Come ON.

Well...She certainly can predict the future with her glass eye!

Virtual only FTL!

How often do servers crash and what not? Too much for me to adapt to that shit. I can see the route that the new PS4/Xbox 420 being the main entertainment system under your TV as that's pretty much whats happening now.

Sam applies with movies as they say they will be done through data only and I don't see this as too smart of a move and hope it doesn't turn that way as I see to many issues, for example: I own around 400 DVD's how much freaking storage would I need HDD wise to store all that...tons the the HDD goes corrupt and I have to DL all those movies again? I say fuck that noise!

I just realized no one on this site is probably old enough to get my Sandy Duncan glass eye reference.

Definitely not in 5 years at any rate.

While it's true digital downloads are the future, consoles are not on their way out anytime soon.

I call bullshit.

That time frame is ridiculously quick.

Oh, wow.

He's just trying to justify his move into the casual game market.

I can't help but wonder why console makers get so weak in the knees. Yes consoles lose money, (except wii). Yes disc formats change and Internet data streaming doesn't. Yes PC gamers still say their way is the best way to game, (compared to consoles).. But any talk of one console/box to rule them all just says no one is confident in what they're making or offering. Ultimately the "ultimate computer" would cost 2x-5x as much as any console at launch anyways, if not more. I don't think anyone wants to buy the ultimate box that won't do anything the user wants, but instead does everything else by net, virtually, etc.

I think Microsoft employees have a slightly skewed perspective on costs and risks. I would too if my company put out a product with a one year shelf life before it dies. Sony and Nintendo are doing fine at this point.

By the way if you want to talk costs & risks, PC gaming places those burdens on the consumer's shoulders. Is that the route he is suggesting?

They've been saying this shit for years and it doesn't seem any closer than it was then. Like DJDuffy said, until technology becomes exponentially more advanced (and ubiquitous) it's not even going to start to happen.

I keep hearing people say that our lives will be in the cloud in the imminent future, but I just don't see the progress. I like my computer and my console. Hell, I'm personally attached to the computer, having built it with my own two hands. I'm not gonna get rid of it for some dinky set-top box that offloads all its processes on some supercomputer run by MS or Google or whoever ends up being Grand Poobah of the Great Forseen Future.

That time frame seems too short for my tastes. The internet speeds that are required to do what people are predicting will not be available in 5 years. I see people every other day that don't have high speed, and even some that don't have a computer, and they are not always older people. While the technology is intrigueing I don't see it in 5 years, and cretainly see consoles lasting longer than that. I admire people shooting for a lofty goal, but at least be semi-realistic about it.

Toasters are the gaming systems of the future.

HAHA fuckers! How's it feel when someone in the industry says that your preferred gaming platform is on the way out? You think they sound pretty stupid don't you?

*hugs his PC*

What everybody else says. I'll add the idea that part of the value of physical media is the effort the consumer needs to put into procuring it. That extra effort can make the consumer feel better about a purchase; there's a sense of anticipation and of purchase-affirmation wrapped up with that effort that instant gratification cannot provide.

Wait wait wait wait.... distributed computing and digital distribution will destroy consoles? Perhaps it's a good thing he's FORMER vp. I'd say M$ was in trouble if they were still paying this hack.

@youkilledmyguy: Your comment just made me dumber.

XBL, VC & PSN are doing nicely with the games, xbla is great for the mini stuff, VC is just like when nintendo got sued by sega for owning the entire market of developers almost, and is releasing its nes, snes, n64, library. and PSN has possibly the 1st game based on this arguement with warhawk.

Despite all the smooth talk and whatever about online numbers on xbl etc etc. theres still way more ppl out there that buy consoles and arent online and probably within thier social circles bitchin the crap about how half of the achievements are online etc.

at least in the UK, broadband isnt free like i know it to be in america in some degree of circumstance.

Wii leads the sales figures but has the worst online networking system. xbl is free but you cant do much with it. unless u upgrade at £39.99 a year which is great knowing they are the premium service, [see latest rainbow 6 vegas 2 fiasco on PSNas example.]

PSN just feels like a glorified website selling stuff most psx or ps2 owners already have, but at least sell items as cash prices, rather than microsoft and thier moonpoints.

Hardware is here to stay. Gaming makes more than the movie and music industry, I hear it all the time. The gaming system of hardware aint broke, and isnt gonna get fixed. only improved upon to bring in more money.

Horay for linking to places I write! Booo to no consoles. I likes them.

that should be "consumer identity" instead of "market model."

*goes back in time and makes the exact same Sandy Duncan post that Sharpless made, except five minutes earlier than Sharpless so that it will look like he thought of it first*

That guy is just being a dumb broad because HE is on the way out. I'm not sure what that means.