I mean seriously, it seems like it be cheaper if there was some way you could upgrade the ps2 or the xbox to get the next gen system...ie every couple years the sony/microsoft releashes a couple things you put onto the system to make it better.

12/4/2005 1:53:45 PM

Everything changes.


How easy do you think it would be to replace the motherboard and processor in a console system? That shit is packed tight and there is no standard form, so manufacturers would be severaly limited in chip architecture.


Also, there's no accessible OS like on a desktop machine, so there would be no easy way to install drivers.

12/4/2005 1:58:53 PM

And don't forget about the laser beams.

12/4/2005 2:13:07 PM

It also helps the game programmers to know the "exact" limits they will be working with when making a game. On multiplatform games, you don't notice any difference. If a game is exclusive to a single console, usually the graphics will be absolutely fantasic (see Jak or Final Fantasy series on Playstation).

Also, IMHO, if you start making consoles upgradable, you are simply selling another PC packaged differently.

12/4/2005 2:33:50 PM

ummm, cause its all new hardware, not just a patch or something

12/4/2005 3:02:33 PM

Seriously.

The fucking point is that EVERY USER HAS THE SAME SYSTEM.

That's why Super Mario Bros. better not crash.

12/4/2005 3:28:20 PM

I can think of one instance where something like this happened, remember that memory upgrade you could put in the N64?

12/4/2005 3:32:17 PM

There's been more stuff than that.

Like the retardation with the two different Xboxen.

And the failure that was the PS2 hdd.

Or the N64 hdd for that matter, which didn't even come out here iirc.

12/4/2005 3:33:36 PM

^ how about the sega CD add-on

12/4/2005 3:41:16 PM

sega also had the 32x which plugged into the genesis cartridge slot

12/4/2005 10:18:32 PM

Which, by the way, was a monumental failure.

12/4/2005 10:52:26 PM

I would love a hard drive for my PS2 if you could actually use it for saves, instead of buying these retardedly expensive memory cards. But yeah, this has already been answered:

Quote :

"The fucking point is that EVERY USER HAS THE SAME SYSTEM."

12/4/2005 10:57:39 PM

One of the great things about console gaming is that you don't have to worry about the shit you have to deal with when it comes to upgrades. You get a game and you will know for sure that it will run perfectly without having to mess with any settings or install it or take up memory (except for saving).

12/4/2005 10:58:12 PM

Planned obsolescence, mafackers.

12/5/2005 1:46:10 AM

What does it matter? Consoles are typically cheaper than comparable upgrades for a PC.

12/5/2005 2:04:46 AM

Compare a $400 Xbox 360 to a PC with the same GPU/CPU processing capabilities. Which one will be cheaper?

12/5/2005 10:12:57 AM

Quote :

"The fucking point is that EVERY USER HAS THE SAME SYSTEM."

and

Quote :

"Planned obsolescence, mafackers."

Both are very true.

And if you want something to upgrade, get a PC damnit.

12/5/2005 10:21:25 AM

the whole point is to bid on new consoles on ebay. we couldn't do that if all you had to do was pop in a 7800gtx or the lieks every few years.

12/5/2005 12:04:10 PM

the xbox is cheaper for the preformance, as microsoft is doing the loss leader bit with it again, jsut liek they did with the xbox 1. Its a tri processor dedicated gmaing box, and as soon as they get XboxLinux up and running on it, look for massive sales to use in cluster computing

12/5/2005 12:04:36 PM

xvang's Theory:

Marketing Guy #1: Hmmm, What can we do to milk these over-paid, underworked morons across the country for their money?

Marketing Guy #2: Hmmm, why not make a new one?

Marketing Guy #1: Brilliant!

12/5/2005 12:33:16 PM

let's make consoles even more like computers!

brilliant!

12/5/2005 1:06:42 PM

Quote :

"let's make consoles even more like computers! brilliant!"

Because having a console that uses the exact same development languages and tools for both computer and console would be fucking retarded right? durrrrrrr


As far as drivers and software upgrades go, the xbox1 is Win CE. Dunno about the 360, but its some flavor of windows. Drivers and software upgrades already exist, but like everyone else mentioned its about keeping game compatibility and the eventual forced upgrade.

12/5/2005 1:12:59 PM

I already have a computer, and it's perfectly capable of playing games.

plus it cost less than what a lot of people are paying for these consoles.

so what's the point again?

12/5/2005 2:48:44 PM

cuz it will run games better than many people's computers...or for people that dont have computers... or people who dont feel like upgrading, getting peripherals, messing with cables, and moving their comp into the living room to play on a big tv and surround sound.

