Electronic Arts: we want one standard platform

Looks like Electronic Arts isn’t just about going global. EA Executive VP Gerhard Florin commented to BBC that within 15 years, the game industry will see only one platform in the market. It’s an interesting notion and not exactly an uncommon one.

The idea isn’t a “one console to rule them all” bit but more of a convergence of technologies, a single platform that can sustain the demands of the consumer as well as bring the best out from all the worlds. Coming from a developer’s point of view, the idea is that programming would be easier:

We want an open, standard platform which is much easier than having five which are not compatible. […] You don’t need an Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii – the consumer won’t even realize the platform it is being played on.

Screen Digest analyst Nick Parker believes that it’s not about one console rising above all the others: rather a console that can provide channels for the publishers – Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo – to deliver their games. This prevents a monopoly of distribution of games, if not hardware.

However, Florin believes that hardware will basically boil down to game-centric PCs. The current participants of the console wars – the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the Wii – are just a step away from it themselves. If that’s the case for future consoles, then even hardware isn’t a monopoly, much like how all the parts of a PC isn’t dependent on one company.

With all the consoles striving for technology convergence – developing the boxes to become a media hub and not just a gaming console – it’s not really a strange idea to imagine that a convergence of console tech is the next step. Perhaps the logical, inevitable step.

Via Eurogamer

Looks like Electronic Arts isn’t just about going global. EA Executive VP Gerhard Florin commented to BBC that within 15 years, the game industry will see only one platform in the market. It’s an interesting notion and not exactly an uncommon one.

The idea isn’t a “one console to rule them all” bit but more of a convergence of technologies, a single platform that can sustain the demands of the consumer as well as bring the best out from all the worlds. Coming from a developer’s point of view, the idea is that programming would be easier:

We want an open, standard platform which is much easier than having five which are not compatible. […] You don’t need an Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii – the consumer won’t even realize the platform it is being played on.

Screen Digest analyst Nick Parker believes that it’s not about one console rising above all the others: rather a console that can provide channels for the publishers – Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo – to deliver their games. This prevents a monopoly of distribution of games, if not hardware.

However, Florin believes that hardware will basically boil down to game-centric PCs. The current participants of the console wars – the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the Wii – are just a step away from it themselves. If that’s the case for future consoles, then even hardware isn’t a monopoly, much like how all the parts of a PC isn’t dependent on one company.

With all the consoles striving for technology convergence – developing the boxes to become a media hub and not just a gaming console – it’s not really a strange idea to imagine that a convergence of console tech is the next step. Perhaps the logical, inevitable step.

Via Eurogamer