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Should Game Consoles Make Breakfast, Too?
Ryan writes "Is the idea of 'convergence' (the notion that a single digital appliance will handle multiple tasks) in gaming consoles even worth it? CNET News has an article discussing the issues of convergence related to gaming - it seems like a lot of consumers aren't worried about the bells and whistles, yet they keep throwing them at us." The article mentions the "underwhelming" response to Sony's PSX console/DVR combo, whose "arrival in North America--originally slated to happen in time for the 2004 holiday shopping season--is now set for an unspecified date in 2005."
"Should Game Consoles Make Breakfast, Too?"
Not a bad idea:
If you play console while it's making breakfast it won't scream "What are you doing?! Don't touch me!"
You can eat your breakfast without the console whining to you.
If breakfast is cold you can beat the console without feeling guilty.
You can demand beer for breakfast and the console won't complain.
If you throw out the console it won't hire a lawyer to take half your stuff.
Man, if RealDoll.com could "converge" this new console concept with their products they'd be trillionaires.
Trolling is a art,
Nintendo have always been sceptical of the "Everything and the kitchen sink" approach that Microsoft and Sony have taken with their consoles. They do but one thing -- gaming -- but do it well, unlike their other competitors who want to be a DVD player/CD player/PC/Internet terminal/TiVo. Their philosophy is to focus on one thing -- gaming, and make it our core competency, continuing to come out with seminal hits that people synonimize with the video game industry, Mario, Zelda, and so on.
They are continuing this trend with our future game consoles, and I do believe that because of Nintendo's laser-sharp and well-defined focus, that Sony and Microsoft's leads will be short lived in the next generation.
-- Samir Gupta, Ph. D. Head, New Technology Research Group, Nintendo Co. Ltd., Kyoto, Japan.
The only people craving convergence seem to be the gadget companies looking for another gimmick.
Free Mac Mini Yeah, it's
I don't know how they do things in Asia, but around here, Playing games and watching TV are very divergent functions.
On the other hand, can those things play games and record TV at the same time?
Nintendo cereal system!
- Make calls
- maintain a phone book
- let me upload my voicemails to my computer for archiving Even my oldest answering machine in the 80s let me change tapes to save messages.
Why do they keep adding crap like virus-ridden operating systems and video games, when they don't even have the basic voice features working yet.The optimist sees "convergence" while the pessimist sees "feature creep". Guess that makes me a pessimist.
Although these 'combos' are good for people that have none of the offered tech but want them all, I believe separates are the way to go. Then I do not end up with 3 DVD players (1 standalone, 1 w/PS2, 1 w/XBox).
A better idea is to have all these 'parts' interconnect in a more seamless way - have additional devices plug in to a master controller, which would allow infinite connections (instead of the current setups where the 3rd game system is connected on the 'tape' monitor.
C'mon. Do ONE thing, do it well, and do it inexpensively. This stuff is starting to look more and more like those 8-track/cassette/turntable/tuner lashups from the 70's. Sheesh.
--- Asking inconvenient questions for over 30 years...
"Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
as soon as you can converge (real life) sex and gaming than you have a convergence I'll buy.
-Teiresias
But don't try to do it all with hardware.
Imagine a device that I can plug into my TV. It will play DVDs, it will take my CD's, convert them to MP3s (autmatcially putting in track names and authors), it will allow internet surfing (yes, a TV isn't as good as a monitor), PVR, game playing, paying bills online, etc. it will handle VOIP (with built in message manage), IM, home automation, home security, water the lawn when it needs it, etc.
Sounds nice, I'd buy one. Oh wait I have one, its called a computer. None of the things I mentioned above are new. Rolling all of these features into one device is going to take forever. However, build a nice fanless computer. Make it a DVD player and have some basic MP3 functionality. Release. Do a software update to allow web surfing. Do a software update to do home automation (thermostat, time lights, etc). Do a software update to ... you get the picture. The thing is, this can all be done today, nothing is new. But trying to build it all at once is the wrong way to go at it. Start slow, release often. Sure most of us on slashdot aren't going to be the target market, but our families, friends, and other non-techno people are.
I remember the 3D0 and the CD-i being touted as all in one devices, and they failed miserably. Panasonic and Phillips seem to forgot that it is - and I hate to point out the obvious - all about the games. Being able to play movies, or record TV shows should just be a bonus, not the focus of a console.
