🚀 go-pugleaf

> Unlike a PC, a videogame console is a "set top box" design, much closer in
> the intent of use of say, a VCR or a DVD player (some actually DO that) in
> conjunction with other entertainment components than a self-contained PC
> typically is.  Consoles therefore lock up common shared household resources
> (the TV set, stereo, and all of the attachments) to a much greater degree
> than a PC does (in typical use).  This is the resource issue, and until
> it's resolved, online console gaming has a tough row to hoe.
>
> Another issue which causes problems is one of spontaneity, as console
> gamers are used to moving from one game to another almost as quickly
> as one goes from machine to machine in a video arcade.  Unlike PC online
> games, many console games actually have arcade origins, and more than a
> few of the big names in the console world began as arcade developers.
> So, traditionally, console games are much more along the lines of say,
> slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am than PC games.  This is not the way most online
> games can be played, as it often takes so long to find an opponent that
> for a shorter arcade-style game, it's simply not worthwhile.  This is
> the spontaneity issue, and it too will be difficult to resolve for online.

Broadband, compared to 56k, might solve both of these problems.  Broadband
doesn't tie up the phone line and it can be split between multiple devices in a
home.  And, like phone lines today, home networks could converge on a hidden
server at the front of the house, rather than a PC.



> Last, but hardly least of the issues, is the issue of cost.  The single
> most OBVIOUS difference between a gaming-class PC rig and a console is
> the price tag.  Consoles pretty much max out at $300, and you couldn't
> even get a PC worth LAUGHING at for that little money.  Console gamers
> often game with an eye towards costs, with very few expensive peripherals
> ever becoming very successful and the costs of games constantly causing
> much grumbling.  To put it mildly, console gamers are a lot more frugally
> minded than what PC gamers are, and the minute anyone mentions a "fee"
> for playing a game, the console userbase all but evaporates instantly.
> This is the sticker-shock issue, and it will possibly be the most
> difficult of all to resolve, because it requires changing the entire
> console gaming attitude.

Online gaming could cost the same as offline gaming.  The console would cost
$200 to $300 and the games could cost the same as offline games, $1 to $5 to
play for a little while, and maybe $50 for infinite usage.  Since I rent far
more than I buy, and used to enjoy arcade games, I like the ability to pay a
little bit of money for a little bit of play time.