On Console Design

I've been around for quite a while.  Long enough to see gaming consoles evolve from simple 8-bit machines to home entertainment computers that encompass many facets of life.  Long enough to see gamers evolve from a select group of individuals that were deemed nerds to just about every make of human being from the toughest sports nut to the meekest of child.  I've also seen the console war itself evolve from simply who can output the best graphics and have the best exclusives to a war not just about power, but functionality and to a lesser extent, gimmicks.

I've also been witness to enough items to understand what works and what doesn't in the long run of gaming, yet I still see console manufacturers trying to implement items that most gamers never will use unless they are forced to, and even then they will do so with a groan and a bit of disappointment.  It's not always the console's fault.  Sometimes the games just don't do justice to the idea.  They feel tacked on last minute, or even worse, forced in just so they could say they used it.  Because of this, I've come up with a concept for a console using what I know and a plan about how future workings of it would be.

1 - The Power, The Brain, and the Guts: Contrary to popular belief, it's actually not hard to design a console's inner working as long as you know what you are doing.  I'm not going to state any specific hardware, because the moment I type it, there will be something new announced and it will be obsolete.  Also, coming back to this post a few years later, it will probably be ridiculously out of date.  Instead, the inner workings would be an amalgamation of contracts with hardware manufacturers based on the date of release.  Working together with them, I would take a hint from Sony's Playstation 3 and run a multi-core system with a central processor.  I would probably expand upon it a bit, possibly running 10 cores with a central brain to handle final compiling.  Given enough RAM, whatever the high end graphics and sound cards are, and the proper outputs, and the hardware is pretty much done.  The only thing I would have above anyone else right now would be terabyte hard drives.  Models would come in one, two, and eight terabyte, and there would be an output connection for a separate cord.  This cord would directly connect to another terabyte hardrive of the same type, so that users could expand to higher HDs.  I would also sell this cord with a 16TB and 32TB hardrive should they be available at that time.  Granted, the space could go up if needed based on the time of the console's release.

2 - The Mind: The operating system for a console is, in my opinion, the most critical part of the console itself.  An operating system should be set up for the ease of the end user, and should have basic functionality to run without too many possibly unused programs.  Basic programs that would come with the console would be an online store, game launcher, DVD Player (or whatever format I could have it play), music player for digital music, photos, and basic community applications.  Aside from that, there would be the ability to fully customize everything on the operating system.  Start up sounds, backgrounds, icons...pretty much everything.  The console would come with a program for the computer, both PC and Mac AND Linux compatible, that would help create themes.  And yes, those themes would be dynamic.  My console has enough power to run high definition games at at-least 60 FPS.  I'm sure it can load a full HD movie to be played as the background.

Everything else would be for the user to decide to download, and most would be free.  Things such as Netflix, fancy picture slideshows, or even an internet browser don't even get used on consoles most of the time (at least not through anyone I know).  Apps that I haven't seen that should be there are screen recording and internet streaming.  There are plenty of gamers out there who enjoy playing and like to record themselves having fun and show it to others.  Let them...in fact, let them easily do it.  Along side the community functionality of just having a friends list so you know when they are online and what achievements they have, there would be functionality for those Let's Players out there to simply click a setting, and instantly they are online streaming, speaking into a mic (purchased separately) and showcasing their skills.  If they do not wish to use that forum, they can simply record to the hard drive to upload to whatever place they choose.  Other social media apps such as Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook would be an optional download as well, and I'm sure as time went on, there would be plenty of other apps to add that people would enjoy.

3 - The Interface: Now for the controller...that little device you hold in your hand, and the one piece of equipment that always seems to be tampered with by console makers.  First off, I need to explain something.  Despite what most people think, controllers have not changed too drastically over the years.  D-pad on the left, buttons on the right.  The implementation of shoulder buttons with the SNES has been expanded on, and the Dual-Shock controller's joysticks are still probably the best places to have them, though some would argue that X-box's controller did it better by switching the D-pad and left joystick placement...but that's not the point.  The layout is still fundamentally the same.  Why?  Because it works.  It's comfortable.  It's easy to get used to.

