squenix to open studio for next gen games

Helix

just got a mail that theyre opening a new canadian development house exclusively for next gen development.

That means we're <12 months from a hardware announcement imo, in line with my prediction last year that we'd see a new hardware debut at e3 2012. Finger on the pulse wha? :P

That aside, this is exciting news coupled with ms's ramping up on next gen hiring. It indicates that theres a rough understanding within the development community of what will be in the new system already

WolfForager

Ugh, i can't afford a new console.... Hopefully Sony will be a little more sensible with their pricing this time around and MS don't rush their hardware.

Overheal

WolfForager wrote: »

Ugh, i can't afford a new console.... Hopefully Sony will be a little more sensible with their pricing this time around and MS don't rush their hardware.

Here's hoping both use PC-friendly APIs. This PC vs. Console thing is BS and it would be nice to see PC/Console Ports that - you know, work.

Helix

can definitely see ms being first out of the blocks, but sony wont be as far behind as last time. More pc oriented hardware is likely, and i wouldnt rule out pc style expansion and upgrade capabilities. This will be the last gen of traditional consoles, so they'll both want 10+ years from the base hardware to give them enough time to come up with a solution to stop cloud gaming ruining the traditional model

Magill

Helix wrote: »

can definitely see ms being first out of the blocks, but sony wont be as far behind as last time. More pc oriented hardware is likely, and i wouldnt rule out pc style expansion and upgrade capabilities. This will be the last gen of traditional consoles, so they'll both want 10+ years from the base hardware to give them enough time to come up with a solution to stop cloud gaming ruining the traditional model

not too sure about that, the only reason sony fell so far behind this generation is because they gave nearly a year away to MS. Plus this security breach they've had recent will push them to get new hardware quickly.

I cant see them being threatened by cloud gaming, even 10 years wont be enough time to make it viable/practical.

Helix

Magill wrote: »

not too sure about that, the only reason sony fell so far behind this generation is because they gave nearly a year away to MS. Plus this security breach they've had recent will push them to get new hardware quickly.

I cant see them being threatened by cloud gaming, even 10 years wont be enough time to make it viable/practical.

cloud gaming is already practical in many places, in ten years time itll definitely be doable. look at the difference between internet infrastructure now and in 2001, and tell me that you dont think there'll be enough people with a 5 meg down 512kb up connection to make cloud workable in 2021

re the first point, im not sure what exactly its in relation to. ms will beat sony to the punch again because they're already working on the 360's successor beyond theoretical research. ive not spoken to anyone who has even hinted at sony being that far along yet, and we know how good sony are at keeping secrets about new hardware

Nollog

Helix wrote: »

can definitely see ms being first out of the blocks, but sony wont be as far behind as last time. More pc oriented hardware is likely, and i wouldnt rule out pc style expansion and upgrade capabilities. This will be the last gen of traditional consoles, so they'll both want 10+ years from the base hardware to give them enough time to come up with a solution to stop cloud gaming ruining the traditional model

Nintendo will surely be first.

Helix

/\/ollog wrote: »

Nintendo will surely be first.

wasnt really factoring them into it to be honest

they've got their own niche, and i doubt even their next system will be on a par with the current sony and microsoft ones - thats not nintendos game any more. where the wii was essentially the guts of 2 gamecubes sellotaped together, the best we can hope for from the wii's successor is maybe thrice the poke, a decent online component (which i have absolutely no hope for, nintendo are useless in that field) and hd output

Retr0gamer

Helix wrote: »

just got a mail that theyre opening a new canadian development house exclusively for next gen development.

That means we're <12 months from a hardware announcement imo, in line with my prediction last year that we'd see a new hardware debut at e3 2012. Finger on the pulse wha? :P

That aside, this is exciting news coupled with ms's ramping up on next gen hiring. It indicates that theres a rough understanding within the development community of what will be in the new system already

You told me the PSP2 would have a 3D screen :P

Helix

Retr0gamer wrote: »

You told me the PSP2 would have a 3D screen :P

yeah that one's still got me baffled, sharp specifically said they were developing the 3d displays for both new handheld gaming systems. i have absolutely no idea what the other thing the were talking about

Nollog

Helix wrote: »

wasnt really factoring them into it to be honest

they've got their own niche, and i doubt even their next system will be on a par with the current sony and microsoft ones - thats not nintendos game any more. where the wii was essentially the guts of 2 gamecubes sellotaped together, the best we can hope for from the wii's successor is maybe thrice the poke, a decent online component (which i have absolutely no hope for, nintendo are useless in that field) and hd output

Yeah, because basing their console strategy going forward the next 5-10 years on one console generation makes sense.

