By Nelson Schneider - 03/20/16 at 03:42 PM CT
The world of gaming news and rumors has been blowing up this past week due to rumors coming from sources exclusive to the debased Gawker Network regarding the potential release of an updated PlayStation 4 revision that is not only different in form (like all of the PlayStation console revisions of prior generations) but different in functionality, supposedly with much higher capabilities than the PlayStation 4 that released in 2013. This theoretical PlayStation 4.5 rumor follows in the footsteps of other rumors circling the Xbox One and its own alleged Revision.
While these rumors encircling the 8th Gen consoles should be taken with a grain of salt, Nintendo, being the closest thing to an innovator in the current console market, has already successfully (more or less) tested the public’s willingness to re-buy the same console with a minor update, though in Nintendo’s case the word “console” should be replaced with “handheld.” Both the DS and 3DS have received mid-life revisions with exclusive functionality: the DSi and New 3DS, respectively. Neither of these upgrades/revisions received a significant amount of flak or negative feedback, so it only makes sense that Sony and Microsoft would consider – not necessarily do, as these rumors are still strictly that – something similar.
I have already established a clear line of reasoning that shows no appreciable difference between console gaming and PC gaming in the modern era, so why shouldn’t consoles be as upgradable as PCs? It only makes sense that the final terrible facet of PC gaming – the constant upgrade treadmill – that plagued the platform for so long should find its way to the consoles and make them just as tedious and expensive to maintain as a gaming PC once was. Combined with Apple and Google demonstrating the public’s willingness to rebuy expensive gadgets on a yearly basis while simultaneously submitting to the yoke of a locked-down walled garden, the roadmap for the future of consoles lies clearly before us.
Yet, upgradable consoles wouldn’t be all that bad, if they followed a few simple consumer-friendly rules, such as being inexpensive and fully backwards-compatible. We are technologically well and truly past the era of clunky, proprietary add-ons like the Sega CD and Sega 32X that spelled that company’s doom as a platform holder. However, from the sound of things and Nintendo’s handheld experiments, these “upgrades” will actually be full-blown “replacements,” which should lead us all to wonder if these are actually “upgrades” at all, instead of a simple contraction of the console life-cycle back to the, on average, 5-year length they once had before Sony started talking big about 10-year lifespans with their misbegotten PlayStation 3.
A truly upgradable “console” would, in reality, be no different from a gaming PC running a proprietary operating system. This theoretical upgradable console would closely resemble the Apple computers of the past (before Apple became synonymous with phones and music), with “official” hardware upgrades that cost a premium over comparable parts for a non-proprietary PC. This realization leads me, once again, to question why we even need separate console platforms in the modern gaming era when it would be simple for platform holders to create branded PCs that run an agreed-upon operating system (perhaps finally giving Linux a chance to become something more than the go-to OS for headless servers).
Videogames are the only entertainment medium that still features platform lock-in. A VHS tape, CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray Disc will play on any player for the given format. Digital movies and music are completely platform agnostic. PDFs and E-Books can be read on any given device, regardless of the underlying operating system. A paper book can be read anywhere with a visible spectrum light source. Yet videogames, while they are increasingly multi-platform, are only compatible with a specific platform, even going so far as to isolate the online communities in most cases. The idea of platform lock-in for game consoles is a relic of the past, when platforms were sold at a profit and the lock-in was used to move hardware. With modern consoles perpetually selling at a loss, and with theoretical mid-generation upgrades that will guarantee the continuation of selling at a loss, locking consumers into an ecosystem no longer makes sense… unless one follows the Apple model of taking a significant cut of all digital software sales and actively promoting only digital sales.
If the PS4.5 and XBONER rumors prove to be true, we can definitely expect a shake-up in the world of game consoles. Between negative backlash from gamers whose investment has prematurely lost all value, the fragmentation of the market between the original hardware and the improved version, and the loss of a stationary hardware target for developers to aim at, things look dark indeed. Ideally, there needs to be less animosity and more collaboration (though not collusion) in the console market. Proprietary platforms need to die-out and be replaced with open, cross-compatible platforms. As it stands right now, we are in immediate danger of all gaming falling prey to the profit-seeking tactics that make smartphones and app stores so lucrative while simultaneously so detestable.
Comments
Matt - wrote on 03/21/16 at 08:06 PM CT
I completely agree with your reasoning regarding about video games being platform agnostic. Having the same/similar hardware behind it all is on step in the right direction. The next step will be for all developers to us open APIs such as Vulkan for game development, especially considering Microsofts trajectory of establishing a walled garden and their proprietary Direct X. The establishment on open standards would go a long way to realize such a thing as games available on any platform.
