Discussing real possibility. Sony leaves the race, who covers the hole?

[Razhem]

Basically, we all know sony is currently in a shitstorm of epic proportions. I doubt very much it would cause bankruptcy, but on the other hand, Sony closing the videogame section (specially since it is such a huge money drain, at least console wise) seem like a very plausible scenario.

Thing is, well, we all know Nintendo, though I wuv them so, has lost a shit ton of cred among the more active gamers and well, that pretty much leaves microsoft alone till Nintendo gets it's act together on that front. Basically, there is a big fat void, and somebody is probably thinking of how to fill it. My big q to you people is who do you think might have a chance to get into the race and try and recover the usual third front?

Maybe apple tries to branch into the gaming market? Though they don't really need to, but hey, would allow more penis contests with microsoft. Maybe one of the big japan boys like Capcom or Konamy or even an alliance of a few will get ballsy and give it a try? Maybe it will be the advent of onlive what will cause the flow to change?

Or maybe we get worse scenario and get pseudomonopoly.

Anyway, come on in and discuss what you feel might happen.

 

[Radeonx]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Sega or Atari try and jump back into the race, although I really doubt Sony is going to stop.

 

[EchetusXe]

Yeah, this is a real possibility. Then again maybe Northern America blasts off into space and settles on Mars, thereby causing Microsoft to leave the race.

 

[FFHAuthor]

It's an interesting question. Creating a console is a massive undertaking though, I don't think that 'Sony's gone, let's do this!' would be a proper motivation for creating a console system, setting up connections with developers and manufacturers, especially if it's going to be on the same level as any of the current systems. Wii, 360 and PS3 cost immense amounts of money to develop and games for them cost as much. More importantly, it would take time, years of development for a new console from scratch. The next Xbox and Wii have most likely been in development since the release of the last generation.

If someone were to see Sony's leaving of the console market as an opening, we might not see another new console coming out for three or four years, probably behind the releases of a new Xbox or Wii console.

It might come down to just two consoles, one for 'serious' gamers, the other for 'casual' gamers. A more likely outcome might be that Wii would change it's focus from a more casual focus to a greater 'general gamer' focus, amplifying it's processor and graphics abilities to be able to compete with 360 in the AAA games market and being able to have major titles play on their system without a great deal of modification.

But I don't think someone would 'take over Sony's market share' simply because of the amount of time, they'd be working against Xbox and Nintendo, both of whom have more money, existing market share, and existing reputations with both consumers and game manufacturers, both of whom know what the consoles can do, and what they want from them.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

A real possibility? Like f*ck is it! It isnt the end of the world, certainly isnt the end of Play Station. Chances are, it'll just change the Network security, maybe introduce more terms of service.

 

[StBishop]

simply because of the amount of time, they'd be working against Xbox and Nintendo, both of whom have more money, existing market share, and existing reputations with both consumers and game manufacturers, both of whom know what the consoles can do, and what they want from them.

Replace the word Xbox with Sony and you have Microsoft before the release of the Xbox. One gen later and many people prefer the 360 to the PS3, even plenty of self-proclaimed PlayStation fanboys have made the jump, myself included.

 

[Dexiro]

I'd like to think that Nintendo and Microsoft would will in for Sony's target audience. Microsoft focusing more on getting a decent exclusive roster with a variety of games without focusing too much on a specific market (eg. "hardcore gamers" with online multiplayer fps's), and maybe grab some of the Japanese titles.

Then Nintendo could do the same but focus more on the Japanese titles, with it being a Japanese company.

And Apple would probably try to shoe into the handheld market somewhere.

 

[Bags159]

Yeah, this is a real possibility. Then again maybe Northern America blasts off into space and settles on Mars, thereby causing Microsoft to leave the race.

This is exactly what I was thinking. While it could happen, it almost certainly won't.

 

[Rex Fallout]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Sega or Atari try and jump back into the race, although I really doubt Sony is going to stop.