The PowerPC chip has been merged with the Cell projects at IBM, so you can expect if Nintendo want to keep good backward compatibility, they're going to match or go higher than PS3 next generation.

Helix

/\/ollog wrote: »

Yeah, because basing their console strategy going forward the next 5-10 years on one console generation makes sense.

The PowerPC chip has been merged with the Cell projects at IBM, so you can expect if Nintendo want to keep good backward compatibility, they're going to match or go higher than PS3 next generation.

im basing their console strategy on their previous console strategies, and the ones that have worked best

the next nintendo console wont be anywhere close to the ps3

fact

Retr0gamer

/\/ollog wrote: »

The PowerPC chip has been merged with the Cell projects at IBM, so you can expect if Nintendo want to keep good backward compatibility, they're going to match or go higher than PS3 next generation.

I'm pretty sure Cell has been totally dropped altogether.

I'm pretty sure Sony is going to go the same route as MS did with the 360 and go with off the shelf parts this generation. There's just too much money involved and the next gen Sony can't sell their console on name alone because after that god awful launch it was the only thing that kept Sony in the race until the good exclusives showed up. I doubt we'll hear anything this E3 but definitely the next one. If oneof the big 3 jump the gun at this E3 the other 2 will follow.

Nollog

Helix wrote: »

im basing their console strategy on their previous console strategies, and the ones that have worked best

the next nintendo console wont be anywhere close to the ps3

fact

I don't think you can say anything like that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles#Worldwide
6 in the top 10 and you point out the Wii.
They're always successful. It's not much more successful than their handhelds.

Why not?
Consoles get more powerful each generation, naturally.
The jump from xbox to xbox360 and ps2 to ps3 was unnaturally large in my opinion. The jump from wii to ps3 would be a natural progression of power to me.
Add competition and it's likely wii2 will be even more powerful.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'm pretty sure Cell has been totally dropped altogether.

Naw, IBM said they converged.
'Course, that could be what they really mean.

Helix

consoles definitely get more powerful with each gen, but with nintendo they've cornered a huge slice of the market that doesnt get hot under the collar about the prospect of photorealism or a bajillion polygons per second. nintendo dont NEED uber powerful specs for what they do any more. the wii proved that, and id fully expect them to continue with that. theyd be absolutely insane to change their approach after the success both the ds and wii have brought them. we'll see a system more poweful than the wii, definitely, but i doubt it'll be on a par with the ps3 or 360, predominantly because it doesnt need to be.

theres no need for nintendo to go down the route of huge losses for each console sold for the first 3 years of its life now that theyve essentially seperated themselves from the rest of the market. i wouldnt even be surprised if their next home console is a wii+ style system, adding a few additions, improving online capabilities, including a hard drive and bumping it up to HD, while still running miles behind in visual ability

Magill

Helix wrote: »

cloud gaming is already practical in many places, in ten years time itll definitely be doable. look at the difference between internet infrastructure now and in 2001, and tell me that you dont think there'll be enough people with a 5 meg down 512kb up connection to make cloud workable in 2021

It might be workable in certain areas, but only if its sony/microsoft/nintendo/steam pulling the strings. The internet infrastucture in alot of countries is still horrible, even here. Theres more to it than just having a 5meg down line. bandwidth and ping will be the biggest factors... and thats without even going into the hardware side of it. Just look at how huge gaming is right now, can you imagine how many computers/servers you would need to keep up with the numbers of people playing ? It would require enormous amounts of money to setup. 10 years is far too soon for cloud gaming imo, at least on any scale that it would threaten consoles and home computers.

Helix

well having used onlive on multiple occasions ive got no doubt at all that we'll be using cloud gaming in 2 gens

Overheal

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'm pretty sure Cell has been totally dropped altogether.

I'm pretty sure Sony is going to go the same route as MS did with the 360 and go with off the shelf parts this generation. There's just too much money involved and the next gen Sony can't sell their console on name alone because after that god awful launch it was the only thing that kept Sony in the race until the good exclusives showed up. I doubt we'll hear anything this E3 but definitely the next one. If oneof the big 3 jump the gun at this E3 the other 2 will follow.

With off-the-shelf hardware (read, PC hardware) You're basically just looking at 2 proprietary PCs, with proprietary controllers and operating systems.

I know thats more or less what im arguing for, but when I think about it on paper I have my doubts about how that could be allowed to happen by these competitors. It would be down to which online service and controller you prefer, the specs would be naked as day.

If they do that it will have to take into consideration Move and Kinect tech.

Basically I don't understand what consoles are fighting over if they become so close to being glorified TVPCs.

Retr0gamer

Well doesn't it really just boil down to exclusives? Even with MS and Sony using off the shelf components this gen with the GPU's Sony totally dropped the ball by choosing a very underpowered card that bottle necked the system while MS got a lower spec GPU but one that used memory far more efficiently and in some ways is far better than the Sony one, which has it's own advantages as well though so there will be variation.

