18 replies to this topic

[alphadog]

http://www.hookedgam...y_business.html

Hmm.

[fireside]

I think mobile gaming is getting so big, it kind of looks that way. It's still a big market and they sell for a lot more per title. Sony and Nintendo are getting into a little trouble, I think, as far as profits go. I never was into them. Never even had one.

[Reedbeta]

Yeah, I can see this happening. Personally, almost the only kind of game I care about is the immersive, story-driven, AAA game. (I'm just not that interested as a player in social/casual gaming.) I don't think the type of game I enjoy works well on a smartphone because the screen is just too small, but there's no reason it can't work on a tablet just as well as on a console or PC. Plug in a pair of headphones and sit down in a coffee shop or on the bus, and you can be almost as immersed as in your living room. Or if your smartphone/tablet can drive a next-gen HMD, that's even better.

I can't see tablets ever matching the horsepower of a console or PC; limitations of size and power consumption will always restrict mobile devices, at least until CPUs are nanoscale and run on ambient heat. But we've already reached the point of diminishing returns where having more compute doesn't buy you a significantly improved gaming experience. Not that graphics, physics, compute-driven AI and such won't continue to improve - but it seems like the main bottleneck to making "better games" these days is in design and art creation, not compute power, even in the AAA sector. It won't be too long before tablets are capable of delivering what we currently think of as a AAA experience, and then there will be little to distinguish tablet gaming from console/PC gaming, beyond really bleeding-edge graphics effects and suchlike, that only a few players will find compelling.

[fireside]

Quote

Personally, almost the only kind of game I care about is the immersive, story-driven, AAA game.

I'm somewhat like this. It doesn't have to be triple A, I just like a story in a game. I can't picture myself playing Angry Birds for more than a few minutes. Usually, I play Free Cell for a time killer. Most Role playing, etc, triple AAA games don't have enough story for me. It's there, but it's kind of buried and not very original. I like point and click adventures the best, but they're kind of hard to find anymore other than amateur efforts. I like grid style, turn based rpg's, but they're pretty much gone also.

[tyree]

whenever someone says this nonsense. they go out of the way to ignore, that social and mobile gaming were never a part of the console market. their different groups with no tie ins


this is similar to how people react when they realize that more people will have phones than pc's. these are people that either cant afford a pc or simply dont need one. they only need to search online watch whatever or respond to a website online. you dont need a pc for that, but I can promise. if this group ever needs to develop something, do some actual work. they wont be doing it from a phone

[TheNut]

Reedbeta said:

I don't think the type of game I enjoy works well on a smartphone because the screen is just too small

It's already possible to transfer displays onto televisions and monitors. It's just a matter of time before every screen supports wireless data linking before this will really take off. The neat part would be to render a gamepad on the phone and send an offscreen buffer to the television. Or if you're really hungry for the classic gamepads, just plug on in using bluetooth or some adapter.

[Reedbeta]

TheNut, on 13 October 2012 - 12:23 PM, said:

It's already possible to transfer displays onto televisions and monitors.

Yeah, or if they can get augmented reality glasses to work, you could just render a screen in front of you wherever you happen to be.

[Stainless]

that's been done as well, damn why can you never find a link on google when you need it.

There is a company that's managed to get a 14 foot by 8 foot HD screen projected directly into your eye.

I think the cost is high though.

The XBOX 360 isn't actually that powerful a machine when you look at it now, it's old. Many of you will have desktop machines with far more horse power than an xbox.

If OpenGLES had been designed properly, we already would be very close to being able to recreate xbox quality on mobile devices.

Having said that, I much prefer playing games on a console. It just "feels" better, and having a proper controller makes a huge difference

A Chinese TV manufacturer I am working with has noticed this and is working on a range of TV's that will come with game controllers.

[tyree]

being able to transfer to tv or monitor is true but its still a backwards way of thinking. to build for a device that isnt as strong as a computer or console. yet try to have it replace both

I like the idea having tvs come with controllers. in my opinion controllers should have been sold with computers no different from the keyboard

[TheNut]

Reedbeta said:

Yeah, or if they can get augmented reality glasses to work, you could just render a screen in front of you wherever you happen to be.

You mean this

tyree said:

to build for a device that isnt as strong as a computer or console. yet try to have it replace both

At least at today's technology level, it's not about replacing more powerful machines. It's about starting to make it more ubiquitous. In the future, owning multiple devices to perform specific tasks is the backwards approach. Mobile phones have already eliminated the need for owning walkmans, cd players, mp3 players, GPS units, portable gaming machines. For some people, a mobile phone is sufficient for their daily lives. E-mail, web browsing, scheduling, voice recording, photo and video recording, etc. It's not the best at what it does, but the technology is getting better. There's also the huge boom in the casual gaming market. A sign that there are people who don't want or need multi-million dollar projects to be entertained. Simple budget games that run great on mobile hardware are enough.

[Stainless]

do you think we are going to live long enough to have direct brain injection ?

Several people are working on it.

Then keyboards, monitors, phones, etc. will all just be modules you plug into your wet ware.

Going to be a brave SOB who tests the alpha version though

[fireside]

Quote

do you think we are going to live long enough to have direct brain injection ?

I draw the line at someone messing with my body.

Consoles are still a really good deal for the money involved. They are much cheaper than desktops and can do more and more. I picture them taking over the living room as far as movies, entertainment, etc, especially Xbox. The body input will also keep them relevant because you can't do that with a tablet or whatever. Really, the only thing Xbox has to worry about is if Balmer get's involved and totally screws it up.

[Stainless]

Has anyone seen the spec for the new xbox yet?

Their was a briefing doc knocking around the office, but it seems to have disapeared

[AliceLiddell]

Stainless, on 16 October 2012 - 02:27 PM, said:

Has anyone seen the spec for the new xbox yet?

Their was a briefing doc knocking around the office, but it seems to have disapeared

I read this http://www.redmondpi...phics-and-more/ and was pretty happy because I lean on that side for buying hardware.

[Stainless]

Doesn't say a lot, I'll have a dig around the office and see if I can find the paper work

[tyree]

the nut I already stated what your saying people that dont need to develop anything can get by without a computer. and just use thier phone. but they havent replaced psp or any of the other established portable gaming system.

there have not been any ugly games since the ps2 I thoroughly believe without a ps3 or 360 games would not have died. you neednt convince me games dont need the latest and greatest tech to be good. I know.

but having something stronger is an attempt at keeping things moving forward. as all tech essentially follows this pattern of stronger, faster, and hopefully better

[Stainless]

http://games.slashdo...he-game-console

[fireside]

One thing this means, if it is true, is that we won't see the huge game budgets we've been seeing in the past. I wonder if that isn't what the game industry needs. More focus on design and story, less on peripherals like ultra-realistic environments.

[Stainless]

Gameplay, Gameplay,Gameplay.... then worry what it looks like.

Works for me