"Consoles as We Know Them are Gone" -DirectX architect

**chris4404** · 03-21-2008, 08:20 AM

Alex St. John, DirectX architect, swims against the current and predicts the demise not of PC gaming, but of game consoles, in this exclusive two-part interview at ExtremeTech. In addition, Alex discusses how Microsoft and Intel have been a thorn in the PC Gaming industry, and how the future of graphics and CPU technology will pave the way for PC dominance as a gaming platform.

Article

jmilcher · 03-21-2008, 09:16 AM

LOLOLOLOLOL consoles have never been stronger. Its totally in his interest to say console gaming is over. Thanks for the article though.

arbiter · 03-21-2008, 09:58 AM

Stupid really, he claims its intels fault for making crappy graphics chips. The reality is that most people don’t want to spend $$ on a graphics card so they can use ms word.

He also says its Microsoft’s fault for making " a fat os" well I guess vista is heavy but people want functionality and looks not something that uses 50mb of ram and looks and functions like windows 3.1.

Honestly it’s a stupid argument, pc's are always going to be more powerful but consoles will always been more efficient at what they do. Think about it, the people coding games for consoles will know exactly what a game will perform like as the hardware is exactly the same on everyone’s console so they can get the best graphics and frame rates possible out of the hardware, whereas pc's have 100's of possible hardware combinations making it almost impossible for game producers to know what their game will look like and perform like on a pc. Let’s not forget the massive amount of piracy going on.

will pc gaming die? no i dont think so but consoles will hold the first place.

jmilcher · 03-21-2008, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arbiter

Stupid really, he claims its intels fault for making crappy graphics chips. The reality is that most people don’t want to spend $$ on a graphics card so they can use ms word.

He also says its Microsoft’s fault for making " a fat os" well I guess vista is heavy but people want functionality and looks not something that uses 50mb of ram and looks and functions like windows 3.1.

Honestly it’s a stupid argument, pc's are always going to be more powerful but consoles will always been more efficient at what they do. Think about it, the people coding games for consoles will know exactly what a game will perform like as the hardware is exactly the same on everyone’s console so they can get the best graphics and frame rates possible out of the hardware, whereas pc's have 100's of possible hardware combinations making it almost impossible for game producers to know what their game will look like and perform like on a pc. Let’s not forget the massive amount of piracy going on.

will pc gaming die? no i dont think so but consoles will hold the first place.

Excellent point. This is precisely why I invested the money into my 360 and PS3, because I use the pc for what PC's are best at, which for the dollar, doesnt include gaming currently, with out "I can run Crysis maxxed on my $600 9800GX2" attitude.

I am a overclocker, and definetly a computer enthusiast, but there is a point wher I have more brains than money

lexandro · 03-21-2008, 10:38 AM

Well with the current generation of high end console pratically doubling up as a basic PC he is correct. No matter your personaly views, console gaming HAS caused many issues in the PC gaming market, particulary with "ports" of console games to PC. Its perfectly resonable to assume that the way consoles are going, they might aswell just be PC's and be done with it. Splitting the development of gaming across multiple platforms is one major reason for a games failure or relative success. Exclusivity deals also are a barrier to a dev company making real profit from its work.

Yeah I can see consoles (as we know them) dying off quiet easily, I said so myself a few months ago.

siegen · 03-21-2008, 10:51 AM

The biggest, if not only, advantage to a console is the ease of use; the ability to grab the controller, jump on the couch or bed, and play. That is the reason many of my friends purchased a 360 (despite having computers capable of gaming).

For a console to make progress, they need to develop a controller that will appeal to PC mouse & keyboard people (such as myself), but still provide the ease of use and ability to grab and play as current consoles. Nintendo made an advance in this aspect, but it's still not there yet.

Consoles will eventually turn into computers, using AMD/Intel/Nvidia chips, so that they can compete with PC's on the graphics front. The selling point for consoles from there on out will be the ease of use and ability to purchase just the little box, plug it into your TV, and play.