Plus, I would rather have devices that performed one function, and did them well, than one device that could do several things rather poorly. The PS2 is a great game playing machine, but makes a lousy DVD player.
Karma: Can only be portioned out by the Cosmos.
Next Week: New Game Consoles Only Play Games
Next they'll release deticated devices for each feature and call it innovation.
© 2004 The SCO Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
maybe there was an "underwhelming response" because they were charging an arm and a leg for the fricking thing.
Tivo = $99.
PS2 = $150.
Tivo + PS2 = $900?
what kind of math is that?
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Hell, no! That's what cell phones are for!
The "set-top box" is a white elephant. Not just because of technical hurdles, but the very fact that people don't want it.
I have a seperate DVD player and XBox. The fact that the XBox can play DVDs didn't stop me from getting the DVD player. Why? Because I want to watch a movie upstairs while my kids play Soul Calibur II. Simple, huh? Why should I buy two $500 devices when a $40 DVD player and $120 Xbox do what I need?
And hey, when my XBox breaks, I can still watch DVDs, play CDs, pay my bills online, keep my milk cold and fresh, and make delicious toaster pastries.
All-in-one devices are single points of failure.
Not to mention the "jack of all trades, master of none" angle. Sure the XBox can play DVDs. But not in 640p (ok after modding and hacking it can). Even a $40 DVD player has progressive scan these days. It's a specific example, but of a general trend.
Just like instead of a reliable phone with good battery life, manufacturers think we "really want" is a shitty phone, grainy camera, buggy PDA, and laughingly unplayable games.
Hell, a clie is small enough that I can duct-tape it to the phone myself, if that's what I need.
I can see niche markets for some of this convergance stuff. The rich guy who did a 100,000 dollar remodel of his living room, and an a/v rack with room for a DVD player, TiVo and PS2 just aren't in the budget. Fine, he can pay the premium.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Must there be an "overwhelming" response to any product in order to consider it a success? Why does every movie have to be Spider-Man? Why does every game console have to be a PlayStation? Why does every book have to be Harry Potter?
Business would be a lot better if management would stop looking for the ultimate money grab and spend more time on the quality of their products and the non-monetary value of their business.
Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.
The idea of a do it all box is intriguing, but I'm still more inclined to want to keep these things separate. For one thing, if I want to take my gaming console to a friends house, it won't mean ripping out the heart of my home entertainment system. Also, when one thing breaks, it won't mean losing it all. On the other hand, with a good design and price point I might be inclined to buy both a dedicated unit as well as a combined unit. Perhaps the best bet is to take a component system approach which will give the consumer the choice of building the system the way the way he/she wants to.
As for bringing PCs into the picture, I think Apple may be on the right track with their Airport networking which allows streaming of music from your computer to your stereo system. I like that because it keeps the computer in the office where I want it. So I like the idea of various devices being able to work together without having to be in the same box. Unfortunately, I can see entertainment industry's paranoia getting in the way of these efforts since they are so worried about people pirating music and movies.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
I'm sick of convergence. Any device that does several functions usually only does them "okay". It does not of them "excellent".
I'm tired of manufacturers shoving convergence down my throat. For example, I want a cellphone that does one thing...gives me excellent performance as a phone. I don't give a damn about it being a camera, I have cameras for that. I don't give a rat's ass if it can function as a PDA, I have a PDA for that. I just want it to be a phone, and be a damned good one. Not a piss-poor phone/PDA/camera/kitchen sink.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
And not only that, convergence takes away choices...kinda like those all-in-one stereo pieces of shit.
If the CD player in one of those dies, you may as well throw the whole thing out, since it's made so cheap that the repair cost isn't worth the effort. This goes for almost any multifunction device.
I like my PS2...and I also like my TiVo, but when the time to upgrade to HDTV comes along, I'm really only going to want the new PVR/tuner. Even if I like the Sony PVR, what happens to the X-Box or Nintendo fan? They simply get junk they don't need and had to pay for.
I don't want to replace an entire system when a subset of that system either breaks, or I want to upgrade.
// Agent Green (Ian / IU7 / KB1JQO)
// IEEE 802.3: All 10base Are Belong To Us
...Those are some over-sized eggs you're having for breakfast!
