what is a console?
to find this out, we must go to their roots.
/me steps into time machine
set your dials to 1972...
Magnavox odyssey. had a few games and all that jazz, but it was still new, and fun. it was also the start of nintendo in video gaming, as they distributed it in japan starting in 1975. shifting from the long-running toy business, into electronics.
go forward a few months, and in comes the arcade version of the classic of classics, PONG. in 1976, sears bought the rights to be the eclusive seller of the new home version, and the video gaming revolution had started.
fast forward to the next major leap. done by atari, the 2600 (originally, the atari VCS, or Video Computer System) was the first non-dedicated console. it boasted state-of the art graphics, and a full 128 bytes of RAM, along with a 1.28 megahertz processor. it was rad! it had such amazing games as
pitfall and
donkey kong
a few years later, in walked the atari 5200. it was a decent system. equivalent to an atari 400 computer, it had a full 4 kB of RAM.
4 kilobyes! that's amazing!
but wait.
it was marketed as being compatable with atari 2600 games. but it was not. only after a release of an adapter would it properly play all games for it's predecessor. in the end, it was surpassed by the colecovision, but it's sucess was not to last.
dateline: 1983.
in walk computer systems like the commodore 64.
it was affordable, powerful, and educational too, even though it still had games for it.
it was the video game industries worst nightmare.
it rivaled the colecovision and the atari systems, who both were seeing a decline of quality games.
why buy a console with games that are substandard when you can buy a computer with the same specs for the same price, that can do
EVEN MORE
the consumers were smart. they picked the things that could do more, and had upgradability, for the same price as what didn't.
but, wait, what is that. is it's christ's second coming? is he here to save the video game industry?
close.
it was the NES. the major companies, especially atari, had a chance to fight again. after the initial turbulence, there was a godsend. atari was offered exclusive rights to distribute the NES in america! the japanese hit gaming machine could have made them millions.
but they missed the bus. According to gamespy, this was the dumbest moment in video gaming history. period.
the deal fell through. millions of dollars down the drain for atari. yes, super pitfall may have still sucked on the Nintendo Enhanced Video System, but atari would be back on thier feet.
eventually, the NES led the way for modern systems. after years of being on top with the NES, and the newly released SNES and NES2 (NES 2 was a sleeker, cheaper, and all-around better version of the NES) they were on top of the world.
and now we shift our attention from the giants, to the smaller players.
atari, crippeled by thier NES failure, tried to find a new way to get on thier feet.
enter: the Jaguar.
a revolutionary 64-bit system, it was the first that could handle disks AND supported full 3D standard. but noone wanted to make things for it. it had low amounts of RAM.
according to the then atari CEO, the jaguar was better than the playstation, except in some areas, where the playstation was
Quote:
a little, little bit more powerful
ataris casket was now closed. not only was the jaguar less than powerful, it also had a high price tag, equivalent to $800 today. compared to other consoles, it was a complete and total flop.
the playstation was an awesome machine, boasting CD quality music, and later, revolutionary controllers with TWO, count 'em, TWO analog sticks.
on the other hand
the nintendo 64 was the last cartridge driven console. Nintendo, caring about the players, opted to hold on to carts because of short loading times ,if there even were any.
later, in came the playstation 2, gamecube, and the new kid on the block, the xbox.
we all know what happens here. nintendo decides to compete, but get thier ass kicked, the xbox and PS2 are both neck-and-neck, but the PS2 was lower end.
with only 32 MB of RAM, it had only half of the xbox.
and now, we arrive home.
IMO, the PS3 is looking like the atari jaguar. it's revolutionary, yes, but we're not ready for it. the next generation will boast MUCH more powerful machines, rendering the PS3 obsolete.
Kaz made a big mistake when he proclaimed defiantly that the PS3 would stand tall, at the head of it's class, for years.
because of this, I predict sony will spend time making the PS3 more affordable, and easier to produce, and not spend on research for the PS4.
the next xbox will surpass the PS3 for SURE, and the next nintendo console might even pass it.
the bottom line:
in history, if a console was expensive, had poor games, and buggy backwards compatability when it boasted full, it would be a bomb. the PS3 is starting to show these traits. along with ensisting that they don't need to research a PS4 right now, and having 1/2 of the industry-standard amount of RAM, the PS3 is setting itself up for a letdown.