Why no more niche super consoles?

woofercooker

woofercooker

woofercooker

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Back in the day, beside the standard nes,snes,megadrives etc we had things like the neogeo atari jaguar etc that were all more powefull than the standard consoles but cost a lot more, do you think there is a market today for a super console so to speak that is much more expensive but more powerful that the current gen stuff?
 
No one has the appetite to have such sunk costs in selling consoles at a loss on top off many millions in R&D in the hope that they profit from licensing/subscriptions over the generation of their console. It just makes much more sense to sell a console at near cost; and if thats the case no one is going to build a console that prices itself out of the consumer market...

EDIT: I kinda missed your point, yeah they do, its called a PC - as a gaming platform it is far more ubiquitous now than it was when such 'super consoles' were out. Valves Steam Machines might be the closest we will ever get I guess...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
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I think it's a very small market - the PC works, as it allows people to spend as much or as little as they like, depending on budget and desired performance. However, a "take it or leave it" super-console offer, for more money than something like the PS4 which is already pricey, simply wouldn't get purchased in sufficient quantities to make back the outlay.
 
Steam Box might eb what you're looking for, but a console originating from the far east with uber specs is unlikely.
 
Well the PS4 is more powerful than both the Wii U and Xbox one, does that not count :p.

I reckon the reason behind it is purely because PC's are those "super" consoles these days.
 
OCUK are selling on right now :)

FS-433-OE_87055_600.jpg


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-433-OE&groupid=43&catid=2474

Seriously though I don't think there really is a market for it.
 
I honestly thought this sort of thing would happen with this new gen. Not straight away but because how the architecture of these consoles should scale well, why not in a couple of years release a more powerful console and let people upgrade if they want.

Game detects what console is being used and adjusts the resolution and fps cap to suit, people buy £300-£400 tablets every year or 2. Seems odd that everyone is stuck with old hardware for so long.
 
There's no real market for that though. Look at the amount of 'casuals' who have bought PS4s and Xbox Ones when, just a generation ago, it'd have only been the hardcore gamers who would have bothered or been able to even justify the cost.

The PC market fulfils the needs of those who have to have the latest and greatest and will spend money in order to do so. The console market doesn't need to, nor do the manufacturers really want to considering how much they spend on hardware development and manufacturing.
 
Neo Geo wasn't really meant to be the most powerful system out there, it was just a home version of an arcade system.
 
I'd say that one reason is that back then, even if a game came out on multi platforms, they were usually quite different versions of the same game made by different devs just for that platform. There were also more exclusive games. Today, if a game comes out on PS3/Xbox360 they are the same (too soon to comment on current gen, plus I don't yet own one). One version might have better textures or higher FPS etc, but they are they same game, same cut scenes etc.

No one seems too interested in making a 3rd MUCH improved version for the least popular platform, as seen on the PC.

I'd say the best chance of this happening would be Nintendo releasing a console with plenty of games about 4 years after Sony and MS have released theirs. Could have happened with the Wii-U if it was released 3 years earlier, not in the middle of the PS4/XB1 leaks.
 
kdd said:
Neo Geo wasn't really meant to be the most powerful system out there, it was just a home version of an arcade system.
Click to expand...

Still, at the time, from what I can remember, the games in the arcades were graphically superior to home consoles, the AES came out in 1991, which would have been competing with the SNES and Mega Drive.
All of the console ports at the time, were inferior to their arcade brothers, I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule, but the likes of Final Fight, Golden Axe etc, were never 100% identical.


I never saw any Neo Geo stuff in the games shop, only way I could see to get one was through advertisements in gaming magazines and even back then, I can remember most games costing £100+.

For me at the time, it was the holy grail in gaming, which I never managed to obtain :(, until earlier this year :p
 
DEL 707 said:
Still, at the time, from what I can remember, the games in the arcades were graphically superior to home consoles, the AES came out in 1991, which would have been competing with the SNES and Mega Drive.
All of the console ports at the time, were inferior to their arcade brothers, I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule, but the likes of Final Fight, Golden Axe etc, were never 100% identical.


I never saw any Neo Geo stuff in the games shop, only way I could see to get one was through advertisements in gaming magazines and even back then, I can remember most games costing £100+.

For me at the time, it was the holy grail in gaming, which I never managed to obtain :(, until earlier this year :p
Click to expand...

Yes I remember them at the time, there were neo geo arcade machines near where I lived!
 
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