Xbox 720: Fans Call for more Control

Although we know nothing about the next generation consoles yet fans have been particularly vocal about what they would like to see and what they most definitely would not like to see included. Alongside the rumors that the Xbox 720 or the Durango as its working title is rumored to be called, will be disk-less and require an always on internet connection to control piracy, there is also a growing concern that the next generation consoles will give the user even less control than the current generation machines.

As consoles become more powerful they run the risk of competing with PC gaming. Obviously there are a lot of people who prefer gaming on a console to a PC but it would be very hard to argue that console gaming was better than PC gaming on grounds of technical specification, flexibilty, graphics, and of course control. Just for clarification here, I am not belittling console gaming, I am just stating that the technical potential offered by the PC is naturally higher – that goes without saying. PC gaming is also way more expensive, and technical, and requires constant maintenance to stay on trend, unlike the consoles that guarantee the technical hardware will be good enough to play the games, at a reasonable price, in a conveniently small package that nestles comfortably in your living room, or bedroom, or where ever.

The Xbox Controller (Credit: flickr.com/ Alfred Hermida)

If console manufactures really want to dip into the PC gaming market with their next generation consoles, which based on the rumored technical specifications is not as unrealistic as that sounds, many industry observers feel that Sony, Microsoft, and to a certain extent Nintendo, should head towards offering more control to the fan-base. Access to more source code for example so that the scene can upgrade their own firmware, or make it easier for modders to upgrade their own hardware to suit their own needs. To allow developers to be more open about the games they release so the modding community can work on game mods etc. These are just a few examples of how the Xbox 720 and the PS4 could offer the end user more control. But this is just an opinion piece. We welcome your thoughts and feelings on the subject in the comment section below.

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