Absolutely. And they make no apologies for it.Sargie wrote:I am sure Sony and Microsoft want to have a box under your TV to control the movies, music and games you will be watching, listening and playing in 5-8 years time.
A Microsoft employee told me a couple of months ago that in the list of "needs" that a household has, consoles, video and DVD players, and satellite TV all rate higher than PCs. Microsoft's motivations are to have their products running on every computer (honestly, and again, they make no apologies for it).
Sony wants a Sony product in every home, and as many as possible. The distributed cell approach is cunning. You need a new TV, but if you buy a Sony TV it has an extra processing component for the grid. You need a hi-fi - you should get a Sony, not only because it has the optical connections, but because it has superior sound processing hardware for the grid. I like the idea of plugging household items together to form an Uber-console. As long as I don't have to pay for it.
Nintendo just want to make games the same way that they've always done. This is laudable, but it just isn't possible in this climate. Times are changing. I saw so many "console round-ups" before Christmas that said "...but the GameCube doesn't include a DVD player." That was a silly move for Nintendo, because if you add in DVD functionality, people think they're getting two products in one, and one less ugly box for under the TV. They're still good for handhelds, but they're ignoring the fact that mobiles, handheld PCs and games consoles are rapidly merging (I'm not talking the N-Gage here, I'm talking along the lines of the Sony-Ericsson P800 and the Microsoft SPV-type devices - hmmm, Sony and Microsoft again).
The fact that Nintendo ignoring the availability of broadband is very shortsighted. But then none of the consoles have got that right yet. Sony just likes the multiplayer idea, while Microsoft's idea is (as always) very forward-thinking, but they're still thinking in PC terms.
I'm no industry expert, but I predict that the next generation of consoles are going to be very interesting indeed. Nintendo will release one more successful console, and probably another hand-held device, before heading the way of Sega. That is, unless they change their modes of thinking somewhat sharpish. I'm not saying this is a good thing by any means. I think Sony's vision shows promise, but they really need to stick a hard drive in the next console they make, because downloading games is going to be a big thing. Microsoft are in absolutely no way going to drop consoles, as it's key to their vision of the household of the future. Both companies seem to be thinking along the same lines.
Anyway, that's enough from me.
P.S. I give the PC we know it about ten years, probably closer to five. It won't be a set top box playing DVDs, games and music. It'll be the household distributed network
