Topic: Satoru Iwata on Consoles and Social Gaming

[NWR_pap64]

The Nintendo President believes that there's still a future for console gaming.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=23075

 Nintendo President Satoru Iwata believes that console gaming will not become obsolete despite the advent of streaming services like Gaikai and Onlive. Iwata also feels the same way about social gaming, despite its audience overlapping with the same audience found on the Wii and DS.  "We do not think that the combination of a game system and dedicated software will last forever," Iwata explained in a recent Q&A with analysts. "However, we do not believe that hardware dedicated to gaming shall (become obsolete and) perish in a few years. I personally think that kind of scenario is unthinkable."    

"The reason why we have been making systems dedicated to games is because creating engaging experiences that cannot be available on other devices is the lifeline for the company,"    

Iwata concludes by stating that "Should we stop what we are doing, the current business configuration with a video game system and dedicated software could become obsolete. However, as we have been thinking and proposing new ideas one after another, we do not think that it will become obsolete at all."

[Ian Sane]

I was unaware there was any idea of console gaming becoming obsolete.  With console versions of games being on par with PC versions these days it seems that console gaming was the future.

I think there will always be a market for dedicated videogame systems.  They may use digital distribution and they may also be portable but they will exist and will be able to attach to some sort of screen like a TV.  It may not be a huge mainstream market but it will exist.

[ShyGuy]

Maybe at some point your cell phone will stream games to your TV wirelessly.

[ThePerm]

well at some point when graphics reach their peak there wont be an ability to compete with the PC unless the interface is different or its a portable device. Will graphics reach their peak? Probably not, but they will hit a wall at some point.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Eventually broadband speeds will be so fast and processors will be so powerful that all you will need is a monitor, a connection and a way to interact (a controller/remote).

You Monitor/TV will decode everything on the fly and you won't have to store anything on your side as it will all be streamed to you digitally, this includes TV, Movies and games. initially this will require some sort of set top box (what MS & Sony are fighting for at the moment while Apple tried a different approach with AppleTV), but eventually your display will handle everything for you.

If Nintendo doesn't adapt with the times and allow tech and it's function to evolve, the more convenient option may eventually win out, but Nintendo can be that convenient option if they allow themselves to be. You can only delay the inevitable for so long before you are just left behind wondering what just happened.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

"You Monitor/TV will decode everything on the fly"

Companies will have a bitter fight to establish the standard and some will have to outright die before this can happen.  Too many fragmented "me too" mini-standards and limited universal progress.  Not happening within the following console cycle.  We'll be too old to enjoy digital life.

If Nintendo abandons discs in favor of inexpensive high capacity memory carts for the next gen, they could be the ones to lead the charge.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I meant in a not too distant future the 100% digital delivery standard would become a reality, but I don't see it happening anywhere within the next 20 years or so. Tech has to plateau first then become standardized as content becomes the money maker.

[Morari]

I was unaware there was any idea of console gaming becoming obsolete.  With console versions of games being on par with PC versions these days it seems that console gaming was the future.

Console games only seem to be on par because many of the cross-platform titles are dumbed down for the consoles to begin with. While consoles game can often be highly optimized due to the single hardware configuration, the setups are instantly outdated and underpowered in comparison to even a modest computer.

PC gaming will never go away. Console games continue to gain popularity because developers and publishers like control. They want to be able to destroy the first-sale doctrine. They want to cut out advertised features per their discretion at any time in the future. They want to revoke licenses and ban players for arbitrary reasons. They want to force you to use their own gimped, advert-laden multiplayers servers so that they can ull the plug on them when the yearly sequel comes out. They want to nickel and dime you, charging $15 for a simple map pack. This is why developers like consoles. It offers control.

That's not the future I want.

[ThePerm]

I think consoles will start turning into computers, the 360 is already like a better than your computer computer. The wii does almost everything my computer can already. Web games will reach a point of complexity of regular console games. Platforms will die out eventually, but not any time soon.

[Morari]

Consoles are becoming multimedia centers. They'll never become personal computers. They're too locked down for that sort of expansive ability. A lot of people like that in a device though (people that buy Apple products, for example). I like being able to run my own servers and create new, custom levels on a whim. Gaming used to be a lot more entertaining when there were vast, creative communities that formed around certain titles. Now everything is simply pumped out by the developers and then charge for.

