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Game Wars 2 - Battle for the Living Room

Posted by simoniker on from the carbonitization-in-process dept.

securitas writes "The New York Times' John Markoff writes about the fight to own the living room in the next-generation game console wars, with a digital divergence predicted instead of the much-hyped convergence. With games historically being a driving force in consumer PC growth, Intel is pushing PC-based systems as the dominant platform while the videogames industry is looking to the next generation of consoles as media hubs. Sony, Nintendo and IBM are firmly in the console camp. Microsoft has one foot in each of the PC and console camps, cooperating with Intel on the PC front while looking to IBM for the next Xbox. Meanwhile, Apple is taking its own tack, buoyed by the phenomenally successful iPod. Steve Jobs has been highly critical of iPod clones with video and gaming features, and some are looking to Apple for the next home entertainment revolution. Markoff also talks to WildTangent's founder Alex St. John, who predicts the PC makers and Intel have a losing strategy."

2 of 244 comments (clear)

  1. PCfication by amigoro · · Score: 0, Troll
    For a lack of a better word, I will call it pcfication. (Pronounce as you see fit).

    What is it? To put it simply, there were the good old days when you had
    Your washing machine that did the washing
    Your toaster that did the toasting
    Your VCR/VCD/DVD player that played the respective media
    Your Mobile phone, which you used to make calls
    Your PDA, you showed off to your friends
    Your gaming console, you played games on
    Your PC, you used to download porn

    But today:
    All the devices are more or less PCs. Okay, the washing machine and toaster are not really good examples, but all the devices in the list can be used as a PC.

    So then, one must ask the question: Is there any point in trying to make specific devices to do specific things (other than washing machines and toasters), or do we just go for one handheld PC that doubles as your mobile, PDA, game console, DVD player, and whatnot, depending on how you use it?

    I envision a future where you just have ONE device to rule them all.

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  2. Re:A race to the finish? by JackAxe · · Score: 0, Troll

    You just described the Xbox. =D