If you were to create your own console...

[Elliot B.]

What would be your requirements?

I would demand all games released on it run at 1080p/60fps, regardless of visual quality (I'm sure the games would still look excellent these days).

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Here is what id like o see in the Playstation 5/Xbox Two:

1080p/60fps for games minimum - 4K (true 4K, 4096x2160) max res output @ 30fps minimum.
16GB RAM
3TB Hybrid SSD/HDD (SSD for OS/HDD 7200rpm for storage)
UHD or whatever its called BluRay disks. The ones that supposedly hold 150GB or more of data. 
VR optimized games.
Both MS and Sony to stop with the 'exclusives' for games, and just release games for both platforms, and the same time. 

As for games:
All games with human characters use TressFX hair. (it makes a helluva difference)
All game characters should use Eurphoria for realistic physics/ragdoll simulations.

That will do me, If they can release a console for about $800.00 AUS which can do that stuff for next gen, ill be there.

[Elliot B.]

Here is what id like o see in the Playstation 5/Xbox Two:

1080p/60fps for games minimum - 4K (true 4K, 4096x2160) max res output @ 30fps minimum.

16GB RAM

3TB Hybrid SSD/HDD (SSD for OS/HDD 7200rpm for storage)

UHD or whatever its called BluRay disks. The ones that supposedly hold 150GB or more of data. 

VR optimized games.

Both MS and Sony to stop with the 'exclusives' for games, and just release games for both platforms, and the same time. 

As for games:

All games with human characters use TressFX hair. (it makes a helluva difference)

All game characters should use Eurphoria for realistic physics/ragdoll simulations.

That will do me, If they can release a console for about $800.00 AUS which can do that stuff for next gen, ill be there.

I was thinking more - realistic :P

[HawkMan]

Tress fx has so many weird artifacts there are better ways to make good hair. Like real hair sim. As for euphoria, it's not about rag doll physics. It's animation and how character react to the environment and hitting stuff or being hit. It's also not the only one for this. EA has their own engine for this they use in among other the sports games that are in some way better.

Either way, you can tell game devs they HAVE to use certain plugin Apis like this. It will make the cost of licensing them skyrocket and limit development of new better solutions.

Also I'd rather have VHD than UHD BD. But I'd rather have a console without a disk drive in the future, maybe a BD just for movies.

Realistically, I would hope for more then 1080p60 low end to 2k high.

And as do VR on our for games where it makes sense. Flight sims, car sims, space combat and such. For FPS and RPG and RTS, no, it doesn't make sense.

[theyarecomingforyou]

At the moment 1080p is outdated but 4K is too expensive, with even high-end PC hardware is struggled to hit 60fps. Further, consoles have become little more than budget-PCs and no longer have the superior gaming experience. Therefore I would take a different direction altogether.

 

I'd go for a VR headset with a 3K resolution and combine it with a Kinect-like controller working in conjunction with a more traditional-controller (? la the new Steam Controller). In terms of the console hardware I'd drop the optical drive altogether and include a user-replaceable 4TB HDD/SSD hybrid, with support for external drives. With respect to gaming I would require all games to run at 3K@60fps with full 3D support - no more allowing developers to pick and choose the resolution or framerate. In addition to VR it would incorporate forward facing cameras in order to implement augmented reality, as well as to allow users to check their surroundings.

 

At the moment there is little to distinguish the XB1 and PS4, which is why so much of the discussion has revolved around the performance differences. With my console it would be a premium offering unlike anything else, with gaming put at the forefront. 

[riahc3]

Simple: I would do a Project Ara for consoles.

Imagine buying a console for (example price) $199 and people that want to game, would only spend that. Yet, you people that want all this nonsense, would buy modules and end up with a $599 console.

As the console gets outdated (or games ask for more) you would just switch a module out. The key is to make the switching in and out of module as standard and easy for stupid people so that the general consumer wont be afraid of this.

