Call it the unified console, the open standard platform or whatever; it's not unusual to hear mutterings about the magical 'one-console' future. Quite a few video gaming luminaries have shared their thoughts on the topic from time to time. Silicon Knights' Dennis Dyack has actually voiced his enthusiasm for the concept before and has recently been back at the podium explaining why he believes single console is the way forward.

Speaking to 1Up, Dyack explained his reasoning:

"Everyone needs to firmly understand that the console manufacturers have a closed model. The current parties who are involved in pushing forward closed systems will never want a single-console future, because it goes against the current business model that they're trying to apply. What I'm saying is going to happen is that the economics of the industry will not continue to support multiple closed models. It's too difficult, it's becoming too expensive to create games"

"It's not a matter of console manufacturers wanting to change, it's a matter of whether the economy of the videogames industry can continue to support the current model. If you talk to developers and publishers, you see a lot of groups disappearing now, a lot of closures of developers, because the economy is so hard. If all the third parties go away, there's not going to be a games industry, so something's got to give somewhere."

Maybe he's right, maybe he's wrong: only time will tell. But should we gamers welcome the idea and its potential to radically change the shape of console gaming?

I was pleased to discover a healthy division of opinion on the topic amongst the writers here at PSPSPS.tv. So we've decided to unite our musings into some reasons for and against the idea. I'll be heading up the against, while Chris will be explaining why it's the very future of gaming. Unfortunately our impassioned ramblings went on a bit long for a single post, so I've sliced them up a bit for you. And seeing as it's bank holiday you won't be seeing usual level of posting anyway. Check out the Pros here and Cons here.

Source
1Up

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