Gaikai: Microsoft or Sony Leaving Next-Gen Console Race
The PlayStation 3 may be the last dedicated gaming console from Sony.
Now the next-gen rumor mill is really starting to get a little juicy, as cloud platform provider Gaikai reports that one of the current console manufacturers does not have plans to partake in the next-generation console race. Who that will be should be relatively obvious given that Nintendo already has the Wii U exposed and flashing its goods to the general public, and Microsoft's leaked roadmap clearly shows another Windows 8-related Xbox in the works.
So who's left? Why that would be Sony, the very company who earlier today admitted that it will not show the PlayStation 4 console this year at E3. Reports last week suggested that both Microsoft and Sony would offer a brief glimpse at their next-generation hardware, but Sony consumer products head Kaz Hirai stated during a CES 2012 roundtable that no console will make an appearance at the June convention. Consider the PS4/E3 2012 rumor officially nuked.
But Sony pulling out of the console race altogether? That's seems a little far-fetched given that the company just churned out the touchy feely PlayStation Vita handheld console. Yet Nintendo and Microsoft clearly don't seem to have any kind of departure in the works, so that leaves Sony as the #1 quitter.
"Not all of the current console makers will have one more generation," Nanea Reeves, chief product officer for Gaikai, said during CES. "That will be the big news at E3."
One factor to point out is Hirai's comment about the PlayStation 3 and how it will have a ten-year lifespan. There's a good chance Sony may not produce another console until the PlayStation 3 is close to near-death. By then, the Xbox 720/Next/Loop will likely be out on the market, and the Nintendo Wii U will be saturated with lame 3rd party titles similar to those gracing the current Wii console. Players may be looking for something new by then.
Yet maybe, just maybe, Sony has no plans to launch another console at all, but will release something entirely different that will play games, play movies, use apps, rely on the cloud, pull in live network television, clean the house, cook dinner, wash the dirty kids and more. Ok, perhaps that's going a bit far, but you get the picture.
Sony may also fear Apple and its looming iTV mammoth, and plans to counter it with something that combines the best of consoles and smart TVs. This may be why Gaikai knows all about Sony's plans, and made that indirect comment about a console manufacturer dropping out, because Sony plans to stream games directly to the product much like LG is doing with its 2012 Cinema 3D TVs.
Something to think about, anyway. Maybe that will be the big E3 news: a completely new game-related product from Sony.
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I would like to see these consoles leave all together. Return of the PC.
I'm a little tired of seeing this "rumor" showing up all over the place. While the possibility is not outside the realm of possibility, the source of this "rumor" classifies it more in the category of, "Wishful Speculation".
I could make a bunch of speculative rumors too if I want to. "Sony is considering to acquire the rights for The Old Republic." "Microsoft and Nintendo will announce a partnership to make a Halo vs. Metroid game." "Sega will announce that it's getting back into the console market with a revolutionary new system." "Apple will announce plans to embrace the open-source market and open up their platforms for outside development."
I could keep going if I wanted to.
I would like to see these consoles leave all together. Return of the PC.
Now that would be great.
smart TV's
just no.
small form factor computers not tied to a TV (htpc), yes
Gap between two, a common user interface. Someone makes one, makes it retard (apple user) proof, he's on to a winner.
Likewise, this small form factor pc has common marketed peripherals to enjoy on your couch gaming/entertainment.
This is most likely going to be a console due to marketing and standardisation.
Unless they get rid of the perpetual muck up that was the PS3, this is going to be the next Xbox.
(ps I hate consoles, but this is the way it's going, your average console/television user will most likely derp if you mention a HTPC, and they are the guys willing to borrow on their credit card and spend it on overpriced junk)
Pure stupidity - either that or they're being cryptic, ie. Sony's next console is more media focused but still plays games (in order to reach a larger market).
Also the 10 year plan has nothing to do with the release of the next generation - PSX and PS2 were both supported for 10 years, but their successors were released 7 years later - PS3 has been out for only 5 years as of Nov 2011.
