Ram Page

Issue date: 9/19/08 Section: Views

Anthony Valva

So being that this is college, I can safely assume that the majority of students here have some kind of a videogame console whether it be an Xbox or a GameBoy. But the way current consoles are headed, will there actually be a PlayStation 4 or a Xbox720? I don't believe so, at least not in the sense that the public thinks.

For the sake of this article, I'm going to talk only about the Xbox 360. As of right now, the 360 plays videogames, DVDs and music. But Microsoft doesn't want people to see the 360 as just a dedicated videogame machine; they want it to be more. So recently they have teamed up with Netflix to bring their entire library of movies to the Xbox. Basically, you can view practically any movie at anytime (with a subscription to Netflix of course).

What I'm afraid of is that Microsoft is going to make their next console a media center first and a gaming machine second. This would mean that videogames will be taking a backseat to HD movies and downloadable music albums.

What would this create? It would mean that gaming consoles that are entrenched in the public eye (Nintendo Wii) would continue to flourish and the high-end gaming consoles would no longer be game consoles. In this bleak future, the typical gamer will no longer be asking, "When is *Insert generic shooter here* going to be released?" but rather; "Awesome! The new Slayer album was released."

In the biggest display of irony on the planet: the company that caused this shift from consoles to media centers is none other than Apple. Yes, the company that has never ventured into the gaming arena is killing gaming. With iTunes and its ability to download albums and movies over the internet (making money hand over fist doing it) Microsoft noticed, and now wants a slice of the pie. With the low adoption rate of the Zune, ol' Bill Gates turned his eye to one of his more successful products and is now trying to beat Apple through the 360.

It's not just Microsoft by the way; Sony has already started doing this by including a Blu-Ray player in the PS3. Businesses are marketing the system as a high-definition movie player, and not a next-gen game console.

I hope I'm wrong about all of this because if this continues, then the consoles of today will become the arcades of the '90s: dead.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools