Only a matter of time until a new console player enters? Maybe Sega?

zamardii

2[H]4U
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Nov 22, 2004
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I was reading some articles online after responding here to a post asking what our favorite consoles were and our favorite game for it, and it got me thinking. I did a lot of reading about Sega and about all the different manufacturers making consoles back in the day and I was wondering how long, or what it would take for another player to enter the console wars. It is nice to have a choice between Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft but I read online that some people think it's boring to only have 3 choices, and quite frankly I loved having more choices back when Sega was still in the console business.

I was wondering what [H] thought about this. If you look at Sega's quarterlies they are making a considerable amount of money and aren't losing money anymore as a company and I personally would love for Sega to make another console, but also understand why they aren't right now. I think that with Nintendo starting to slowly burn out in popularity because of it's reliance on 1st party games, and Microsoft shitting on consumers with their Xbox One policies... I think it might be fair time to bring in some new competition. Now, i'm not talking about the bullshit Ouya or Steambox or anything, but a legitimate home console that is specifically for gaming. And if you're thinking," But the Steambox is a console," no; and you know what I mean when I talk about the difference between a PC that plays games and a Playstation.

The question is at this point in our technological evolution, what could a new player bring to the table? What SHOULD they bring to the table? What do you think a new console would need to REALLY compete with Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft?
 
Steambox is a PC, not a console.

OUYA and Madcatz have got into the console party lately. I don't expect anyone to try to compete with the current big three, though.
 
A new console and amazing exclusive game to go with it and people will buy it! (Halo on original Xbox)
 
If it's Sega, then they may need to consider how well Sonic plays with Mario. It's also possible that Sonic has had enough time to dissociate from Sega as a flagship character.

I'm not sure. Then again, Sony doesn't seem to have a defacto character for it's console. Sure, there's Kratos or Crash Bandicoot, but nothing like Mario/Zelda/Metroid or Master Chief. New IP, yes, definitely, but even if the character isn't there, they'll need a gaming draw to sell.
 
No, not really. Little money in them now. They make their money off the games, not the hardware.
 
It takes a lot of money to jump into the hardware market, and it will be a long time to recoup the development costs, much less make a profit. I'm not saying its impossible, but its very very risky, expensive, and hard to pull off. This is why there are only the big 3 and not say 10 console makers. The publishing companies such as EA,Sega, and Activision just aren't big enough to take that kind of risk.

Sony and Microsoft have so many branches, they have the capital to invest in it. Nintendo can't afford to keep up with powerhouse consoles, which is why they are trying to do their own thing in their own time table.
 
Apple/Sega/Valve will merge into one super group and bring out a console.

The Pippin returns!
 
Apple/Sega/Valve will merge into one super group and bring out a console.

The Pippin returns!

I was actually hoping during E3 Gabe would have walked out during the PS4 press conference and said this is Steambox and their online was now based on Steam.
 
I don't think we'll ever see another Sega console. The company is a shell of its former self, and I don't think they have what it takes to do that stuff anymore. A shame really, because the Dreamcast is still my favorite console to date.
 
Microsoft took over Sega's spot after they did the OS for the Dreamcast.

If you look at pretty much any company that gets into the console business they have done so from working with one of the other companies previously. Sony worked with Nintendo nefore Nintendo went all asshole on them, Microsoft worked with Sega, Phillips worked with Nintendo.

It would need to be a brand which was widely recognized. Also a company with piles of money. So probably would have to be something like Samsung, although games are a high risk venture, so unless the company had some other secondary reason it probably wouldn't be worth it (e.g. Sony used the PS2 to promote DVD and the PS3 to promote Blu ray and HD).

Master [H];1039975430 said:
I'm not sure. Then again, Sony doesn't seem to have a defacto character for it's console. Sure, there's Kratos or Crash Bandicoot, but nothing like Mario/Zelda/Metroid or Master Chief. New IP, yes, definitely, but even if the character isn't there, they'll need a gaming draw to sell.

Those are weaknesses of Nintendo and Microsoft. It makes it seem all they release is Mario and Halo over and over and over and over and over and .... ... .. . .

Which is true.
 
As much as I'd love Sega to come back to glory... I'm afraid it's just wishful thinking at this, or any other point. :(
 
If Sega was to do this, it would first need to build up its IPs and studios. Sega's best developers - Creative Assembly and (after the demise of THQ) Relic - are PC-centric.

Sega would need to bring some pretty big exclusives to its own console...and ones that are not shitty Sonic games, or games made by Rebellion or Gearbox.
 
