9th Gen Console Gaming: Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft

GamerBolt: "Are we heading towards a 9th Gen console gaming situation? The answer is probably a massive yes."

[Tzuno]

Consoles need to go on par with PC next gen and allow cross play with all platforms for a huge multiplayer experience.

[ninsigma]

On par with what type of pc?? There are different levels of power on pc And pc can then be improved, parity would be very difficult.

[TFJWM]

Console are already "on par" with PCs. If you mean high end gaming PCs it will never happen. Xbox1 and PS4 are better then 70% if not 80% of PCs.

[Gwiz]

Depends on what PC's you are referring to,i would say gaming PC's obviously.In that case,no.I think people underestimate how many game PC's are actually performing above 1080p 30fps.Definitely not 70/80% below that performance.

[Christopher]

***Are we heading towards a 9th Gen console gaming situation?***

Not for another 5 years. Remember when people were saying the same thing last generation in only the 2nd year of the consoles? How did that turn out?

[KeplerNoMore]

This gen will end by 2018-2019 so thats like 3-4 years from now, and thats because studios have yet to use DX12/GNMX, which should give both consoles even more performance (20-30% for DX12, yet to be announced for GNMX). Keep in mind that Xbox1 currently works with DX11.3 and PS4 works with GNM, so we are yet to witness proper next gen from these 2.

[Brettman2008]

I think PS4 and Xbox One will be replaced about 2020 with them being supported for a few more years after that.

[Sitdown]

@stefan771
That has nothing to do with when a new console would come out, but how long the console is supported.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Nintendo's NX due, at the earliest, in late 2017, which would be the end of the standard 5 year cycle.
However, they've mentioned that it's not going to completely replace the Wii U, making me believe it may be some sort of device that hooks up to the Wii U to expand its capabilities.
Given the fact that they said, long ago, that the Wii U is upgrade-able, that would make sense, and I, for one, would be interested to see such a thing...

This might be a bit simplistic, but I imagine it would function like an evolved form of the N64's Expansion Pack.

[Concertoine]

Making an attatchment to the the worst selling console since the dreamcast is not their next course of action. They aren't idiots. The wii u doesn't even have a slot so that it can sit on an attachment,it would have to be some thing daisy chained to it via USB which looks dumb

They tried this with the 64DD (by far the worst selling thing they've ever made at 10,000 units), and with the famicom disc drive. They've seen sega crash and burn with attachments. NX is not an attachment.

Honestly i hope them saying "NX isn't replacing them" is just PR, because that makes it sounds unconventional as hell and more of that could kill them. Plus they can barely support 2 platforms, nonetheless 3.

[DC777]

It depends on sales not some made up life cycle time line.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

If that were true, the PS2 would still be in production.XD

[DC777]

So would Wii lol. But obviously Dev needs come into play at some point.

Right now Wii U sales will be lucky to top 12 mil by the time "NX" arrives. Unless something catches fire.

[KryptoniteTail]

Cross-Platform play is a necessity.

[Haru]

PS4 supports cross platform play

[DDOS-DelDaemonicOSes]

Sony doesn't have any universal system in place for cross-play, nor are they working on "One", AFAIK.

Cross-play on PS4 means individual developers have to build support for it whereas Microsoft is building standardized ways to support cross-play, and I suppose Fable Legends will be first to use that model and show developers what's possible.

http://www.polygon.com/2015...

Free Windows 10 + Free Fable Legends = Best Possible Test Bed for building the best "Xbox Platform" features (a fairy tale bed\platform that isn't fLAMER... or at least, that's the goal... while being FREE helps if there is any problems with it being Fing bad, thus how Fing SmART).

I expect that combination will result in the sexiest and most versatile "Ms" ever being very WideSpread, and I think that's wonderful... other than I am a bit worried about how Microsoft is releasing an AMAZING amount of new tech all at once this year. If they only have a few issues, that would be an impressive accomplishment, though Negative Nancys are sure to naysay any perceivable flaw to SPIN around that "fact".

