Are console makers confusing gamers?

[Peench]

I was reading over a thought provoking article at gamepro and while the article itself was a bit short and broken up into 4 pages, the idea behind it set off the same question in my mind.

I started gaming on consoles (Atari, etc.). Back in those days the simplicity was you purchased the console (or your parents did), then popped in the cartridge and played the game. If the game didn't work you took it out, blew in it, and tried it again.

When I was in college I moved into gaming on PC's. I had to worry about IRQ settings, port conflicts, memory gobbling programs, hardware compatibility and the like. The graphics and sounds were great and I had a blast. Trying to make sure everything worked for the game that I wanted to play kinda sucked though.

I picked up a Playstation and got a bit back into console gaming, but when my wife bought me an Xbox for Father's day several years ago I moved back into console gaming for good. The gaming simplicity was back in my life. Buy a game, pop it in and play. I didn't even upgrade to the Type S controller when it was released. I realized that console gaming was simple. One console and many games. I didn't have to worry about it.

With this generation, however, the simplicity of consoles seems to have somewhat gone by the wayside. No longer is it "buy a Playstation, SNES or Xbox." Now it is "did you get an Elite, Premium, Core, Arcade or 60GB, 40GB, 20GB or 80GB PS3?" What is happening to the simplicity of console gaming?

On one hand I miss the simplicity of simply having one, two or even three consoles to choose from. On the other hand, having a variety of options to choose from may make it easier for someone to get their feet wet on any particular console without investing half a month's salary.

All that aside, the constant upgrades, SKU changes and hardware changes have me worried. Will there come a time this generation or perhaps next generation when console gaming will be as confusing and difficult as PC gaming was back in the 80's and 90's? Will console gamers be forced to "upgrade their hard drive" to play the latest and greatest game? We've been promised that is not the case, but do you all think this will really be the case?

So I pose this question to you all - Should any console be limited to a single SKU or multiple SKU's and why?

[WormholeXtreme]

Multiple. It's all about choice. People want different SKUs and one version will hardly satisfy everyone. With multiple SKUs you can satisfy the maximum amount of people.

[D_Litch]

I chose one, but really, either way is fine with me.

[Desi Cuse]

Multiple.

[namehater]

im voting single, and ill use the NES as my example, one console to rule them all, sure they released different game packages, but that doesnt count, i think nintendo knows quality, look at the wii, it hasnt changed yet and its owning the market... everybody should just follow nintendos example, they are sure to win

[zombie]

beyond that just make one architecture with different manufacturers!

[Causedawg 83]

Multiple. The only thing that annoys me about the current situation is this: Why doesn't every X-Box console have an HDMI port? I want to be able to play all my games in 1080p. I can understand making consoles slightly different so that the price point can vary enough for everyone to be able to afford it, but the variances should only be things like hard drive space and wireless capability.

Originally Posted by namehater

im voting single, and ill use the NES as my example, one console to rule them all, sure they released different game packages, but that doesnt count, i think nintendo knows quality, look at the wii, it hasnt changed yet and its owning the market... everybody should just follow nintendos example, they are sure to win

Actually, Nintendo is the only manufacturer that I know of that has ever made a game that couldn't be played on a console unless you purchased an upgrade. Remember the expansion pack on the N64? You couldn't play Donkey Kong 64 or Peferct Dark without it, and both were wildly popular games.

[Thornes70]

Single, and I'll tell you why:

Seeing how Xmas is nearing, my sister-in-law wants to get her 10 year-old daughter a console, but the "choices" are confusing to her (luckily, she has me as a brother-in-law!). Her biggest annoyance has been trying to research the systems, because she has no idea about gigs, or what/what not a premium or elite has in it since all she's been able to find is "specs" about them.

Either make a quality product that can do ALL, or make a cheaper product like the Wii and ride it out.

[Lord Geoff]

The major problem with multiple SKUs is that there is a real lack of reliable information out there. The companies need to do a better job of educating the people that actually interact with the customers. We. of course, do a pretty good job of helping people get the right system for them, but I hear stories all the time about BestBuy, GameStop and GameCrazy where an employee has told the customer something that is just completely false. The customer should be able to put a little faith in the sales person.

The benefit of multiple SKUs is that someone would be able to find the right system for their needs. MS was wise to make the main unit consistant throughout their multiple SKUs, barring the HDMI output, which doesn't really affect actual operation. Sony's strategy is confusing, most definitely, as they are changing function from SKU to SKU. Hardware BC in one, software BC in another, no BC in another, wireless in some, none in others, media slots in some, none in others, etc. Sure there is still choice there, but some of the differences go beyond what is listed on the retail package. The 360 SKU differences basically come down to accessories. You can always add a hard drive or buy a larger one, although I don't agree with the price points on those. HDMI is nice for people that have receivers and TVs that use it, but to the average joe, it is just another acronym that they don't know anything about. You can always buy a VGA cable, if your TV supports it. I play on a monitor, so that is the cord for me. I may not ever use my HDMI port.

Single. I dont have enough money to keep switching.

[Gordon]

I'll vote with single sku's just for the sole reason of the Xbox 360 version that did not come out with a hard drive. Then developers used it as an excuse to not give a fuller game because not everyone had a hard drive.

[Diego_Mike]

Offering multiple platforms prevents certain gamers from being priced out of a system. If every console was only available tricked out with all the bells and whistles that make machines "elite" they wouldn't be accessible to as many gamers.

[The Milk Man 09]

I like multiple as long as you can upgrade the bad one to be just as good as the good one. ie Buying the HD and wireless controller for the core when you want it or can afford it. In the beginning the two ps3's were not even the same machine.