Kotick wants to weaken Xbox Live and PSN dominance

[evilneko]

A PC doesn't need to be designed to connect to TVs. It's capable of it right out of the box. The only thing the average PC lacks for TV connectivity is the lowest common denominator connector: the venerable composite video and audio outputs (the red/white/yellow RCA plugs). These days, it's the TVs that are designed to connect to PCs. There's really no other use for the VGA input.

 

As for needing a desk for keyboard and mouse: says you. Have a look at some of the wireless keyboards that aren't in the bargain bin. Most of them have some sort of pointing device. Some are even smaller than my laptop's keyboard (ugh).

 

All it would take to turn what we normally think of as a PC into a mass-market gaming console would be to slap a catchy name (let's call it the Phantom, just for pun) on any particular model, seal the case to stop users swapping hardware, and market the hell out of it, which includes getting it listed by name on the system requirements for games (Sys Reqs: Intel blah blah or AMD blahdeblah, Also Runs on Phantom). That's pretty much it.

 

The real problem with the Phantom idea is money. The hardware necessary to make it a competent gaming machine that'll still be competent 5+ years after launch would send the price soaring. Consoles are pretty much always sold at a loss, with game sales expected to make up the difference, and therein lies the rub: that revenue stream simply won't exist for the Phantom. If they try to get publishers to pay a fee for the right to say "Runs on Phantom!" the publishers are likely to refuse because it'll be seen as a niche too small to be worthwhile. Without games that say "Runs on Phantom!" users will be back to comparing Sys Reqs to the specs of their machine, eliminating any advantage of the standardized Phantom hardware.

 

In short, Kotick's just plain nuts. PCs are not consoles, but can just as easily plug into TVs, right out of the box, and a "PC Console" is just a stupid idea. The very open architecture he is decrying is what made PCs successful in the first place, which, I might add, is the very reason for Activision's existence. Bite the hand that feeds you much, Kotick?

[JimboUK]

The "some sort of pointing device" tends to be a trackball or even worse a touchpad, I have one that I use with a laptop connected to the TV, great for surfing but I really would not want to play games with the thing.

[evilneko]

Clearly if one wanted to game without a desk or other platform for keyboard + mouse, one would get a gamepad.

 

And don't dis trackballs. Rawr. >:(

[JimboUK]

Clearly if one wanted to game without a desk or other platform for keyboard + mouse, one would get a gamepad.

 

And don't dis trackballs. Rawr. >:(

 

I played shooters with a trackball for years, that trackball was nice and level on a desk though. I wouldn't give up Mouse/keyboard for a joypad unless it's for a driving game.

[TheTerminator2004]

Clearly if one wanted to game without a desk or other platform for keyboard + mouse, one would get a gamepad.

 

And don't dis trackballs. Rawr. >:(

 

How would you go about navigating the desktop/start menu/etc with a gamepad? You can't. So you'd still have to get up and walk over to the keyboard/mouse everytime you wanted to play a different game, or whatever. And if you wanted to do something other than game, you'd be screwed. So some kind of PC especially designed for this situation, and either with software or hardware to get around the problems, could prove pretty popular.

[evilneko]

Sure you can, with the right software. And also,

 

Have a look at some of the wireless keyboards that aren't in the bargain bin. Most of them have some sort of pointing device.

 

The arm of an average recliner is sufficient surface for a wireless mouse, as well. You'd actually be able to change games without getting up, unlike a console where you have to get up to go swap discs.

 

Everything needed already exists. Granted a PC doesn't come out of the box with a wireless keyboard. But then, neither does an XBox. So again, nothing need be specially designed, but also again, the whole "PC as Console" concept is kinda stupid anyway.

[TheTerminator2004]

Sure you can, with the right software. And also,

 

Have a look at some of the wireless keyboards that aren't in the bargain bin. Most of them have some sort of pointing device.

 

The arm of an average recliner is sufficient surface for a wireless mouse, as well. You'd actually be able to change games without getting up, unlike a console where you have to get up to go swap discs.

 

Everything needed already exists. Granted a PC doesn't come out of the box with a wireless keyboard. But then, neither does an XBox. So again, nothing need be specially designed, but also again, the whole "PC as Console" concept is kinda stupid anyway.

 

True, but contrast this to a console where you take it out of the box, turn it on, and play, without having to search for the right drivers and peripherals to make it actually work. Thats the big draw of the consoles: they're easy, and they're simple. Sure the PC can do everything they can, often better, but it doesn't do that out of the box. Which is why I think there'd be a good market for a consolised PC, as it were - with standardised hardware, designed from the beginning to be plugged into a TV and controlled with a gamepad, with updates etc handled automatically. Combining the ease and simplicity of the consoles, with the power and versatility of the PC. I personally wouldn't want one, but it could likely be popular - and depending on how much it stuck to the principles of the PC (free and open, as opposed to rigidly controlled, and closed), it could well be beneficial to the PC games market as a whole.