stealth toilet
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Rodney Chops said:
It is wishful thinking, to be sure. There are a number of obstacles in the way of creating a universal console in a capitalist economy. I don't think anyone would argue otherwise. But there are precedents that prove such a thing could, legitimately, happen. If not in the most literal sense, then at least in spirit. The big three could subscribe to a universal standard and still make and sell standardized consoles that have their own unique bonuses. In the same way cell phone manufacturers each make their own unique phones that are all compatible with a standardized network, so too could console manufacturers make consoles that are unique in some way but are universal in the games they are able to run.
However, that is somewhat beside the point. The topic was more of a "what if" question than it was a "how could" question. That is to say, if the economic conditions were such that a universal console did exist, what would the pros be, and what would the cons be?
Rodney Chops said:
I don't know if stagnation is really the best way of putting it. Part of the reason why people are deterred from participating in PC gaming is because PC technology never "stagnates." Consoles, in a way, provide a standard (or stagnant) PC platform that is guaranteed to run a number of games, without needing to "upgrade," for a given number of years (historically about 5). So I don't think standardizing the technology is a bad thing, it doesn't stop or inhibit advancement of technology, it simply regulates it, which can be incredibly advantageous to the average gamer.
That pricing comparison is accurate (although I thought Xbox Live was only $60 a year, and playing PS3 and Xbox360 online also incurs the internet fee), if you're only looking at less than 5 years. The amount of money you pay into a Live Box will continually stack, of course, but really its no different than the console generations we currently experience. I may pay $399 for a PS3 now, and that may be the end cost to play PS3 games. But if I want to play PS4 games, whenever that system comes out, I will probably have to shell out another $300-$400, just like I did when I bought my PS1 and PS2. To have the ability to play Sony games over the last 10 years would have cost me about $1000 Canadian, and that doesn't include memory cards, or other peripherals. And if I also wanted to play Nintendo and Xbox games, the cost would come close to tripling.
The OnLive Box cost adds up monthly, or annually, but so too does the cost of consoles, every 5 years. And, instead of having to buy 3 separate consoles every 5 years for a sum total of about $1200-$1500, you only need to by the one box. Now, until pricing is announced it is difficult to say whether you would spend more or less than that amount in a 5 year span, but I think its more likely you'll end up paying less with OnLive than you would traditionally.