Ok first off in the EXTREMELY unlikely even Sony is out for good, (seeing as how they are a huge electronics company) I will laugh my f**king ass off if Sega takes their spot. Sega hasn't been worth the shit its employees make since the Genesis. Atari... Well, maybe, but I wouldn't cross my fingers. More likely we'd either:
A) get a new player in the game
or
B) Just have the fight between Nintendo and Microsoft

And if either of those happen it would be a sad day indeed.

 

[Resetti's_Replicas]

If we had a betting pool, I'd put money on IBM. I mean they built a Jeopardy-playing computer, imagine what they could do if they applied that AI to game characters.

 

[Mr. Omega]

1: I'm really getting sick of people saying what essentially amounts to "Nintendo doesn't count." I'm not going to rant on it, I'm just getting annoyed by it.

2: More on topic: now this IS a very big if, but if SOE shuts down, there would be a long gap before someone gets the guts to step up against the Nintendo and Microsoft juggernauts. Hell, the only reason Microsoft was able to last into the 360 gen was because they had tons of money even before joining in the console wars. And there wasn't much context for Microsoft making a console either, besides Sony making one. If someone does decide to make a new console, it will be someone with some serious money to burn, and a lot of free time. Either Apple or Google would make the most sense, and right now, Apple's riding the App wave, so there's no real reason for them to go into consoles. There is also the chance of OnLive taking this chance to further establish itself. Not likely, but it could happen. Plus, there is always the chance of it just being Nintendo vs Microsoft. No it won't be a "psuedomonopoly" for Microsoft, because Nintendo still makes consoles, despite the Escapist's constant cries of "Nintendo doesn't count!".

 

[YawningAngel]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Sega or Atari try and jump back into the race, although I really doubt Sony is going to stop.

Does this mean we get a Dreamcast 2? Because I will burn Sony HQ to the ground in a heartbeat.

On a realistic note, a Microsoft monopoly on console gaming suits me fine.

 

[Tony2077]

sce is still alive and kicking and will remain that way for along time to come there just taking in too much money for them to kill it off

 

[Dexiro]

If we had a betting pool, I'd put money on IBM. I mean they built a Jeopardy-playing computer, imagine what they could do if they applied that AI to game characters.

While I don't think developing an AI system has much bearing I would like to see a console from a company like that. Someone sciency, using clever processing and encouraging clever programming techniques. I'd imagine they'd be more interested in making the industry grow in interesting ways than just putting more money in their pockets, kind of like a big experiment.

Wait I might be getting IBM mixed with someone else. Are they the sciency people?

 

[AugustFall]

A real possibility? Like f*ck is it! It isnt the end of the world, certainly isnt the end of Play Station. Chances are, it'll just change the Network security, maybe introduce more terms of service.

Sony is making a loss on the PS3 and this new thing could cost them billions. Honestly it may not be worth it for them.
I agree with this, I don't like it (PS1 was my first console and the PS2 was the best console) but the PS3 ain't doing great and with Nintendo entering the fray with their new console so early Sony will only fall further behind.

It's a sad day but TS makes a good point.

XBox will fill the gap, it's not like we need another similar console. When the PS1 and PS2 were around there really wasn't anything else to compete with, no one was making similar games. Now with Xbox we have 2 consoles essentially putting out the same types of games. There isn't a single game type on either the Xbox or the PS3 that wouldn't work just as well on the other, not including peripherals.

 

[tokae]

Wooh! I want Atari!!
Or Wait!
Brainstorming here!
SNK with a new Neo-Geo(ish) console?!

That would rock... So much..

 

[Justanothergamer300]

I don't really except anyone to jump in the console race if one person dropped out. Everything now costs way too much and why would I as a consumer pay this much for a new console when I already have 2 of them.

Unless it has some awesome new features I wouldn't buy it

......


I want Dreamcast 2.


that is all.

What features would you want for the dreamcast 2 or do you just want the Sega games?

 

[Tony2077]

oh my fucking lord when will the insanity stop there not going anywhere