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Many people have a computer. If not all people who have a computer run Windows. There are other means such as Linux or Mac OS. But these days that’s a blur, the PC market doesn’t care when it comes down to it, while their games are not raw for Linux or Mac OS half the time. You can get the same games to run globally with a bit of tinkering.

The past few weeks have been home to some comments from the video game industry about a ‘Standard One Console Future’.  While comments like this have been happening all year, when EA stuck their head out and said something on the topic it was at a bad time for them. Rumours were flying about EA interested in ‘buying profitable game developers to make a console for themselves’.

But it seems EA wasn’t the first, John Romero who is a respected game designer had this to say eailer this year “My prediction is that the game console in the vein of the PS3 and Xbox 360 is going to either undergo a massive rethink or go away altogether," Romero said. "The hardcore gamers are going to either be playing on their PCs or a new PC-like platform that sits in the living room but still serves the whole house over wifi, even the video signal."

But the resent outburst was from Dyack from Silicon Knights. He muttered the usual marketing stuff such as the industry will die in its current state etc. But one of his comments was interesting what he believes will happen is that a standard will be decided upon, such as with TV, and different companies will be able to build a console for the format. Software companies will be able to reduce game prices because of an assured 100% market penetration for the one SKU.

Well I agree, the industry is starting to become very expensive. Having 3 consoles for home gaming alone is a pain. A Nintendo fan boy? Well what if you want GTA? The answer, get yourself a Xbox360. At the end of the day you need many consoles for your ‘select’ games.

If the industry was to go the way of video for example how a war is made before deciding a ‘standard’ then we will still have 3 consoles and generation will always begin with a console war to decide the ‘standard’. People will go with the last generation for ages like DVD, anyone here even bother entering the HDDVD or Blue-ray war? I thought not.

Everyone would love a one console next generation, but there are many questions we must ask.
Who will make the standard?
How will it work?

We will also have to consider how to do it; this is not something we should rush into. We can’t do it like PC’s were we upgrade every dam week to play a game. While on the same token it can’t be like consoles now. The last long but at the end of the generation they are weak.

When it comes to control that is all that determs a console these days. Graphical power will always rise and components such as messaging, internet, media etc. Channels have become a ‘standard’ in itself. Controls are going to be a remote in the future, like the Wiimote but the same time will have to be ever changing introducing new and different ways to play a game or use the old style. For example a wheel on a PC we never had that to begin with, it came around one day and people were excited and wanted to try it. We can keep the same style in gaming but it has to advance each generation.

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