originally Microsoft choose DVD because it was
cheaper and let Microsoft get the 360 into the market first.
This decision half a decade ago means that some games now come two or
three discs.
One thing that Microsoft will need to do
with the Xbox 720 if indeed if that's what it's going to be called is
to add built in WiFi because Microsoft's two competitors already put in
WiFi on this generation's consoles. Forcing people to pay a
hundred dollars to add WiFi makes look stripped down and to get the
functionality that other consoles have out of the box will require
extra money that could have been saved by buying a Playstation.
The use of proprietary upgrade hardware
has been a great revenue generator for Microsoft but it will need to be
sacrificed if the next Xbox will keep it reputation as the best value
in gaming. Sony has had the reputation for years as being
closed and proprietary but with the Playstation 3, players can use
standard off the shelf bluetooth headset that's half the price of the
proprietary wireless headset that Microsoft sells for the Xbox
360. Upgrading the storage on the Playstation 3 only requires
a standard laptop SATA hard drive allowing people to upgrade to 500
gigabytes or more for about the same cost as the 250 gigabyte
proprietary hard drive Microsoft sells for the Xbox 360.
Sony
Currently the Playstation 3 is the
system that is the least in need of an upgrade, HD, WiFi and Bluetooth
built right into the system. BluRay gives game developers plenty of
space on a disc for content. The space move forward with a
potential Playstation 4 is in the third dimension. More
advanced 3D technology had become a mainstay of most big city movie
theatres and is now starting to come into television as well.
It will be a race with Microsoft to deliver 3D console
gaming. This is where Sony will need to develop and deliver
the Playstation 4 sooner rather than later.
It may seem like the current generation of game consoles offer a lot
more than any previous generation before it, any attempt to replace
current consoles may seem to be a hard sell at first.
Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft know the strengths and weaknesses of their
current systems and will need to address those weaknesses to give
players a lot that their current consoles don't in order to get them to
upgrade. |
