Should the next console be upgradable?

Hey whats up guys, what do you think of an upgradable console? nowadays pc's can have a CPU with an intergraded GPU called APU, so a graphic card is optional. If games has the option to give you more eye candy would you consider buying a graphic card or extra memories?

It wouldnt be a console anymore if it was upgradeable.

Not really. I buy a console, it's a ton better than my previous console, that's enough to satisfy me until the next gen' comes out. I don't need more stuff to spend money on.

Hell No. If I wanted to play techno-catch-up all the time I would be a PC gamer. Consoles are stand-alone no-worry machines for their life. I would much rather pay $300 for roughly 5-10 years than having to traipse along like PC gamers who have to regularly upgrade to play the best of what's being offered. Dumb idea. Then Sony just gets into my pocket more often. DLC is bad enough of a temptation.

Upgrading could give it a long life span, im not saying that you need to upgrade every year like pc enthusiast does, Im saying in long therms, Lets say the devs uses directx 11 for 8 to 9 years to make the games for the new consoles and that directx 12 comes the10th year it could expand its life span so no need for a new 600$ console for quite awhile.

The point of consoles is to have a unified platform that has the same hardware in every system. Could you imagine having to buy additional components for a PS4 in order to play Uncharted 5? It would be ridiculous and certainly would not sit well with consumers.

If I wanted an upgradeable system, I'd get a PC. Consoles aren't supposed to change.

Upgrading could give it a long life span, im not saying that you need to upgrade every year like pc enthusiast does, Im saying in long therms, Lets say the devs uses directx 11 for 8 to 9 years to make the games for the new consoles and that directx 12 comes the10th year it could expand its life span so no need for a new 600$ console for quite awhile.

SophaerLam

I'm still buying games for my PS2, Xbox, Dreamcast, and NGC... The PS3 on my shelf will last me WELL into the next console cycle without having to rush out and buy a PS4, PS5, PS6, and on and on. Snapping to attention every time the corporations announce a new console is not a reflex action for me. I think PS3 will last me well into 2020 with all of the games I haven't purchased yet, or played through. This console hasn't even begun to be mined for it's depth. But because I have this steady, lengthy relationship with the consoles I own, it reinforces my dedication as a consumer, towards the corporation that created it.

But if the corporations put the upgrade devil on the table, I might not be able to ride the wave all the way into the shore. Saavy? In order to play FF XX in the future, I would have to upgrade... For CoD 7, I would be required to pay Sony more money for the processing, because the processor in my 120G Slim is out of date. Your idea is a bad one. We buy consoles so that we don't have to think about expansion, and keeping up with the latest video cards, RAM packs, 3D processing, etc, etc. THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT.

:)

This machine is what's happening, and the library which is developed for it until they stop making games will be garaunteed to play on the console I have NOW. They just recent;y stopped making games for the PS2. That console lived (market-wise) for more than 10 years, and the games that are out there right now for less than $5 still work in it. That, to me, is product longevity to be proud of from Sony's standpoint, and a product I can believe in for years and years and YEARS to come, as I have a backlog for it that will last me until I die. Which, in turn, makes me more loyal as a customer. But if they start asking for money to upgrade the hardware in order to play the games being developed after a certain point, I'll just say "Effit" and stop buying games, hardware, controllers... and the money for Sony and associated devs will dry up.

I'm going to get the same trip out of my PS3(s) as I did and continue to do with PS2. And by the time I invest in PS4, the price will be down to an affordable point, with a huge library of games.

That, to me, is value. And Sony (as well as associated devs) will continue to get my money, if they don't start instituting ridiculous tech schemes to try and bilk me out of money on an annual basis. It should make perfect sense to the bean-counters: Take steady money from me for my lifetime, versus stinging me for one big score. Ya dig?

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I'm surprised no one mentioned this but this has been done before, it was called the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. The Sega CD and 32X were just that, upgraded expansions to improve and extend the life of the Genesis and people didn't like it.

