Let's Build The Next Console

So after listening to the guys talk about the next consoles over and over again on the Bombcast i thought it might be fun to create a list of specs for what you think would be in the next console.  (Just use PC parts as a starting base) 
 
General Specs I would use: 
Core i3 Processor (Or AMD equivalent) 
Nvidia GTX 560 TI (or AMD equivalent) 
4gb RAM 
500gb HD (Option for 1tb?) 
Standard Ports for HDMI and 1x USB 3.0 Port, 3x USB 2.0.  No Component/Composite Output without an adapter sold seperately
DVD Drive (Blu-Ray in PS3)

Well, what was the current PC hardware of the day when the current gen came out?

Well it's going to be a graphics card that isn't available yet...SO WHO KNOWS.

It's impossible to predict really as we have no idea what the consoles are going to be feature wise. The fact that they're "just" gaming systems means they can take shortcuts and don't need quite the same specs as a PC for the same performance. Which is why the 360 only had 512MB RAM for example, you'd never be able to run things that well on a PC with only 512MB. On top of that processors and gpus aren't entirely comparable either, you can't compare the PS3 to really any PC in terms of processor really, especially not at the time it came out.

The new Microsoft Console will not be using straight DVDs, they already are struggling for space on this console and are certainly hurting in places for not having media with more storage. If it's Blu-ray or something else we don't know or can't really guess at right now.

They really need to shoot for hardware that will be brand new at the time of console release, especially considering how long this console generation has been going. They simply cannot afford to use old tech. Since the new consoles (that matter) haven't even been announced yet, I'm going to venture a guess that the tech they will use similarly doesn't exist yet.

Well it's going to be a graphics card that isn't available yet...SO WHO KNOWS.

I hope Microsoft doesn't just use DVDs.

@Grilledcheez said:

Well it's going to be a graphics card that isn't available yet...SO WHO KNOWS.

What? You expect it to be a brand new GPU from a future line?

It's impossible to predict really as we have no idea what the consoles are going to be feature wise. The fact that they're "just" gaming systems means they can take shortcuts and don't need quite the same specs as a PC for the same performance. Which is why the 360 only had 512MB RAM for example, you'd never be able to run things that well on a PC with only 512MB. On top of that processors and gpus aren't entirely comparable either, you can't compare the PS3 to really any PC in terms of processor really, especially not at the time it came out.

The new Microsoft Console will not be using straight DVDs, they already are struggling for space on this console and are certainly hurting in places for not having media with more storage. If it's Blu-ray or something else we don't know or can't really guess at right now.

@Grilledcheez: you do know the 360's card is just a beefed up, off the shelf Radeon. They dont go with totally new hardware.

Even though I think they'll fuck up again and go with entry level DX12 cards, which will be laughable the next year.And like the entry DX9 in the 360 will become a big proble m towards the end of the consoles life.

@AhmadMetallic

@Grilledcheez said:

Well it's going to be a graphics card that isn't available yet...SO WHO KNOWS.

What? You expect it to be a brand new GPU from a future line?

Well it more than likely will be custom built but it should be the equivalent of the high end graphics cards at the time of release.

DVD, 4GB RAM, only an i3. Man, just thinking about it, next-gen consoles are still going to be so lacking if they were like that.

Only 1 spec required: that its a Sega console.

@Hitchenson: I cant wait for the £80 dumb settop box with games through a Steam Quality version of OnLive. Its no more than 5-6 years away.

OnLive make one already, it just needs to be incredibly well supported, and provide an awesome service.I expect it will require another company to have a go.

@skyline7284: if all it has is a 560ti I'll be damned disappointed. It needs to at least be a 570, considering the 600 series will be out before the next generation of consoles are even announced, and the next generation after that'll likely be out before the consoles are released.

@EdIsCool: PC gaming son. Shit's real.

The next console is friendship.

It has to be shaped like a dolphin. I don't know why, but this is a must.

I honestly think it's in Sony and Microsoft's best interest to go the route of Nintendo. I don't mean releasing a console that barely improves on their current systems, but perhaps not betting all their chips on horsepower so to speak.

@EVO said:

I honestly think it's in Sony and Microsoft's best interest to go the route of Nintendo. I don't mean releasing a console that barely improves on their current systems, but perhaps not betting all their chips on horsepower so to speak.

I feel I need to say something about the Vita...

@Grilledcheez said:

@AhmadMetallic oh I just assumed that the graphics card in the 360 was like a 1950 which sold for 200 a whole year after the 360's launch my bad

Not quite. It was similar in design and performance to the X1800 series (R520 core), except it had unified shaders. The X1800 cards launched a month before the 360 was released, however they were supposed to be ready for launch much earlier, IIRC. Whatever the case, there is some truth to what you're saying. Depending on how the console development is handled, they might not be that far behind at launch.

