Metal Gear Solid Creator Rings Death Knell for Console Gaming
We've pretty much come to accept that every once in awhile, some analyst or game maker will predict the demise of the PC as a viable gaming platform, citing higher profits and a larger install base as reasons for focusing entirely on the console. They're wrong, of course - PC gaming isn't going anywhere, but are consoles a dying breed?
Very doubtful, but don't tell that to Hideo Kojima, a Japanese videogame maker whose "Metal Gear Solid" games have sold more than 27 million copies. Nevertheless, Kojima envisions a time not too far away when players will no longer be tied to consoles.
"In the near future, we'll have games that don't depend on any platform," Kojima said at a recent news conference. "Gamers should be able to take the experience with them in their living rooms, on the go, when they travel -- wherever they are and whenever they want to play. It should be the same software and the same experience."
Sony called Kojimo's vision a "bold prediction," which is a nice way of saying he's off his rocker. But is he? Probably so, especially considering that consoles have become much more than just dedicated gaming boxes in recent years. All three major consoles, for example, now support streaming Netflix, and for those who want to game on the go, Nintendo's DS series of handhelds continue to rake in the cash.
To make the kind of drastic shift to gaming over the Internet, as Kojimo implies, would also require ubiquitous high-speed coverage, ping reductions, and other logistics that aren't likely to be solved in the near future.
What do you think? Are consoles a dying breed? What about the PC?
Very doubtful, but don't tell that to Hideo Kojima, a Japanese videogame maker whose "Metal Gear Solid" games have sold more than 27 million copies. Nevertheless, Kojima envisions a time not too far away when players will no longer be tied to consoles.
"In the near future, we'll have games that don't depend on any platform," Kojima said at a recent news conference. "Gamers should be able to take the experience with them in their living rooms, on the go, when they travel -- wherever they are and whenever they want to play. It should be the same software and the same experience."
Sony called Kojimo's vision a "bold prediction," which is a nice way of saying he's off his rocker. But is he? Probably so, especially considering that consoles have become much more than just dedicated gaming boxes in recent years. All three major consoles, for example, now support streaming Netflix, and for those who want to game on the go, Nintendo's DS series of handhelds continue to rake in the cash.
To make the kind of drastic shift to gaming over the Internet, as Kojimo implies, would also require ubiquitous high-speed coverage, ping reductions, and other logistics that aren't likely to be solved in the near future.
What do you think? Are consoles a dying breed? What about the PC?
