Gaming beyond consoles??....

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:04 am

I was thinking about this recently; at what point will everything become virtual in the world of gaming; that is, only parts that attach to your body, and not consoles.

I talked to this guy named Frank who I know who works at Game Crazy. He told me the other day that Sony already has a Patent out on some kind of tube that hooks up to your spine and simulates movement!

He then said, "This is PS4!" and made this motion like someone's head being hooked up to the Matrix!

I wonder if the Revolution, the 360, and the PS3 will be the last consoles, or at least conventional consoles, that we'll ever see? If I knew they would be, I'd snatch up all 3! Because once we get beyond consoles, I think I'll be through purchasing gaming equipment!

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:12 am

So what's the surprise? Obviously, gaming is going to be more and more realistic in the future. People want VR. On the other hand, conventional (at that time, perhaps archaic) forms of videogaming will still exist to a greatly diminished degree. After all, a 2D game couldn't be done on VR.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:28 am

Anybody who watches Red Dwarf, remember when Lister used cheat codes to sleep with the princess in the VR game, heh heh heh....

I'm already moving beyond consoles a bit, and that's ARCADES!! ..Or is that moving backwards..?

Post by **Dave_K.** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:34 am

True, there is a patent out on a device which attaches to the body and can stimulate a motion response.

False, Sony does not have this patent.

False, its NOT a tube that connects to your spine.

True, its an electrode that connects behind your ear to stimulate the vestibular system in your innear ear to give the sensation of motion or tilting.

True, this guy at game crazy is a butt head.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:37 am

Wouldn't it be great to play Forgotten Worlds in VR?

UnscathedFlyingObject · Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:53 am

Sony's Brainstation

...

...Bogus. At least for now.

Sony's Disclaimer: may produce undesirable effects like knockouts and permanent brain fryout.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 1:02 am

Let me see.. vibration technology, VR, Hentai games... I am SO NOT there.

(And don't get me started on how the Rev's controller looks like something out of an adult magazine)

zakk · Post by **zakk** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 1:14 am

I see GameCrazy takes their name very seriously.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 1:35 am

zakk wrote:I see GameCrazy takes their name very seriously.

Dude, they had it wrong about Sony and about the tube; they are still a very reliable source of information. They're the only game store that I know of that asks questions regarding game knowledge during an interview.

I agree with Specineff, I hate to say it, but I don't think we're too far behind virtual sex.

Like I said, I just wonder if the Revolution, the PS3, and the XBOX 360 will be the last "true" consoles.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 2:57 am

dave4shmups wrote:
zakk wrote:I see GameCrazy takes their name very seriously.
Dude, they had it wrong about Sony and about the tube; they are still a very reliable source of information.

lol to both posts.

Tomtom · Post by **Tomtom** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:16 am

With regards to Game Crazy's credibility, I have only three words.

Giga Wing 3

mannerbot · Post by **mannerbot** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:47 am

looooooooool

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 6:47 am

Specineff wrote:Let me see.. vibration technology, VR, Hentai games... I am SO NOT there. :shock: (And don't get me started on how the Rev's controller looks like something out of an adult magazine)

I am SO there. Except knowing my gaming skills, I'll probably lose even on Easy mode.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:12 am

Even if the game is called Super Tentacle Rape Revolution II DX?

Hint: You're not on the giving end.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 1:56 pm

Dude, once you get your Playstation hooked into your brain, that's only a few steps away from it controlling your mind.

TWITCHDOCTOR · Post by **TWITCHDOCTOR** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 6:55 pm

dave4shmups wrote:
zakk wrote:I see GameCrazy takes their name very seriously.
Dude, they had it wrong about Sony and about the tube; they are still a very reliable source of information. They're the only game store that I know of that asks questions regarding game knowledge during an interview.

I agree with Specineff, I hate to say it, but I don't think we're too far behind virtual sex.

Like I said, I just wonder if the Revolution, the PS3, and the XBOX 360 will be the last "true" consoles.

"Reliable source of information"... Ughmm...no!
Maybe the clerk thought that he spent the night at a Holiday Inn the previous night or something.

mannerbot · Post by **mannerbot** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:52 pm

I guess TV commercials really do work.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 11:35 pm

So what do you guys think about the PS3, XBOX 360, and the Revoluton being the last consoles?

Guess I should've entitled this thread somthing like that!

As far as Frank at Game Crazy goes, I guess I took his word for it because he's never given me bad advice on anything I've bought there. *shrugs*

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:36 pm

as soon as they figure out holographic tech' the porn industry will quite literaly explode... no seriously they will be all over it like a rash lol.

magnum opus · Post by **magnum opus** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:23 am

dave4shmups wrote: As far as Frank at Game Crazy goes, I guess I took his word for it because he's never given me bad advice on anything I've bought there. *shrugs*

yes, but you also love Turok Evolution, so i gotta question the intelligence of any one who can consistently give you 'good' advice on games.

steveovig · Post by **steveovig** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:57 am

I just can't see casual gamers sticking around if they have to attach some foreign object to their bodies. It'd be too much of a hassle and way too "nerdy" for them.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:32 am

dave4shmups wrote:So what do you guys think about the PS3, XBOX 360, and the Revoluton being the last consoles? Guess I should've entitled this thread somthing like that!