Edit: Oh yeah, and consoles need an upgrade path. Once they are using non-proprietary components, it should be fairly easy for companies to develop "upgrade packs".

sku11fk · 03-21-2008, 02:58 PM

I also have 360,PS3 and a PC of which is good for games. Im happy with all three for now. Who will become the weakest link in the three i have no idea. I love my pc to bits even though its surpassed graphicly to the consoles. But its ease of use for functionality is paramount.
Im constatnly bickering at my PS3 for being so annoying compared to the 360. And yet then im praising it for being so usefull. Neat inbuilt wireless multiple OSes Blueray without an ugly add on. The point im trying to make is we shouldnt forget that these two consoles are the first itteration of anything remotley like a PC. So just like they take time to catch up with pc graphics it takes time for them to have more other functions. Im glad theyre taking consoles more seriously. In turn maybe Intel and AMD will take pc's more seriously and start making platforms for gamers. Because really its not the games industry to blame its the people we buy our stock from.

gunbo13 · 03-21-2008, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siegen

Consoles will eventually turn into computers, using AMD/Intel/Nvidia chips, so that they can compete with PC's on the graphics front. The selling point for consoles from there on out will be the ease of use and ability to purchase just the little box, plug it into your TV, and play.

Consoles already use components from primarlily PC hardware designers. The PS3 uses Nvidia's RSX and the 360 uses a tri-core Xenon/ATI's R500. So the only AMD is not involved in the design of these next-generation consoles. Oh and the Wii also uses an IBM PowerPC CPU and an ATI chip codenamed "Hollywood." So the only chip that goes outside the normal PC designers is the Cell Chip which was developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM. So at least IBM was involved in the design.

Quote:

Originally Posted by siegen

Edit: Oh yeah, and consoles need an upgrade path. Once they are using non-proprietary components, it should be fairly easy for companies to develop "upgrade packs".

Upgrade packs can only come in a format that will not stray from the default system specs. Die shrinks, increased storage space, HDMI addons, new format disk drives, these are all updates that are possible. However you cannot update components as you do on a PC ever. This would stray from the very foundation of console programming and frankly **** would hit the fan. People are already dissatisfied when companies release inferior/superior new editions of their console. How about the PS3 dropping backwards compatibility in Europe? Or the 360 Elite having HDMI standard. The main difference between consoles and PC gaming machines has and always will be standardized specifications. Consoles can add storage or upgrade to chips running cooler, but that is all you will see.

op1e · 03-23-2008, 01:49 PM

If I could play any of my older games on PS3 and have keyboard/mouse device I'd dump PC the way things are going lately. Its nice waking up some days and saying "Hey, look at that, my OS is gone. Cant boot. Sure look forward to spending this whole entire weekend putting everything back the way I like it".

SSPrncVegeta · 03-23-2008, 02:03 PM

Tim Sweeney's way of thanking the pc gaming market that made him who he by turning his back to it and selling out to Microsoft.

b1lk1 · 03-23-2008, 02:03 PM

Consoles die? Never. They serve an excellent purpose and their price to performance ratio cannot be beaten by a PC. PC gaming is somewhat close to dying, but it never will since there are some of us who actually pay for games and want to play them at very high resolutions and settings that no console is capable of.

**mesce** · 03-23-2008, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arbiter

Stupid really, he claims its intels fault for making crappy graphics chips. The reality is that most people don’t want to spend $$ on a graphics card so they can use ms word.

He also says its Microsoft’s fault for making " a fat os" well I guess vista is heavy but people want functionality and looks not something that uses 50mb of ram and looks and functions like windows 3.1.

Honestly it’s a stupid argument, pc's are always going to be more powerful but consoles will always been more efficient at what they do. Think about it, the people coding games for consoles will know exactly what a game will perform like as the hardware is exactly the same on everyone’s console so they can get the best graphics and frame rates possible out of the hardware, whereas pc's have 100's of possible hardware combinations making it almost impossible for game producers to know what their game will look like and perform like on a pc. Let’s not forget the massive amount of piracy going on.

will pc gaming die? no i dont think so but consoles will hold the first place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmilcher

Excellent point. This is precisely why I invested the money into my 360 and PS3, because I use the pc for what PC's are best at, which for the dollar, doesnt include gaming currently, with out "I can run Crysis maxxed on my $600 9800GX2" attitude.

I am a overclocker, and definetly a computer enthusiast, but there is a point wher I have more brains than money

Thank You. Ive been saying this for years. When the 360 first came out there were some games that even looked better than what was available on pc at the time.

I cant sum up enough what I think better than you have. Good job lads

The only thing that is missing from the 360 and the PS3 is a keyboard and mouse. Then I would really just use my pc for web browsing and publications.

