The Future of Console Gaming
By: Steven Knauer
It’s that time again, that time where we in the gaming world get excited and reluctant about a new console release. Microsoft has not denied the planning of this new console, nor have they officially announced it; however, the “Xbox 720,” as it is affectionately codenamed, is certainly an exciting subject full of hopes, dreams and worries.
To start, the rumored specifications of the console are pretty nice. According to James Rivington of Techradar.com, it will have three 3.2GHz IBM power cores, an ATI graphics processor, a brand new core i7-2600k CPU, an Nvidia GTX580 graphics card, and at least a terabyte of save data storage.
In layman’s terms, it could be between six to eight times more powerful than the Xbox 360. The most exciting part to me is Microsoft’s new dive into the digital market. It is unclear where they are heading with it, but they could reinvent the console market if done correctly. Taking inspiration from a solely digital market like Steam would be a good move on Microsoft’s part, making the purchase of games easier and more convenient.
There are some more rumors involving Microsoft’s plan to eliminate the used game market with this new console. Colin Campbell of IGN.com spoke about the issues of eliminating the buying and selling of used games, primarily involving the economy in its current state. Gaming is an expensive hobby and there is no denying it, and selling our beaten games is a good way to continue this hobby. Campbell said, “In these ferociously difficult economic climes, the ability to trade games is the thing that allows us to buy new games … If those gamers stopped buying new games, the policy of war against used games would look Pyrrhic.”
Microsoft’s current tactic for battling the used game market is the use of online passes. To play a game online, one must enter a one-use code that comes with every new copy off a game. For people who bought a used copy of a game, this online pass is available for a modest price on the game’s section in the Xbox live marketplace.
My suggestion to Microsoft would be if the games available for the system were available digitally, the price should be reduced. Not having to pay for a DVD to be written on, put in a case, stored in a box and shipped via truck to a game store is a significant cut in costs for the company. If the industry is trying to root out the major source of gamer’s pocket money, it would only be fair to give something back so that they could fathomably afford their products.
In my crazy dream world, a game console would rely solely on its on virtual marketplace that has cut prices due to less cost, and have no use for game stores in general. This dream, however, may never come true as these stores pay a good amount of money to keep the gaming companies concerned with them. All the nit picking aside, the unofficial announced released for this console should be sometime in the year 2013, so Microsoft has plenty of time to decide who gets the raw end of the deal, gamers or retail.
photo from Google.com