This way I get hardware benefits in the long run vs just a small percentage of each game sold made by third party developers.

And every x years, I would go a refresh of the platform which would be incompatible with modules from the previous. So again 199 plus all modules.

Profit > Gamer's happiness.

[HawkMan]

really... you would spend 200 on JUST the harddrive ?

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178379&ignorebbr=1

 

never mind the 500$ graphics card... sure sounds like a sales success :p

Simple: I would do a Project Ara for consoles.

Imagine buying a console for $199 and people that want to game, would only spend that. Yet, you people that want all this nonsense, would buy modules and end up with a $599 console.

As the console gets outdated (or games ask for more) you would just switch a module out. The key is to make the switching in and out of module as standard and easy for stupid people so that the general consumer wont be afraid of this.

This way I get hardware benefits in the long run vs just a small percentage of each game sold made by third party developers.

And every x years, I would go a refresh of the platform which would be incompatible with modules from the previous. So again 199 plus all modules.

Profit > Gamer's happiness.

 

 

It's called a PC ;)

[riahc3]

It's called a PC ;)

OK, tell your mom, next door neighbor, your 3 year old sister, to open up a PC and install a graphics card and install the latest drivers. Lets see how long it would take them....

A console of this type would be snap out, snap in, and boom. Done. At most internet takes care of any driver issues and/or you put in a CD.

That's the difference. You completely missed the entire point of my post for this idea didn't you?

[HawkMan]

Don't forget that with this generatiosn consoles being x86, and especially with MS using windows kernel and a common SDK. they don't need a single console generation.

 

in 2 years they can release the Xbox One Ultra. Which runs all the Xbox One games, but at higher resolution, at the same time all future games will run on both the One and One Ultra. the devs only need to give the games two setting files, one for the One and one for the One utlra, they use the same resources, but te ultra will have higher res more and better effects and better LOD on details and textures, better filtering and higher res on close up textures. and all this without any extra dev time or cost. 

OK, tell your mom, next door neighbor, your 3 year old sister, to open up a PC and install a graphics card and install the latest drivers. Lets see how long it would take them....
 

 

Unfortunately, these people wouldn't be able to assemble an ARA phone or console either, no matter how easy it is. 

 

No matter how easy it is and will be, customizeable hardware is an enthusiast market. 

[riahc3]

Unfortunately, these people wouldn't be able to assemble an ARA phone or console either, no matter how easy it is.

They cant do this:

?

[HawkMan]

They cant do this:

?

 

Not when you put electronics in it. you're doing the mistake of assigning logic to common people. and it's a bit more than just putting together duplo.

 

even when it is that simple. people want a finished phone that just does anything, they don't want to pick and choose. 

 

also ARA is a terrible idea for a games console. it ads to many variables. a multi generation console like what you are probably seeing now, where you have the firs version and then gradually over the years you get more powerful versions is a much better idea, as you still have a known set of variables for the consoles, and at most you only need to support 3 generations of them. 

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

I was thinking more - realistic :p

In 8 years from now, those specs should be somewhat realistic for a console :)

After all, you did say what you would want to see in a console, Im just forward thinking thats all :P

For a console of today, a smaller 1TB SSHD standard, 1080p/60fps min and that would do me tbh, oh and throw in the no exclusives stuff, It really bugs me I cant get a Halo game on my PS4, and im sure MS owners are mad at not being able to play The Last of Us on their xbox ones. 

[riahc3]

Not when you put electronics in it. you're doing the mistake of assigning logic to common people. and it's a bit more than just putting together duplo.

Why even know there is electronics in it? Its just a plastic block. Nothing else.

even when it is that simple. people want a finished phone that just does anything, they don't want to pick and choose.

They wouldn't have to. There are people that want to play games (we see this with Farmville) then there are people that want for some odd reason crazy graphics with no gameplay or story. Let them choose.

also ARA is a terrible idea for a games console. it ads to many variables. a multi generation console like what you are probably seeing now, where you have the firs version and then gradually over the years you get more powerful versions is a much better idea, as you still have a known set of variables for the consoles, and at most you only need to support 3 generations of them.

