I am at the point where I think Consoles need to be Upgradable! Imagine a Xbox 720 or a PS4 Console, that has a latch that allows you to open it and install more Ram, a speedier processor, a better graphics card!
Those 3 simple things, Ram, processor, and graphics cards could greatly extend the life of the console, cut down on the development time of games, and bring industry and consumer costs down.
Imagine extending a consoles life by 2 years, just by installing a new graphics card!
Imagine that same graphics card, processor, or RAM costing a consumer $99-$150 versus a new console price of $300-$500.
In this horrible world economy with entire countries collapsing under financial melt downs, it is time for "incremental upgrades" of consoles to extend their shelf life, and allow the game industry more time to develop games for the current cycle of consoles, instead of pushing games into the the next-gen console develop and putting them into 10 year development Hell to only have them cancelled.
It truly is time for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo to step-up and create and develop Upgradable Consoles!
It's Time For Consoles To Be Upgradable!
(17 posts)-
Posted 12 months ago #
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Wanted to Bump above the Spam!
Posted 12 months ago # -
Will never happen. Look at how the Xbox 360 arcade had hampered developers to make games based on the fact that people don't have hard drive and very little flash memory so much so that it XBLA games can only be a few GBs.
Devs like consoles because it allows for a standard hardware that is not changed and so they don't have to test for all the upgrades that the PC has to go through. PC is very expensive to test for because of the vast array of configurations that a user has. You want a console that is upgradeable you have the PC.
Posted 12 months ago # -
@Phoenix
I think it is possible as long as they don't allow third party developers, to develop all different kinds of upgrade hardware.
If only Microsoft or Sony made the Ram, Graphics Card, or Processor and didn't allow all these third party hardware makers to get involved, then developers wouldn't have to worry about testing or supporting each upgrade part that PC's currently have.
It would have to be a very different upgrade model, then PC's current Upgrade model, due to all the different PC upgrade manufactures.
If you made only One Upgraded Graphics Card, Ram, or Processor, then developers only deal with the One Upgraded component, instead of all these different Manufactures.
Many Developers want a longer console cycle, due to the cost involved for developing for a new console. The costs would be GREATLY reduced for a Developer using or not using a new graphics card, processor, or RAM, especially if those upgraded components are backward compatible and will run or support all the current titles.
Posted 12 months ago # -
If you want an upgradeable system get a PC.
It doesn't really work in the console space, every combination of upgrades would require developers to change the games to take advantage of it and not break things. It's not like on PC where devs code to APIs like DirectX which then translate the instructions for the drivers which then send translated instructions to the hardware (with a significant performance penalty) console devs do a lot of optimisation directly programming the hardware which allows games like The Last Of Us to be made on 6+ year old hardware. And it doesn't matter who makes the hardware ether, different hardware needs different coding to take advantage of.
To support upgrades how console games are made would have to completely change, which would ether lead to worse looking games on the base hardware, or 99% of games not supporting the upgraded hardware and introducing bugs when you try and run older games on the new hardware.
Posted 12 months ago # -
@voxelman
I can no longer, like most now, afford an upgradable PC. I need something much cheaper, that the family can play on the TV, and that is why Consoles work so well.
If I had a High End PC, it definitively would not be in the TV room front and center, where are the family and all the guest that come over would have access to it.
Consoles work great, Plug and Play, give the controller to whomever, and not worry to much that if Cousin Billy Bob steps on the Console, it is not like ruining a $500-$1000 PC.
Also, every new console iteration, introduces higher and higher cost, and developers are balking at this. We are quickly approaching the tipping point where either developers can't make games cost effective anymore, or only the Super Wealthy will be able to afford the new Consoles.
The Console Market THRIVES on being cheaper then the PC market, that is its main selling point! That and the Ease of use for the whole Family. No little Toddler reprogramming your PC to delete everything or your Uncle Howard looking at so much Porn your PC gets a Virus that wipes everything.
Once the Console Market reaches the same price range as Gaming PC's..the Market will significantly shrink.
The Console Market needs a HUGE reboot, and it is coming sooner then you think, or massive failures will start, and I think we are already seeing that.
Posted 12 months ago # -
You think the manufacturers don't know this stuff? That is why they pick hardware they have because it will allow the developers to do what they need. Epic and various other engine developers are also keeping this in mind that is why in Unreal Engine 4 that it will have global dynamic illumination meaning no baking in the lights which now can take from 10 mins to a few hours depending on the size of the level or the fact that the engine allows for compiling of all the code in a matter of seconds. People would have to wait for the compiling to be done in order to test the next build. That is a lot of waiting and that will be resolved with the next engine allowing for faster iteration along with not having to create a crazy lighting system to help with baking of the lights every time you load. That means faster development which means having to pay less for development.
Having different hardware increases the cost even if it is developed by the same manufacturer not only that imagine what the cost of those pieces of hardware would cost? You think MS,Nintendo, Sony are going to have those priced to be friendly to those that don't have the funds to afford a PC? MS had a 80$ wifi adapter. Nintendo also overcharges just for their controller. Console is there for those that want to have a plug and play system at the cost of eye candy that the PC can have. The only thing you will get best of both worlds is when Cloud gaming becomes more streamlined.
