Is the future of Xbox and PlayStation tablet based?

PS3 to become a tablet? Doesn't seem too far fetched
PS3 to become a tablet? Doesn't seem too far fetched

The vice president of Epic Games, developer behind Gears of War, has turned soothsayer and is predicting that the future of console gaming may be tablet based.

Explaining his thoughts on where gaming is going – and more specifically the Xbox and PlayStation – Mark Rein believes portability is the key, where mobile phones can be used as controllers and the system is a tablet.

"Imagine a future Xbox 360 that is actually a tablet you carry around," explained Mark Rein in an interview with Develop.

"It will have more power than 360 does today, with technology like Kinect built right in."

Table-top machine

And not only will it be portable, but it is a plug-and-play device, which can be played anywhere: "Imagine walking into a bar with some friends, propping it up on the table and playing games like Dance Central or Kinect Adventures anywhere you go.

"Then when you get home that same device will use technology like AirPlay or wireless HDMI to connect to your big screen, you'll pick up a wireless controller, or use your phone as controller to play games like Gears of War."

Yes, it's all conjecture but if the vice president of one of the biggest games developers sees gaming going this way, then maybe the likes of Sony and Microsoft are having similar ideas.

Via Kotaku

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.