Metal Gear Solid Developer: Consoles Are Dying

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Hideo Kojima thinks consoles are on life support.

Thursday Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima said that the gaming console as we know it is dying. Although sales figures and sheer popularity speak otherwise, he envisions a future where digital entertainment moves "outside the box." This prediction has been spoken before by others in the gaming industry, placing all bets on cloud-based gaming that won't require a specific machine or a set of hardware requirements.

"In the near future, we'll have games that don't depend on any platform," Kojima said during an event in Tokyo promoting the upcoming release of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the Sony PSP. "Gamers should be able to take the experience with them in their living rooms, on the go, when they travel--wherever they are and whenever they want to play. It should be the same software and the same experience."

Bingo.

Naturally, Sony isn't all too keen on the idea. "It's a bold prediction," Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Hiroshi Kawano said. "We hope he continues to develop for platforms, but we deeply respect his sense of taking on a challenge." After all, Sony is footing the bill to publish Kojima's latest game in Japan this month, and the US in June. Despite the manufacturing cost, hardware products rack in the gold dug up by 1st-party and 3rd-party software.

Kojima added that the latest MGS game--or software as he calls it--was designed to sharpen management skills. Kojima even indicated that it was a test platform, an experiment, to get a sense of what works in portable gaming. He will then take what he's learned from Peace Walker and apply it to his vision of gaming on demand.

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Kevin Parrish

Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then, he’s loved all things PC-related and cool gadgets ranging from the New Nintendo 3DS to Android tablets. He is currently a contributor at Digital Trends, writing about everything from computers to how-to content on Windows and Macs to reviews of the latest laptops from HP, Dell, Lenovo, and more. 

44 Comments Comment from the forums
  • therealfly
    I would cry when my Internet connection failed.
    Reply
  • sliem
    No it's not "bingo"... sometimes I want to play on xbox360 with a screen that's bigger than 32".

    No, it's not on life support.
    Reply
  • counselmancl
    I see cloud gaming becoming a viable alternative to what we have now, but not replacing it in the near future. If they can pipe all the graphics with low latency then they could charge a monthly access fee for the latest games, but hardware is progressing so fast that they would have to build a game several generations beyond what we have now to entice people, otherwise the would probably prefer to own it and play it at home.
    Reply
  • N.Broekhuijsen
    Im not all too convinced about this cloud gaming. I like having my OWN hardware, with ME controlling it. besides, all the technical challanges with cloud computing.. latency, packet loss..etc.

    Consoles now work for anybody, A nutless monkey could hook a console up to a TV, and set everything up.

    Im a PC gamer though, so my standards are a bit higher than majority of people.
    Reply
  • greliu
    I really don't see cloud computing going anywhere anytime soon. To many challanges as xbeater is saying. Personally, I like having the control over my own hardware. Maybe in the VERY long-term outlook, cloud computing could go somewhere. I just don't see how it could anytime soon.
    Reply
  • mikeadelic
    Aw man, I was hoping he'd say something along the lines of 'PC FTW!!'
    Reply
  • Miharu
    He probably want to tell the PC hardware is better.
    Old 5-6 year old console where only Xbox360 and PS3 running in 1080p and have a limited 5 year old video card.

    It's a bit soon to call the dead of consoles.
    When they'll have a sale drop, they'll just make a new one with better hardware and new support like "cloud-base game" or "on demand game"... whatever is need in the future.

    So Hideo is just alarmist.
    Reply
  • Brent_NC
    Cloud gaming in the U.S. is definitely out. ISP's are trying to throttle end user bandwidth as it is, not expand it. If we were in South Korea, then yes I would say it has a much more viable chance.

    I am actually running on a connection that is roughly twice the national average and it continually pisses me off. I would hate to see those at the national average or below. Welcome to dial up?

    Until the Government comes in an whacks a few people amongst the head and shoulders and gets the U.S. on track, we are going to remain in the stone age in terms of internet capability.

    No offense but the Czech Republic and Romania are beating us out in terms of average speed.
    Reply
  • I am glad to see he is looking toward the future, but I am curious how the economic end of things are going to affect cloud gaming. So far what I have seen proposed is that you pay a monthly access fee and then must still buy or rent the games you want to play. This will be great short term since you aren't buying a 300 dollar console, but stop paying and you stop playing. I often buy games to play "later" so I am currently not interested in cloud gaming at all.
    Reply
  • False_Dmitry_II
    Internet connection speeds in this case are irrelevant. It's all about the latency. Gamers consider wireless mice slow. If that's slow, then sending input information across the internet and getting the results/video sent back across the internet to you would have to be considered glacial.
    Reply