So, with that, I'll keep a similar design to the Dual-Shock from Sony, with a few additions.  First, there would be a 4-inch screen dead center of the controller.  Now, this would never be used for any games itself, but instead would be a console interface based on what the user is doing other than gaming.  For those that like to play their own music, there would be a music controller there.  Chatting with friends via a mic?  It would display a status on who is talking and who is connected.  For those streaming though the console's media site the chat would be displayed so the player could simply look down for a moment and see the chat, thumbing through if they want to see more.  Even digital movies could be played on the screen, or if they don't want the distraction, achievement lists, power displays, or just a clock.  Of course, this could all be set up in the settings.

This also opens up something that I'm surprised nobody has thought of before.  Interactive Live Digital Game Guides (sold separately).  Purchasing one of these ILDGGs would allow you to basically cheat through a single player game.  The guide would allow you to navigate through a few menus to decide what you want to do currently, then as you play update your guide.  So if you wanted to find all those hidden items for that achievement, the little screen would act as a map.  If you wanted to know the code to unlock the door without having to read all the clues, the game would just tell it to you (even if it changed each time you played).  I've used online guides several times for those fetch trophies, but I have to make notes on which items I've collected so I don't have to go searching for 1 of 100 in a large world.  This would make it a lot easier and would justify the purchase of game guides again.

4 - The Games:  A recent topic that has been coming up in the console wars is backwards compatibility and the used games market.  On the former, assuming this console does well and warrants a second generation, there would definitely be backwards compatibility, and to anyone that designs consoles out there reading this, that should be a must regardless.  I know where the companies are coming from.  They want people to purchase new games.  They want people to re-buy their old games in new formats.  That's great, but unless you give them a great incentive to do so, most gamers would rather just keep their old consoles until they either die or enough good games come out for the new console.  And even then, they will probably keep their old console just to play older games.  I was lucky enough to get the double backwards compatible PS3, and I still occasionally play some PS1 and PS2 games.  It's rare, but when those feelings of nostalgia come on, I'm glad I have the ability to pull out Lunar or Megaman Legends and have some fun.  So if you want people to be less angry about not having immediate backwards compatibility, then heres a tip.  Create a way so they can get their old games back for the new console.  And with the invent of the internet on consoles, here is the perfect tip.  Buy a disc version, get a downloadable version for free, lock it to the account so only that account can play it, and poof!  New console comes out, make the SOFTWARE have the ability to play the digital versions, and people will just store their discs and download their old games at their leisure.  Problem solved.

Now for the used games market.  Several companies are attempting to tackle that the wrong way by treating it like it's a stolen game.  And I understand this...to them, it is stolen.  But here's how you fix that, and several games have taken the first step towards it.  Several games require you to input an online pass code in order to play the game online.  That's great.  Now, what about single player games?  Easy...online registration.  When you get a game, the first thing you have to do is input a code inside the box...if it's valid, a small 100kb file downloads to your system unlocking the game for that system.  If you sell the game or give it away, the game won't work.  If you don't have a stable or consistant web connection, that's fine since the file itself is what activates the game, so you'll only need to be online once for a few minutes, and then you can play the game offline all you want.  This would work for handhelds as well.  If the game is digital, then the file downloads with the game itself, and everything is good.

Oh wait...what about the other end...the game stores that sell those used games.  Well, they still can.  Users that purchase these games can purchase the online passes or the offline registrations of the games for a fee obviously.  I would probably say $5 would get you either/both.  Stores can still sell used games for discounted prices and make money on them for themselves, and the game companies can still make some money on their work.  I think that about covers all the bases.

5 - The Gimmick: There is none.  I've seen too many consoles try and fail at it.  The Wii was the closest thing to a success with the nun-chuck thing, and even that was mainly geared toward the casual gamer. Sega Dreamcast tried their VMU unit, and that wasn't enough to save the company from falling from the console wars.  Gimmicks just don't work.  If it's not part of the functionality, then it's not worth putting in.  Stick to what works, add what you need to make your functionality work, and leave the rest alone.  Some could say that the screen on the controller is a gimmick, and to some extent it is, but it's there for functionality.

*rereads* Wow that's a long post...but the I hope the idea is getting through.  I also hope that someone from either Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo reads this and starts to rethink where they are going with their consoles.  If not, oh well.  Maybe I'll get someone with the know-how to build it wanting to go in with me and Kickstarter this.  Maybe not.