Those bad for gamers are who don't want that gamers can purchase a game that works on both their PCs and consoles with DRM and online check-in verifying they don't play multiple instances at once, all while they can share saved games between PC and XO plus co-op\cross-play with friends.

A piece of cardboard art and plastic for monkeying back and forth discs is NOT more worthy than a future with "Universal" compatibility. We're all going to suffer from being negative towards "Ms", such as all those buying digitally on XO already are because they now can't share with 10 people.

Windows 10 is about as close to the operating system that most people Ultimately wanted in every way imaginable... from gaming to biometric to seamless transitioning between display formats plus Universal Windows Apps... that many people would agree with that is Proof "Ms" delivers what's best and what customers Ultimately want. Why should anyone want to invest in or trust other companies that almost certainly can only do worse?

Those who claim Microsoft is delivering badly are as bad (AKA BACKWARDS) as those who said that about "Ms" not delivering Milo, AKA a virtual little boy to emotionally play with... they BS about what doesn't matter, what insults their selves without them realizing how they're ignor(e)ant, and they do that while Microsoft was working on better with improving Kinect for eventual use with CORTANA, that is on track to be the most WideSpread AI in the world... something "Milo" directly could never have become for OBVIOUS reasons. <- Other examples of how "Ms" naysayers are always fLAMER will have to do with Microsoft DRM in conjunction with cross-buy\cross-play plus the benefits of DX12... the ignor(e)ant will naysay though they're insulting their selves in the long-run... the problem is SPIN that causes many people not to Realize how the naysayers are insulting their selves as they clown around the subject by focusing attention on BS, as if Milo is an example of how Microsoft doesn't deliver for their customers while the Truth is closer to that they didn't release a little boy to play with BECAUSE THAT WAS BEST FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS... the same is True about DRM and most everything else people naysay about Microsoft.

I shouldn't need to mention "9th gen console" specifically for "OT", since practically everything I've described pertains to the future 9th gen, such as I expect Cortana integration.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

It's only two or three, but there are games on Wii U that are cross platform playable with their pc counterparts.

[lildudexst]

We all won't see a ps5 or new xbox 2 for at least 10 years. It a business people.

[shysun]

No way in hell the 9th Gen doesn't drop before ten years! 2025?!! Man you're on some good stuff bro! Announced by 2020 at the latest.

[lildudexst]

Gaming is not gaming like good old days. Everything about gaming now is money. Not a great business move if come out with a consoles 6 years later After just you released one. With part that can last 15 years. Are new consoles is lasting 10 to 12 years buddy. Understanding business is a key understanding gaming industry.

[Kizwiz6]

Business has always been a part of gaming. Understanding technology and its advancements (particularly for competitors is the key to understanding the gaming industry.

[dcbronco]

Lildude you're ignoring the complete picture. This isn't the days when you lost money for a couple of years on hardware. This generation launched breaking even or making a small profit on every console sold. The value of die shrinks is decreasing especially since you can't upgrade your specs because of alienating the early adopters.

Technology has zoomed past these machines in some ways. PC has always looked better and that was before Mantle. Now the new APIs will make the gap more obvious. Add to that the ever increasing power of the GPUs. Titan X is the king of the hill. But AMD launches the 390 this month or next and takes the lead back. And maybe for $300-400 less. Each of those GPUs have several times the power of 8th generation consoles. On top of that, I believe both GPU manufacturers introduces a new architecture next year. AMD introduces a new CPU also.

Both consoles use APUs that are modified, but still several generations old and nothing close to the rumors of AMDs next architecture next year. Those should offer similar or less power demands but several times the power. And then there is Nintendo. AMD is doing a chip for them now. While AMD does do ARM based chips for a potential mobile device, it is more likely a APU for a console. If Nintendo is looking to launch in 2017 or 2018, you're probably looking at a Zen architecture APU with a GPU several times as powerful as current generation consoles. Nintendo could go with DX12 or Vulken an off the shelf APU and rule consoles. For a few years at least. By 2020 Microsoft or Sony will leapfrog them. But they will do far better than Wii U. And securing an exclusive like Devils Third means they may be looking to expand to a more mature audience. Nintendo may be a E3 '15 sleeper. Which will push Microsoft and Sony for 2020 or before. The difference in the picture between consoles and PC will start to look really ugly next year as the new APIs become the standard.

