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...would be the perfect console!

 

WOOHOO! I’m back for my third column! Sorry it’s been so long, but I have been very busy recently. Hope you can forgive me!

Well, anyway… this time I am going to rant about what would make the perfect console. The guys in the forum have been giving me their thoughts on this subject (thanks guys!) and so I now feel ready to type away…

First off, you need to figure out who would make the console. To be honest, SEGA, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft could all make a brilliant console. Okay, maybe not so much Sony (we all know about the countless faulty PlayStation 2’s!)…. But the others… any of them could make a decent enough console. However, I believe that you should really leave the main hardware up to Microsoft. Wanna know why? They have the know-how and the many companies under their wing that could make a brilliant console! I mean, the X-Box will be one mean console! So leave that down to them.

Inside this shell, you would certainly need some serious kit! Some sort of modem is a must nowadays. A hybrid broadband/56k modem would be best, so even people without broadband can enjoy online play (but broadband is the way forward, so that needs to be included too!).

Although this may seem PC-like, a console today needs a hard drive… a BUILT-IN HARD DRIVE! Something around 50GB in size would suffice. You could save game files, mods, and extra levels, demos downloaded from the net…. The possibilities are endless! But one thing that it should not be able to do is store movies or music. This is, after all, a games console, not a complete home-entertainment system. A hard drive would also be useful for creating seamless virtual worlds… there would be no need for loading times again!!!

Main storage medium should be DVD, but with the ability to play GD-ROM and CD-ROM games from consoles like Dreamcast and the original PlayStation. This would also provide a back-catalogue of great games ready at launch! The DVD-drive should also be able to play movies… but only if the person really wants it to. Microsoft have the right idea by selling a DVD remote and the drivers seperatly.

Graphics and sound chips would need to be top notch, and Faz suggested nvidia for graphics chip, and Creative for the sound. And how about Intel for the processor (yes, very PC like, but they all make sense!)?!

What would the shell of this console look like though? If you look at your DC sat there, doesn’t it look pretty? I mean, it’s so small and sleek! However, at the same time it is bland (I mean… come on! Whitish-grey is sooooo 80’s!). How about a console similar in shape and size to the DC, but with lights above the controller ports that light up when a controller is plugged in (thanks Faz!). Really, four controller ports are needed, as SEGA, Nintendo and Microsoft worked out. This gives the perfect experience for playing against a group of mates! And what about giving us a choice of colour? Silver, black, purple, whitish-grey… but not too loud and childish (yes GameCube! YOU!).

Okie dokie. That’s the main box sorted. Now onto peripherals! Lets put it this way… I am fed up with the PlayStation controller. It may be comfortable (except for the placement of the analogue sticks), but when you get a new console, you expect a new pad! Its needed to make it different and a new pad always feels great! I think that the Dreamcast pad is very good, but then again, the GC pad looks cool. AHA! Solution! The X-Box pad is a mixture of the two (in a way), and seems like the best option. However, that is not new, is it? Okay… so, lets think about what is essential on a games pad…. Are you thinking? Good…

OOH! I got it! Okay, you need six circular buttons (like on the X-Box), a start button in the centre of the pad (DC), a digital pad for precise movement (any pad…), two analogue sticks, one placed above the digital pad, and the other placed below the six buttons (X-Box). Also, there needs to be 2 triggers underneath (DC and X-Box) and definatley a screen for a VMU style memory card. Ooh.. and built in rumble feature! Basically, we are looking at the X-Box pad but with a couple of features added from the DC pad.

One of the most innovative things about the Dreamcast is its Visual Memory Unit. Something similar to this is really needed to make a games console great! Mini-games can be played on it, it can be used to show important stats during the game… plus you can store game files on it and swap with other people! Great idea! So, I think it would be a great idea for SEGA to produce these things… as they managed to get it nearly perfect with the DC!

Other peripherals that are needed include arcade sticks, steering wheels and light guns. Well, SEGA are good with arcade sticks, Mad Katz are good with steering wheels (and maybe third-party controllers and memory cards), and Namco are the masters at light guns!

Next, we have games. Microsoft and Sony can stay well out of this! Games are THE most important part of a games console! Without a wide selection of AAA titles, the perfect console may as well burn in hell! Coming up are a list of companies I believe should make games for the perfect console and suggestions for games they could make….

 

SEGA

Conversions of all their hit arcade games

Sequels to their great franchises like Sonic, Phantasy Star, Jet Set Radio and many, many more

Brand spanking new games that are full of originality and great gameplay!!!

 

NINTENDO

Zelda, Mario… all of those great games we know and love!!!

 

RARE

Sequels to their amazing games (like Perfect Dark and Conkers Bad Fur Day)

All new games that are original and fun!

 

KONAMI

Silent Hill, Metal Gear… and some others… OOH! Castlevania!

New and original titles too please!

 

CAPCOM

Bring us some new Street Fighters, Resident Evils, Power Stones, Dino Crisis’ and any other sequels to your oh-so brilliant games! PLEASE!!!!

Come up with some new franchises to milk too!

 

NAMCO

A new Soul Calibur and maybe a new Point Blank/Time Crisis too! A good new Ridge Racer wouldn’t go amiss either!

Some other amazing new games too!

 

SQUARESOFT

A dose of their brilliant RPG goodness (Final Fantasy, Chrono games, Legend of Mana, etc), as well as sequels to games like Parasite Eve, Front Mission and others…

GIVE US SOMETHING ORIGINAL TOO!!!

 

Okay, that’s all I can be bothered for now, but they are the main ones. I’m sure there are others (Quantic Dream, Temco, Bungee, etc) and if you can think of them and any games they should release on the perfect console, post in the specific forum… HERE!

And see how I wanted them to produce ORIGINAL games too? I mean, we all love a sequal, but only to GOOD GAMES! And we need original games to counter the sequels (like with SEGA…).

You know what, Sony have had no part in this so fat, have they? Well, I could actually only think of one thing they would be good for (and no, not distribution!). They should be the ones to advertise and promote this perfect console! I mean, look at how they managed to have people drooling over the ‘Sheep Machine’ (like my new phrase for the PS2???). They could do wonders for the console!

 

And so, we have reached the final section of this column. What the hell should the perfect console be called??? I think that I shall leave that one down to you guys! If you have any ideas, post them in the forums. For now, however, we shall just refer to this console as PC (Perfect Console).

VIVA THE MICROSOFT/SEGA/NINTENDO PC!!!

Wait a minute….

Oh arse! I give up! This is Andy signing off… for the final time! I have decided that I am going to finish with these columns of mine… and try something new! Watch out for an all-new column by me sometime in the near future!!!

Andy

P.S. – ROAR!!!

Visit the forums to post your thoughts and opinions on any of Andy's columns!

Column by:

Andrew

 

 

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