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Should Next-Gen Game Consoles Be Upgradeable?

Posted by Soulskill on from the downloadable-hardware-unlockers dept.

MojoKid writes "Historically, console add-ons that boosted the performance of the primary unit haven't done well. Any attempt to upgrade a system's core performance risks bifurcating the user base and increases work developers must do to ensure that a game runs smoothly on both original and upgraded systems. The other reason is that a number of games rely on very specific hardware characteristics to ensure proper operation. In a PC, swapping a CPU with 256K of L2 for a chip with 512K of L2 is a non-issue assuming proper platform support. Existing software will automatically take advantage of the additional cache. The Xbox 360, on the other hand, allows programmers to lock specific cache blocks and use them for storing data from particular threads. In that case, expanding the amount of L2 cache risks breaking previous games because it changes the range of available cache addresses. The other side of the upgrade argument is that the Xbox 360 has been upgraded more effectively than any previous console; current high-end versions ship with more than 10x the storage of the original, as well as support for HDMI and integrated WiFi. It would also forestall the decline in comparative image quality between console and PC platforms."

6 of 348 comments (clear)

  1. Doubt Sony will by Master+Moose · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is too much of a change from the current gen being downgradable.

    --
    . . .gone when the morning comes
    1. Re:Doubt Sony will by an+unsound+mind · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh give it up. So Sony disabled your hardware's capabilities. So what? At least they didn't totally disable the hardware, which they could. You should be grateful for that. You'd have a right to complain if Sony goons came to your house and cut your hands off, at least if you aren't a pirate. If you're a pirate or complain online about Sony, it's totally justified to cut your hands off, because you are hurting Sony and costing billions of Americans their jobs.

    2. Re:Doubt Sony will by wagnerrp · · Score: 3, Funny

      Screw that. I want a big honking external power brick that's half the size of my console, and needs to be suspended in mid-air to ensure it gets properly cooled and doesn't overheat, just so I can claim to have a sort-of smallish console.

    3. Re:Doubt Sony will by antifoidulus · · Score: 5, Funny

      You are forgetting the other benefit of such a power brick, if a puma were to attack, you could use the power supply as sort of a makeshift mace, but instead of spikes piercing the puma, the intense heat melts its face off. Home security at its finest!

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      Monstar L
  2. Re:No. by Colourspace · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well, let's just think about this. GP posts under UID and then uses same UID as sig. What do we really think?

  3. Re:Why is this modded flamebait? by an+unsound+mind · · Score: 4, Funny

    You know, originally that post was without that last part. Then I added a line about "costing billions of Americans their jobs" and saying it's justified to cut off the hands of people who criticize Sony online.

    And people still take me seriously. What is this, YouTube?