Needs more Voodoo².

@Grilledcheez said:

@AhmadMetallic oh I just assumed that the graphics card in the 360 was like a 1950 which sold for 200 a whole year after the 360's launch my bad

Not quite. It was similar in design and performance to the X1800 series (R520 core), except it had unified shaders. The X1800 cards launched a month before the 360 was released, however they were supposed to be ready for launch much earlier, IIRC. Whatever the case, there is some truth to what you're saying. Depending on how the console development is handled, they might not be that far behind at launch.

Unless it's holographic technology, I'm not interested.

They should be able to squeeze a lot out of the hardware they put in. With optimizations for games and pushing every bit of power from consoles they look better then any PC with the same specs every could (Atleast towerds the end of the consoles life).

@Subjugation said:

Well, what was the current PC hardware of the day when the current gen came out?

Well if I remember correctly, the graphics chip the PS3 has is essentially a Geforce 7800, which was released a few months before the xbox 360. So if the consoles are to be announced next year and released the following year, I am going to say, let's just follow the past model. Hardware that is top of the line one year prior to release.

So let's go.

500 GB hard drive. I will say they will follow the cheapness they started with the 360, 20 gigs? Really? But this will be small by 2013, but price effective. Hopefully, but unlikely, MS will give the ability to put in our own HDD.

Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor type. Soon, we will see the release of the Ivy Bridge processors early in 2012 and think that a console that releases in 2013 should have one of these, 4 cores. Hopefully Sony stops trying to force a revolution in processors by creating its own hard to program for CPU. Remember when Cell and before that the Emotion Engine were supposed to be in everything? But custom processors, do reduce costs, though not if they are a new architecture. MS and Nintendo went with Power PC processors, though not what I would do next gen, they do reduce costs. So ask intel to produce something for them. Or, maybe, we will see them go to ARM, which would be fucking crazy, but possible.

Graphics - nVidia 780 or AMD Radeon 7800 series GPUs, these should be out next year and well, since the consoles will be out a year later after that, these will probably be what we see in the consoles.

Wireless N built in, Xbox already has this, so the PS4 will undoubtedly have it too.

Bluetooth in the next Xbox. Just do the right thing MS.

Blu Ray. I think that a possibility is that MS will do this for the space. Unless, they allow for games to come on multiple DVDs, not make publishers pay extra if the game requires extra DVDs, because apparently that is what they do now. And for games to be installed, ala Forza where only one disc is needed to play. I don't think Blu Ray is a big factor for many at this point, but it could be a deciding factor lots.

Keep the controllers the same. The xbox 360 has a great controller, just needs that better D-pad they put out. PS3 controller is not the best for shooters, and that is a deciding factor for some. Seeing as how shooters sell twice as much on the 360 than on the PS3.

4 Gigs of Ram. Right now, that seems to be the sweet spot for these consoles. Though for a PC, it may seem average, but thats what it was when this generation came out.

I really hope the new consoles get better front-end UI...

I think the GPU will be at least as powerful as the 6870, probably slightly better, it'll have at least 2GB of RAM (hopefully 4GB), hopefully about 1GB or more Video memory, and probably something roughly equivalent to a quad core CPU.

I don't know what amount of storage they'll have, but as much as I'd love to see them put in solid state storage (for load times' sake more than anything), I don't think that'll happen because of margins. I can't imagine they'll have less than 500GB of hard disk storage, given how cheap that is at this point, besides the insanity surrounding the current shortage.

They will almost certainly use Blu-Ray or something comparable for optical media, though digital distribution will likely be an even more integral part of the experience. If it weren't for bandwidth caps and issues with broadband adoption in certain markets, I'd have said that they might go all digital, but that doesn't seem like it will be feasible in the next few years.

1080p will be the default resolution, maybe with upscaling to 2K depending on how adoption of that is by the time these are announced. There's no way they'd natively do greater than 1080p

I doubt Sony will abandon the Cell architecture, maybe they'll add more stream processors and bump the Core speed. I can see Microsoft going with a Hexa core. I hope both consoles have at least 4GB of DDR3 memory. As for the GPU, hopefully it will be as powerful as the mid to upper range card in the new 28nm AMD cards. Blu Ray on both would be nice, can't see it happening though.

And coloured cases, I'm fucking sick of black white and silver.

Stack 2 PS3 together, make it slim and quiet, put the 360 controller, make great games for it.

You are done.

@Ninja_Welshman said:

@moelarrycurly this is where I feel the real battleground for the next gen will be fought. More/better services, social integration and uses. In terms of hardware I'm not expecting anything we haven't seen before only with more oomph!

