Blizzard: Xbox 720 And PlayStation 4 Will Probably Mark The "Last Traditional Console Generation"

Hey, it got blue ray in it, at least...

Sorry, PCs are still too expensive and complicated for some of us. Not to mention it's always a crap shoot if the game will actually function on your hardware. I use steam for cheap games that I don't care whether they work or not, because they are pocket change. I would not feel that way with a AAA title. Then again, I haven't had a gaming quality PC in like 8 years...

Building a PC and maintaining it is not that complicated. Like you'd have to fail middle school or something to not understand that you just plug it in the hole that fits.

Just wait until you get a spare pc. you wont use your console at all.

They are right. After getting my gaming laptop I only use my PS3 and 360 for console exclusives that aren't on PC. If the game is one PC as well I will get it on that. Skyrim, Fallout, Crysis, Sleeping Dogs, these are just a few examples of why PC gaming is so great. The mods for the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series improves the game tenfold, better character models, custom hair, armor, improved textures, lighting effects, user made patches, new quests, the list goes on. PC gamers also get DirectX 11 visual enhancements on games like Crysis 2 and Sleeping Dogs which makes the game look so much better. Once you get a gaming PC your consoles WILL collect dust.

We can also do things like force high anti aliasing techniques and apply Ambient Occlusion to games that did support them in the past. Giving better shaders to not so brand new games. High resolutions including the ability for some people to supersample mixed with 60 to 120 fps gives pc gaming alot more value than people realize.

If consoles and handhelds have games that are not available to the rest of the market (PC, tablets, smart phones, etc.), then they will continue to have at least a niche market. But I really doubt they'll continue in their current form. Handhelds are doing OK over all, but console sales are slowly but surely declining.

The writing is on the wall. I would guess that, in their current form, consoles have maybe ten more good years before the bottom really falls out of the market. Then, they will either adapt or go extinct.

If consoles go, then i am pretty much done gaming. I am not into PC gaming at all, never have been, and i am not gonna play on a tablet or on my phone since i don't think they are good enough substitutes to having a real console.

I can't say if consoles won't go, but if Tablets and smartphones are the replacement, i am gonna be dissapointed.

i hate the whole mobile gaming thing goin on. motion controls are a gimmick, and no phone or tablet could substitute holding an actual pad in hand. Also Blizzard can talk **** all they want, since they never even made a console game to begin with, let them sit in their hole and keep re-animating world of failcrat.

I think what Blizzard is trying to say is that consoles are becoming more and more like "entertainment centers" instead of something that you only play games on. Which is a better deal in your opinion? A console that streams Netflix, TV shows, download games, surf the internet, watch youtube videos, and play games or a console that only play games? And truthfully, consoles this generation felt more like PCs than "traditional consoles" from the past.

Blizzard has been saying a lot of stupid things lately. Like single player games will be phased out.

yeah, i mean come on, they say that consoles are dying to get peeps on PC's and then tell them that singleplayer is dying to get them to play WoW.

I would just have to invest in a gaming rig PC again if that were to occur. Although its funny, many years ago people kept say "PC gaming is going to be non-existent due to console gaming."

Yeah, THAT totally happened. :)

I'm sorry, but I see things quite different. As today's consoles are becoming more of an all around media center, I can see them easily taking place of the PC or laptop in today's households. PCs are more expensive than a console and are more of a pain in the ass to deal with.

Future consoles could easily be made upgradable with OEM components to extend the lifecycle of a console to that of a PC. There would never be a question as to whether or not your rig could run a new game coming out. It has already been stress tested on the only possible combination of hardware it can run on.

Even everyday non-gaming tasks such as web browsing and email have already been incorporated into smart TV's. How hard is it to move all everyday computing tasks into a console? Whether you want to believe it or not, PC gaming has been on the decline for years. What does a PC offer me that a future console can not?

And porn

Not spam....

That's the thing. At that point they are no longer consoles and become PCs. There's no way you could upgrade consoles with OEM parts unless you had some sort of stupid proof system like the Xbox 360 HDD. You would have to push a button to be able to slide out each component without opening it up, voiding a warranty, and needing to do things like solder. I think consoles will stop at being complete entertainment centers with TV and music. But for everyday computer needs? Who wants to surf the internet with a controller using the joystick to control the mouse?