Posted 12 months ago # -
I don't want consoles to be (more) upgradeable (than they are) for two reasons:
1) Fragmentation
Will my game run? How well will it run? As it stands this is a simple question to answer. With upgradable hardware the answer will start with "Well, it depends...". When hardware is the same performance across the board, developers know what they're working with and can exploit that to the best of their abilities. Otherwise you'll get "Well, add some ram then" or "Install it to your (optional) hard drive". Consumers will suffer and the quality of the games will suffer - especially if consoles remain closed source.2) Cost
Upgrade options will be mostly handled by the console manufacturer and you'll be paying a premium for their bespoke upgrade part. We see this already with game controllers. The versatility of conventional upgrading will by stymied by manufacturer control (the closed-source mentality extending to hardware) and limit user options.TL;DR: No thanks.
JM
Posted 12 months ago # -
Do you really believe that upgrading a console with GPU, processor and memory will be cheaper then on PC?
for your information, console is not an open platform so costs for each tech will be much bigger then on the PC. Console manufacturer like Microsoft sells a crappy hard drive for a lot of money already compared to a better version on the PC.
It will never happen for many reasons.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Frosty, a solution to your problems:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/df-hardware-introducing-the-digital-foundry-pc
300 £ for a PC that will run everything.
Consoles will most likely NEVER be upgradeable, as it totally defeats the purpose of consoles. 1 set of hardware allows developers to make better games for it, as they can optimize it much better than they can for the PC. If they decide to make consoles upgradeable, then they might as well just force people to put a PC under their TV.
Posted 11 months ago # -
I shoved a generic hard drive in my PS2. and upgraded the HDD of my original PS3.
Thats about it. Increased storage.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Erthazus is probably right, if you have to buy components directly from MS, Sony or anyone else they're not going to be cheap.
You'd probably end up paying the price of a gaming PC without getting anywhere near the performance.
It would be preferable if the industry would lay out a roadmap for PC specs instead of this scattershot approach where we have to wait for the next big game to release with advanced specs. It'd be nice to have a defined period where minimum specs were guarantee'd by the industry with an overlap at either end of each period so you're not forced to upgrade the moment the new spec is adopted.
Posted 11 months ago # -
I agree with Joe Mushashi comments 100% percent, and with the Earthazus too, thanks but no thanks, leave my consoles close, thats why i do like them and prefer them over PC.
Posted 11 months ago # -
lol. Imagine that...
You pay £300 for a new console, then have to pay another £250 just to get smoother edges and 9-10 more fps.
Or another £100 to get a 2-3 second quicker load time on some single player games.
Nah, leave the tweaking and upgrading to the ultra hardcore with the really 'cool' forum sigs...
XBL: G1GAHURTZ
PSN: G1GAHURTZ
HARDWARE: IBM PC - 486 DX2 66 MHz
32MB RAM
VGA graphics
3 Button Mouse
15" Full Colour MonitorPosted 11 months ago # -
Yeah, this will never happen.
People will start whining when their games suddenly stop working due to driver compatibility issues, and they'll need even more patches to get them working properly again. People will slower machines will then proceed to whine because their machine can't play never games, forcing them to upgrade. The only thing that needs to be upgradeable in a console is the HDD, and that's it.
Why the hell would you want to segregate your userbase like that? Upgradeable consoles are a stupid idea, and a huge no-no.
If you want an upgradeable gaming machine... buy a PC.
Posted 11 months ago # -
I think the solution you migh tbe looking for Frosty is Cloud gaming. Of course that comes with its own set of issues to work around too. But the hardware limitations and the idea of upgrading go out the window.
I bet Next Xbox "introduces" cloud gaming. Prolly 2 or so years into its lifecycle.
I know what your saying tho. Gaming is getting to a point where your not getting the same bang for your gaming dollor. And when set against bills, food, rent, raising kids, etc it becomes tuff to justify spending alot of money on games.
If I still had young kids/family, I would go with Wii(or WiiU) for the cost of it. If it was just me, I would buy a PC. Period. I often have my PC conected to my 42inch HD TV in my living room, and I stick a usb xb360 controler in it and you wouldn't know the difference to watch me play something. Of course wireless kb/mouse also help out.
It just is what it is. Consoles have become a market of squezzing the hell out of its users. Next gen won't be any different, just newer. Your going to keep getting what you already have. Nothing is going to fundamentaly change.
at some point, some gamers, may need to stop staying on the "cutting edge". Maybe they scale back. I know I already have. I used to be a 400usd+ a month gamers. Now I own all of the hardware, and buy a game or so a month. And even those games I often end up getting for 50%-80% off on Steam. Next gen I will have to make a choice, one console and my PC. I will prolly get a handheld too, torn between Vita and 3DS XL. But I am no longer going to be able to buy everything that looks good.
The economy stinks.
But upgradable consoles just won't work. Not beyond increased storage.
Choices, it is all about choices.
Posted 11 months ago # -
No, it's not! I prefer the all-in-one package. Don't you think all the firmware updates, downloads and bug-fixes are enough? Consoles need to be plug & play, now more than ever. That's another reason why I enjoy retro gaming so much. Plug & play, often no load times, its go!go!go!
Posted 11 months ago #
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