Ubisoft’s European MD Alain Corre does not believe that the new motion control peripherals can truly extend the life of the PS3 and Xbox 360. Though he does believe that the controllers will serve as a springboard for an extension, the idea that the consoles will survive the 10-year lifecycle proposed by both Sony and Microsoft doesn't seem realistic, he noted.
"Yes, it's a good extension of the lifecycle for a certain length of time and it's also a good way to capture some consumers they didn't have on the casual side, because Microsoft's 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 do not have the casual customers. So it will bring in a new category of customer for them.”
"Now, will it prevent them from releasing brand new technology in the next five years? I don't think so," he added.
Speaking with GI.biz, he was frank in his belief about the 10-year lifecycle. Will the consoles be able to extend on for another 2 years? “I don’t think so, no,” he said.
Sony has always spoken of a 10-year plan for the PS3. The console was launched in 2006; the Move controller is coming out next month. Microsoft says that it expects the Kinect to extend the life of the Xbox 360 by another 5 years. The Kinect is set to launch in November.
5 Comments
August 26, 2010
Microsoft learned their lesson about ending support early with the original Xbox and Sony is very familiar with ten year life cycles. What I think it will come down to is support. The 360 has been available for five years as of this November, while the PS3 will be hitting year four. Could both publishers continue to support these consoles for another 5 and 6 years respecfully? Absolutly. However, they won't be the ONLY console they support. I don't know when the PS4 or Xbox 720 are launching but it will most likely be in the next 1-3 years. And when this happens both Microsoft and Sony can continue to support the current console while also supporting their new hardware.
August 27, 2010
If MS does get lucky and Sony holds out till 2016 to release the PS4 hard core gamers will have turned to the PC's vastly superior power, now and even more so in the next few years, for their high end gaming fix. So what if the 360 does not sell like it is now as long as it is another MS platform that is getting the cash.
August 31, 2010
The lifespan is very much controlled by the console hardware manufacturers. If they both refuse to launch new hardware until they have made back the money on this generation, they may well be able to extend the current generation to 10 years.
The only other possibility is another company - Nintendo, or some new entrant - launching something that threatens the Sony/MS console dominance, and forcing them to get new consoles out to compete.
Jonathan
eWay Designs http://www.ewaydesigns.com
September 1, 2010
I can see all three telling the truth! UBI can be correct about it only extending another 2 years. Microsoft and Sony can be telling the truth about the systems having a 10 year life cycle.
Does that seem contradictory? It is possible that both systems will come out in 2012 AND they could still be telling the truth about a 10 year life cycle!
How?
Lets take the PS2 example. It is excepted as having a 10 year life cycle. Right? Well this is the trick. PS2 first launched in March 2000 in Japan. So 10 years later would be March 2010. Did PS3 launch after March 2010? NO. It launched in 2006! See the point is they overlapped! There is no requirement for the previous system to get killed off before the next Generation. So UBI soft can be right about it extending the system 2 no more than years (Before the next generation). And Microsoft and Sony can still be correct about the current systems lasting 10 years (but being over lapped by the next generation).
September 2, 2010
2016 would be horrible. Motion control for casual gamers shouldn't extend a consoles life for core gamers. 2012-13 would be nice to see new consoles.