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Should there be only one video game system? It’d make financial sense for developers and would make it easier for the consumer—”Should I get Game for the PS3 or 360?”
God of War and Twisted Metal designer David Jaffe addressed this issue with a simple question: “Can anyone anyone explain to me how having one console would be bad for gamers? Or game developers for that matter?”
Can you argue with that sentiment? I can’t, largely because, to me, what system I play games on is completely irrelevant. To paraphrase James Carville, “It’s the games, stupid.”
Jaffe argues that having a single hardware platform wouldn’t be bad for the industry, or games. We have a single (standard-def) DVD format; a single TV format. All DVD players can play all DVDs (barring glitches), all TVs can receive all TV signals—for the time being, at any rate. What makes games so different?
Most convincing, Jaffe says a single development platform would lead to increases competition on the software level. Isn’t that what it’s all about, the games? I could care less if The Orange Box is available for the 360 or for a slab of granite. It’s the game I’m playing not the system itself.
I sincerely doubt something like this would happen any time soon, if ever, but I’d fully support it. If nothing else, it’d save me money. I would miss the console flame war, though.
All For One…? [Jaffe’s Game Design via Next Gen]