I never got into the whole console gaming thing. I found using both my hands to move/shoot in a first-person shooter was too much of a shift from having my hands separated by a keyboard and mouse.
Then there's the issue with porn. I can't get it from a console. And even if I could get it from a console system, I'd not want to bring my hands together to manipulate the experience.
With a computer and porn, I have one hand on my cock and one hand on the mouse clicking interactive nipples and dragging those Macromedia Shockwave dildos around.
It would just be too weird to hit UP-UP-A-B-LEFT-RIGHT-TRIANGLE-START while also getting my jerk on. Much too much going on there all near by groin. Not to mention the rumble pack option that causes the ol' premature ejaculation.
My dirty and completely bullshit 2 cents.
IronChefMorimoto
if it was priced lower than US$600 (last I heard). I really love the device and would scoop one up in a second if I couldn't go out and buy a computer to do all the same things for less than the cost of the PSX.
I think Microsoft learned this lesson the hard way; offering too many unused features at too high a price. They seem to be steering the Xbox successor to more profitable waters, and maintaining the core focus on performance.
On top of it all, I think is Sony is trying to milk the PS2 market for all it's worth with the price of a PS2 around $149.99, four years later.
Just my 2 cents.
They have stated, many times, that they build systems to play games, and thats IT.
Good games.
Good, high quality, fun, games with recognizable characters.
People line up for the next "mario" game because the last 20 have been fantastic. It sells systems, and has a great track record.
I mean, have you played windwaker? Its a friggin work of art!
no
I would agree. With the game console, DVD player and PVR as separate units you can replace/retire one when it breaks or you get tired of it. With the combo units if one part breaks you need to replace the whole unit. So they have to offer lifetime warranties that are good for 5 years or more. Still I would not want to wait the 2-3 weeks it will take to ship the unit and get it fixed, since in doing so I lose PVR, DVD and Game functionality all at once.
Also they have to price the entire package at or close to the price of the most expensive component. You can get a $90 DVD player, Tivo's are at $100-$200, that leaves the game console portion. However you can build/buy a PC for $300-$500 that will do the same thing this will.
One of the big reasons I ended up buying my kids a Gamecube is that these console systems are very easy to use. I toyed with the idea of getting the kids to use a pc for games, but that meant me spending lots of time installing games, teaching them how to start them, changing screen resolutions, etc. Game compatibility was also a big issue. With the Gamecube (other consoles are them same), all they need to know is power, eject and reset (heck they don't even need the last one). All the gamecube games we buy will work immediately, even if Dad is there. If this device was also a web browser, toaster, etc. I would have one more machine to be sys admin for.
Beyond the clock radio, what's ever worked better from putting two different functions together?" (from the article)
I prefer a regular alarm clock and a seperate radio with better sound, so even that one doesn't fly.
Sure I like doing lot's of things on my PC, but when I make a phone call, I like to do it from a telephone. When I fix my car, I like ordinary ratchets with regular sockets (sorry Bob Vila, no pocket socket). When I want a fork or a spoon, I do not want a spork. The Mega-Gadget 2000 may look cool, but using any one feature is far more cumbersome than using the individual tools it replaced, and if it breaks, I no longer have my whatcha-ma-callit, my doo-hickey, or my whirli-bob. Plus, if I buy a PSX, I still can't play Halo.
As a purist I'd rather that my Denon home theatre receiver didn't have an AM/FM tuner in it, because the tuner section is crap and because I don't listen to radio on my home theatre system, but I don't have to use the tuner, I could even put an outboard tuner in if I wanted to, so it does no harm except to my aesthetic sense.
Manufacturers of all-in-one devices would do well to ask themselves if jamming all of these devices into one box achieves any kind of synergy that makes the sum greater than the parts. Even when there are natural synergies that are inherent to the hardware, such as the ability of the X-box and PS/2 to play DVDs, you may still find that users don't find this useful, as evidenced by the number of people I know who own both an X-box and a DVD player or a PS/2 and a DVD player.
Of course it might be nice if software developers would ask the same question. Do users really need an office suite that does all of the useless crap that MS Office or Star Office does? Or would users be better served if developers looked for natural synergies in software products?
cheap labor conservatives - they want to keep you hungry enough to be thankful for minimum wage.