[N4g_null]

It really is up to nintendo or another new player to push sony and MS to jump. I'm thinking the next gen will push on to this gen like phone tech does. No one complains about upgrading a phone. Yet no one pays full price for a phone up front.

We have the two HD twins pushing paid online on their players and they are eating it up. Nintendo is now about to make their own "service" If it has a paid gaming portal where you rent games basically then we could all be looking at consoles without a gen in the future.

Suddently it make sense for the manufactures to make a platform but not a box for their games. Smart phones doesn't exactly kill consoles actually consoles envelope smart phones. If a phone company can afford 1500 worth of components for your phone then imagine what a console could be at that price.

$50 down and you just pay the service all the nintendo games, sony game, and xbox games you can play. Of course they would still have their own platforms. It sounds like a win win situation.

I bring all of this up because I love high end tech. We use to get some seriously smart hardware optimizations back in the day while pc was still using bruteforce. The problem is PC has caught up with console like optimizations.

The elephant in the room is we all wanted unreal 4 engine like graphics. We got to see half of that. Which is why this gen is disappointing on an upgrade level. Yet here comes some serious new break throughs.

System Memory Bandwidth: 176.0 GB/s yeah that is the sexy PS4.... GPU mostly. The r9 290x doubles that speed along.

We are talking about double of what the current R9 290X which is 320GB/s. HBM modules on the R9 390X at over 640GB/s.
HBM represents the revolutionary step that has been so badly needed in the evolution of memory standards. The first generation of HBM promises to deliver 4.5X the bandwidth of GDDR5 and a staggering 16 times the bandwidth of DDR3.

Read more: http://wccftech.com/amd-20n...

I think we could have found the solution to some of even the PS4 problems. It really feels like the PS4 should have came out after this new tech. This gen feel premature hardware wise. The ps3 was selling just fine.

People wanted a leap not a bump.

Now if nintendo takes this leap and uses the above subscription plan then they could build one of these super n64 revolution crushing pc in a box for real consoles. Then force ms and sonys hands. Im not sure if MS will care... win 10 will be a hit it seems.

On top of it all developers are struggling with the current powerhouse that is suppose to be the PS4. Im wondering would people jump ship.... well ms is a prime example that they will.

[dcbronco]

I don't believe Sony and Microsoft ever had plans to wait. Definitely not Microsoft. The current generation consoles broke even or made a profit day one. That was by design. Microsoft has been working on dx12 for years despite what some may think. They knew the distance dx12 would put between consoles and PC. So the idea of ten years lifespans was laughable. They may support it, but they will launch another console in the five or six year window.

Like you mentioned HBM, that isn't the only new technology coming. VISC might and should be viable in that period and that plays right into Microsoft's OS. The Xbox One OS is geared toward running virtual machines. VISC is believed to offer a 2.5-3.5x leap over current technology from the start. PC will make the jump quickly and consoles will have to follow.

By the way, AMD is one of the makers of VISC. And they have gotten pretty bold in their expectations for the coming years. And they do have a VISC prototype working. Their predictions for ZEN architecture cores seem to have made them cancel pretty much every other architecture they have been working on. They will be going to 14nm next year and they are claiming as much as 50% power reductions. They plan to go toe to toe with Intel. So they must have made some sudden breakthroughs. Get your popcorn ready.

[N4g_null]

Exactly Dcbronco,I mostly use that spec because some people tend to get confused on this site. Many even believe that a good Pc can't even do 4k at 30 frames. Well the current road map of tech will surly change that. I'm extremely excited about the new tech coming and nintendo should be also. I'm hopiung for a gBA moment where we get a home console that is a jump in tech and plays the same games AND the higher end stuff. What is even cooler is if sony offers some of this tech with a similar plan. Yet I think MS is poised to do this. Man do I have a lot of pop corn! E3 is going to be pretty interesting.

it really is unfortunate that the gaming media doesn't keep up with tech these days.

[TripC50]

First one to mind controled games wins.