@pez2k_ Side thought - the current 360 pad works flawlessly with Windows, especially GFWL titles... not changing it would keep things easy.
And, honestly, aside from integrating tilt like the PS3 pad or maybe a speaker-phone type thing, I'm really not sure what can be added in a worthwhile fashion at this point. I think pads are generally at the point where any more would make them too complicated, any less would be a noticeable loss.
@godzillavskong Last gen had more variety in the stores, but PSN, XBLA, smartphone/mobile and PC indy/small studio gaming has really delivered in spades. The only pity, for me, is not getting all the neat, funky, niche stuff from Japan like we used to. If the original Katamari Damancy was launched today, it'd be via download, not in a store!
@WarGameJunkie @xxunforgottenxx Worth mentioning that Microsoft contributed technology towards BluRay (it uses one of their CODECs). Using it as a physical medium for games is fine. Like the original Xbox and the Wii, you can use DVD without having DVD playback. The reason why the Xbox remote was sold extra was it covered the cost of not only the remote but also the DVD-playback royalties.Worth mentioning: when DVD came out, it had no competition, and was the clear successor to VHS. Its only actual rival format was canceled before it ever hit the market. Blu-Ray launched with HD-DVD as a competitor, had the (then) niche HDTV market to contend with, and has to contend with "good enough" through a variety of streaming services, upscaling DVD players, Netflix, etc. It only recently got to mainstream pricing, and its worth noting VHS only actually died a few years ago (hard as that is to believe). I do agree pricing is higher than it ought be in many cases, but that's the movie studios for you.
Honestly, mobility of media isn't the future, its the now. I can have it now on my smartphone, laptop, etc. Media availability should conform to me and my lifestyle. The media companies don't get this and don't want that. They much prefer the old model where we're tied to our TVs, cable/satellite service, etc. That's why I haven't bothered with Blu-Ray.
@Master_Turismo I think right now might be poor timing, but we'll see. The game market is already soft, with game and hardware sales being poor. If they're only now getting dev kits out and you assume at least an 18-month development cycle for games (which is REALLY short), there's no way they'll have a good launch for the 2012 holiday season. All they'll do is hurt sales of the existing, profitable, generation because people will hold off on buying. Sony and MS will both want to milk this generation for as long as they can because launching new systems is very expensive, and puts you into the red for years with no guarantee of future profitability (very high risk).
Ideally, no sooner than next year IMO, with Sony and MS announcing at about the same time. We need the competition between the two to ensure both companies put forth their best.
@WarGameJunkie @DVONvX Both Bill Gates and Ken Kutaragi both predicted this generation would be the last with physical media. Honestly, as big as games are and how poor US broadband is, I doubt it. No physical media = no retail = losing out on a huge market. Also, other countries have bandwidth limits per month, making downloading multiple large games unattractive, especially if you're already streaming content (music, movies, etc).
Arguably we're there for PC games, but high-end PC gaming is a much, much smaller market than consoles.
@Animatronic64 @DVONvX Well, its not just raw. Next gen means, simply, next gen. New iteration. Raw power is the easiest measure, but so is size, features, etc. For instance, the Dreamcast and Xbox were"next gen" due to hardware, yes, but also because they had comprehensive online plans, infrastructure, etc. The PS2 was next gen only due to hardware. The Wii, PSP, etc., were next gen because they got such power into such small packages. PC games and hardware are so much easier to work with now because the operating system kept improving each new release (I do NOT miss DOS for gaming).
Ideally, next-gen really should be a combination of all these things, mind you.
@WarGameJunkie Stardock was trying to make a used digital games market, but it went nowhere (they were trying to make it a win/win). There is the question of how to deal with fraud or malicious activities, though - what if someone hacked your account, sold your games for next to nothing, and went on their way, laughing.
@lifemeister @redluigi11 Always doubt. Sometimes they learn the wrong lessons. A company should re-earn your trust each time they do something, doubly so for platforms. Granted, I don't think anyone should be loyal to hardware makers, just game developers :p
@godzillavskong I'm looking forward to it and the next Playstation. What I've loved the most about this generation is the competition! It hasn't been this good since the 16-bit days :D
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