10 year lifespan? then sony should have designed a console that's worth keeping more then 2 years, like they did with ps2.
sony's more likely to drop out of dedicated console than microsoft is. ms will slap some kind of extra features like kinect, dvr, use of nokia phones as joysticks etc and put together a console. meanwhile sony will fail with their cloud, tv, phones etc....
To me, the ps3 died before it even got started...
Sony tightened it's buttonhole on that system to the point that game developers just couldn't make decent games for the thing... till later on of course... And I'm still mad at them for "Other OS" I happened to enjoy running linux on the machine......
Yea, and maybe Sony is just going to make a rocket ship instead. Come on..
These stupid rumor articles are getting old. Next we will see "Playstation 3 never actually existed, some experts say".
All consoles need to improve their specs up to par with PC.
Huh. I thought news were supposed to be based on facts, not speculation. I don't see a huge leap in technology to justify an all out next-gen console. Why would Sony want a PS4 if what they can come out with (within reason) is a PS3.5?
"Microsoft and Nintendo will announce a partnership to make a Halo vs. Metroid game."
Metroid+Flood=
The fact that this person thinks that only 3d party lame games will be made for the next Nintendo shows that they are just a random speculator who has no real place on a news website. I mean the only reason Nintendo doesn't have mainstream games today is because its console does not support 1080p. In terms of market saturation the Wii still did very well. And everyone would port games to it, if it supported 1080p, because game makers focus on sales and not on leetness.
Anyway, this rumor is meaningless. Still I wouldn't be surprised if consoles got a work around at some point, with everyone getting tablets, media pcs, and android devices either attached to their tv or inside of it. It makes having a console somewhat redundant.
First things first, there is no decent (and more importantly cheap) next gen GPU that XBOX would use (and let's not forget, the closer to x86 architecture the better for developers etc.). So if XBOX 720 jumps out 2x faster than PS3 - be it. I won't buy it, PS3 is grand for another 2 years for me. What I want is a ground shaker. Console with some artificial intelect (i.e. GTA series, just turn around and traffic dissapears). GPU race is clear, give us something unique! I want to play game like Half Life original but where AI makes you think differently each time and surprises you. No rigged scenarios. Now for that I would give €1000 right now (provided there are games for it of course
).
Lets leave the decision making to time itself. We can all wish for there to be snow, but it won't ever happen, and if it did not all at once. I think if Microsoft gets there foot in the door before Sony i believe Sony is losing out big time, and PS3 will just be what the Wii is to consumers today. A P.O.S that doesn't even see the light of day. I miss the Sega days, but face it not everyone is cut out for this business and if Sony has to go then so be it, not like there hand helds are doing any better then Nintendo's 3DS. Good luck to both Sony and Nintendo they will both need it if Microsoft announces there new console at this E3 in june.
I would like to see these consoles leave all together. Return of the PC.
While gaming on the PC is great, originally games were played on consoles. The first mainstream games were played on specialized gaming hardware.
I think the only thing that'd save the non-mainstream consoles today would be something really revolutionary hardware-wise, since anything soft can be run on the PC anyway. I'd love to see a new superchip like the Cell, but a bit more successful.
And if any console is about to get chopped, I'd say it would be the playstation. It has generated more losses than any other console and sony's public relations suck at the moment.
Didn't Sony plan to or recent sell off a good portion of the HDTV segment to Samsung, or am I misremembering that? It seems rather unlikely that they would head in that direction in lieu of a new console. This is far too confusing to be altogether believable as reported.
I think it's clear that Microsoft owns the Next-Gen console market.
The ONLY thing that saved the PS3 is Blu-Ray compatibility. But that wont help them Next-Gen now that standalone Blu-Ray players are super-cheap.
The PS Vita looks like a major flop right now too.
Sony is just dropping the ball.
We're in the era of Smartphones and Tablets.
We're about to enter the era of Smart TVs once Apple hops on board with their iOS TVs using Siri and running apps and all that.
Sony might want to give up on consoles and beat Microsoft into the Smart TV market. Like how Apple beat Microsoft into the Smartphone and Tablet market.
Sony should make a Glasses-free 3D HDTV that has a built-in gaming console chipset and Blu-Ray player.
Find a way to keep it cheap enough to sell to the mainstream and it'll be huge.
