THQ CEO Brian Farrell has joined the throng of developers pushing for an "extended lifecycle" by stating that a new generation of consoles is the last thing this industry needs. According to the midnight warrior, we've got it good right now and shouldn't upset the apple cart.
"Frankly, the last thing I think the industry needs now is new hardware," he says. "You look at the games coming out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 now and they look stunning. If we were to have another $1000 box that the hardware guys have to subsidize and that software developers have to spend even more money developing, that model just doesn't work.
"So to have an extended cycle with a broader audience I think, strategically, is exactly the right way to go, and Move and Kinect are both designed to do that."
Farrell echoes what many developers seem to think. Studios can barely afford game budgets as it is, so to have a new generation with even more demanding games could be a real killer. I hope you like your PS3s and 360s, because it seems we'll have them for quite a while yet.
THQ: We Don't Need New Consoles [IGN]
THQ CEO Brian Farrell has joined the throng of developers pushing for an "extended lifecycle" by stating that a new generation of consoles is the last thing this industry needs. According to the midnight warrior, we've got it good right now and shouldn't upset the apple cart.
"Frankly, the last thing I think the industry needs now is new hardware," he says. "You look at the games coming out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 now and they look stunning. If we were to have another $1000 box that the hardware guys have to subsidize and that software developers have to spend even more money developing, that model just doesn't work.
"So to have an extended cycle with a broader audience I think, strategically, is exactly the right way to go, and Move and Kinect are both designed to do that."
Farrell echoes what many developers seem to think. Studios can barely afford game budgets as it is, so to have a new generation with even more demanding games could be a real killer. I hope you like your PS3s and 360s, because it seems we'll have them for quite a while yet.
THQ: We Don't Need New Consoles [IGN]
Contest:
8:40 AM on 10.28.2010 | 
I agree wholeheartedly. Even older consoldes didn't need to be phased out as quickly as they did, but this generation was truly encapsulated that idea. Graphical technology hasn't really advanced much since the Radeon 9800 and there honestly isn't much farther it's going to go until consumers won't notice a difference.</p>
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I guess we can keep pushing until we get Pixar level quality, but what would be the point?</p>
I hate this generation of games. With each progression of consoles in the past developers felt like they could push games further. Now developers feel like they <em>have</em> to push games further.</p>
I'm fine with this. Seriously. The games today look and play amazing as is. Why bother investing billions of dollars to create a new system when some developers are still figuring out the current systems. Hell, look at Square-Enix. They used to have plenty of great games on consoles. Now they're working on handhelds because they're more "cost-efficient."</p>
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Some games are also getting shorter. Look at 'God of War 3.' Great game, looks incredible but relatively shorter than its predecessors. Again, look at Square-Enix. They say animating towns is too difficult on the PS3/Xbox 360 so that's why 'Final Fantasy XIII' is so linear.</p>
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I think seeing how long these systems can last is a better plan. Give us the PS4/Xbox 720/whatever Nintendo names the Wii's successor in 2014-2015 and let me enjoy my games for now.</p>
<strong>STREET SHARKS!</strong></p>
Yeah, I'm not in a hurry to see a new console any time soon. I'm loving the heck out of this generation.</p>
As said by pretty much everyone here so far, I am perfectly fine with this gen staying around for a good few more years. Mostly because I will be graduating college here soon, and as the American way goes, I will be entirely broke for the next half decade.</p>
I'll be voting with my wallet on this one. Anyone daring to try and force a new console generation prematurely is going to find their product squarely in the "very, very late adopter" category with me.</p>
I honestly don't need games to look any better than they already do.</p>
I still have a street sharks action figure!</p>
sorry, all i saw was street sharks.</p>
I'm in agreeance. My current consoles will last me just fine for the foreseeable future.</p>
Best news I've heard all day.</p>
"Oh my God, we have hands!"</p>
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<strong>"WE'RE FUCKING SHARKS WITH FUCKING HANDS!"</strong></p>
I remember being -so- depressed as a kid because I was the only one around without a street sharks toy.</p>
Damn straight!</p>
I'm happy with my PS3. The next gen is the 3DS anyway, which I'll be all over.</p>
Hmmm...</p>
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Honestly? I think that there's two possibilities which aren't good.</p>
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a) Move and Kinect bombs, and Microsoft and Sony scrabbles about as Nintendo reveals their new console in 2012.</p>
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b) Move and Kinect succeeds, and the market is flooded by minigame collections.</p>
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Of course, the third option is that Move and Kinect does averagely and is able to defend against a new Nintendo console, with some pushing.</p>
I too have to admit I haven't even read the article, I just saw Street Sharks and was compelled to post something. Was there ever a Street Sharks game? If there wasn't, there should be. If there was, it should be remade for this console generation.</p>
Sanest words i've heard in a while, if Sony or MS forces a new gen of consoles by releasing new hardware devs will give 'em the finger, the budgets are already way high and a little more than a couple of failures will mean death for a most studios, new hardware would mean bigger budget and i doubt anyone but big companies (Ubisoft, Capcom, Konami) will want to take that risk, hell, probably not even them.</p>
I guess graphics don't matter now that the Xbox and PlayStation now have motion.</p>
The only evolution I want for my 360 is a drop in the price of hard drives. Aside from that, s'all good.</p>
i think end of 2012 or at least 2013 i really am gonna want a new console though...</p>
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At least a new xbox maybe ps3 can wait to 2014 but the longer xbox 360 remains popular the more chance my 360 breaks down... And i already bought a new 1 once to replace my old one...</p>
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Other then that 2011 can still be free from a new generation imo.</p>
"I like games that look like titles released 8 years ago on PC. What? Your game doesn't actually run in full hd because my console can't handle that? That's ok, it's not like I bought a PS3 to watch things in HD, I just use the blueray drive for SD dvds." < Another interpretation.
Honestly people, raise your freaking expectations.
Just pitiful seeing how many fail to realize that we could be playing games with near movie quality visuals by now if it weren't for console devs. dragging their feet. Just lookup the latest tech demo of Unreal Engine from GDC. That's the future, not the next CoD rehash on your Xbox...
*facepalm*
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=33&card2=635
Keep in mind the 6870 is a $200-250 mid-high range card. We are talking far beyond it being double the power, or even x10 the power. Your statement is a joke.
http://a.imageshack.us/img822/1443/65112614.gif
Now tell me which you'd like more. :P