12/5/2005 3:18:22 PM

i already have a computer, why do i need a settop DVD player?

12/5/2005 4:27:00 PM

2 words: planned obsolesence

12/6/2005 10:53:26 AM

obsolescence, perhaps

english much?

12/6/2005 10:58:09 AM

ooh big tv and surround sound


so this is a status thing then

also laziness

12/6/2005 11:30:07 AM

^^ omg, I missed a key while typing a word! I must not know the language!

12/6/2005 11:57:25 AM

^^ except i gave you other reasons as well.

beyond that i like playing with surround sound and a nice tv (not that i have one) because it looks nicer and is more fun, not so i can brag like a douche.

you are playing video games to enjoy yourself, i would think laziness would be acceptible when it came to the fact you dont want to haul your rig out there every time.

plus some people like console games and/or dont want to wait for potentially crappy emulators.

im guessing you are probably just trolling as most of this is fairly obvious.

[Edited on December 6, 2005 at 12:16 PM. Reason : .]

12/6/2005 12:13:56 PM

eh, I think it makes a lot of sense to have consoles act as an entertainment appliance.

how many VCR's do you know of that can be upgraded?

12/6/2005 12:19:29 PM

Shaggy you were wrong, the original xbox OS was based off Win2000, not WinCE, and the xbox 360 OS is an evolution still off the original xbox OS

Quote :

"The original Xbox ran an OS that had its roots in Windows 2000. Granted, by the time you strip out everything that is not needed in a console like the Xbox and replace some of the parts with stuff specific to that device (like the file system), and add a few pieces, it hardly resembles anything remotely like Windows 2000 at all. But you could say that's where its original roots lie, even if 95 percent of it has been cut or heavily altered. The Xbox 360's OS, in turn, has its roots in the OS of the original Xbox. I've been told (not by Microsoft, but by one of its hardware partners) that the Xbox absolutely positively does NOT run Linux [oops, the censors missed that one --Ed.] or Unix or some variant of that. The Xbox 360 project started with the Xbox OS the same way the Xbox project started with Windows 2000. They cut, added, and changed it in both large and small ways. It's now quite a bit different from the Xbox OS, which was itself quite a bit different from Windows 2000. Really, the best way to think of it is as "The Xbox 360 OS." But if you really have to think of it in Windows terms, you could say it has roots in Windows 2000 by way of the original Xbox, albeit with sweeping changes along the way."

12/6/2005 4:19:39 PM

oh. word.

12/6/2005 4:27:04 PM

my world is shattered shaggy...i trusted you...i mean ur the CA.

[Edited on December 6, 2005 at 4:53 PM. Reason : ,]

12/6/2005 4:52:34 PM

NO LONGER A TRUSTED ROOT!

12/6/2005 10:06:55 PM

consoles typically last 3 years, pcs only last 3 years, you would have to replace every part in order to "upgrade it" and to do that typically you woudl have to spend more than buying a new unit. The programmers program the games to run off the base system, and because of that they can eek more proformance out of it.

12/7/2005 8:21:29 AM

^ i dont necessarily agree with that gaming wise. i didnt replace my cd-rom, sound card, network card, hard drive, powersupply/case, and peripherals for many iterations while upgrading my pc. some are nice-to-haves but arent nearly necessary to still play a game well.

only things that really need to be replaced usually are processor/mb, ram if ur old kind was shitty (usually you can just add a bit more and be alright), and vid card. am i missing something.

still cheaper to buy a console, considering video card prices but it isnt like your whole system gets junked every 3 years (and better yet there are more uses for an old pc than an old console).

12/7/2005 10:20:04 AM

^ the new consoles are all using drastically different technologies, you cant use the ram from a 3 year old computer in a new one, just like you could not move ram from an old console to a new one. The GPU and CPU on the new consoles are basically tied together, you do not get this type of intergration, its how consoles can offer such proformance for the buck.

12/7/2005 9:22:02 PM

the most modular console system has already been invented. its called a computer

12/7/2005 9:36:16 PM

i dotn see why you cant use old ram in a new computer if you just add extra which wont cost much if its older technology.

12/7/2005 10:38:37 PM

different number of pins and different ways to access the data in them

12/7/2005 10:57:50 PM

They do have 'consoles' that you can upgrade as often as you like.

That have far superior graphics and memory capacity.

And full blown internet support.

12/7/2005 11:29:11 PM

and a partridge in a pear tree

12/8/2005 6:43:48 AM