Samsung you heard it here first.

1 a console exactly fits Samsung's business model. They look for big a market, find a spot in the market with very few competitors that takes a large investment to get started in. Then they attack from that point kill off smaller competitors and start working their way into the system. Consoles fit this perfectly, Samsung has the cash reserves to play in this game as well as the software devs. And on top of that Samsung unlike most others might actually be able to make say the processor. The only thing that holds me back is their user base in Korea isn't as stupid as the rest of the world so they know how to use computers. In fact if you told me before the xbone release I would have slated Samsung to kill Sony, but then MS fumbled hard.

OUYA is also already in. The most important thing is that in the last gen no one lost money / went under so typically when that happens others take notice and someone tries to get in.
 
It's extremely unlikely that another console developer will come up to the plate. In short, here's why:

1.) Development cost. Each one of these consoles costs huge amounts of time and investment to design and build. They only pay off if a huge amount of them are sold.

2.) Manufacturing. Part sourcing and logistics as well as the manufacturing itself is extremely costly. Few organizations have the ability to source parts and build them on a massive scale.

3.) Partnerships. This is a big one. People complain constantly about Nintendo not having any third party titles. It's extremely difficult to convince third parties to come onto a new platform. In the world of cell phones for example, it's next to impossible for Microsoft to convince developers to move to Windows 8 or for Rim to get more onto Blackberry. Both platforms are currently languishing despite being major players.

4.) Distribution. If they can get third parties to develop, then they also have to get a decent distribution network and have to garner deals with all the major players to get good market penetration.

5.) Marketing and advertising. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are well known brand names now. A new entrant into the market will have to overcome massive brand recognition and convince potential buyers that their new machine is somehow different or better than what the other three offer. The chance of doing that (especially if and only if they've convinced a third party to develop for them) is extremely slim.

Lastly as a personal note. The original Xbox bled cash from Microsoft. Very few companies can afford to just sink millions into a device that may never become profitable in the hopes that the generation after that will be profitable. Microsoft was only successful because they bought a bunch of third party companies (as in had the cash to do so) or paid third parties a stack of cash to exclusively build on their system. Even still, Microsoft doesn't have nearly as large a presence in Asia which is dominated by Sony/Nintendo.

Samsung earlier listed probably has the manufacturing expertise and the cash to build such a system, but actually making developing games is outside their wheelhouse. If they wanted to make that play they could, but they would be taking a massive calculated risk as that console would more than likely put them at a loss for several years.

The only consoles then that have a chance of surviving are consoles with extremely low development costs and have more or less already been paid for. The Ouya has a chance to survive, but all it is is just the Android equivalent of an AppleTV, that is to say an Android based set top box. It won't be cranking out AAA titles or have any investment in said mega-titles.
 
I'd love to see Apple enter the game. They have the cash, infrastructure, and brand name to make it happen. It's just a matter of getting developers but they have the cash to buy anyone they want so :/

Sega won't come back in, and I doubt Samsung would.
 
maybe Atari will make a comeback!...been waiting for something to replace the Atari 2600 :cool:
 
...I think Google might actually become the next console manufacturer, actually...

And I don't mean just some Android box like Ouya, I mean they might actually create a new major console. Think about it, they've been seeping into plenty of markets, they have a lot of disposable money, and they're doing a lot of experimentation recently. They've also created a unified multiplayer gaming platform for Android, too. Also, the circumstances of their entry into the gaming market would be kinda similar to Microsoft and Sony's entry. Kinda.
 
maybe Atari will make a comeback!...been waiting for something to replace the Atari 2600 :cool:

Alright, first: Atari made a few consoles, not just the 2600. They made the 5200, the 7800, the Jaguar and the Lynx.

And second: The Atari company that made those companies doesn't exist anymore. Inforgrames hollowed out its corpse and has been wearing it like a skin suit since like, 2003.
 
I'd love to see Apple enter the game.
What, you mean like this:

pippin-atmark-Apple-game-console-2.jpg


I somehow doubt we'll see another big console to compete with the current top three for this gen. But ya know, if MS fails hard maybe someone will be motivated to jump in it's place. Sega seems far-fetched though, I'd sooner expect someone like Samsung
 
I don't think we will see another console for a long while. The only companies I could see with the ability to get into the business would be Apple or Samsung. But I don't think Samsung has any desire to do it. And Apple would probably try to be even more restrictive than MS with the XBOne.
 
While I don't think they'd ever do it, I will keep my promise:

I will NEVER, EVER buy another console gaming system from Sega.
 
