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12 Innovations We Want From Xbox 720 and PS4
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12 Innovations We Want From Xbox 720 and PS4
MrRaverX Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:53 pm
We already know something of the Wii U, but Nintendo operates along
its own technology timeline, and it's debatable whether that system can
truly be called "next generation." Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft duke it
out in the more traditional competitive "next generation" sphere of
technology and services.
The so-called PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 are a certainty. Less certain
is what those consoles will offer, the innovations that will set these
machines apart from the status quo. Obviously, better graphics, cooler
interfaces, sleeker designs, sensible controller innovations. But what
about the services on offer?
Here is an IGN wish-list for the services of future consoles. Please do use the comments to add your predictions...
Cloud Storage
We don't need a hard drive. Let's enter a future where all our games and
all our saves live somewhere else, instantly accessible on our next-gen
console as well as on associated mobile devices. We want to be
connected to our games all the time, from anywhere. We're already
starting to see the effect of this now. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 can
store saves on the cloud. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 has a unified
connection to Xbox Live and our Gamertags. Sony Erricson's PlayStation
phone, Xperia, gives users an astounding 50GB of free online storage.
This is the direction we're moving, and it isn't just with saved game
data.
Before long, we could be streaming games straight from our consoles. OnLive's iPad app
proves limited tech isn't a limitation for the concept. What's to stop
Sony of Microsoft from taking a similar approach in a couple years'
time? Really, with cloud-based games, there would be little need for
complicated, expensive hardware -- never mind another generation with
superior tech -- since we'd be streaming the resources.
Complete Online Retail
Let's have day-and-date digital availability to match our consoles'
retail release dates. We don't want to have to go to a store and pick up
a plastic box. Let's also have an open retail environment accessible
from our new XMBs and Xbox Dashboards. Let us access Steam and other
platforms and make our choices based on the best offers and the best
services.
Retroactive Platform Parity
Whatever these next consoles happen to be, they cannot offer anything
less than the last generation. PlayStation 4 needs cross-game and party
chat. You can make all the forward progress in the world, but if you
don't keep up with what's already done, what's the point?
Unified Video Service
Netflix, Hulu Plus, VuDu, Zune Marketplace, PlayStation Network Video
Store. The number of streaming, rental, and download services we pay for
to watch movies and TV is getting out of control. It's nice to have
Netflix on our PS3 and Hulu Plus on 360 because they have such different
content. Now we're starting to see stuff like UFC Pay-Per-View fights
streaming on Xbox Live. This is too many subscription fees and one-time
charges. Let's consolidate or eliminate these in a way that makes
watching TV easier to afford than a kickass cable package. If we had a
unified video service, it'd make our lives so much easier. Sure, jumping
from Netflix to Hulu in the same night isn't a big deal, but we're
paying for this stuff, and we're going to be paying for another
expensive box to use it again. In an ideal world, we'll be paying for
fewer versions of similar services to get all the content. What an
incredible platform-exclusive feature this would be.
Automatic (and Fewer) Updates
Yes, again.
We need to spend less time watching loading bars and more time playing
games. It's why we paid for these wonderful things. In the future, we
don't want the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live to keep us offline when
we don't update. We want to talk to our friends while firmware version
2.0 downloads in the background, and automatically. Don't make us choose
to update, and disconnect us if we don't. Just do it, and let us get on
with our gaming.
Mods
Hey, Left 4 Dead, Unreal Tournament, and Elder Scrolls sure are great
series on consoles, aren't they? Man, top notch stuff. Just think of how
much better they must be on PC with all those free, optional texture
packs, custom maps, and new character models. The PS3 played nice with
UT3's mods, but beyond that we haven't seen much in the way of console
cooperation with add-on content. (At least not the stuff that isn't for
sale.) These things are practically PCs at this point. Let modders
publish their stuff on Xbox Live and PSN next time, and let us enjoy and
get the most out of our favorite games.