Time to stop tryign to compete with Microsoft in a dying market and start competing with Apple/Google in an exploding market.
I wish consoles would die altogether. Having multiple gaming platforms just increases costs for the consumer and does nothing to benefit the consumer. PC is the only platform we need.
Rumor or not, I'm not really that surprised. Today, gaming is all about content. Content providers want to be able to reach all users. For the past decades, this meant releasing and porting their games to multiple platforms. It increases the costs and often causes glitches and bugs (GTA 4 anyone?). With the convergence we witness today, it's easy to see the future lies in browsers and the cloud.
I know my opinion angers you and you're one second away to thumbing me down, but think about it : is it really a bad thing? If tomorrow's games are able to fully utilize the hardware you have, regardless of the "window" in which the game is played, isn't it a win situation? The only losers in this are the consoles makers, which rely on game exlusivities to sell their console. They'll have to switch their strategy to making attractive but open consoles and portable devices. Maybe Sony got that. Microsoft is pretty safe with their next Windows 8 console. What about Nintendo?
You may think I'm crazy, but look into your heart. You know my words to be true!
Nearly every comment here is flagged as negative, no matter which side people chose. Wish TomsHardware comment ratings would have user names and reasons like EBay for negative or positive. Sometimes the most ridiculous posts gets 30 thumbs up and the ones where user clearly has some knowledge gets thumbs down. Kids at play?
If I am not mistaken. Sony lost a couple of billion $$ on the PS3 console? Add in that when it came out so few game where available.
I would like to see these consoles leave all together. Return of the PC.
And as a console gamer let me just say: Thanks friend.
I would like to see these consoles leave all together. Return of the PC.
As a PC gaming, that would be great.
As a person who pretends to be concerned with console gamers from time to time: Sony leaving the console race can't be good for market competition UNLESS Sony just flat out redefines console gaming.
Which is very possible, with all the issues with the PS3 network Sony has been having, and the fact that the Kinect basically stomped the PS3 Move into the ground, the only redeeming part of a PS3 is the Bluray player. Sony needs something that can come out with a bang.
"Nintendo Wii U will be saturated with lame 3rd party titles"
whoa, biased much?
You only really need 2 gaming systems. Nintendo's and a PC. that will cover 99% of all gaming.
dont bother pushing console to the next,, we already have pc.
if its true i hope its MS. it will be better for the gaming thats for sure
Hmmm...
What we really know. Wii U is coming this year. It is allmost as fast as PS3 and Xbox 360 are or a little bit better...
The Xbor 720 (or something) is coming late 2013 or 2014 and some demos this year E3. So they are just saying that there is not demo PS4 at E3... big deal?
PS3 is fast enough to play same games that Wii U is capable (more or less). The next Xbox is not coming just yet. If the next Xbox does comes out, it is in the same hole as PC games are... Xbox720 would be plagued console ports from PS3 and Wii U. Only some some pure Xbox 720 games would be made for full potential. Why, because it is easier to make a game that is same in all 3 main platform... sorry in all 4 platform if we count PC.
So Sony can wait a little bit longer this time and make eiher better or at least cheaper console! Or they just wait until 2013 before they make their demo stuff, so this rumour does not mean anythin more tham what we allready know. Next gen consoles (not including Wii U) are not coming out soon...
Nearly every comment here is flagged as negative, no matter which side people chose. Wish TomsHardware comment ratings would have user names and reasons like EBay for negative or positive. Sometimes the most ridiculous posts gets 30 thumbs up and the ones where user clearly has some knowledge gets thumbs down. Kids at play?
On the whole, it's not that bad. But this is a console vs. PC thread. Fanboys are on the prowl.
Even though i hate Sony more then anyone here i'm sorry to say as long as sony makes money they will make another console end of story. Not to mention This would pretty much mean Microsoft and Nintendo defeated Sony. If Sony thinks The gaming market is nothing but lame Facebook games(that are free) and crappy cell phone games with super Nintendo graphics(which are real cheap) Sony deserves to lose money on this market. But Like i said Sony will not leave the console market as long as their is money left in it for them to make.