MS just stealth-launched their own version of Steam Box (Off-Topic)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Monday, June 13, 2016, 21:00 (3252 days ago) @ Cody Miller

At this point, however, we're getting closer to our physical limits regarding what we can perceive visually, and since improved visuals have been the primary driver for improving consoles, perhaps hardware is going to matter less? That idea might sound really stupid in a few years. I don't know.

Better visuals are not the only things you can do with better hardware. The more power you have under the hood, the better you can make your games. Period. The quest for improvements will only end when it becomes physically impossible on a quantum level, or until designing games on said improved hardware is not financially viable.

I've not been as impressed with innovation in other areas, except maybe the size of playspaces. I guess what I'm saying is it feels as if we're getting closer to the only limitations being imagination and financial--the last perhaps being the biggest. It takes a lot of man hours to produce hyperrealistic content. (I think about the marketplace sequence in Uncharted 4 and it boggles my mind.) Maybe technology could advance in a way to make production easier.

I think VR is a game-changer, and it might actually hurt games as we know them. I suspect that technology is going to be more experience-oriented than game-oriented. Heard an interview with Kevin Kelly the other day, and he was saying that FPS games are too intense in VR. It's going to be interesting to see what happens over the next ten years.