Goodbye to Cross-Platform Gaming
Alrighty then, this one isnt gonna be about all that much other then the Video Game Industry, Gabe Newell and the upcoming Next-Gen of consoles.
As the title suggests, Cross-Platform Gaming is pretty much gone. An interview done with Gabe Newell over at 1Up.com pretty much states it all. Lets look at the Next-Gen from a developers stand point.
The X360, though they might be smart by having the two different retail versions, The Core-System which comes without a HDD and such and the Premium-System that comes with an HDD. Now there are other differences but just look at that. If you were a PC dev, you obviously know that they have a HDD with such and such minimum space. For the console, the HDD is fairly new for the consumer, most casual gamers will not get the Preimum-Package, they just want to play games on the weekends. Now for a Dev, saying that some will have an HDD and some won't is pretty much giving the death sentance. Developing for something that has to work on both is going to be difficult to get the consumer a consistent experince.
Now lets move on to the Revolution because it causes the least and the most, least in my eyes, of Developement problems. The Revolution's controller was Unveiled at the Tokyo Gaming Show. Its not conventional in the sense of a Controller, more in the sense of a "Remote" for the TV. And it comes with prephials like a joy stick, you can also get a "shell" that resembles the WaveBird. Alright then, if your a Dev, having to decide wether or not your game is going to even be playable from the numerous possiblites of how one would play your game, then constructing the gameplay around that, is a little difficult to say the least.
Here we have the PS3. This one poses the most problems with specific HardWare. Games today and all programs run through a single threaded archeitecture. Comes in, goes out, no big deal. the PS3 has a Multi-threaded Archeitecture. Gives waaaay more power yes, but developing for it is very difficult. If someone does something at one of the base levels before it gets sent to the processor, when it gets there, it wont know how to judge the MulitThreaded archeitecture and thus, your game will move at the slowest possible pace way beleow anything acceptable in the eyes of a Consumer. So lets see here, RockStar has promised and most likely has some sort of Legal Deal wtih Sony and that deal is that, There will be a GTA4 for the PS3. Well then, if they make that game, its gonna have to be built from the ground up knowing how to deal with the Multi-Threaded archeitecture. Now what about all the people who bought a 360? For the sake of arguement, Revolution wont be added into this gamble heh. Now then, the game is going to have to be re-written at a base level just so it deals with the single threaded instead of the multi.
In the future of Gaming industry, its very unlikely to see the same game come out for all three systems, mainly because each one has said to each other, "Its not a Hard-Ware problem its the physical Interface Between the Human and the Game!!! = Nintendo" "Its not a problem of interface or power! Its a problem of having different Consumers! Of having those who play Live! all the time and those who dont!!! = Microsoft" "Its not a problem of Interface or different Consumers! Everyone wants more power! = Sony" Well here we have it folks. The three big companies all said to each other were cornering this market. My prediction, one or two of the Big 3 will not be around for the next cycle of games. As Steve Jobs said very early on in the start of Computers and the start of the Digital World.
"Software sells Hardware" I say good luck to the Developers not the system producers. If any small developer of today survives the crazy amount of money needed just for R&D to make a game on a console, I would be shocked in all sense of the word.
Keith, Repent!!! The end is Nigh!!!
As the title suggests, Cross-Platform Gaming is pretty much gone. An interview done with Gabe Newell over at 1Up.com pretty much states it all. Lets look at the Next-Gen from a developers stand point.
The X360, though they might be smart by having the two different retail versions, The Core-System which comes without a HDD and such and the Premium-System that comes with an HDD. Now there are other differences but just look at that. If you were a PC dev, you obviously know that they have a HDD with such and such minimum space. For the console, the HDD is fairly new for the consumer, most casual gamers will not get the Preimum-Package, they just want to play games on the weekends. Now for a Dev, saying that some will have an HDD and some won't is pretty much giving the death sentance. Developing for something that has to work on both is going to be difficult to get the consumer a consistent experince.
Now lets move on to the Revolution because it causes the least and the most, least in my eyes, of Developement problems. The Revolution's controller was Unveiled at the Tokyo Gaming Show. Its not conventional in the sense of a Controller, more in the sense of a "Remote" for the TV. And it comes with prephials like a joy stick, you can also get a "shell" that resembles the WaveBird. Alright then, if your a Dev, having to decide wether or not your game is going to even be playable from the numerous possiblites of how one would play your game, then constructing the gameplay around that, is a little difficult to say the least.
Here we have the PS3. This one poses the most problems with specific HardWare. Games today and all programs run through a single threaded archeitecture. Comes in, goes out, no big deal. the PS3 has a Multi-threaded Archeitecture. Gives waaaay more power yes, but developing for it is very difficult. If someone does something at one of the base levels before it gets sent to the processor, when it gets there, it wont know how to judge the MulitThreaded archeitecture and thus, your game will move at the slowest possible pace way beleow anything acceptable in the eyes of a Consumer. So lets see here, RockStar has promised and most likely has some sort of Legal Deal wtih Sony and that deal is that, There will be a GTA4 for the PS3. Well then, if they make that game, its gonna have to be built from the ground up knowing how to deal with the Multi-Threaded archeitecture. Now what about all the people who bought a 360? For the sake of arguement, Revolution wont be added into this gamble heh. Now then, the game is going to have to be re-written at a base level just so it deals with the single threaded instead of the multi.
In the future of Gaming industry, its very unlikely to see the same game come out for all three systems, mainly because each one has said to each other, "Its not a Hard-Ware problem its the physical Interface Between the Human and the Game!!! = Nintendo" "Its not a problem of interface or power! Its a problem of having different Consumers! Of having those who play Live! all the time and those who dont!!! = Microsoft" "Its not a problem of Interface or different Consumers! Everyone wants more power! = Sony" Well here we have it folks. The three big companies all said to each other were cornering this market. My prediction, one or two of the Big 3 will not be around for the next cycle of games. As Steve Jobs said very early on in the start of Computers and the start of the Digital World.
"Software sells Hardware" I say good luck to the Developers not the system producers. If any small developer of today survives the crazy amount of money needed just for R&D to make a game on a console, I would be shocked in all sense of the word.
Keith, Repent!!! The end is Nigh!!!
posted by Keith at
9:32 AM
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