If there's one person who you can trust when it comes to gaming technology, it's John Carmack. In an interview with IndustryGamers, the id Software programming god shared his thoughts on the gaming landscape of the future. A future in which the role of mobile platforms and cloud gaming will be a huge one.
Noting how at the start of Rage's development the iPhone didn't even exist, he shares his thoughts on the current state of mobile devices: "One thing that we hear a lot, especially from our older developers, is, 'I don't spend a lot of time sitting down in front of my 360 or PS3, but I pull out my iPad and play some little game all the time.' It’s a different experience though... it’s a diversion rather than a destination. And while they're certainly powerful enough now to make destination titles, that’s still not really what’s doing particularly well there."
Carmack doesn't think that the surge in mobile gaming will mean the death of the traditional AAA titles though, saying those titles are selling more copies than ever before. As he puts it in perspective: "So it looks like it's parallel growth rather than one stealing from the other. But platform wise, you could certainly imagine a future where, instead of having your console, you have your mobile device and it talks to your TV and when you want the experience on your big screen with the surround sound coming out of there, it’s still on the same device."
It sounds like he'll probably be interested in the Wii U as a baby step towards that future. He went on to talk about how things like how the iPad 2's relative (processing) power is being exaggerated at the moment, but that a future is drawing close where we'll be able to see mobile devices that are more powerful than the current platforms most games are developed for at the moment.
While Carmack sees the landscape of platforms shift in the coming years, he adds that the convenience factor of both mobile devices and cloud streaming services like OnLive will have a future. Although he doesn't know if the current streaming services will survive long enough to see that day, he thinks it is "almost unquestionable" that 5 to 10 years into the future these developments will have a big role to play.
Despite admitting that the quality of the graphics and latency may impact how good games will look, Carmack thinks the convenience factor can make up for it for those people that don't really care about things like graphical fidelity. As he puts it: "You have the completely casual people that have no interest in buying a PS3. And then you've got the hard core people who want to sit down all weekend and stay in a position where they can get 20 hours of gameplay in."
I can't say I really care if I play a game on a console or on some mobile device that also lets me play it on a TV. As long as it controls well, looks great on a big screen, and has games I want to play, I'm fine with whatever the future will throw at me.
John Carmack: 'Unquestionable' That Mobile Will Surpass Current Consoles [IndustryGamers]
Contest:
5:00 AM on 07.08.2011 | 
And it actually scares me a little when so many developers in a place of high decision and power say they are.
And power doesn't matter. The iPad 2 could have the processing power of a military computer, but it wouldn't matter one iota, as you still play with a touch screen. And while that's perfect for some games like Infinity Blade and Angry Birds, it's utterly useless for the countless console ports (I.e. Prince of Persia, Rayman, Resident Evil) that populate the App Store.
Also, the whole obsession with App Store pricing has devalued gaming as a whole, with people being morally outraged at paying $6 for an excellent Gameboy title. But that's not really on topic.
Either way, I don't like Apple's way of gaming. I see it as a great alternative for certain people, but it hurts me a little to hear that apparently id's developers would go for iPad games. I don't want Doom 4 to be a micro transaction based, on rails shooter with accelerometer controls.
Either way Carmack, STFU and port Doom to the 3DS so it can be another thing I own it on.
Then this nobrainer to check out!!!
http://wii.cooltre.com/?r=ytq8
They are things to laugh at.
*point point
He may be right, he may be wrong but the utter bullshit of the first 2 commentators has given me a headache. Take your fearmongering Luddite bullshit elsewhere.
zzzzz
Honestly, I'm scared of this new generation of gamers. I blame CoD and games devoted to sell only on nostalgia.
/rant
What was I talking about?
Oh yeah, Carmack is Awesome. Y'all bitches hatin.
I have no interest in cloud computing, but it's the future. We can either accept that and play the games of 2020-2030, or we can reject it and stick to the games that have been amassed so far. The future isn't going to stop and wait for you.
As for mobile gaming, he's completely right. They've always been diversions, meant to be enjoyed in short bursts. Not much else to say there. :) There's more than enough room in this world for both to exist. The only thing I think we need to worry about is too many people releasing too many games to the point where they drown each other.
One track mind, us gamers.
I'm guessing you didn't read the entire article either. Carmack says....
"It’s a different experience though... it’s a diversion rather than a destination."
Nowhere in the article does Camack say this mode will replace what so many dearly cling to.
Bless you kids with your short attention spans and knee jerk reactions.
Just leaves me some buttons!!
Consoles will most certainly disappear. It's the triple-A titles which won't.
Consoles are not triple-A games. They are the most convenient way, at the moment, to experience those games. When techology reaches a certain point, a dedicated console is going to look just as outdated as a cell-phone which just sends and recieves calls and texts looks today.
In ten years, you're going to have a iPad-sized tablet with a processing power equal to, or greater than the highest-end computer today. Instead of hooking cables up to your TV, you'll hit an option on your tablet and sync your HDTV to the thing, picking up a wireless controller, and then you'll play Gears of War 7 or Halo 10 on your TV, streamed from the tablet.
Guy was actually right. Handhelds are on the increase, and consoles are slowly losing relevance to both handhelds and PC. Mainly because this generation's consoles shifted focus half way and the hardware is laughable in 2011, leaving them with few benefits. For one, my 360 hasn't been switched on in over a year now, since there's simply nothing to do with it unless I want Kinect shitware that simply doesn't appeal to me.
Carmack is pretty rarely wrong about this stuff.