But since you seem to be talking about a more PC like upgrade process I'll add to what others are already saying and this whole notion brings in another problem and that's compatibility. What will devs do for those that don't upgrade? Will devs make games only compatible with systems with the latest upgrades or will they also spend extra time making the game playable on less powerful setups? For all the many years I've been playing games on consoles, it's been nice to never have to look at System Requirements before buying a game.

modular consoles would cause problems for developers. Consoles have the same hardware in them no matter what and introducing a scenario whereby that's not the case anymore would more than likely stifle or at the very least add onto the development time of xyz game because the devs now have to account for all the different permutations of the system they're developing the game for. It's just a really really bad idea and anyone who thought about it for more than 2 seconds should have come to that conclusion.

Well to me buying a new console is upgrading hardware to play the next big title, in the pc world upgrading every year means that your an enthusiast gamer that have the money to dish out on a 700$ video card to play the new and older games at ultra setting and at the resolution of 1080p but for an average pc user you upgrade every what... 3 or 4 years thats like 100$ for the viedo card that was 700$ and 30 $ for some extra memories, 130$ for you after 10 years is making a big hole in your budget? Lets say the next console that you will buy to the next cod or uncharted is 700$ at launch and the ps3 had a video card and memory slot, would you instead dish out 130$ to play it on your ps3 right away? or wait the next year or two for a price drop ? What devs can do technicaly with a game depends only on the hardware aspects.

Well to me buying a new console is upgrading hardware to play the next big title, in the pc world upgrading every year means that your an enthusiast gamer that have the money to dish out on a 700$ video card to play the new and older games at ultra setting and at the resolution of 1080p but for an average pc user you upgrade every what... 3 or 4 years thats like 100$ for the viedo card that was 700$ and 30 $ for some extra memories, 130$ for you after 10 years is making a big hole in your budget? Lets say the next console that you will buy to the next cod or uncharted is 700$ at launch and the ps3 had a video card and memory slot, would you instead dish out 130$ to play it on your ps3 right away? or wait the next year or two for a price drop ? What devs can do technicaly with a game depends only on the hardware aspects.

SophaerLam

That would make me completely avoid buying anything whatsoever... Additionally, your economic projection doesn't make any sense... The next gen won't be $700, but even if it IS, the current structuring still makes better sense, to keep everything uniformly priced and technically cohesive. People aren't going to buy into it, all you need to do is look at the mistakes already made in this direction to know the outcome.

Learn from history, or be doomed to repeat it. Sega CD, Sega 32x, etc. etc. That basically started Sega's slide from greatness. Nintendo has made their fair share of mistakes in this sector, as has Atari, Mattel, and others...

Developers are now torpedoed instantly when a game fails to sell astronomical amounts of copies. They are forced to lay people off, make smaller teams to develop their games, and not maintain specialists but instead ask a few techs and creative staff to wear many hats. Now, what you propose, is to further splinter and segregate the body of sales, and cause devs more cost to try and cover the field? C'mon, man. You're not making sense. Especially in this age where people are much more selective about what they'll buy at time of release (which is where a title either sinks or swims, and most wind up in the "sink" column according to market analysis). Companies which develop games for consoles are under the gun bad enough just trying to sell on 2.5 consoles, to further divide that possible crowd into more and more groups with more and more specialized tech needs would be flat suicidal for Sony AND devs.

If you love the trappings of PC gaming, go to the PC forum. This is about console gaming, and console gaming is about much larger archs of hardware evolution, and longer life cycles on existing tech.

No offense, but get over it.

but a car is an essential thing in life for an average consumer it needs tons fixing when there's an issue u dont buy a new car just because your wind sheild is cracked, a console is more like a peice of meat you want to have a different taste just add salt and pepper or some bbq sauce what that will it cost u 1% of the price? Yes... there were alot of hardware upgrades back then but its not the same level of playing feild.

but a car is an essential thing in life for an average consumer it needs tons fixing when there's an issue u dont buy a new car just because your wind sheild is cracked, a console is more like a peice of meat you want to have a different taste just add salt and pepper or some bbq sauce what that will it cost u 1% of the price? Yes... there were alot of hardware upgrades back then but its not the same level of playing feild.

SophaerLam

I give up. Luckily, the industry would laugh at your logic too, so we don't have anything to worry about...

... And dude... Spell-Check is your FRIEND. Learn it, Know it, LIVE it.

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