CyanideFuse
Member
Sega with the Dreamcast 2.
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Who could be the next company in the console race?
- Thread starter SOR5
- Start date
Rhazer Fusion
Member
That would be disastrous. The industry is greedy enough. I hate to imagine an inevitable console monopoly. $1000 console and $100 games with no price drops.
LordOfChaos
Member
I know you're disqualifying it off the bat, but I did always think the Apple TV could have been a super interesting choice if it keeps getting their yearly SoC bumps.
Imagine if it got A10 this year, A11 next, etc...The base consoles could be looking in their rearview mirrors sooner than one would expect.
They already removed the requirement for games to use the wand controller so that's a start, more local storage would be a big bonus.
Now, growing their own studios is quite another matter though. But it could attract third parties.
Cymbal Head
Banned
It would take many years for anybody to make back their initial investment getting into the market, even with a runaway success, and by that time it's entirely possible that dedicated home consoles will be well on their way out in favor of general-purpose mobile devices and streaming boxes. It makes no sense as a business move.
Realistically, the best chance of a new competitor getting into the business is if/when Microsoft decides to sell off the Xbox division.
Realistically, the best chance of a new competitor getting into the business is if/when Microsoft decides to sell off the Xbox division.
GamerMax73
Member
While I agree in principle, In practise gaming is medium driven by the arms race. As as been shown multiple times in the past open standards gives you either a high entry price (PC, MSX, 3DO, Steam) or sub-par hardware (AppleTV, FireTV, Quya).
If you can come up with an open standard formula that works for all parties I'm sure the likes of Valve, EA, Ubisoft, Activision, and Square Enix will be queuing up to invest...you'll be minted. Good luck! (and would you be willing to hire me as a PR consultant for social media?)
hydrophilic attack
Member
xiaomi
Yeah that sounds amazing, for sure! Monopolies have always worked better that free, open competition.
/s
I don't see Apple being a big threat. Their hardware is always too expensive and it would be the same case here. They have no relationships with the AAA publishers or even any developers outside of the smaller iOS app guys. It'd be a monumental undertaking for a market that just doesn't have any room for any more competitors.
LordOfChaos
Member
The Apple TV at 149 isn't bad at all, and I see that as the possible inflection point. Keep adding new chips, maybe active cooling, and it's a powerful little thing, say with the A10.
Even then, Microsoft got really fucking lucky with Halo, Online, HD and Sony's fuckups with the PS3.
MS pretty much hit lightning in a bottle and still lost a lot of $ trying to break though, no way any company ever has that sort of luck again
Aztechnology
Member
I think small form factor PC's via the Steam Machine esque approach but with Windows and having a boot mode between Xbox Mode and Desktop mode would be what's next. So I guess potentially anyone that joins that kind of program.
GamerMax73
Member
But, do they have to? Why do they have to follow the established business model? Someone like Amazon could break into the market by stealth if they positioned themselves right with a good alternative vision.
In some ways I think Nintendo are playing the game the right way with the Switch. A good hardware propersition that doesn't have to compete head on in the arms race. It's just a shame, so far, the noises on the 3rd party front are very wanting.
I think the right company, with the right vision, can come in and disrupt the market without sinking that sort of cash into it. And I think, eventually, someone probably will. Most likely a Samsung or an LG.
GamerMax73
Member
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/alienware-alpha/dkcwa05hbts
Starting at $550 for an i3 with 4Gb Ram and 2Gb basic GTX graphics...it's not a cheep solution. And at that price I'd be worried about what games I couldn't play compared to higher end models.
audio_delay
Neo Member
That company that wants to take over Ubisoft.
outunderthestars
Banned
I have one of those and love it. The alienware custom UI works well and it fits into my entertainment center.
mrmickfran
Member
pls no
Buying 2 per gen + portables is already more than enough for me
Buying 2 per gen + portables is already more than enough for me
It's still part of the market so you count it.
Don't you count the ps2 in a ps3-gen comparison cause it also had a huge decline?
If you just cross the companies/consoles with a decline out then ofc the market grows.
Wii/PS4 is a ~15 mill. difference.