Steam just released their Big Picture mode for TVs to turn your computer into a console. PCs are always one step ahead. I used to HATE PCs and was a hardcore console fan, but I now see both sides. PCs can do things that consoles will never be able to do such as mods, forcing enhanced rendering techniques through driver control panels, that sort of thing. They aren't that complicated. Most games run just fine.

On top of that PC parts would be cheaper than upgrading an new Xbox. Microsoft would manufacture their own parts for their specific upgrade system and would cost 50% more than a new GPU for a PC. New GPUs are only $300-400 now instead of $600-800. After a year the latest GPU drops down to about $150-200. Not that expensive anymore. A top of the line i7 processor is only about $200, but when they came out they were about $2,000. PCs will always be PCs and consoles will always be consoles.

You could easily incorporate a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. As far as upgradable hardware, why couldnt it be idiot proof? Computers will be left to enterprises and the scientific/engineering community.

(For some reason the site isn't letting me reply to your last comment) You just can't upgrade consoles. It would be way to expensive and defeats the purpose of a console. Even if you upgraded the CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD, and other components you can only do it so far before you have to upgrade the motherboard which would require taking apart the whole console and adding a new one in which would void the warranty. PC games will always be ahead of consoles, but consoles do have their place. Just until about 2-3 years ago PCs were extremely expensive. We were stuck in a new burst of technology (the next generation) and a high-end PC cost about $4,000-5,000 or more. Now a days a high-end top of the line model with dual graphics cards runs you about $2,000 which is a lot more affordable. It used to be only the rich kid on the block had a gaming PC, but now even a broke college student can get one. That is why PC gaming was on a decline.

You're obviously not a broke college student if you think one could afford a $2000 PC.

That aside, I don't know why there's a console/PC war. PCs are technically better, there's just no question - the superior specs and practical usefulness is plain for all to see. But consoles just suit some people's tastes and lifestyles. A PC gamer with a monster rig putting down console players is like a guy who drives a Porsche putting down people who drive Oldsmobiles: we get it, yours is better, we just can't all afford/don't want porches. Personally I use my mediocre PC for playing older games and Xbox for new ones my PC wouldn't be able to handle. Live and let live for Christ's sake.

I'm not putting anyone down. You obviously didn't read my replies. I'm just letting this guy know the difference between PCs and consoles because he obviously has no clue. Just educating him is all.

Just the top part of that comment was specific to your posts, I should have posted the rest on its own as it was not a reply to your post.

Ok nevermind. Misunderstanding. Your second part is right though. But there will always be a PC vs Consoles war that will never end. The ones who are snobs are the custom-rig guys. They think that if your game doesn't run at 60+ FPS its not a real gaming PC. They dis console gamers for using controllers, that consoles aren't true 1080p and they have 2560p (which can only run run at 60+ FPS with dual GPUs). People like that just make life miserable.

The PC is an open platform. Modding, programming, free programs, indie gaming, homebrew gaming, etc. You could say it's easy to make a console an open platform but the people who are making them aren't interested... like at all. Remember when Sony stopped supporting the Linux OS on their PS3s?

"...I think many of us want new hardware so bad that we are just hoping we can will it into existence."

I couldn't disagree more. Because of PC gaming, I doubt I will even buy a new MS or Sony console. My Xbox RRod'd which makes it an expensive paperweight. My PS3 is a Blu Ray player. If my PC has an issue, similar to the RRod, I fix it by replacing a part, not buy a brand new console.

Consoles are WELL on the move to becoming watered down PCs. I'm starting to look at them like I look at Macs: PC's for people who don't have sense enough to just use a PC, and don't mind paying too much for too little.

I'm one of those people who don't care if you a PC gamer, Xbox 360 gamer, PS3 gamer or whatever. I play what I can afford. When got my PS3, it was what I could afford. I don't worry about what the PC can do over the consoles or vice versa, I just play what I enjoy. If the consloes die out, I'll just play what I got. Maybe then the games will cost less and I can afford them.

no intention of every getting another console. much prefer PC Gaming