The recent demise of HD DVD to the onrushing consumer surge of Blu-ray resulted in many industry commentators suggesting that Microsoft -- as a prior HD DVD supporter -- would abandon its suddenly obsolete standalone HD DVD player in favour of a new Blu-ray alternative.
Former Xbox executive claims videogame hardware will be obsolete in a decade. Credit: Skattertech.
Redmond-based Microsoft subsequently put the dampeners on the likelihood of any such move, instead outlining its ambitions to expand the reach of digital distribution through its hugely popular Xbox Live service. While that specific aim focuses on the delivery of HD movie content, a recent interview with a former Xbox executive suggests conventional videogame hardware could soon be superseded by full digital download services.
Speaking with That Videogame Blog, Yo Yo Games CEO Sandy Duncan (the former Vice President of Xbox Europe), has emerged as a fang-toothed harbinger of doom for videogame console technology by indicating that console hardware is unlikely to be around in the coming future.
“In fact in 5 to 10 years I don’t think you’ll have any box at all under your TV,” commented Duncan, “most of this stuff will be virtualised as Web services by your content provider.”
Already a part of the ongoing evolution of device convergence (set-top boxes and multimedia PC systems, for example), videogame consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are already shifting their market positions as expansive entertainment hubs that provide DVD and HD video features, Internet connection, music capabilities, remote access, and software/movie downloads.
All of these aspects are similarly available through existing computer avenues and could certainly be integrated into a newly redefined online gaming service (which Microsoft is reportedly preparing through a revamped version of Xbox Live) and duly put pay to the associated costs of hardware and software manufacture.
Whether such a radical shift does indeed come into play over the next decade remains to be seen, but with Microsoft’s Xbox Live (full gold subscription) user base already reaching beyond the 10 million mark, it’s certainly not a stretch of the imagination to picture the American software giant (or Sony and Nintendo) building future gaming platforms upon Internet foundations
View blog reactions
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)
Advertising
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)