That's not to say that consoles don't have their place. I think consoles are loosing their place as they take on more features however. I like my Wii because it offers something that is not easily offered elsewhere. Sure I could hook the Wiimote up to my PC via a simple Bluetooth dongle (and have for Frets on Fire, via the Guitar Hero shell), but that's not really much fun without a working Wii emulator to play my discs with as well.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Sony stopped classifying PS3 as a personal computer.

EVERYTHING IS GOING BACKWARDS

[MegaByte]

but that's not really much fun without a working Wii emulator to play my discs with as well.

There is a mostly working Wii emulator.  As long as your computer is fast.

[Morari]

Computing power is certainly not an issue. The only decent one I've come across however was the Dolphin. It claims to be Wii compatible, but I only ever tried it with GameCube games. It's very possible that I've overlooked other options that are out there however.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I've recently seen some screenshots from a Dolphin emulator for Wii and GC games and I was literally awestruck.

If Nintendo can upscale their games like that on the next system, then that could be a major selling point. It will also point out the poor art/texture work that alot of 3rd parties have put into the Wii this generation. Nintendo's own games look absolutely stunning in HD(especially for not being HD games). Makes me see what I'm missing.

[ThePerm]

http://www.wiinintendo.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/metroid161.jpg

wow nice

[MegaByte]

http://www.wiinintendo.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/metroid161.jpg

wow nice

I assume the top-left corner is supposed to show native resolution?

[Morari]

The top left corner appears to only show the frames per second. 54fps is pretty tolerable for a game like Metroid. Most people tend to prefer a range somewhere between 60-90 for faster first person shooters.

[ShyGuy]

We had a discussion at work the other day about how all the electronics hobbies of the past. have become marginalized today. There used to be tons of PC enthusiasts, Home video enthusiasts, Audiophiles, and they used to have all thesed components and options to play with. Now it's all, use the small plastic device, eh good enough.

Who is to blame? MICROSOFT AND APPLE.

[MegaByte]

The top left corner appears to only show the frames per second. 54fps is pretty tolerable for a game like Metroid. Most people tend to prefer a range somewhere between 60-90 for faster first person shooters.

I meant the top-left quadrant.  It's pixelated whereas the rest of the screen isn't.

[BlackNMild2k1]

The top left corner appears to only show the frames per second. 54fps is pretty tolerable for a game like Metroid. Most people tend to prefer a range somewhere between 60-90 for faster first person shooters.

I meant the top-left quadrant.  It's pixelated whereas the rest of the screen isn't.

I think that was just a very bad texture. You can polish a turd, but it's still a turd, and that texture was a turd.

[ThePerm]

it is a bad texture, although at 54 frames a second that bad texture might not whiz by not looking so bad. It may not even really be a bad texture, but a bad texture appliance..usually in game design suites you can adjust the size of the texture, the artist probably uses a small texture on a large object...or because its in the distance its a case of mip mapping where its blurry because its in the distance and if you got closer to it it would be clear.

[KDR_11k]

No, he's right, there's something going on there. Look at the polygon edges, they're definitely made of bigger pixels. Maybe there's some kind of post-processing filter used by the game on that area and it's set to operate in the regular framebuffer resolution?

[ThePerm]

maybe AA is turned off in the corner


...that is kinda weird

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

No, he's right, there's something going on there. Look at the polygon edges, they're definitely made of bigger pixels. Maybe there's some kind of post-processing filter used by the game on that area and it's set to operate in the regular framebuffer resolution?

He is right, the top-left quadrant is presenting the original resolution upscaled, to provide comparison.  The remaining three-quarters is running high-rez plus AA.

[NWR_insanolord]

We had a discussion at work the other day about how all the electronics hobbies of the past. have become marginalized today. There used to be tons of PC enthusiasts, Home video enthusiasts, Audiophiles, and they used to have all thesed components and options to play with. Now it's all, use the small plastic device, eh good enough.

Who is to blame? MICROSOFT AND APPLE.

There are still audiophiles; they're fucking annoying. Also, if you rip CDs to lossless and use the right headphones you can get as good sound out of an iPod as you could pretty much anything else. You can only get out of it what you put in.