As far as Frank at Game Crazy goes, I guess I took his word for it because he's never given me bad advice on anything I've bought there. *shrugs*

Dave, I've been hearing this banter about consoles not being made by the next generation since 1997 with the PS1 and Saturn. The owner of a store was sure we wouldn't play with hard copies of games by 2000, since all games would be downloadable and emulatable. (Sp?)

Also, keep in mind that giving advice on which games are good to buy, and which are not is one thing. A comment like "We will not be playing with consoles by the next generation" is something I'd only trust a prophet from the Old Testament about.

Unless you can jack into a Wi-Fi network with your brain, and immerse into dream worlds rendered by the power of our collective minds I think we'll still use controllers and the like.

greg · Post by **greg** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:35 am

iatneH wrote:Anybody who watches Red Dwarf, remember when Lister used cheat codes to sleep with the princess in the VR game, heh heh heh....

Teledildonics. It's an actual word, not just made up by Red Dwarf.

greg · Post by **greg** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:42 am

Sorry for the double post, but hey, does anyone remember Back To the Future II? Marty shows the kids in the future the Nintendo gun game and the then-young Elijah Wood says, "You mean you play with your hands? That's a baby's toy."

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:39 am

Here's a silly letter I wrote to EGM on this topic once:

In your recent discussion of the future of gaming (EGM 180), you consider “the idea of actually jacking your brain into a video game as in the Matrix” and make the provocative suggestion that this sort of thing is “theoretically possible.” Perhaps, but there is a serious worry to consider. In order for this jacking to result in gaming (rather than just a passive sort of viewing with eyes shut), we would have to be capable of acting/willing. Now in the video games I play the immediate object of the will is my body (hands, fingers, eyes, etc.) and the mediate object is an image on the tv screen. My question is this: On the assumption that bodily willing is not involved, what is the immediate object of willing supposed to be when I am playing my Sony BrainStation? Answering this question is much more difficult than it might seem. We cannot say, for example, that the act of playing will be just like our quasi-actions in dreaming and imagination. The best movie-for-gamers ever made, Existenz, makes this point clear. In order for something to count as a game there must be criteria for success—we have to be able to make sense of winning or getting it right—but these notions do not have such straightforward applications to our dreams and imaginings. I am left without a model for understanding the kind of action that the future of gaming will require of me.

howmuchkeefe · Post by **howmuchkeefe** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:12 am

Ooo! When did we figure out exactly how we store and access information? This is very, VERY exciting news, with massive ramifications.

howmuchkeefe · Post by **howmuchkeefe** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:02 am

Total immersion isn't necessary, though. Once we understand how the brain works, we could do things like play Tetris just by plugging ourselves in. It'd be like using any other console.. we just wouldn't need a television set, control pad or speakers to play the game. Consoles needn't be able to provide input to/receive output from all of our sensory systems, and I expect that the first few generations of such devices couldn't.

We would (normally) still know that we were playing a game, and we could shut it off any time we liked (barring malicious code/really unfortunate bugs- Existenz seems to be a good example of bad coding- that, or really unwise game design). If people don't know how to win/quit a game, it should either be the result of incompetence or malicious design.

I believe that VR is a long, long way away. Even if you ignore the technical hurdles, it's a potential litigation bonanza. The technology could be horrifyingly abused in the case of consoles capable of providing tactile feedback, or god forbid, those actually able to control your muscles (The 'Grin and Bear It Workout For The Willpower Impaired- You literally can't help but finish the workout!! Results guaranteed!!').

EDIT: I just appreciated how truly we are meat machines. Once we understand how the brain works, we could extend the range of our nervous systems to the cellular level with the application of nanotechnology. From there, immortality becomes a matter of programming- we need only eat to avoid aging, or even death by trauma. We could probably even shapeshift. I expect that virtual immortality will sooner be gained from genetic engineering, but man... the things we could do if we stick around long enough.

Accutron · Post by **Accutron** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:36 pm

howmuchkeefe wrote:EDIT: I just appreciated how truly we are meat machines. Once we understand how the brain works, we could extend the range of our nervous systems to the cellular level with the application of nanotechnology. From there, immortality becomes a matter of programming- we need only eat to avoid aging, or even death by trauma. We could probably even shapeshift. I expect that virtual immortality will sooner be gained from genetic engineering, but man... the things we could do if we stick around long enough.

We will certainly see benefits from genetic engineering before nanotechnology. The former is possible, whereas the latter is still wishful thinking. Molecules are way too sticky to build the sorts of whimsical nanomachines that have been fantasized about thus far.

That being said, I heard that Frank from Gamecrazy has patented a full-body rubber cybersex suit lined with jizz-mopping nanites, which will transform your man-squeezings into a tasty caffienated snack.