Sega's not going to do a console again. They burned too many bridges with the SegaCD/32X and Saturn, and failed to even recoup much of anything with the Dreamcast. Not gonna happen. SNK is more likely to do a new console than Sega at this point, and their primary market is pachinko machines and portable game consoles with nothing more than a fancy GUI on top of NeoRAGEx.

Game consoles are IMHO a dying breed. It's a cutthroat business, and MS and Sony are basically fighting over the scraps right now, trying to outdo one another. Nintendo has practically nothing, and will probably earn practically nothing (developer or 3rd party wise) over MS or Sony with the console they just released 6 months ago. The other two issues are portability and PC's. People like free games to play on the toilet or the subway, and their smartphone does that. More serious gamers are catered to by PC's.

At this point I would not be surprised to see 1 less home console developer in the next 10 years. Most likely would be Nintendo going handheld only, but I think even then they're going to have a hard time fighting smartphones. Nintendo partnering with Apple on an iPhone is not out of the realm of possibility IMHO. Two companies, hate everyone else, refuse to allow their software on hardware without their logo on the box. Match made in heaven...:D
 
I loved my Dreamcast and was easy to get to play imports and had some of the most original IPs, but Sega will never do hardware again I personally would wish Nintendo would stop making hardware and farm out there IPs to these other consoles to do something newer and maybe more innovative due to the power of the next gen compared to there WiiU.
 
Well, sega has been out of the scene for a while now, maybe most people forgive/forget or simply weren't around when they went downhill so they'd have a chance again?

I'll buy any console if it's solid/dependable and has good exclusives, it could be from Fisher Price for all I care...
 
Apple has some of the largest cash reserves ever to exist in a company, how could any other company get started if only they could have that much? You could launch a console with 10 billion and lots of companies have that much in cash on hand.
 
People need to let the long rumored "Sega" come back go. Sega doesn't have the capital nor does it have the interest in joining the clusterfuck console market.

Being a console manufacturer is not a very good business. It requires a MASSIVE investment (and at a loss if you want it to have impressive specs) and the risk of failure is huge.

If the Xbox and/or the PS4 fails this generation (doubt it) there won't be a console market left. People will move to the PC and play everything else on the portable market. Lets face it , the Xbox One and the PS4 are basically PC's that have customized software. There isn't any special tech that isn't already in PC's , everything at this point is beginning to blur.
 
I'm not sure Apple would really want to operate in the console space. They're already cleaning up with iOS games, and they're usually not one to jump into something that is already crowded either.
Right now, I'm not sure any of the electronics companies most of us think of are ready for this except maybe Google or Valve.
 
Microsoft took over Sega's spot after they did the OS for the Dreamcast.

If you look at pretty much any company that gets into the console business they have done so from working with one of the other companies previously. Sony worked with Nintendo nefore Nintendo went all asshole on them, Microsoft worked with Sega, Phillips worked with Nintendo.

It would need to be a brand which was widely recognized. Also a company with piles of money. So probably would have to be something like Samsung, although games are a high risk venture, so unless the company had some other secondary reason it probably wouldn't be worth it (e.g. Sony used the PS2 to promote DVD and the PS3 to promote Blu ray and HD).



Those are weaknesses of Nintendo and Microsoft. It makes it seem all they release is Mario and Halo over and over and over and over and over and .... ... .. . .

Which is true.

I don't think they'd have to highly recgonized. But they'd need piles of money and a good PR campaign which plasters the console everywhere. I honestly think if MS didn't have cash on hand they never would have gone anywhere with the Xbox.
 
...I think Google might actually become the next console manufacturer, actually...

And I don't mean just some Android box like Ouya, I mean they might actually create a new major console. Think about it, they've been seeping into plenty of markets, they have a lot of disposable money, and they're doing a lot of experimentation recently. They've also created a unified multiplayer gaming platform for Android, too. Also, the circumstances of their entry into the gaming market would be kinda similar to Microsoft and Sony's entry. Kinda.

Reports are coming in that Google is developing a new console. Hopefully it'll be more than a 'me too' Android box, I wouldn't be surprised if Google really tried to push Android into the gaming console market.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/27/us-google-console-idUSBRE95Q1J320130627
 
I think Apple could with some extremely smart engineering.

Sort of a 4K HD RokuTV/Apple Game Console\ITunes All in one thingy....but I doubt it's their style. They are the masters of ripping off the naive consumer. But if XBOX can be capable and sell well @ 500 bux a pop.... well then I think they Apple, should seriously consider taking them on for my pure enjoyment alone. :)
 
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