And even with that huge decline of one competitor no place is ahead of last gen.
The Wii is ~25% ahead of PS4
The PS3 is ~20% ahead of XBO
The 360 is >250% ahead of WiiU
IMO they do. To break into the console market you NEED EA, Activision and Rockstar full support at the very least. You aren't going to get that with a brand new console on the market UNTIL you prove yourself, and doing that without hitting lightning in a bottle is damn near impossible these days, especially with ecosystems fully in place now.
Nintendo is unique and have a huge backlog of IPs that people love and sell millions, Samsung etc isn't going to have all that from the get go. Even then Nintendo is "struggling" and not really apart of the console race with just exclusives and they're unmatched in that department.
That's not to say if Amazon or Samsung wanted to enter the console race they couldn't, but if they did they wouldn't really be competing they'd be like Nintendo. They exist, and they make their fans happy.. But they aren't really apart of the "console race". They will never break through with a console like Playstation or Xbox. Only without the exclusive IPs to back it up they'll be lucky if they even hit a fraction of what Nintendo sells let alone PS/Xbox
The best chance of any company "entering" the console race would be to buy Nintendo/Xbox/Playstation. I think if someone bought Nintendo they would build a powerful beast and get third party support from Rockstar etc and not , well, be Nintendo. But all of those would cost way too much money for very little return, so that's unlikely aswell.
Sad Affleck
Member
Noone. The console market isn't very attractive to big businesses.
GamerMax73
Member
I agree to a certain extent. However if you look at what Samsung are doing with GameFly and Playstation Now on their TV's I tend to wonder if a more long term approach is possible, especially if you add in a mobile store like Android.
It's not an instant take over the world approach both Sony and Microsoft attempted with their entries. More a slow burn approach. We'll wake up one day in 10-15 years time and without realising it happened well be playing the latest games on one of these devices.
Part of me wonders if thats what Amazon and Apple are, or at least at one point were, trying with their settop boxes.
It's certainly a long term strategy that someone like nVidia with their ShieldTV could use to good effect.
It might not even be one of the obvious contenders we've mentioned so far. It might be someone completely out the left field. But I think that's how it will be done. As I said above I think it might come in stealth via SmartTV's. Maybe starting with someone coming up with a common platform that LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, et al, all want to use for their TV OS's.
I don't think it's a strategy that will directly replace or compete with MS or Sony, but is one that could overturn Nintendo and take the third place for more casual gamers.
I think Apple could do it if they thought there was "real" money to be made in gaming. The problem as you highlighted would be the massive initial investment with little to reward. They would either have to get incredibly lucky with a AAA game or buy someone like Take Two and Rockstar. A hostile take over would take about $6-8 billion to pull off. That move would guarantee them an absolute foothold and a pretty decent start.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
There's little to no money to be made in making dedicated gaming hardware. On the other hand, there is much money to be made on convergence devices that happen to play games.
In as far as mobile is considered part of total gaming spend, Apple, Samsung, Google, and Amazon already spend a considerable amount of time creating hardware with gaming in mind, and in most scenarios they are handily "winning" the hardware and ecosystem wars compared to Sony, MS, and Nintendo.
We've got one of those two already in the form of day one "premium" editions and season passes for nearly every AAA release.
And things like "Play Anywhere" purchases are already a big step towards a one console future. If I can buy software and it works on any device I own with sufficient horsepower, the maker of that hardware is superfluous.
In as far as mobile is considered part of total gaming spend, Apple, Samsung, Google, and Amazon already spend a considerable amount of time creating hardware with gaming in mind, and in most scenarios they are handily "winning" the hardware and ecosystem wars compared to Sony, MS, and Nintendo.
We've got one of those two already in the form of day one "premium" editions and season passes for nearly every AAA release.
And things like "Play Anywhere" purchases are already a big step towards a one console future. If I can buy software and it works on any device I own with sufficient horsepower, the maker of that hardware is superfluous.
GoldenCrow
Member
Facebook.
Not as a traditional console but aimed at the larger crowd who use their product with a focus on wider entertainment and Facebook integrated into everything. They already have the Rift and the Oculus store so can easily imagine them breaking into music, film and the better side of gaming then selling all that in a concise bit of kit where they can drive the prices down by selling your personal information.
