Do you suppose the next generation of consoles will use cartridges?

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: Eeezee
With flash memory plummeting in price and skyrocketing in size every year, do you suppose the next generation (or perhaps the generation after that) of consoles will revert to consoles?

What?

 

[tommo123]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Blu-Ray drives will be the medium for next gen consoles, unless some other physical media comes out to replace it.

I doubt the majority of games will be bought via download in the next generation of consoles (games for that system, not the systems preceding it). Switching exclusively to (or heavily emphasizing) full game sales via PSN or Xbox Live would alienate retail distributors like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc who move a large portion of consoles and games. However, add ons, mods, and old (previous generation) games could be sold via online marketplaces without the retailers getting angry.

However, fully downloadable games are impossible to sell used, so I can see where that would be attractive, but going exclusive to download is not going to happen in the next generation.

i would imagine microsoft is looking at alternatives to bluray. i might be wrong with this, but isnt there a shortage of 50GB bluray disks at the mo for movies as sony is using a whole load of them for PS3 games. if microsoft used blu-ray i doubt sony could control the urge to cause problems for microsoft by delays or even stock shortages.

a basic and slow 30GB flash drive is fairly cheap now (and i dont mean the 100MB transfer rate ones) and will be cheaper by 2010 or whenever the next MS console comes out. it would allow them to bypass BD and sony and have variable sized disks depending on the game itself.

as for downloading games, that wont take off for a long time for a very simple reason. ISPs oversell their bandwidth. sure we have 24Mbit here and 50Mbit next year but the 'fair use policy' of ISPs will be a problem. Right now in the UK ISPs are freaking out about the BBC and their iPlayer and want the BBC to basically subsidise their networks as they cant handle people using it. Imagine if people started downloading games that are 10GB, 20GB 50 GB even. On the release day of something like GTA 5, ISPs would be in a blind panic and customers would be complaining like crazy.

Downloading is years away IMO. some of us can get away with it thanks to decent ISPs so it might be an alternative (subsidised at the start to entice people to use it) but not mainstream for 5-10 years IMO.

 

[VIAN]

If it ever happens, it won't happen for a while. CDs, and certain of DVDs, can be bought for less than a buck by game developers. Unless at 20GB of flash memory becomes less than a buck within that time, which I highly doubt it will be BD. I know BD isn't a buck yet, but I'm sure it will get there soon and is still significantly cheaper than 4GB of flash.

 

[mxyzptlk]

Originally posted by: Sadaiyappan
I guess a console that read cartridges would have no moving parts right? It would be more reliable.

You must have never had to blow into an NES cart then wiggle it around in the slot, hoping to form the perfect connection, so that you could play without graphical glitches

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I hope cartridges come back. I'd rather have lesser texture quality in exchange for faster load times. Even the 10 seconds between races in Forza pisses me off. The thing is, it does that 2-3 times between each race. It gets aggravating. I'm on the console to play games, not roll my eyes into the back of my head periodically.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Also, if you think load times are not an issue, please get rid of your broadband and go back to dial up.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Another thought. Maybe the next generation will be downloadable content onto a hard drive! How much will a 500 gig hard drive cost in 3 years? Even a 2 gig game won't take forever. Even if you buy the game on disk (DVD, Blue Ray, whatever), a hard drive would be the best of both worlds.

Maybe the whole key is simply installing the games onto the console!

 

[randomlinh]

i would not mind downloadable content if it were cheaper to the consumer. I like physical media now because I can sell off my game, or alternatively, go buy a used copy. As for hurting the developers bottom line, well, given gamestop has been around for a while, it's probably something already incorporated into the cost.

 

[Eeezee]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
I hope cartridges come back. I'd rather have lesser texture quality in exchange for faster load times. Even the 10 seconds between races in Forza pisses me off. The thing is, it does that 2-3 times between each race. It gets aggravating. I'm on the console to play games, not roll my eyes into the back of my head periodically.

As technology progresses, cartridges would likely be capable of holding just as much data (ie quality textures).

The only problem is manufacturing cost, but production costs are coming down as well. Eventually cartridges will be no more expensive than optical media (or the difference will be some fraction of a cent)

 

[Eeezee]

Originally posted by: tommo123

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Blu-Ray drives will be the medium for next gen consoles, unless some other physical media comes out to replace it.

I doubt the majority of games will be bought via download in the next generation of consoles (games for that system, not the systems preceding it). Switching exclusively to (or heavily emphasizing) full game sales via PSN or Xbox Live would alienate retail distributors like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc who move a large portion of consoles and games. However, add ons, mods, and old (previous generation) games could be sold via online marketplaces without the retailers getting angry.

