Opinion: In defence of old games consoles - TechRadar UK

In a recent article, myself and Jeremy Laird speculated wildly about what might be under the hood of an 'Xbox 720'. A massive hard disk? Certainly. Blu-ray? No. A multi-core Larrabee CPU/GPU with the collective power of a small supercomputer? Very possibly.

If there is another generation of console hardware coming from the big three, Microsoft will be keen to launch its new console before a PlayStation 4 or Wii 2 hits the market. Despite early manufacturing and reliability problems, much of Microsoft's success with Xbox 360 is down to getting its console out first. Global sales of the Xbox 360 are estimated to be over 20 million, compared to almost 15 million units sold for the PS3.

In a recent interview with VentureBeat, Microsoft's Entertainment & Device Division boss Robbie Bach said: "if you take the question of whether it was the right thing to try to be first, the answer to that is definitely yes. It has given us a leg up with game developers. It has given us a leg up from an economics perspective. It helped us expand Xbox Live quickly. At a strategy level, if you asked if we wanted to be first again, I would say yes."

Sod physics and photorealism

What about raw power? Is the tried-and tested concept of 'bigger, better, more' really the way to go? That used to be the case: each PlayStation offered a dramatic step-up from its predecessor in terms of graphics and processing performance.

But then the Wii came along. Nintendo turned the current videogame battle on its head with a console with barely more muscle than the GameCube before it.

Rather than compete in a three-way power-struggle, Nintendo opted to sit out the high-tech pursuit of photorealistic 3D graphics and real-time physics. Just as the DS reinvigorated the handheld market with touch-based gaming, Nintendo bravely jettisoned the traditional gamepad in favour of a unique motion-sensing system. It kept its manufacturing costs low and attracted a whole new gaming demographic beyond core Zelda and Mario players.

You can't argue with the numbers - Nintendo has sold over 31 million Wii's worldwide.

The 'ker-ching' of casual gaming

Both Microsoft and Sony have taken note. Microsoft is adding Wii-style Avatars and interactive game shows to its Fall Dashboard Update in November. It has also enjoyed great success with Rock Band, and there's a Singstar-style Karaoke game called Lips in the works. There are even rumours of a Wii-style motion-sensing control system.

Sony, meanwhile, is forging ahead with Home, which will add MMO-style social networking to the PSN experience. It's also resurrecting interest in the EyeToy/PlayStation Eye camera with the recent announcement of its new virtual EyePet project.

And like the Xbox 360, it's pushing the PS3 as a digital hub. Don't want to play a game? Then download an HD movie or a game, watch TV, DVDs or Blu-ray discs, listen to music, chat to friends and view photos.

Will a more powerful console improve anything beyond gaming? Will it actually improve gaming?

Better games, not better graphics

With regular hardware changes, there's a real risk that the games industry will be looking forward to junking the current consoles just as developers are starting to get the best out of them. There's a real risk that, with an Xbox 720 or PlayStation 4, we'll just get the same old game formats, spruced up with visual effects that most gamers won't appreciate (or even see).