Before I begin, let me state that I am in no way begging for Microsoft to release a new console this very second, my wallet can’t take it. But there’s no reason we can’t wish and dream. I owned the original Xbox console (Xbox 180, if you will) and graduated on to the Xbox 360. I find that the leap in consoles from one generation to the next surpasses my wildest dreams a great deal of the time, so I’m sure whatever ideas I have here have already been suggested by some genius with an email address that ends in @xbox.com. Here goes nothing…
1. No more RRoD - That’s not too much to ask, is it? If we, the consumers are plunking down hundreds of dollars for a top of the line console, it should work, right?
2. Disc Changer - My least favorite task associated with the 360 is having to change games. Everything else can be completed in the comfort of my recliner, yet to change games, I have to actually walk across the room to do it. C’mon Microsoft. Who do you think I am, some world class athlete? If I wanted to be active, I’d get a Wii and play Wii Fit. (For the record, I want both.)
3. Browser - XBL Marketplace is great, don’t get me wrong. But why can’t they throw a browser in as well? It would be nice to check something in the interwebz between games of COD4 or GTA4, or any other game ending in four. Of course, it would have to be IE (so that might suck) but I’ll take what I can get.
4. Built in Wireless - That was sneaky, how MS makes you fork over an extra $99 for the wireless adapter. I know it’s in the name of profit, but everything these days has WiFi built in. Is it too much to ask for the next console you guys produce to have it built in? Is it?
5. $100 - That’s the most I’ll pay. Well, four out of five ain’t bad.
Feel free to throw your ideas in the comments, I’d love to know what fellow gamers and geeks want in the next generation of gaming consoles.
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February 25th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Well as far as not changing games goes, at least have a multi-disc changer in there that you can cycle through. CD players have had them for years, it isn’t like it is a difficult technology to add, and size has never been something the Xbox has been trying to minimize.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Good god, that’s the best you can come up with? Let me comment on each of these:
1. Bloody obvious.
2. Disc changer? Seriously? How about no discs at all? How about everything being downloadable onto some massive built-in storage? Then you’d never have to get up! The disc is dead (or will be soon), move on.
3. I’ve never really understood why some people desperately want a browser on their console; it may go along with me not understanding complaining about having to physically get up and change a disc.
4. Bloody obvious.
5. … right.
Now, how about some useful ideas:
1. No discs whatsoever. There’s no reason a next-gen console couldn’t have terrabytes of storage allowing for everything to be downloadable. Yes, this could be a pain for the 10 people out there that don’t have the internet, but I’m sure some kind of solution could be found.
2. Dual TV support. The PS3 was supposed to have this, along with many other great features that were dropped, and I think they were on to something. It would be great to be able to make games more than 4 player, but only so much can fit on one screen.
3. Allow for user-made games. Release some form a development kit for free and let the online community go nuts. So many games out there benefit hugely from user-made content to drastically expand the experience. Hell, I had friends who played Warcraft 3 for years solely for user-made custom games. Being the first console to really cater to this crowd of developers would be huge.
4. More power, of course. Duh.
5. A truly solid set of games for launch, possibly one that doesn’t rely exclusively on a new Halo game.
Any thoughts?
February 27th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
You are correct Batman. Discs (CDs/DVDs) are soon to be the next cassette. I look forward to the day when these games are simply downloaded. I tell you this though, before we get to that point, my Internet connection is going to need a boost. The hour it takes for me to download a demo is crazy. I can’t imagine a full game!
February 27th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Thanks for the insight. I forgot to mention in my wishlist that I would love to have the “tools” on XBL visible before hand, so I never have to deal with them. Perhaps it will catch on everywhere…
April 24th, 2009 at 12:34 am
I agree with the fact that it would be nice if it has tb’s of storage, as it should. Especially since digital download is more and more common. If they don’t put significant storage it would be nice if you can swap out the hard drive with any standard 2.5″ notebook drive, like you can on the PS3.
I love the idea to have a development kit for user created content for everyone for free. I don’t know why they don’t do it already.