Not as a traditional console but aimed at the larger crowd who use their product with a focus on wider entertainment and Facebook integrated into everything. They already have the Rift and the Oculus store so can easily imagine them breaking into music, film and the better side of gaming then selling all that in a concise bit of kit where they can drive the prices down by selling your personal information.
UserDoesNotExist
Member
Amazon because Bezos is random and, best as I can tell, the man is allergic to making a profit. He'd be a good fit for the current state of console gaming.
Xiaomi or Huawei to capitalize on the growing Chinese market.
Xiaomi or Huawei to capitalize on the growing Chinese market.
The traditional console market has stagnated, which is one of the reasons for these half step consoles in order to maximize revenue.
Something like what has been mentioned here would be the next step.
Something that is a mass media device that happens to play games as well. Most likely Android or iOS based and hooks into those markets.
Memorabilia
Member
Lol Perfect.
I don't think the likes of Apple, Google, or Amazon will ever create dedicated gaming consoles like Playstation or Xbox. They'll all stick to mobile devices and set-top boxes. Heck even then Amazon tried a smartphone and failed miserably.
What I think might happen in the next decade or so is that one of these massive Chinese tech companies like Huawei or Xiaomi might build an affordable gaming console for the burgeoning Chinese console market. The PS4 and Xbox One haven't been selling well there in part because they're expensive compared to mobile games or going to a PC cafe, so perhaps building a more affordable alternative would help. Maybe it'll be Android based or it'll run on their own custom firmware, but I feel like, if anything, that'll be what happens down the road. Even then it would probably have a fairly small market and wouldn't receive ports of PS4/X1 games.
What I think might happen in the next decade or so is that one of these massive Chinese tech companies like Huawei or Xiaomi might build an affordable gaming console for the burgeoning Chinese console market. The PS4 and Xbox One haven't been selling well there in part because they're expensive compared to mobile games or going to a PC cafe, so perhaps building a more affordable alternative would help. Maybe it'll be Android based or it'll run on their own custom firmware, but I feel like, if anything, that'll be what happens down the road. Even then it would probably have a fairly small market and wouldn't receive ports of PS4/X1 games.
McDonalds definitely takes the cake for best junkfood related licensed videogame. McKids and Global Gladiators aren't bad and the Treasure game is actually real good (Donald Land for Famicom sucks though).
The Abominable Snowman
Member
Amazon, definitely. I can definitely see someone like Amazon pulling off a cloud gaming based network, but it'll be loads more advanced than something like how OnLive was supposed to be, with cheap hardware from the Amazon Fire series or anyone's existing Android/Windows/Mac being able to take advantage. Maybe even iOS since it's a service but we all remember the hard time Apple gave Spotify and Netflix.
I honestly think it's a surefire winner, so as long as you have many partners and stand out in utility and value, which I think Amazon excels at.
I honestly think it's a surefire winner, so as long as you have many partners and stand out in utility and value, which I think Amazon excels at.
Hippopuncher12
Member
Nobody.
Rainbow In The Dark
Member
Pornhub with tons of exclusives.
Shifty1897
Member
Amazon is the elephant in the room. They are branching into technology and have had a lot of success.
Can you imagine asking Alexa to purchase and download Call of Duty: Prime Warfare to your Amazon GameSphere(TM)?
Can you imagine asking Alexa to purchase and download Call of Duty: Prime Warfare to your Amazon GameSphere(TM)?
Beerman462
Member
Buckets of exclusives...
Anyway...I think Nintendo consolidating handheld and console, with Sony pushing a more traditional console and MS trying a unified store across different hardware could be good going forward. I just want MS to keep working on UWP until they get it right, instead of throwing in the towel like they always do.
Heh, no not at all, but I remember a lot of the things that I had interest in, whether it was hardware or games.
I will say, it's great to post something that's been largely forgotten or that some people didn't know about. Other people do this all the time and I come away learning something new myself.
That's a really good point about Samsung being the only company of the ones mentioned that can produce the three most expensive components for a console.