Console Idea

[dukebound85]

Maybe this is stupid thinking, but I hear time and time again how pc's totally destroy consoles in gaming


So it got me thinking about the differences,

1) Consoles are not upgradeable which are why pc's eclipse them performance wise)
2) Consoles offer a pop in disk and play method...no installing and no big time os needed
3) Can be used in a living room much easier than pcs
4) Let's face it, some of us like using controllers over keyboards and mice by 1000000% Although my method would still allow for keyboards and mice


My idea and tell me if it's stupid

1) Build a box like they do currently but put in a capable cpu that is seen in computers. (like a core2quad or core2duo, etc)
*I realize that the "cell" and such are optimized for gaming but when pc's with general cpu's kill consoles in a few months time, how is it so outlandish? If anything, developers can still optimize the game for this cpu correct?

2) Put in top of line video card, or up there card, like an 8800gt or such. No variants or such as seen in today's consoles, but the card as is
* One arguement I can hear about this is that these cards and even cpus can run retail much higher than consoles today. However, if this were feasible why not explore this idea? Surely R&D would be cut down as you would not have to redesign a graphics card and what not correct? I would also assume that deals could be made to supply the cards at cheaper rates and then have nvidea or whatnot get a cut from games....just an idea

3) When developing an os for the system, like the ps3 os or 360's or any console's for that matter, have the necessary code to recognize the devices like the cpu and video card

4) Put in a regular old hard drive and optical player. Interface it all with basic motherboard that supports all these

What is preventing them from doing this? The os would handle everything as it does now on consoles yet using components that are common and hence cheaper I would assume in the design/R&D phase of console. The video cards would support resolutions higher than 1080p and would be dependeant on the game for what resolution would be used. This would be nice as even now, the PS3 can only go to 720p on my 1680x1050 monitor yet my 8800gt can support that resolution as well as many others.

In addition, I would think that this hypothetical system would perform better than an equally equipped pc for the following reasons

1) not running inside a big time os like xp, vista, or osx but instead from one designed specifically for the system

2) developers would be able to optimize the games for one configuration of hardware as opposed to the multitude of configs with pc's, even though the console would be using pc parts if you follow



Plus, another possibility lies in the fact that since you have pc parts in the console, why not enable the option to use it as a computer by installing other os's like how the PS3 allows for it

Pretty much, the difference from today's gaming PC's would be to have PC gaming modified to support only ONE configuration in the form of a console which would lead to better optimized games not running through a big os, yet be used as a computer as a secondary purpose and not a primary ( as opposed to gaming pc's which are the other way around for the most part)


What are your thoughts? Is this crazy?

 

[Catfish_Man]

That's pretty much what the original Xbox was. The only particularly odd part about it compared to a standard PC of the time was that it had beefy integrated graphics; even that was an intermediate chip between the GeForce3 and GeForce4 series though.

OS overhead really isn't very high. Most of where it matters is in the drivers and OpenGL/DirectX implementation, which would be true for a console OS as well.

 

[asphalt-proof]

As noted before: This is the original XBOX. The hardware part of it is pretty straight forward. Its getting software developers to back your system. Not many have the resources to build a game and port it to 4 different consoles AND a PC version.

The new console would also have to have at least one title that is dubbed "Have to own". When the original XBOX came out, that 'have to own' game was HALO. This is really what propelled the XBOX out of the gate and established it as a viable platform. Had that piece been missing, there would probably be no XBOX today.

The second obstacle is making online portal that is attractive, easy to use and scalable. Something Apple would have no difficulty doing. XBOX Live is actually pretty good especially compared to the Wii and the Playstation version.

 

[0098386]

Maybe this is stupid thinking, but I hear time and time again how pc's totally destroy consoles in gaming

Eh, they're not. The console market is immense and sell a lot more games than the PC.

1) Consoles are not upgradeable which are why pc's eclipse them performance wise)

This is only true after a year or so. Initially consoles are normally capable of outputting much more than a standard computer (unless it's extremely high end). My 2 year old PC is of equal power to a 360, though maybe more so since it runs the same games at higher resolutions without dropping under 30fps.

