"A lot of you don't realize it but this next gen isn't going to be about new specs of a console..."
I fully agree w/you there Lex. I feel that between dev budgets, TV resolution limitations, time to make new games, broadband limitations, and a few other harder to explain things, we are pretty much at the top of the food chain graphicly for video games.
Thats a tough sell, because all of us are used to new graphical pushes with each new generation of games. I expect more online and social functions. I expect cloud services. I expect games to be streamed ala Netflix style. I expect companies to make company specific profiling(meaning that EA/Acti/etc will all have across platform profiles for just their games that track your games/dlc/achievments/etc). Just over all more function.
I do NOT believe that the future of next gen has anything to do with handhelds. Not in the traditional sense of the word anyways. I expect growth in iPads and other Tablets. I expect iOS to continue to be huge. And smartphones will dominate.
I don't believe for one second that 250usdplus dedicated handheld systems with 50usd games will become future focus. Again IOS/Smartphones. As for the evolution of games on those systems they will not follow the same traditional path as dedicated handhelds. Smartphones/ios/tablets/etc will very posibly have streamed services for their games. I think that is why both Steam and LIVE are being promoted as platforms and brands. Both Live and Steam could well be offerd in much the same way as Onlive/Giaka are.
I have seen that coming for awhile now.
I know Sony fans are pumped for NPG. Thats great. And the system looks nice. But no way they replace cell phone with something like that.
And no way is NPG going to be a critical weapon Sony can use to fight WiiU. Keep in mind people said the samething about Move. No way MS could get Kinect off of the ground while Sony was making so many games Move compatible. And Move was going to kill Wii because it offered the samething but in HD. People that said those things, and believed those things didn't understand or maybe just failed to see the big picture.
And the biggest thing Some folks don't seem to understand is that you can copy Ninetendo. You can offer games and even functions just like Ninetendo. But in the end your still not Nintendo.
Going forward Nintendo seems to have placed themselves into a spot where they can once again make a big splash next gen.
The two biggest things I see nintendo has to do is keep WiiU under 300usd, and offer online services that are at least a stones throw away from what Sony offers. Thats it.
If their systems costs 500usd and they don't have fully functioning online (play/storefronts) at launch they are screwed.
