Tablets aren't going to replace a tv and a controller with buttons. Consoles are turning into multimedia devices so one can get their gaming, movie and media fix all in one. Streaming isn't going to be viable in the mainstream for at least another generation. Server loads would be mental for launches of big games. Diablo 3 is an example of what would happen and that's not a fast paced game.
Super Slim Playstation 3 You really think this: Looks better than this: Fair enough. I happen to strongly disagree.
I'm sure a lot of the people who buy mobile games also have consoles. Just because Angry Birds sold really well that doesn't mean all of a sudden people stopped buying console games. I don't think mobile games are really eating into the console market, they're just adding another dimension to it. Mobile games will not kill console gaming, fact.
Why would you need to replace a TV or not have controllers? There's no real difference technologically for connecting a smartphone or tablet to the TV and using wireless controllers for games than a console. And the multimedia possibilities are identical as well. Plus, the audience for smartphone/tablet games and multimedia will dwarf that of individual consoles globally. Consoles will just be more a niche product, and companies like MS and Sony that thought of consoles as the requirement for living room dominance will change their minds and have less interest in the market.
Smartphones and tablets have already disrupted the PC market in terms of sales. Nobody is really denying that now. The average consumer puts more priority on upgrading their phone or tablet than their home PC.
Technologically there's no difference. But in terms of gaming a smartphone or tablet is no substitute for an actual controller. If a games company released a console with a tablet as the controller (i.e. just touch, no buttons) I sure as hell wouldn't go near it. Most games for mobile devices that aren't super casual such as Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja are god awful to control, Max Payne and GTA 3 are prime examples.
Which means that wireless controllers are possible for smartphone/tablet games played on your TV as well.
Re: Re: New slim PS3? The old PS3 is definitely meant to be stood vertically. It's one sexy beast. @appleguy tablets don't have the storage for games at the moment. Tablets aren't going to be replacing pcs and consoles. It's the caravan of the tech world. Useful for when you need to poop anywhere but one wouldn't want to live in one permanently
Re: Re: New slim PS3? Xbox 360 HDD game installs seem to run from between 1.5 GB to 8 GB. 32 GB and 64 GB smartphones are already in the workable range for that with cloud storage that doesn't require you to park the game on your device permanently.
The GPUs in tablets are abysmal compared to PCs or even current gen consoles. They're maybe equivalent to the PS2 or original Xbox, and that's being generous. They would have to get exponentially better to replace PCs and consoles, and I don't see that happening any time in the near future, or at all maybe. Look at the kinds of serious 3D games current tablets and smartphones can handle, like Max Payne 1 and GTA3. They're 12 years old, and they don't even handle them that well.
Why would I even care about the PS Vita? I'm so far beyond that with my Fermi card it's ridiculous. And I'll be upgrading to Kepler when they finally get the GTX 660 out.
I mention PSP Vita because of your comment about GPU performance. It's using a mobile chipset, and it's graphics are considered close to current gen standards, not last gen. For consoles, it's a losing battle. They can't upgrade their hardware every year and they have a significantly smaller audience to sell to vs. smartphone users and tablet users. That doesn't mean that you can't make money from a traditional console, but it's going to be smaller money and no one will really believe that "living room dominance" goes through traditional consoles anymore. Believe me, MS and Sony will be a lot less interested in traditional consoles as a result of that.
I thought about it for a second, just get a smartphone to handle casual facebook games. But heck, my laptop can barely handle them (that Sim City Social game, I'm about though with it... I keep saying that, is a real resource hog!), my Mom's 4 year old Core 2 chokes on Sim City Social. It's just a GMA### though. Anyway once I realized how resource hungry even this 'social' game is become (I consider it a step above Farmville... cuz it's Sim City lol and not made by Zynga or PopCap) I concluded no smartphone/ tablet will satisfy my needs. I doubt it'd really do all that well for casual gamers but for the games already made for it. I'd like to play some browser games on smartphones... but imo, they can't play them yet.
What's the difference? Tablets don't upgrade, you can only replace them. Besides a hardware platform's power is worthless if the software doesn't take advantage of it. Infinity Blade 2 is made to be able to play on a 5 year old ipod touch. What good is your brand spankin new ipad 3 than? When a console IS replaced (IE Xbox to Xbox 360) they come out with brand new games made FOR IT, it doesn't suffer from legacy hardware compatibility.
It's the same principle as a PC. Games run at different settings for different hardware (just like Infinity Blade 2 etc.). However, unlike the PC, many people will be completely upgrading their CPU/GPU combination every couple of years due to phone contracts etc...and in numbers globally that absolutely dwarf console sales with a much wider demographic. Plus, there's a more consistent sales cycle vs. the traditional console model.
therein lies the problem, bigger cost to enter, GARGANTUAN cost over time as well. I don't think you can compare the two markets their too different. Nobody who's getting by with a 300 dollar console every 7 years is going to spend 600 dollars on an ipad than buy a new one every 18 months or so. and no it's not like a pc, it's like a mac back when macs were 100% boutique
The psvita visuals are impressive for the device but aren't close to current consoles. It's also outputting on a tiny screen. There's a reason current gen consoles are the size they are. And it's not because a bigger box looks better value Also no console owner wants to update their hardware every year nor play second fiddle to the newer gen every year
Less cost to enter. Consumers are already going to buy smartphones. 144 million smartphones sold globally in Q1 2012 alone according to IDC. That eliminates the need to convince them to buy a separate piece of hardware to play games, and the audience is gigantic compared to ramping up the sales for a console. What was Microsoft's first year goal for the 360 again? 10 million units shipped.