Homeconsole and handheld hybrids This seems like a no brainer. In the year 2017, why should gamers have to commit to one or the other when technology is clearly available to play the same high quality games at home and on the road? Although this has been done before to a lesser extent, Nintendo, which needs a hit in hardware badly after the disappointing and underappreciated Wii-U, is going all out with its latest offering, the Nintendo Switch. The system, due out in March 2017, will allow gamers to put a tablet on a dock and play high definition games on their televisions. Then when they have to go, they can remove the tablet from the dock and play the same game while out, bridging the gap between the handheld and home console experience. It may be a very innovative idea that catches on with hardcore gamers, and maybe a few casual gamers. Although the announcement received much fanfare, there are questions and concerns. Will the battery life be sufficient? Will the horsepower underwhelm? And will the price be right so that casuals can afford it? It’s a wait-and-see approach, but Nintendo is thinking out of the box and that’s always important in continuing to innovate. Upgradable consoles People predicted that the traditional physical console wouldn’t last long. Yet here we are with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One performing extremely well, which makes it all the more perplexing that just a couple of years into its console cycle, each system is releasing a more powerful version of the same system for more money. It seems to be a bit of a rough move for loyal customers that bought the original system on launch date. PlayStation 4 Pro, already in stores, touts more memory and better graphics, but with the new 4K TV, a new technology very few consumers own. And next year, Xbox One will release a significant upgrade, though it’s not technically considered a next generation system. This may result in confusion and anger. People don’t want to buy new systems every two years for an upgrade. Given that both companies are in a good place, it leaves more questions. Perhaps they’re competing with PC gaming, which touts the best graphics but requires lots of maintenance and upgrades, or are getting ready for gamers to store their games in the cloud rather than buying physical copies. It’s a new experiment to keep an eye on. QNS.com 24 WINTER 2016
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