Complain about something legitimate, and you are trying to be fashionable? Wow. I guess I have been fashionable since 2000. That is when I ditched my cellphone because it was a pointless cost. It is a sheer convenience that people have treated like a necessity. I had the first StarTac that Motorola produced, back in 96 I think. It was analog. Phones today give no better call quality than that phone did then. Once I realized that "digital" was no better than analog, I got rid of it. My wife and I have a pre-paid phone for emergency use only, and spend about $10 a month on it. We rarely use it, it simply isn't necessary. I don't know where you live, but I live near Chicago, and call quality sucks here. I get sick of hearing people yelling "Hello? Hello?" into their phones, or worse yet see people driving and trying to figure out if the call got dropped or not. And Nextel has their cool 2-way service, but I have never been able to understand what anyone is saying using that.
Don't believe the hype, you don't need a cellphone.
To answer the question of "Why do they keep making and selling crappy features instead of improving call quality", I have to ask: "Why do you have a cell phone? Have you given them a reason to improve call quality?" If you own a phone now, and keep signing contracts every year or two, then you are showing them that it doesn't MATTER if call quality sucks, people will still sign on the dotted line.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
I have a HDTV that I bought in 2002. It has a built in HD receiver, and I thought I would save $500 on a HD receiver by getting this TV. I hooked it up, and it's great.
Now I want to add a tivo. Hmm... No video out from the TV. There's nothing. No RCA, or even COAX outs from this HD receiver. It's all routed internally. Even pulling the back cover off revealed nothing useful to "hack" into.
And now I see HDTV external turners with built in Tivo. Those are really cool, and I'd love to get one, but there's no HDTV inputs on the back of my RCA. Guess the engineers didn't think people would ever be connecting such devices to their HDTVs. I mean WTF?!?
Convergence blows. It basically locks you into something that might be obsolete in a few months (or years, if you're lucky).
The "convergence" move arose out of the success of the PC. The idea is that general purpose devices can work really well, and allow reuse of components. The problem is that the reason the PC did well is because it was open, general purpose, reconfigurable, and available from many sources. There is no General Purpose Cell Phone 2004 Standard. I can't just buy a "phone platform" and replace parts in it from another vendor. Instead, I have to buy an increasingly expensive, proprietary and complex system. On a PC, I can tone down complexity -- on a cell, I have to use whatever I'm offered.
On a "converged" open platform like the PC, I don't lose choice over what I buy. I might like WinAMP over Sonique, Wordperfect over Word, and Firefox over Internet Explorer. That's okay, because I can still pick and choose the elements of my converged device. On a closed (i.e. unsuccessful) converged platform, this is not the case. Cell providers sell these all-in-one packages, where one must use every element of one of several packages -- you either get phone model Foo or phone model Baz.
The same goes for game platforms, set-top/cable boxes, watches, and so on, and so forth.
May we never see th
Says you.
When I spent $200 on an Xbox, you couldn't get $40 DVD players then.
Plus, "convergence" is just natural. I mean, what should MS have said: "Duhr, we've got a DVD drive in our game console, hey, let's make it NOT play movies! LOL!!!111"? Yeah, that would've been great. Likewise, the first CD-ROM based game consoles could play audio CDs. Again, a capability of the hardware, being put into use. The Xbox wasn't made to be all-in-one, it was made to play games, and the hardware that went along with that had other abilities, and only a total moron would not exploit those.
Now, game consoles have hard drives. DVR capabilities are an obvious use of this. The hardware is there - one might as well include some software to make use of it.
People talk about the Xbox and PS2 and their future counterparts, as if they're being made to do everything under the sun. They're not. They're being built as game consoles, and then the other abilities of the hardware are being put to good use.
People aren't against the PSX because it is an all-in-one - they're against it because you can buy two PS2s and two TiVOs for the same price. Nobody bought the 3DO for its price either, and that had nothing to do with convergence.
If your game console is going to make breakfast, it is going to have to have a cereal port.
The $900 price includes the $699 for Linux!
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this before, but most "convergant" devices have zero multi-tasking ability.
So, that $900 PSX can record TV shows and Movies to DVD or internal HD or play games, but not both at the same time. If you want to play Final Fantasy X while you're recording Stargate SG-1, tough.
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.