Activision Wants Consoles To Be Replaced By PCs

[wraggster]

thsoundman writes with this excerpt from thegamersblog:
"We live in a world where we have multiple platforms for gaming: PC, PS3, 360, Wii, etc. Each platform has varying amounts of power when it comes to playing games. Activision, one of the leading cross-platform publishers, wishes to move away from the 'walled gardens' set by Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. ... [Activision CEO Bobby] Kotick’s solution is to turn to the PC, where it can set its own model for pricing — not unlike what Blizzard has done with World of Warcraft and Battle.net. Kotick stated that Activision would 'very aggressively' support the likes of HP and Dell in any attempt at making an easy 'plug-and-play' PC that would hook up directly to the TV."

http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/07/08/0452219/Activision-Wants-Consoles-To-Be-Replaced-By-PCs

[symbal]

Ridiculous idea.

[Qmark]

Kotick stated that Activision would 'very aggressively' support the likes of HP and Dell in any attempt at making an easy 'plug-and-play' PC that would hook up directly to the TV."Which, between the inevitable proprietary interface devices, custom-designed OS complete with an all-but-mandatory draconian DRM and system lockdown, along with a standardized hardware set engineered for cost-savings, this is nothing less than an Activision console.

The only viable alternative would be a sub-$500 "gaming class" PC that would be outclassed by the stock selection at the local Wal-Mart.


All of this, of course, from a company founded by game designers desperately trying to get the hell away from this very sort of bullshit in the 1980's

[JDvorak]

I agree that there needs to be a standard among pc's. You don't know how many times I go to the store and can't buy a game because I don't have the right or required video graphics card. You would have to buy a new video card every year to keep up. That said I do see this working better than putting out product on 3 consoles and 2 handhelds! Now what would need to happen is the major pc manufacturers would have to get together and decide a standard for gaming on the pc that would not change for 4-5 years like a console. Processor, Ram, Graphics Card, Hard Drive Space, Sound, Online Bandwidth Requirements, all taken into consideration. Then the game companies would have to make products that do not go beyond that spec like they do on consoles. Then make the PC the size of a console like my Acer Revo is with the TV out. Essentially a windows 7 or 8 console style PC. Then everyone, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Sega and all other game manufacturers could jump on board with App Stores of their own. Let's also make it cloud computing compatible with better graphics than we are seeing now, but still sell physical or at least downloadable games that we could burn to DVD/CD/Blue Ray. Then if say Nintendo wanted the motion controls like the Wii you just buy their remotes and a sensor and are good to go. Besides it is just IR/Blue Tooth setup. Also since all the talk is of 3D put a 3D no glasses required video card in. This could work very well and is where we are headed anyway. Then we wouldn't need an xbox/ps3 for the great graphics, a Wii for the innovative gameplay and a PC for business/games. It would all be in one unit. Then when they want to change the specs do a trade-in offer for a new pc on all the old pc's that are in working condition or refurbish them and give them to schools and third world countries for free. I have long thought it is silly that there are so many platforms for games. I have used PC's since the early 80's and the Apple II+ before that. And I do agree it would have to be priced like a console, at least $200-$500 and not more or it wouldn't work out.

[NeoXCS]

Terrible idea, seeing as everyone who buys heavy gaming PCs would lose out on their powerful content. Now if more game designers took the time to make it so their games have better designed low graphics modes it would be far better off. Some games are so badly done for PC that even when the settings are low on a decent computer, they lag horribly. Then you could make this "weak PC" and the games themselves could have a "power version" and a "standard version".

[Qmark]

Terrible idea, seeing as everyone who buys heavy gaming PCs would lose out on their powerful content.What powerful content?
PC gaming has been been little more than "Generic FPS or RTS with Slightly Prettier Visuals than the One from Three Months Ago, So Go Buy a New $300 Graphics Card, Suckers!" for the last fifteen years, with brief interludes of "me too!" MMOs and whatever the hell crappy Zynga "game" your mom is playing on Facebook.

[juiceface]

Im all for it, consoles hold back innovation with their long replacement cycles and outdated hardware.

[NeoXCS]

What powerful content?
PC gaming has been been little more than "Generic FPS or RTS with Slightly Prettier Visuals than the One from Three Months Ago, So Go Buy a New $300 Graphics Card, Suckers!" for the last fifteen years, with brief interludes of "me too!" MMOs and whatever the hell crappy Zynga "game" your mom is playing on Facebook.

There difference between consoles and PC graphics as of right now is immense. Even with my under $150 card (only one I had to buy) I can play pretty much any high end PC game on max graphics. With these "generic computers" you'll be stuck with the same low detail graphics a console can produce. It's not worth it. It would just be a low end computer, yippy:rolleyes:

[Qmark]

Exactly. PC games are "prettier", but that's it.
Activision seems to be advocating a low-ball PC standard, seemingly unaware that Microsoft figured that out in 1994 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directx).

[Krisando]

There does not need to be a standard among pc's, stop buying ancient machines and get real hardware. Consoles vary quite abit, look there is 5 versions of ds and a gazillion consoles all running different firmware.

Consoles are also extremely expensive and the hardware is old and cruddy, also have to use on a rubbish tv screen, which to some extend hides the insanely bad graphics.

PC's are just superior in gaming.

I've NEVER had a problem of not having high enough specs to play a game, for 15 years i've been able to play any. Get a new pc often enough, even upgrade to make last even longer.

There once was a place for consoles, just not anymore.

[jamotto]

The console and the PC have traded places repeatedly over the years in who controls the market, however each time the console returns to the dominant position it has taken a feature or two from the PC. Now at this point the differences between the two are minimal at best.