Magill

Helix wrote: »

well having used onlive on multiple occasions ive got no doubt at all that we'll be using cloud gaming in 2 gens

I've no doubt that it'll be an option.... but it wont be anything close to making consoles obsolete. Its far more likely that consoles will be based like steam. I dont care what anyone says, theres a huge difference between playing with 0 latency and 50-150ms. You're talking as if sony/microsoft/nintendo will just roll over and die lol.....

Downloading a full game is a far better solution than streaming a game imo, and is the way forward for the industry.

Helix

Magill wrote: »

You're talking as if sony/microsoft/nintendo will just roll over and die lol.....

ive not said anything even close to that

i said they'll be looking to make the next gen as futureproof as possible, which i believe will mean allowing hardware upgrades like more memory and perhaps some form of additional plug in cpu upgrade, to ensure that they have as long as they can possibly get out of the next batch of consoles to successfully formulate a winning alternative to, or inclusion of, cloud gaming into the generation that follows

downloadable games is something we'll see a lot more of, but that's certainly going to be in the next generation, not something theyre aiming at beyond that

Magill

Helix wrote: »

ive not said anything even close to that

i said they'll be looking to make the next gen as futureproof as possible, which i believe will mean allowing hardware upgrades like more memory and perhaps some form of additional plug in cpu upgrade, to ensure that they have as long as they can possibly get out of the next batch of consoles to successfully formulate a winning alternative to, or inclusion of, cloud gaming into the generation that follows

downloadable games is something we'll see a lot more of, but that's certainly going to be in the next generation, not something theyre aiming at beyond that

Maybe i misinterupted what "This will be the last generation of traditional consoles" meant. I just think downloading games is a far better way forward than cloud gaming. I can download full games in 2 hours and my connection isnt even that good, after that i no longer need to be connected to the internet taking out the whole instablity and reliance of internet connections and having zero lag that will come with cloud gaming.

Having upgradable consoles is a good idea but really... would it work ? Would it be legal ? What would be the point because if the game cant run on the first generation of non upgraded consoles then they would not beable to call it a PS4 game.

death1234567

Helix wrote: »

well having used onlive on multiple occasions ive got no doubt at all that we'll be using cloud gaming in 2 gens

Me either. Cloud computing is the future for many industries including gaming. Its just a case of when not if.

Nollog

Download-only is about 10 years away.
Even valve package their games on disc.

Helix

i honestly think a lot of people are failing to grasp how far away 10 years is, and how fast technology advances

Retr0gamer

I very much doubt that we will see upgradeable consoles. Historically console upgrades have been met with nothing but varying amounts of failure and if you build your game with an upgrade in mind you are cutting out a huge swathe of potential customers and publishers don't like it.

Helix

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I very much doubt that we will see upgradeable consoles. Historically console upgrades have been met with nothing but varying amounts of failure and if you build your game with an upgrade in mind you are cutting out a huge swathe of potential customers and publishers don't like it.

im not talking about launching the box with loads of upgrades available, im talking about about 5 years through the lifecycle you release a plug in upgrade for it (an upgrade that is already built into any newer models of the unit). you don't really cut anyone out if you keep it a minimal expense (which memory, for example, would most certainly be)

ill be very surprised if there's not a facility for that kind of expansion in at least one of the next gen

Retr0gamer

Helix wrote: »

im not talking about launching the box with loads of upgrades available, im talking about about 5 years through the lifecycle you release a plug in upgrade for it (an upgrade that is already built into any newer models of the unit). you don't really cut anyone out if you keep it a minimal expense (which memory, for example, would most certainly be)

ill be very surprised if there's not a facility for that kind of expansion in at least one of the next gen

Ever hear of the 32X, Mega CD, N64 DD, TurboGrafx CD or the N64 Ram Expansion? Even Wii Plus, Move and Kinect aren't getting much developer support for any big games. The N64 ram expansion was only moderately successful due to it being packed with the games that required it. Nearly all consoles have exansion ports, they are rarely used though in most cases.

Overheal

Hell even the NES and SNES have expansion ports on them. To my knowledge there was nothing ever designed to go into them, but they were there nonetheless.

Helix

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Ever hear of the 32X, Mega CD, N64 DD, TurboGrafx CD or the N64 Ram Expansion? Even Wii Plus, Move and Kinect aren't getting much developer support for any big games. The N64 ram expansion was only moderately successful due to it being packed with the games that required it. Nearly all consoles have exansion ports, they are rarely used though in most cases.

none of them are what im talking about though

Overheal

Helix wrote: »

none of them are what im talking about though

and that would be?