Technology Prediction – Next Generation Games Consoles

Well with E3 almost upon us I had better get this prediction out in the world.

Say goodbye to DVD and BluRay disks for your next games console. Removing the media drive will allow the consoles to be smaller than ever before, think Apple TV size.

Bluetooth is here to stay for the controller.

Wireless N will allow those games in the cloud to be downloaded with greater speed. All three (Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo) will come with HD Video cameras for gesture based control, think Kinect, and also video chat, Microsoft will use it’s newly acquired Skype.

All will be HD display with 3D and include movie downloads and social media interaction. HDMI, DisplayPort, or Thunderbolt?

Since everything in now in the cloud your games and scores can follow you to your friends place. DRM and other craziness will have some impact to how useful these features will be but the console with the least to loose will set the standard and the other will have to follow if they want their slice to the market.

On the other side will be the TV companies adding their own functionality to the smart TVs of the future. Once Android is built into TVs and the apps store full of games designed for that platform casual gamers may no longer require a console, this prospect will hurt Nintendo the most so I’m sure they’ll be looking to combat that with their next generation console.