Buying hardware for a console player is a different experience than hardware shopping for a PC player. For most console players, the choice of hardware is narrowed down to two options. The announcement of the Xbox One S, Scorpio, and Neo has complicated this question but, simplified, a console player really just needs to select Xbox or Playstation. A PC gamer always has the option to buy a rebuilt rig but that can be expensive. For the cheapest and most customizable option, PC Gamers build their own rigs. This includes choosing parts, checking compatibility, as well as making sure everything fits. But, this allows gamers to choose where they want to put their money. Consoles could go the same style but it would take a complete overall of the way console developers build their brand.
Consoles are basically dedicated PC’s for gaming. The only difference is that consoles have very standardized hardware and software. Instead of selling console gamers an entire box, allow third parties to sell hardware parts. To simplify the consoles, companies could break down the consoles into 4 parts: The CPU, the graphic cards, the motherboard + memory, and the case. AMD already supplies the Xbox One and PlayStation with CPUs. The next iteration of consoles could be designed to use PC graphic cards. Microsoft and Sony would sell rights to companies for creating hardware. Rather than buying a new console every few years, allowing players to upgrade individual parts when they become outdated makes the transition to better technologies smoother and cheaper for the user. Consoles would be able to keep up with PC performance, rather than the console becoming more obsolete as the years pass between iteration.
Console makers would then focus have to give more attention to the operating system. Similar to how Windows and MacOS compete with one another. By focusing on the OS of the box, resources that were previously spent on hardware would now be free to add better features to the operating system. Console exclusives would instead become OS exclusives. Console makers would of course still sell pre-built consoles. Because the idea of plug and play never gets old and PC gaming is hard.
Would would you like to see changed in the console ecosystem? Leave a comment!
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