One-console future? PCGA prez predicts console makers will fall back on PC

So many games, so many consoles. With the economy as it is, and game development getting more and more expensive, wouldn’t it be easier to just have one console and get it over with? Randy Stude, president of the PC Gaming Alliance, predicts that this will be the case, with console makers falling back on the PC as the all-in-one platform.

So many games, so many consoles. With the economy as it is, and game development getting more and more expensive, wouldn’t it be easier to just have one console and get it over with?

Randy Stude, president of the PC Gaming Alliance, predicts that this will be the case, with console makers falling back on the PC as the all-in-one platform:

CanÂ’t [Sony] create a stable enough environment to specify that if DellÂ’s going to sell that notebook and say that itÂ’s PlayStation 4 [compatible] that it must have certain ingredients and it must meet certain criteria? Absolutely they could that.

Are they going to do it? I donÂ’t know. I predict that they will. I predict that all of the console makers over time will recognize that itÂ’s too expensive to develop the proprietary solution and recognize the value of collapsing back on the PC as a ubiquitous platform.

[…] The reason why Microsoft came out with an Xbox could be debated, but largely it was because they couldnÂ’t set up a sandbox that was consistent enough on the PC to be able to deliver that experience to compete against Sony, who was their reason for getting into that market.

Does that [problem] still exist? I donÂ’t think so. I think the performance capabilities probably outstrip the demand that consumers have right now for graphics […] At the end of the day it comes down to the game play experience, not how pretty it looks.

He cites the ongoing success of the Wii and the PS2 as proof that gameplay is far more in demand than graphics. The idea of a one-platform future certainly isn’t a new one. WildTangent CEO Alex St. John is very outspoken about the idea that consoles will die by 2010, and others like Denis Dyack of Silicon Knights have also expressed desire to see a standard gaming platform.

Personally, I’d love to see a standard platform happen. Easier on the wallet, and I don’t have to buy more than one console just to play every Final Fantasy game Square Enix rolls out. I’m a fanboy like that.

Stude has a lot more to say about PC gaming, including its advantages over console gaming, the issue of piracy, and the rise of online distribution. Read the full interview after the source link below.

• Doug Lombardi: death of PC gaming is a ‘perception problem’
• GDC 2007: PC gaming in the age of console gaming
• Here lies PS3, Xbox 360, Wii – online execs turn doomsayers on consoles
• Kevin Carney: “The consoles have taken a giant leap backwards”

Via Game Politics