http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 8:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 10:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/This is no prediction. All they have to do is stop using discs.]]>Mar 29th 2008 7:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
The end of console gaming in less than a decade, or Playstation 4?

I got one word for web-based gaming: Crysis.]]>Mar 29th 2008 10:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 31st 2008 1:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 8:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 8:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
The one thing I will say Time Warner Cable actually can do right is roll out a functional DVR that works almost flawlessly...I was skeptical of Scientific Atlanta boxes after the first one I had but their new DVR's pwn for an additional 5.95 on my bill a month...especially when I'm visiting my family back in Florida and their shitty Motorola (thanks Comcast!) boxes can't even change the aspect ratio for our 46" Samsung HDTV (and no, its not because it's connected via HDMI and it autoadjusts...the motorolas just don't let you change it at all)]]>Mar 28th 2008 9:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 10:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 29th 2008 9:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 29th 2008 11:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 8:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
Hint: most of us like quality games.]]>Mar 28th 2008 8:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
Game consoles are each developed with tremendously different philosophies behind them and are typically dedicated to running games in line with that philosophy.

A cable set top box that allows people to download games would definately be challeneged by another companies set top box which offers more or does things slightly differently. Thus, you'd end up having another console war on a platform which was primarily designed as a cable box.]]>Mar 28th 2008 9:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
They will however eventually be relegated to providing services that our game consoles access...]]>Mar 28th 2008 10:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/In order to have a complete experience of a video game, it has to be designed for a console with a specific set of standards in both spec and controls. When I buy a video game, I know that it will be compatible with the console I bought it for, and I know it will play the same way that everybody else's game plays.]]>Mar 29th 2008 12:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
Hence the problems associated with PC gaming...]]>Mar 29th 2008 7:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 8:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
What a bad prediction]]>Mar 28th 2008 8:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 8:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 29th 2008 8:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 29th 2008 5:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 8:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
Do not be short sighted. If some console would become commodity, adding to it a DVR capability would be a piece of cake. Needless to say that PS3 and 360 already feature similar capabilities.

Imagine that M$ start "licensing" its gaming platform to other set-top-box producers, supplying software and games. If HDTV would stay as it is, then next gen consoles would be cheap as dirt. Bundling them with other TV connected devices is only natural: who would refuse to have instead of 3 boxes under his/her TV only one?]]>Mar 28th 2008 8:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
Xbox already is a media center extender, media cen has dvr/pvr capabilities, the hardware portion is not that difficult.

telecoms are starting to roll out tv service, and cable are starting to offer phone. I can see a huge revolution in com networks coming over the next several years, especially in the US. It wont be long until the FCC reschedules all telecom/cable/isp/...any network kind of provider into one large group to be regulated again. To sort of level the playing field. Right now, different rules and laws apply to cable and teleco, due to the legacy of their infrastructure. But they are all offering the same services... a digital network, all linked to each other. There will be more than one tv provider in your town, not just the old school cable franchise, but a tru selection from any provider available. ]]>Mar 29th 2008 12:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/]]>Mar 28th 2008 8:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 8:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 9:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 9:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 9:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 9:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 9:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 29th 2008 2:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
From there, your console drops in price up front, but you'd be on a two year contract or something for that cable service, which includes but isnt limited to, HDTV service, game downloads, DVR capability, etc. (All of which you would pay monthly for naturally.) This could also cut manufacturing costs for games which would maybe drive the price slightly down on that front... but probably not.

I dont see the big dogs backing out of the hardware business, or trusting some cable company to get good hardware to customers, however seeing them sign deals with the major cable companies is a definite possibility. The logistics would be a nightmare though. Which provider works best with which console? Which providor offers the best games? Will games be spread over multiple providors? One thing is for sure, it would FORCE the cable/sattelite companies to really start increasing that bandwidth.

I like this idea and this guys prediction, although maybe not spot on, is a cool step out of the box.]]>Mar 28th 2008 9:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/-Taylor]]>Mar 28th 2008 9:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/---------
See, the thing is, the man has a point, new ideas are VERY hard to get out there and successful without a huge budget, BUT... many would argue that Nintendo itself is risk-averse, formulaic, simple and predictable.

Casual gaming, no doubt there's a huuuge virtually untapped market here, but I think there will always be room for those who want a more engaging and challenging experience.

The industry may be changing, and I can definitely relate to QUICK 5-minute plays here and there. Games which are easy to learn and play (and quick to load, load times and the inability to bypass them are truly ridiculous on most games which I have always felt was in dire need of the chop) BUT I don't think the console fading away per se.

It's more likely the gaming market is growing, and accommodating more users. We have more choice and more innovation allowing to seep through. No doubt a lot of that choice and innovation will be driven by upstarts getting their feet wet in the digital distribution waters, and that is definitely a big part of future portables as well as current ones which all the console makers are embracing.

While using Nintendo's DS, I saw heaps of room for improvement as far as convergence goes. Not even a daily planner app by default. It could do sooo many things, seriously. It seemed unnecessarily restricted to me, so some (more) convergence here is inevitable in future hardware. PSP does a far better job here, but is still short. More convergence is definitely on the cards, too many devices are out there doing similar things, but convergence at the expense of usability and GAMEPLAY and battery life is sub-par.

Your average converged device just sucks for games in terms of playability, basic technology, cost, usability and choice, IMO. Unless things improve here tremendously, my wallet will be voting for the simplicity and usability of dedicated (portable) consoles (which I prefer over regular consoles).

Of course they will do more as time goes on, that really is inevitable, and those who reap the rewards will be those with strong hardware and software ties, IMO. Just like they do now.

Halfway through the second part of the interview sounded like a huge advertisement to me, too. I suppose he believes what he's saying, but it could be interpreted the other way too :)


]]>Mar 28th 2008 9:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 9:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 9:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 9:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/]]>Mar 28th 2008 9:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 9:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 10:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
I guess it's not surprising that many don't understand how this will work. It's simple. Imagine a gaming "system" that if you bought it would cost over $1,000,000. Incredibly powerful logic and 3D rendering capabilities. But you don't buy it for a million. You pay $xx.xx a month to access it. The amazing machine sits in a server room somewhere - not your living room. You, along with many other subscribers, connect to it with your 1gbps Internet connection. 99% of the processing is done on their end. Pre-rendered data is streamed to you instantly, while your local "console" (think of some small adapter-looking device - DisplayPort on one end, WiFi antenna on the other) is little more than a dumb video streamer.

Say you're playing Madden 2018 on EA's service. They use a platform developed by Microsoft. Then you pull up your menu and play Super Mario Brothers 80. That's direct from Nintendo on a platform they developed. Your "console" will work with either. Maybe some games require a special controller or other input device, but that's about it.

This is where we are headed. Tower Records are all closed down now. Blockbuster is next. After that it will be Gamestop.]]>Mar 28th 2008 9:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 29th 2008 4:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 10:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/
Shhhhh. Don't tell this to Nintendo, they apparently missed that memo.]]>Mar 28th 2008 10:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 10:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 10:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 10:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/former-xbox-europe-vp-says-consoles-will-be-dead-in-5-10-years/Mar 28th 2008 11:08PM