However, fully downloadable games are impossible to sell used, so I can see where that would be attractive, but going exclusive to download is not going to happen in the next generation.

i would imagine microsoft is looking at alternatives to bluray. i might be wrong with this, but isnt there a shortage of 50GB bluray disks at the mo for movies as sony is using a whole load of them for PS3 games. if microsoft used blu-ray i doubt sony could control the urge to cause problems for microsoft by delays or even stock shortages.

a basic and slow 30GB flash drive is fairly cheap now (and i dont mean the 100MB transfer rate ones) and will be cheaper by 2010 or whenever the next MS console comes out. it would allow them to bypass BD and sony and have variable sized disks depending on the game itself.

as for downloading games, that wont take off for a long time for a very simple reason. ISPs oversell their bandwidth. sure we have 24Mbit here and 50Mbit next year but the 'fair use policy' of ISPs will be a problem. Right now in the UK ISPs are freaking out about the BBC and their iPlayer and want the BBC to basically subsidise their networks as they cant handle people using it. Imagine if people started downloading games that are 10GB, 20GB 50 GB even. On the release day of something like GTA 5, ISPs would be in a blind panic and customers would be complaining like crazy.

Downloading is years away IMO. some of us can get away with it thanks to decent ISPs so it might be an alternative (subsidised at the start to entice people to use it) but not mainstream for 5-10 years IMO.

Where the hell can you get 24 MBit? The Average in the US is less than 10. 50MBit is a far off dream at this point.

 

[Eeezee]

Originally posted by: hans030390

Originally posted by: Eeezee
With flash memory plummeting in price and skyrocketing in size every year, do you suppose the next generation (or perhaps the generation after that) of consoles will revert to consoles?

What?

A whole month after I made the post and no one noticed? Fixed

 

[tommo123]

Originally posted by: Eeezee

Originally posted by: tommo123

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Blu-Ray drives will be the medium for next gen consoles, unless some other physical media comes out to replace it.

I doubt the majority of games will be bought via download in the next generation of consoles (games for that system, not the systems preceding it). Switching exclusively to (or heavily emphasizing) full game sales via PSN or Xbox Live would alienate retail distributors like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc who move a large portion of consoles and games. However, add ons, mods, and old (previous generation) games could be sold via online marketplaces without the retailers getting angry.

However, fully downloadable games are impossible to sell used, so I can see where that would be attractive, but going exclusive to download is not going to happen in the next generation.

i would imagine microsoft is looking at alternatives to bluray. i might be wrong with this, but isnt there a shortage of 50GB bluray disks at the mo for movies as sony is using a whole load of them for PS3 games. if microsoft used blu-ray i doubt sony could control the urge to cause problems for microsoft by delays or even stock shortages.

a basic and slow 30GB flash drive is fairly cheap now (and i dont mean the 100MB transfer rate ones) and will be cheaper by 2010 or whenever the next MS console comes out. it would allow them to bypass BD and sony and have variable sized disks depending on the game itself.

as for downloading games, that wont take off for a long time for a very simple reason. ISPs oversell their bandwidth. sure we have 24Mbit here and 50Mbit next year but the 'fair use policy' of ISPs will be a problem. Right now in the UK ISPs are freaking out about the BBC and their iPlayer and want the BBC to basically subsidise their networks as they cant handle people using it. Imagine if people started downloading games that are 10GB, 20GB 50 GB even. On the release day of something like GTA 5, ISPs would be in a blind panic and customers would be complaining like crazy.

Downloading is years away IMO. some of us can get away with it thanks to decent ISPs so it might be an alternative (subsidised at the start to entice people to use it) but not mainstream for 5-10 years IMO.

Where the hell can you get 24 MBit? The Average in the US is less than 10. 50MBit is a far off dream at this point.

The UK. it's upto 24mbit depending on distance from your exchange. i am on 20mbit. cable offers 20mbit outright with 50mbit next year afaik

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: tommo123
The UK. it's upto 24mbit depending on distance from your exchange. i am on 20mbit. cable offers 20mbit outright with 50mbit next year afaik

Dang that is good, I have 6mbit and have one of the fastest (if not the fastest) connections available in my neighborhood (that is consumer not business oriented). (Of course the selection is limited to Comcast Cable, Bell South (much slower than Comcast here) DSL, satellite, and dialup here)

 

[tommo123]

you are in the US i imagine? sorry, dont know your ISPs. but doesnt this add weight to the point that downloading games is unrealistic at the mo for most people? unless you are not under draconian fair use policies of course. i had 2 mbit braodband a few years and go that wasnt limited at all and downloaded 24/7 (650GB/month without a peep from my ISP of the time). in that case i can see it happening.

 

[erwos]

Never mind.