FAQ: the next video game consoles?

By David Becker on 18 April 2005, 7:17pm

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Will it do stuff besides play games?

Sony -- Executives have talked for years about fitting the PlayStation with multimedia functions, which would seem natural, given the parent company's ownership of major film and music operations.

To date, those efforts have culminated in little more than the PSX hybrid machine -- available in Japan only. Recent moves by Sony management and the multimedia-friendly design of Cell suggest that the PS3 may arrive just as Sony finally becomes serious about convergence.

Microsoft -- It has gradually fitted the current Xbox with functions such as voice chat, karaoke and digital music. Microsoft also introduced 'extender kits' for hooking up an Xbox to a PC running the Windows XP Media Centre.

Expect this type of function to come together in a nice, sleek package with the Xbox 2, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told CNET News.com recently. "We didn't make Xbox just to be a videogame console; we made it to be part of our vision of a digital lifestyle. With the next generation, we really get to go there," Gates said.

Nintendo -- Executives have insisted for years that nongame functions in a console would just dilute the game experience, and there's no sign that they're changing their position with Revolution.

What kind of online capabilities will it have?

Sony -- Support for multiplayer online games has gradually grown with the PS2, and the PS3 should continue the trend. One of the most intriguing aspects of the Cell processor is the capability to use broadband connections to shuttle demanding computing tasks to groups of networked machines, which could dramatically boost performance for streaming media, online games and other tasks.

Microsoft -- The Xbox Live online gaming service has become one of the key selling points for Microsoft's console, and the company is promising dramatic expansion of the service with Xbox 2. Gates has talked about adding features such as instant messaging to the service, which will also become more of a venue for selling downloadable games and other content.

Nintendo -- Executives until now have vowed to steer clear of online games until they see a viable business model in it. But Nintendo recently revealed that Revolution will have built-in support for wireless networking, partly to support an online gaming service Nintendo plans to launch late this year.

Will it connect with other gadgets?

Sony - -A recent Sony patent application paints an intriguing picture of a PlayStation 3 hooking up with Sony's new PlayStation Portable to perform tasks such as downloading content and swapping settings from one version of a game to another.

Microsoft -- Xbox connectivity is centred on the PC. Xbox 2 could be Microsoft's secret weapon to popularise Windows XP Media Centre, the entertainment centred version of its PC operating system.

Nintendo -- It tried to make connections with the ubiquitous Game Boy Advance a key selling point for the GameCube, but the idea never caught on. Built-in wireless networking in the new DS handheld player could promote a more spontaneous type of networking with the Revolution.

Will it play games for the current consoles?

Sony -- It set a game industry precedent by making the PS2 backwards compatible; it can play games for the original PlayStation, and the company has vowed to continue the practice with PS3. "PlayStation 3 will offer the same compatibility for PS2 software, and the format will continue forever," Sony President Ken Kutaragi told a Japanese newspaper last year.

Microsoft -- It hasn't said whether the Xbox 2 will play games for the current Xbox. Backwards compatibility would probably be an expensive feature to implement, thanks to licensing and hardware restrictions, but Microsoft may feel pressured to match Sony's commitment.

Nintendo -- Nintendo, which has introduced an incompatible new media format with each console, plans to break with tradition and make the Revolution compatible with GameCube discs.