Stronger Voice Codec
You suck
A recent Xbox Live update brought an improved voice codec, which was a
considerable, even impressive step above what the headsets used to sound
like. Here's the thing: It still sucks. It works, it's fine, whatever.
It still sounds like someone's yelling through a tuba doubling as a
popcorn maker. With Microsoft having acquired Skype in May, let's just
get it over with and add implement its call quality on the next Xbox's
Dashboard/party system. Skype calls sound excellent. We can already use
it from our PCs, iPhones, PSPs, and eventually PlayStation Vitas and
Xbox 360. Why isn't this service something Microsoft is stumbling over
itself to fuse with its proprietary voice system already? Whatever's
powering Skype is the best existing solution for the future of voice
chat.
Right now, you're better off hopping in a Skype call to talk to your
multiplayer buddies than you are putting up with spotty Bluetooth
connections or the atrocious sound quality MS and Sony let poison your
ears. Imagine having that high-quality sound without having to use Skype
as a separate service, whether it's already on your preferred platform
or not.
Expanded Achievements
Oh, first off: We would love to see our Trophy collection and Gamerscore
carry over into the next wave of game consoles. Some of us have spent
an embarrassing amount of time mining Achievements, sometimes out of
terrible games. Those are hours we'll never get back, so please, please
don't burn our points or Platinums. The other main reason we want to
keep 'em? We want to spend them.
Xbox Achievements set off something special in 2005. They've changed the
way we play games, and probably the way certain aspects of them are
designed. Steam, PSN, even Apple's Game Center on iPhone has adapted the
reward model. They likely won't disappear when the PlayStation 4 hits,
but we want to do more with these earnings. Coins collected on the 3DS
can be spent on in-game items, like additional characters, puzzle
pieces, and collectible figurines -- a similar economy on a third Xbox
would be incredible. Adding Achievement points to our Gamertag as well
as a Dashboard bank account would let us do more with what we love to
flaunt. Developers could do some cool stuff by embracing Trophies as
currency. Ubisoft's Uplay system already lets us trade points earned in
its games for costumes, maps, weapons, and other fun stuff. It'd be rad
to get Avatar items, main menu themes, weapon skins, characters, etc.
for dedicating our time to each respective console.
Backward Compatibility
Considering the decline in backward compatibility with each generation,
this one's a long shot. Now more than ever, though, the idea of not
being able to play older games on a new console really sucks. The Xbox
360 and PS3 have brought us some marvelous modern classics worth
returning to. Lugging out the ol' girl a few years from now just to play
Uncharted or BioShock isn't our ideal vision of the future. Chucking
the disc in a new tray? Oh, indeed.
More Non-Game Games
Exercise via Xbox is...pretty awesome, actually.
We're seeing a growth in real-life stuff appearing in game form, and the
more we see of this next generation, the better off we'll be. If you're
too busy for a gym, stuff like YourShape Fitness and EA Sports Active
are totally viable aerobics alternatives. Rocksmith may not be the best
game, but it's an excellent instructional tool. Consoles have plenty of
room for alternative entertainment like this. With Microsoft partnering
with National Geographic and Sesame Street to bring Kinect connectivity
to educational programs, we're seeing some stellar strides toward
getting more from our gaming machines than just good times. We can learn
and become better people from our couches.
No More Microsoft Points
PSN lets us add the exact funds necessary to buy the items in our cart
-- this is a great system because it's how we buy stuff everywhere else.
Microsoft Points don't. We always have points leftover. Purchase fees
rarely align with the amounts we're allowed to buy. Seriously, get rid
of this complicated, unmanageable, backward system.
Better Motion Technology
Don't take this the wrong way -- motion tech is cool. PlayStation Move
and Kinect are awesome advancements of the Wii's waggle. But developers
are still just scratching the surface of what waving a wand around, or
flailing about your living room, can really do. With any luck, we won't
be forced to upgrade our peripheral equipment in addition to an
expensive new console -- it'd be wonderful to see what creative types
can do with such strong, untapped tech using, uh, even newer tech.
its own technology timeline, and it's debatable whether that system can
truly be called "next generation." Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft duke it
out in the more traditional competitive "next generation" sphere of
technology and services.
