re: Microsoft to unify PC and Xbox One platforms

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Gardoki and I went back and forth on this yesterday before the story posted.

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Yeah, okay...

LINK
This is just one article, but interesting...

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There is a common idea to all these three, seemingly isolated incidents- Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft all seem to be looking at ending the age old concept of discrete hardware cycles for their consoles and handhelds. Instead, it seems like all three may be looking at establishing a common hardware platform going forward, available in a variety of configurations, that can then be iterated upon and improved with future revisions and upgrades. In a sense, the way they are looking at hardware in the future is a shared platform or infrastructure, with inter- and intra-generational compatibility.

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I'm still curious if Sony will go to Steam for a deal now as a counter. They won't sit still, and there is some background there with Portal 2.

A lot of rumors think that will work like uplay does through steam

Perhaps it will play out a lot like with PC games: you can play this game, but without the upgrade, you'll have to set everything to low.

I don't think they will split the market like that. I think a refresh console would just run the games better.

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I think a refresh console would just run the games better.

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No doubt, but that's an oversimplification. If I'm developing a game I now have to make sure it runs on the various hardware configurations of not only the PC but also the Xbox One. You could have an area with 30 enemies that runs fine on the New Xbox One™ but chugs on the original system, even with the graphics set to "low." So do you dumb down the AI? Do you reduce the number of enemies? Maybe you make the world geometry of that area even more simple? Now apply that exercise to a game the size of Fallout or GTA.

These types of considerations are typical for PC games but new for consoles where a developer could make certain assumptions. I'm not saying it's impossible for Microsoft to solve or mitigate this problem, but I'm curious how they will if the console really does become upgradeable.

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Someone tell me how this affects Battlefield.

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You'll have to play it on your phone now.

Sony is trying that now with PS now and it isn't going very well. Internet in this country isn't currently good enough for this idea to take off yet.

I guess more than streaming capability, I just hope someday we can break that barrier of platform exclusivity. You really don't see it with any other media.