Maniac · 03-23-2008, 03:08 PM

it's not really that consoles or pc's will die out... they are more just going to merge. It's inevitable and the trend towards this is pretty obvious. More and more people are starting to use HTPC's, which eliminate things such as stand-alone dvd players, tuners, etc. Consoles are becoming more like PC's as time goes on (heck... the original xbox IS a PC, just not with your standard IO).

the problem remains in keeping things complicated enough to satisfy the enthusiast but simple enough to satisfy the masses. As more people learn technology and use it on a regular basis this becomes easier to do.

MrObvious · 03-23-2008, 10:48 PM

Obviously the PC and console will become one. Look at the PS3. You can run Linux on it.

Th3_uN1Qu3 · 03-23-2008, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arbiter

Stupid really, he claims its intels fault for making crappy graphics chips. The reality is that most people don’t want to spend $$ on a graphics card so they can use ms word.

He also says its Microsoft’s fault for making " a fat os" well I guess vista is heavy but people want functionality and looks not something that uses 50mb of ram and looks and functions like windows 3.1.

Well, intel DOES make crappy graphics chips, but since when did any gamer use integrated cards? Stupid indeed.

But vista is indeed fat. You can have the full Aero interface in XP, with less than 1/4 resource usage, AND without the "our crappy coding can't handle your program, disabling transparency" thing.

Consoles to die? Never. Merging with the PC as Maniac suggested? Maybe. But it'd definitely not be the good way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by siegen

The biggest, if not only, advantage to a console is the ease of use; the ability to grab the controller, jump on the couch or bed, and play. That is the reason many of my friends purchased a 360 (despite having computers capable of gaming).

+1.

Citat3962 · 03-24-2008, 02:13 PM

THE END DRAWS NEAR!!!

THE APPOCOLYPSE IS COMING!!

Beari78 · 03-24-2008, 03:06 PM

I've been PC exclusive gaming for over a year... I recently played some halo 3 on 360 and w/o a mouse, fps games just blow. I don't use a keyboard either, at least not for primary controll functions in a game. I use a mouse and a joypad. One in each hand. The range of options on a pc are limited only by the users ability to edit files or easier yet, download xpadder or xmouse and cloak keystrokes over joypad/mouse buttons. Untill consoles are more mod-able they wont really threaten the pc gaming industry. Although I must say, if a console was mouse-able I would have considered one when recently upgrading since they're so cheap in comparison to PC components.

Maniac · 03-24-2008, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beari78

I've been PC exclusive gaming for over a year... I recently played some halo 3 on 360 and w/o a mouse, fps games just blow. I don't use a keyboard either, at least not for primary controll functions in a game. I use a mouse and a joypad. One in each hand. The range of options on a pc are limited only by the users ability to edit files or easier yet, download xpadder or xmouse and cloak keystrokes over joypad/mouse buttons. Untill consoles are more mod-able they wont really threaten the pc gaming industry. Although I must say, if a console was mouse-able I would have considered one when recently upgrading since they're so cheap in comparison to PC components.

I disagree...
normal PC = 400.
gaming PC = 800.

most people have a normal PC. A console will run you 300+100-150 in add-ons. Normal PC + console = more expensive than a gaming pc.

Then when you take into account the fact console games costs 50-60 whereas PC games cost 30-40 (yes, you can get any new pc game for 30-40 within the first 2 months), console gaming is even more expensive than PC gaming.

and you may use the excuse that you have to upgrade your PC... but when you use a console you can't upgrade at all for 5 years and you're stuck with cruddy graphics after 2 years.

op1e · 03-24-2008, 04:41 PM

Someone told me last night on Vent that keyboard/mouse is doable on PS3, think he said his son had done it. This will happen any day now, I'm sure.

Beari78 · 03-24-2008, 04:45 PM

yes when purchasing a norm pc + console you would spend more, but I was comparing just a pc to just a console. Please detail your $800 gaming pc. Don't forget case, os, keyboard, mouse, and joystic etc. I'd say the cost is closer to a g+. And trust me, the console manufacturers would have to pry my pc from cold fingers before I'd swithch back. I don't really like the console's "plastic" feel, plus about 2 dozen other things I don't like about consoles. Not least of which 1 component goes bad in a console and you have to buy a new console which come with like a 90 day warranty (sux) if I'm not mistaken, unless a third party warranty is purchased.

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