Internet should be everywhere, sony is doing a lot of integration in that sense, and it's for free if I'm not mistaken. Microsoft should think about their paid model in XBL, if they want to keep it they'd better have good games for people to really be interested in paying for that. And also there are the PCs.

The point is that PCs used to be more expensive and less durable (you needed to keep upgrading), but it's becoming harder to keep up with Moore's law, so console developers are going to keep with gimmicks and exclusives that PCs don't have, to keep the market share. But in the end, if you are going for the social integration and the services, there are the PCs. Either they make a PC of the consoles, or they will have to go for a casual blue ocean (a la Nintendo)

No way MS will use only DVDs as their next medium. They either bite the bullet and pay Sony for Blu-Ray or do something else. I heard this before and I can't remember where, but, what if the next Xbox used HD-DVD? It could work for them to distribute games on, but I don't know what would happen to the xbox as a movie player....

Fuck it. Go 8 gigs of RAM. Rockstar needs 'em!

The next console should be called "PC". Since you can already build a very competent gaming PC for about $600 and the new consoles will probably cost about $500 at launch. So since this is also at least a year down the line PC hardware will probably be even cheaper then so why the hell would anyone buy a next gen console.

P.S. PC gaming is also getting progressively more popular again, and with the new wave of actually good F2P games getting released I think that so mater what this next generation of consoles will have to be hella powerful and hella cheap to be able to stand keep a its hold on the market.

Needs to talk to you and be witty like Jarvis in the Iron Man movies

I'm not sure the next wave of consoles is going to compare all that great against a cheap gaming PC. The hardware game has changed since 2005. You're not going to be able to release a PC-in-a-funny-case at 400-600 that is going to blow anyone away.

I think Sony & IBM had the right idea with the cell processor but didn't have enough time to get it right. We need massively parallel cores to to really crazy stuff with 10s of thousands of dynamic objects on screen simultaneously, and to do really wicked AI and pathing in full 3D environments. maybe a shot at some hybrid real-time ray tracing too. If the next gen consoles get this right, and if the right pre-built physics & AI tools come along at the same time, they could blow the gaming world up and make dumptruck loads of cash.

Is anyone singing the praises of the Bulldozer CPU yet? Or have the mixed reviews taken the wind out of its sails?

They'll continue aiming for the lowest common denominator so they can sell consoles at toaster-prices. I spent twice as much on a video card almost annually as an entire game console costs and the massive discrepancy between the two even at launch (not to even mention years later) definitely shows. I buy a lot of games. I'm willing to spend more on the machine that's going to play my couple hundred $60 games over the next five or ten years than the price of just a few games, themselves. If you have to charge $600 or $900 out of the gate, then do it. Just stop cutting down so much on the hardware.

But, of course, that'll never happen. We all have to accept the hardware that they want to market to that guy who lives in a trailer and will buy the cheapest version of the console and buy two games for it over the entire life time of sole and while he's willing to spend $10 on smokes, he's not willing to spend $10/mo for a sweet console.

Of course, ideally, PC gaming would make a huge comeback and life would b glorious, but that's not going to happen, either as all of the shoddy "PC is our lead platform . . . PSYCHE!" development in the last several years.

@AhmadMetallic said:

@Grilledcheez said:

@AhmadMetallic

@Grilledcheez said:

Well it's going to be a graphics card that isn't available yet...SO WHO KNOWS.

What? You expect it to be a brand new GPU from a future line?

Well it more than likely will be custom built but it should be the equivalent of the high end graphics cards at the time of release.

Um, the reason the consoles are so popular is because they're cheap. And the reason they're cheap is because they're 2-3 generations behind the current high end hardware of a given time. So, the OP is doing it right, the new consoles in 2012-2013 will have the hardware of 2008-2010 PCs

That sounds pretty accurate. When consoles came out in 2005, they were 50% as powerful as most gaming rigs of the time. Six years on, consoles are about 10% as powerful as most gaming rigs of today. They have to develop consoles to be something they can market to the single minimum wage mom with three kids and a limited income and that's what everyone has to accept, whether they're her or they're Ice-T. The alternative would be the PC world, where you get whatever you want and can afford, tailored to your interests and finances, but then you're limited by the lure of development for consoles as the lead platform and no amount of investment in your system changes it from being the red-headed step-child to developers. Ugh.

I7
Nvidia 250 1gig ram
2 gig ram
blu-ray drive, plays blu-ray, dvd
component, HDMI port, composite 
a controller instead of some kind of motion control
free online for everyone. i don't think microsoft is going to drop the ball on that since they are making money.