2) Consoles offer a pop in disk and play method...no installing and no big time os needed

Hehe, you'd think that

1) Build a box like they do currently but put in a capable cpu that is seen in computers. (like a core2quad or core2duo, etc)
*I realize that the "cell" and such are optimized for gaming but when pc's with general cpu's kill consoles in a few months time, how is it so outlandish? If anything, developers can still optimize the game for this cpu correct?

The Cell is not optimised for gaming. It's more of a workstation CPU.

2) Put in top of line video card, or up there card, like an 8800gt or such. No variants or such as seen in today's consoles, but the card as is
* One arguement I can hear about this is that these cards and even cpus can run retail much higher than consoles today. However, if this were feasible why not explore this idea? Surely R&D would be cut down as you would not have to redesign a graphics card and what not correct? I would also assume that deals could be made to supply the cards at cheaper rates and then have nvidea or whatnot get a cut from games....just an idea

The problem is size. If you've ever looked inside something as powerful as a 360 - there's nothing in there! It's tiny compared to most off the shelf PC components.

3) When developing an os for the system, like the ps3 os or 360's or any console's for that matter, have the necessary code to recognize the devices like the cpu and video card

This already exists.

What are your thoughts? Is this crazy?

Not crazy, but it has been done before (Xbox).

 

[pwn247]

It sounds like a brilliant idea.

Although there are a few bugs that I've thought up...

• Connecting to your television. The video card installed needs to be directly compatible with the RED/WHITE/YELLOW component. There also needs to be an option for HDMI.
• Piracy. If we install a "simple optical drive", then all of the games will be put on plain ol' DVD-R discs. Anyone can put that disc in their computer, make a copy of it, and throw it up for grabs.
• A controller. We need to have some sort of controller interface. USB would work, but it would be better if we had built-in Bluetooth to keep the machine future-proof, and open the possibility for wireless controllers.
• Multiplayer. Of course, with a system like this, users will want some sort of multiplayer gameplay. How might we go about doing this? We need to have some sort of network to keep computer users out of the network, but still be stable enough to host games and connect users using the unit.
• Graphics. We need to have more OpenGL. It uses very little of your GPU, but is a very powerful engine. If developers will make games for the system, we need to press them to make some OpenGL titles.
• Pricing. How much is this going to cost? With a C2D, an 8800 card, and all the fancy Bluetooth and component output, how are we going to keep this at a price a consumer would purchase it at?

 

[hankolerd]

The reason there is consoles is because it creates a platform that game companies can test their products on, and know that the end-user will get the same exact results.
If you built a game console out of pc parts, some people would have really nice systems, and other people would have crappy systems, then you would have to start defining the minimum requirements to run games like you have to on pc's.
This is the main reason consoles sell so many more games, because people know when they buy it that they aren't going to have hardware issues with the game and no be able to play it.
Sure, pc's might look alot better than a console when it has alot of the high end hardware, but not many people can afford that.

I am not opposed to the idea though. But I think a better idea is for someone to create a barebones os for playing games. Something to where you start up your computer, and get a command line, and you are able to install a game off a disc, or play what you have installed on your hard drive, and that is about it. Then the only running process would be the game and it would run much better. The install would be very small, and it could go on its own partition.

Thats just my thoughts.

 

[dukebound85]

The reason there is consoles is because it creates a platform that game companies can test their products on, and know that the end-user will get the same exact results.
If you built a game console out of pc parts, some people would have really nice systems, and other people would have crappy systems, then you would have to start defining the minimum requirements to run games like you have to on pc's.
This is the main reason consoles sell so many more games, because people know when they buy it that they aren't going to have hardware issues with the game and no be able to play it.
Sure, pc's might look alot better than a console when it has alot of the high end hardware, but not many people can afford that.

I am not opposed to the idea though. But I think a better idea is for someone to create a barebones os for playing games. Something to where you start up your computer, and get a command line, and you are able to install a game off a disc, or play what you have installed on your hard drive, and that is about it. Then the only running process would be the game and it would run much better. The install would be very small, and it could go on its own partition.

Thats just my thoughts.

responding to the part i bolded, my idea would be to have the console use only one set of parts so there wouldnt be any difference between users on the console platform.

i just dont understand why say sony would research a new proc so intensly like the cell and same with graphics when there are already great solutions out there on the market

i agree, size would be an issue as some some cards are huge lol