Makes no sense but OK, whatever :)

Just stated the console I would create to sell and see huge profit.

[HawkMan]

Why even know there is electronics in it? Its just a plastic block. Nothing else.

They wouldn't have to. There are people that want to play games (we see this with Farmville) then there are people that want for some odd reason crazy graphics with no gameplay or story. Let them choose.

Makes no sense but OK, whatever :)

Just stated the console I would create to sell and see huge profit.

 

 

People know there's electronics in ARA, hence it complicates it for them, they want one box that's all they need not something they need to know what goes together and what upgrades what and all that crap. 

 

your fantasy customers are better suited by the Amazon box or the rumored low end Xbox one that's just media and simple games. 

 

and how does a multi console generation not make sense. you have the one, you have the one Ultra released to years later with better specs and graphics, and then 2 years after that you have the One Ultra 2. even more powerful capable of 2k-4k graphics at the same fidelity as the basic Xbox one. They all play the same games from the same discs. only at different graphical settings. The devs only need to worry about adding different settings file for each console on the desk or online. they don't have to worry about what differe magical blocks of several undred the customer has used to build his lego console. 

[123456789A]

I'd do something like the Xbox One but with Intel and Nvidia instead of AMD. Also would redesign it to look like this:

 

[HawkMan]

I'd do something like the Xbox One but with Intel and Nvidia instead of AMD. Also would redesign it to look like this:

 

 

Intel would only increase the cost, the way the one is designed and especially with DX12 coming, the multithreading of the AMD is of far more benefit than the single trhead efficiency of Intel. as for nvidia over amd... performance for performance Nvidia is far more expensive. and you can't to the custom high performance APU with intel and Nvidia like you can with AMD

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Probably wouldn't change too much over the PS4, it's fairly well balanced for price/power.

 

I would ask for better SATA support for faster drives (think it's limited to SATA3?). Asking for a SATA drive out of the box is not necessary considering you can buy a drive out of your own expense rather than bumping the consoles RRP.

 

The memory is obviously really good, the graphics card the best on the market (out of the 3 consoles). I think I'd maybe take a look at the CPU, but I know nothing about mobile CPUs so can't comment that much. For the size of the console you're not getting a desktop CPU in there due to heat.

 

Apart from those few points I'd focus more on the OS/software side. Sony's biggest letdown. Works fast and mostly to plan, but it takes them too long to update it.

[McKay]

Probably wouldn't change too much over the PS4, it's fairly well balanced for price/power.

 

I would ask for better SATA support for faster drives (think it's limited to SATA3?). Asking for a SATA drive out of the box is not necessary considering you can buy a drive out of your own expense rather than bumping the consoles RRP.

 

The memory is obviously really good, the graphics card the best on the market (out of the 3 consoles). I think I'd maybe take a look at the CPU, but I know nothing about mobile CPUs so can't comment that much. For the size of the console you're not getting a desktop CPU in there due to heat.

 

Apart from those few points I'd focus more on the OS/software side. Sony's biggest letdown. Works fast and mostly to plan, but it takes them too long to update it.

 

PS4 uses a SATA II drive and controller, it's why SSD's only run at half their potential speed when installed into it. So I'd make it SATA III. 

 

Right now the PS4 equivalent hard drive is an AMD 7850, I'd think about at least making it like a 7970 equivalent, isn't too expensive but is more powerful and would enable the titles that only managed to hit 900p hit 1080. I wouldn't think about 4K support at all like Theyarecomingforyou did, I think 1080p is only "outdated" for PC, not console. Worry about 4K in 5 years when the console is beginning to age and see how much 4K TV's have penetrated the market. I also wonder if consoles would benefit from simply moving to Intel i7's etc instead of slower clocked ocoto-core custom processors and off the shelf PC graphics cards. 

