#1
Diminishing returns in graphic quality
For several
console generations, the strong selling point for the next big thing has always
been better graphics, fancier explosions and so on. However, technology has
reached a point where duplicating or triplicating the capacity of graphic
processing is less noticeable than in previous generations.
See the
triangle count image below as a quick example: a sphere using 420 triangles (7x
the 60 triangle one) represents a huge difference in perceived quality. Contrast
with the 19,800 sphere versus the 3,120 one (roughly the same 7x ratio). You
will only notice the difference by looking really close.
Fancier
graphics have not the same impact as they used to. Then, the marketing people
at MS (MicroSoft) have to give audiences a reason to buy the new thing, and
striped of their historical main weapon (graphic enhancements) they have to
resort to other areas.
#2
Producing games takes time
What
developer legend Peter Molyneux said console generations ago still applies: People
forget that it takes time to build games for new consoles. If making AAA games takes
years, marketers are left with only promises to sell. If E3 is in a big part a
promise, now they resort to promise to see more at the promise event. Why?
Producing the games takes time.
#3 Pressure
from the side
Nintendo
innovated with the motion controllers to be followed by Sony and MS. The thing
is, MS felt the need to take the idea beyond (stay premium, remember?) and
produced Kinect. Oops! Turns out that Kinect needs a lot of space to work.
Result, if you expect people to use it, better be in the living room rather
than in the bedroom.
#4 Pressure
from the bottom
In order to
stay competitive in any market, players feel the need to move upwards to the more
expensive premium regions. For example, the Japanese did that with cars (long
time ago, America’s big three used to make jokes about scratching the paint of
a japanese car to reveal the Budweiser logo, they do not find those jokes funny
anymore).
MS feels
the same pressure from the usually-less-powerful Android and iOS devices and
feels the need to stay premium by trying to consolidate themselves as the king
of the bigger screen available in any house. Thus the focus on TV watching,
Internet navigation features. At the same time they try to defend themselves
from the bottom by including integration with smart glass devices.
As Valve
and Ouya make a move to attack the living room as well (from presumably a lower
price point than Xbox), the battle for the big home screen is going to be something
very entertaining to watch: MicroLannisterSoft House defends its turf against
the Ouyawolves, the ValveDragons are preparing their attack from overseas, oh
god, someone please make a video parody about this!.
Epilogue: Well,
now that my suit side explained itself why MS forgot my gamer side, my gamer
side wonders:
- - I
am going to pay $500 to watch TV on my TV?
- - I
said -“Xbox call john”, Xbox replies -“Yes master, calling mom”
- - How
well is the voice thing going to perform with all the different accents that
exist. Or even worse, in the “other” side of the world (that is, “not America”)
- - The
Battle for the TV remote will reach new levels as the one who screams the loudest
wins
- - In
the climax movie scene: The killer was…<Auto Paused> Your 12-year old
nephew calling…
Mini-Rant: Looks
like us Indie game developers have been abandoned. No more XNA. No more indie
section at the live arcade. The King is dead….long live the new king.
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