The so-called PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 are a certainty. Less certain
is what those consoles will offer, the innovations that will set these
machines apart from the status quo. Obviously, better graphics, cooler
interfaces, sleeker designs, sensible controller innovations. But what
about the services on offer?
Here is an IGN wish-list for the services of future consoles. Please do use the comments to add your predictions...
Cloud Storage
Next time, this is the only physical thing we want in our living room.
We don't need a hard drive. Let's enter a future where all our games and
all our saves live somewhere else, instantly accessible on our next-gen
console as well as on associated mobile devices. We want to be
connected to our games all the time, from anywhere. We're already
starting to see the effect of this now. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 can
store saves on the cloud. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 has a unified
connection to Xbox Live and our Gamertags. Sony Erricson's PlayStation
phone, Xperia, gives users an astounding 50GB of free online storage.
This is the direction we're moving, and it isn't just with saved game
data.
Before long, we could be streaming games straight from our consoles. OnLive's iPad app
proves limited tech isn't a limitation for the concept. What's to stop
Sony of Microsoft from taking a similar approach in a couple years'
time? Really, with cloud-based games, there would be little need for
complicated, expensive hardware -- never mind another generation with
superior tech -- since we'd be streaming the resources.
Complete Online Retail
Let's have day-and-date digital availability to match our consoles'
retail release dates. We don't want to have to go to a store and pick up
a plastic box. Let's also have an open retail environment accessible
from our new XMBs and Xbox Dashboards. Let us access Steam and other
platforms and make our choices based on the best offers and the best
services.
Retroactive Platform Parity
Whatever these next consoles happen to be, they cannot offer anything
less than the last generation. PlayStation 4 needs cross-game and party
chat. You can make all the forward progress in the world, but if you
don't keep up with what's already done, what's the point?
Unified Video Service
Netflix, Hulu Plus, VuDu, Zune Marketplace, PlayStation Network Video
Store. The number of streaming, rental, and download services we pay for
to watch movies and TV is getting out of control. It's nice to have
Netflix on our PS3 and Hulu Plus on 360 because they have such different
content. Now we're starting to see stuff like UFC Pay-Per-View fights
streaming on Xbox Live. This is too many subscription fees and one-time
charges. Let's consolidate or eliminate these in a way that makes
watching TV easier to afford than a kickass cable package. If we had a
unified video service, it'd make our lives so much easier. Sure, jumping
from Netflix to Hulu in the same night isn't a big deal, but we're
paying for this stuff, and we're going to be paying for another
expensive box to use it again. In an ideal world, we'll be paying for
fewer versions of similar services to get all the content. What an
incredible platform-exclusive feature this would be.
Automatic (and Fewer) Updates
Yes, again.We need to spend less time watching loading bars and more time playing
games. It's why we paid for these wonderful things. In the future, we
don't want the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live to keep us offline when
we don't update. We want to talk to our friends while firmware version
2.0 downloads in the background, and automatically. Don't make us choose
to update, and disconnect us if we don't. Just do it, and let us get on
with our gaming.
Mods
Hey, Left 4 Dead, Unreal Tournament, and Elder Scrolls sure are great
series on consoles, aren't they? Man, top notch stuff. Just think of how
much better they must be on PC with all those free, optional texture
packs, custom maps, and new character models. The PS3 played nice with
UT3's mods, but beyond that we haven't seen much in the way of console
cooperation with add-on content. (At least not the stuff that isn't for
sale.) These things are practically PCs at this point. Let modders
publish their stuff on Xbox Live and PSN next time, and let us enjoy and
get the most out of our favorite games.
Stronger Voice Codec
You suck
A recent Xbox Live update brought an improved voice codec, which was a
considerable, even impressive step above what the headsets used to sound
like. Here's the thing: It still sucks. It works, it's fine, whatever.