 

I wonder about toying with some expandability options, like the N64 allowed you to expand the RAM etc. Most of the cavity where the hard drive is is wasted space, so the potential to have some kind of room for expansion could be done, maybe when more demanding games come out they could make do with a PS4 Expansion module to hit 1080/60 if they were only 900/60 or 1080/30 without the imaginary module.

[Torolol]

i would demand for the games to be released on custom formatted SSD but its using standard USB connector.

[Crisp]

If I was MS I would focus on world wide fibre Internet to compete with Google at gigabit. Then I wouldn't even bother with hardware but expand on azure, then just for the home something powerful enough to stream movies client side with TV crap and just have something like OnLive to dominate gaming via mobile, console and desktop.

 

Never gonna happen.

[HawkMan]

i would demand for the games to be released on custom formatted SSD but its using standard USB connector.

 

So you would demand the games come on a storage format that's as expensive as the games themselves are today ?

[NightScreams]

Keeping it realistic and sensible is a key word here. I might have researched and looked into doing an ARM CPU for the OS and focus on GPU with secondary, smaller GPU for physics and A.I as well as audio. and keep those off the need for a CPU. 

Maybe even go with Nvidia if possible due to their Cuda and PhysX as well as Audio on GPU technologies. Spend more for GPU stuff than CPU if possible so more can be spent in those areas.

If not then certainly I would have gone with what Sony has already, you can't make it too expensive. Maybe do an upgrade each year with an updated model like what Apple does with their iPads, keep the cost the same but update the hardware a bit. Being x86, they'll be compatable with the original games just the same as they do on PC except run faster and of course make the licenses in a way so that future games are scalable much like they are on iPads.

 

I'd go with an interface more similar to PS3's XMB. I really find the PS4 more convoluted, spammy and less minimalistic than necessary. But instead of icons in the middle of the screen I'd go with a more Tabbed like approach towards the top that flips between sections of relevancy. Their store is terrible, I'd organize it a bit more like Steams, there is no sense in showing the same games listed under every category just because your endeavor to push the title in everyones face.

[McKay]

Maybe do an upgrade each year with an updated model like what Apple does with their iPads, keep the cost the same but update the hardware a bit. Being x86, they'll be compatable with the original games just the same as they do on PC except run faster and of course make the licenses in a way so that future games are scalable much like they are on iPads.

 

 

The risk with that is you halt down gaming progress, look at the most demanding games on iPad, very few apps are only compatible with the latest iPad. Devs make it so that their game works on most of the iPads, same as PC Game Devs don't make games that require literally the most powerful video card and Processor, they make it so lots of rigs can play to maximise profit. If we moved to a yearly console release that was 100% backwards compatible devs would want to make it so their games run on as many generations of Playstation and Xbox as possible. 

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

I don't know about others but if consoles followed the release schedule of tablets and phones I'd give them up completely.

 

Not interested in that model at all.

[Gerowen]

Obviously you'll want the best hardware that you can afford-ably mass produce that will perform well, but here's an idea.

 

Modularity.  I remember the old N64 expansion pack where you could increase the available RAM by adding an expansion pack.  Why couldn't newer consoles revisit that idea?  Instead of testing out entirely new architectures and configurations with every console, why not release a modular console.  8 GB of RAM not cutting it in 5 years?  Original video card falling behind compared to newer offerings?  Sell an "upgrade" pack that is user installable to increase available RAM or to replace the video card.  Even if it's some proprietary configuration so you have to buy "Sony's" or "Microsoft's" upgrade pack, I think it would be better than just letting the consoles slowly age into irrelevance when PC gamers can just run down to Wal-Mart of Best Buy and purchase upgrades for their rigs, and better than having to spend millions (billions?) of dollars researching, developing, marketing and producing brand new consoles every 5 years or so.  Would also keep from annoying gamers who want to play their older games and realize that the new console they just spent $500 on won't play their older games.