Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell has been predicting all kinds of fun things at GDC, suggesting that kids will one day play neurologically implanted videogames, and that we won't have another generation of consoles. Of course, that kind of interesting stuff isn't what you want ... you want the bit where he slagged off Nintendo!
"I don't believe that there will be another major console," he said. "I think that the differentiation between what it would cost do do a PS4 ... or Nintendo ... well, Nintendo is pretty crappy. But [these consoles] are so close to photorealism that it just doesn't matter. The competition between 'My photorealism is better than your photorealism.'"
On the subject of neural-implants, he said: "I actually think that there's a good probability that we can [have] neural implants in 20 years. Be ready for the technology when it comes. I actually think parents are gonna have a little pushback on this, so be ready when that comes."
With neural implants, we can upload our nerdrage when somebody calls a corporation (that we have no real stake in) crappy directly into the recipient's brain. Imagine the amount of time it'll save when we won't have to mash the keyboard with tears in our eyes!
We Will Have Neural-Implant Gaming in 20 Years Says Atari Founder [Kotaku]
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Contest:
1:45 PM on 10.11.2011 | 
*trollfaec*
The future is contact lenses that display text messages.
Where did you got that picture from?
Also, he said a lot more things in the interview. Why you choose that headline when not even Kotaku did, I don't know.
I know this doesn't seem like much, but really think about what he's saying. In the realm of high definition graphically capable home gaming consoles, we have 2 players, and they're competing in a space that is, in fact, rather small considering the playing field at large.
Honestly, I think he's more right than wrong in his assessment here. There probably won't be another "major console", like the PS2 was in its prime, because the only 2 entities competing are competing in a space that, while economically the most viable from a mass market perspective, is creatively and intellectually quite narrow in scope.
This is why I don't understand why people defend proprietary formats in console gaming. They're pouring money into gaining an advantage into what is essentially a very narrow slice of the creative spectrum, and any "competition" therein is of little consequence. This is, of course, assuming you can call a 2 entities in a huge space competition . When there is so few players on a field so massive, competition does indeed devolve into "my photorealism is better than yours", and "my motion control is better than yours".
I know this doesn't seem like much, but really think about what he's saying. In the realm of high definition graphically capable home gaming consoles, we have 2 players, and they're competing in a space that is, in fact, rather small considering the playing field at large.
Honestly, I think he's more right than wrong in his assessment here. There probably won't be another "major console", like the PS2 was in its prime, because the only 2 entities competing are competing in a space that, while economically the most viable from a mass market perspective, is creatively and intellectually quite narrow in scope.
This is why I don't understand why people defend proprietary formats in console gaming. They're pouring money into gaining an advantage into what is essentially a very narrow slice of the creative spectrum, and any "competition" therein is of little consequence. This is, of course, assuming you can call a 2 entities in a huge space competition . When there is so few players on a field so massive, competition does indeed devolve into "my photorealism is better than yours", and "my motion control is better than yours".
"[these consoles] are so close to photorealism that it just doesn't matter" What about games that use modern technology that don't go for photorealistic graphics?
Or thought that using two 32 bit processors for two separate components of the Jaguar somehow made it a 64 bit console. Not to mention the Jaguar having one of the worst controllers in history and almost no worthwhile games.
I could go on, Atari was just full of genius ideas, no wonder they're still doing so well as a last resort publisher.
I love you Atari, but you don't exactly have a place to comment on...well, much of anything involving success or lack thereof.
Now corporate leaders mostly talk about why their boring upcoming product is better than their competitors boring existing product before the train of thought drifts in to 4th quarter profits.
Bushnell wasn't responsible fo any of those decitions, Jack Tramiel was.
Bushnell left Atari in 78.
Im sure most everyone at Atari during the 80s and their Tengen years hates Nintendo with all the lawsuits between each other and some of Nintendo's fucked up business practices at the time (and vice versa with Atari.) Seems to be a long time to hold onto a grudge though. There was a whole lot of dirty pool going on back then.
imagine a ddos on a neural implant....
I'm sorry i can't take this guy seriously.
Without ATARI in the picture, nobody noticed, or cared.
I see a lot of bashing, a ton of misreading (the man is obviously speaking exclusively about Nintendo's inability to compete in the "photorealism" department, not on their systems in general), but I don't see anyone debating his entirely valid point about the state of competitiveness in the high def console market.
The next major advances will have less to do with brute force polygon pushing, and more to do with getting humans to look... human. As games push harder with compelling narratives and characters, the uncanny valley is absolutely holding them back from mainstream acceptance as an artful form of media. It is hard for the general public to take a game seriously when all the characters look like animatronic props. Gamers can appreciate them because we've seen how far things have come, but non-gamers just see awkward robots with stilted expressions.
It doesn't happen often, but I totally agree with what you said. All of it.
I would be more concerned with neural implants letting the blind see.
Pretty much every console generation, someone in the industry will say "Graphics have been pushed about as we can push them. In another generation, everyone will have to focus on [insert some other aspect of game design]." And then the next generation comes, and everyone is still focusing on graphics, because now you have to have 60fps support, 720p support, or 3D glasses support, 4x AA with full bump mapping and other gizmo support, support for 10x the poly count because everyone wants higher poly counts now, realistic moving sweat and blood, every leaf and blade of grass is individually modeled so that you can properly hide in a tree or weeds, dynamic shadows and lights because that is what the fancy titles now down and your game won't sell if you don't do it too, or whatever else comes along.
(I would say that someone every generation says that graphics have been pushed to a point where further progress isn't worth the cost, but we arguably passed that point a while back.)
Which kind of annoys me when I'd settle for less than cutting edge graphics if it meant the rest of games were better.
Now get off my lawn!
Well played. Very well played.
- Most Microsoft execs have sex with buttons.
- Genetically engineered pigeons will ferry preordered games to premium consumers.
- Future Mario games will require overalls and cap peripheral.
- An E.T. videogame will be made in 2012 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the film. It will be the best selling licensed videogame of all time.
- Joysticks will make a comeback in the next 10 years. YOU WAIT AND SEE.