Evolution of Console Parity (Lens of Truth)

Lens of Truth writes - "While it rarely makes much of a difference what console you play a game on, there is always a question in the back of many people’s minds concerning which version is technically superior. Console parity is something that developers have sought after since multi-console releases first hit the mainstream. Back in the day it was quite obvious which console had the most potential, even if that particular console would eventually end up crashing and burning."

[mayberry]

" perfect console parity should only be about a generation or two away regardless of the specs that each version supports.  When that happens, what will be our reason’s behind choosing one console over the other?  Will there only be one dominant force commanding it all?" IMHO, it will be exclusives that will determine dominance .

[LightofDarkness]

Doubtful, exclusives haven't proven to be of much value this generation, either in swaying over potential customers in large enough numbers or in sufficiently compensating the developers for their efforts. They've been fun for those of us who know about them and play them, but lest we forget, gaming is also a business.

The simple fact is that as games become more expensive and publishers/developers become more "greedy", the allure of exclusivity will wane and the idea will fade into obscurity.

First party studios may be around for a while longer, but you can be sure that they'll be taking the first express out of exclusive town once their contract opens up. (note: Bungie, Insomniac)

[Anon1974]

I couldn't disagree more. This entire gen has been ruled by exclusives. How many people bought a 360 because of Gears of War and Halo? How many people picked up a Wii for Mario Kart and Super Mario Bros Wii? How many people love their PS3 for LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted, God of War and Gran Turismo?

As we move forward it becomes all about the networks which are a tremendous revenue stream for each company. As bandwidth improves we'll see each company differentiate itself by it's network offerings, and the way they'll do that is with services offered, exclusives and exclusive deals.

We're still a ways of from the game cloud, but it will happen and when it does it'll be all about the network. The consoles will just be a conduit to the network, and we'll subscribe to gaming channels like we do with TV channels that interest us today. And then it'll be all about the exclusives, with companies paying top dollar to land that one, hot exclusive that will bring people running over to their gaming network.

[mayberry]

I agree with darkride66 to a point. I bought my ps3 absolutely just for the exclusives that weren't even out yet! I bought a launch 60g for mgs4, and gt5! Not even knowing when they would release! I will always lean toward a gaming device(cloud games), that have my exclusives. IMHO, bandwith in the U.S. will take a very long time(if ever), to be at levels of reliability for 20-50+g games. countries with high bandwith levels usually have significant government subsidies that the U.S. wont do.