It still sounds like someone's yelling through a tuba doubling as a
popcorn maker. With Microsoft having acquired Skype in May, let's just
get it over with and add implement its call quality on the next Xbox's
Dashboard/party system. Skype calls sound excellent. We can already use
it from our PCs, iPhones, PSPs, and eventually PlayStation Vitas and
Xbox 360. Why isn't this service something Microsoft is stumbling over
itself to fuse with its proprietary voice system already? Whatever's
powering Skype is the best existing solution for the future of voice
chat.
Right now, you're better off hopping in a Skype call to talk to your
multiplayer buddies than you are putting up with spotty Bluetooth
connections or the atrocious sound quality MS and Sony let poison your
ears. Imagine having that high-quality sound without having to use Skype
as a separate service, whether it's already on your preferred platform
or not.
Expanded Achievements
Oh, first off: We would love to see our Trophy collection and Gamerscore
carry over into the next wave of game consoles. Some of us have spent
an embarrassing amount of time mining Achievements, sometimes out of
terrible games. Those are hours we'll never get back, so please, please
don't burn our points or Platinums. The other main reason we want to
keep 'em? We want to spend them.
Xbox Achievements set off something special in 2005. They've changed the
way we play games, and probably the way certain aspects of them are
designed. Steam, PSN, even Apple's Game Center on iPhone has adapted the
reward model. They likely won't disappear when the PlayStation 4 hits,
but we want to do more with these earnings. Coins collected on the 3DS
can be spent on in-game items, like additional characters, puzzle
pieces, and collectible figurines -- a similar economy on a third Xbox
would be incredible. Adding Achievement points to our Gamertag as well
as a Dashboard bank account would let us do more with what we love to
flaunt. Developers could do some cool stuff by embracing Trophies as
currency. Ubisoft's Uplay system already lets us trade points earned in
its games for costumes, maps, weapons, and other fun stuff. It'd be rad
to get Avatar items, main menu themes, weapon skins, characters, etc.
for dedicating our time to each respective console.
Backward Compatibility
Considering the decline in backward compatibility with each generation,
this one's a long shot. Now more than ever, though, the idea of not
being able to play older games on a new console really sucks. The Xbox
360 and PS3 have brought us some marvelous modern classics worth
returning to. Lugging out the ol' girl a few years from now just to play
Uncharted or BioShock isn't our ideal vision of the future. Chucking
the disc in a new tray? Oh, indeed.
More Non-Game Games
Exercise via Xbox is...pretty awesome, actually.We're seeing a growth in real-life stuff appearing in game form, and the
more we see of this next generation, the better off we'll be. If you're
too busy for a gym, stuff like YourShape Fitness and EA Sports Active
are totally viable aerobics alternatives. Rocksmith may not be the best
game, but it's an excellent instructional tool. Consoles have plenty of
room for alternative entertainment like this. With Microsoft partnering
with National Geographic and Sesame Street to bring Kinect connectivity
to educational programs, we're seeing some stellar strides toward
getting more from our gaming machines than just good times. We can learn
and become better people from our couches.
No More Microsoft Points
PSN lets us add the exact funds necessary to buy the items in our cart
-- this is a great system because it's how we buy stuff everywhere else.
Microsoft Points don't. We always have points leftover. Purchase fees
rarely align with the amounts we're allowed to buy. Seriously, get rid
of this complicated, unmanageable, backward system.
Better Motion Technology
Don't take this the wrong way -- motion tech is cool. PlayStation Move
and Kinect are awesome advancements of the Wii's waggle. But developers
are still just scratching the surface of what waving a wand around, or
flailing about your living room, can really do. With any luck, we won't
be forced to upgrade our peripheral equipment in addition to an
expensive new console -- it'd be wonderful to see what creative types
can do with such strong, untapped tech using, uh, even newer tech.
MrRaverX- Founder
-
Honor : 2567 -
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