Former Sony/Atari head Phil Harrison has revealed where the future of gaming is headed in his eyes, and his predictions are pretty surprising.
According to Harrison, he sees the future of gaming taking place within web browsers, and feels that players will be experiencing games on the level of Modern Warfare 2 all within a browser in as little as five years from now.
In a keynote session at the Italian Videogame Developers Conference in Rome, Harrison asked attendees if they expected to see MW2-style gaming in browser form. “I think the answer is yes. I think in the next five-to-ten years we will easily get this level of game inside a web browser, on your mobile platform, on your iPad, and we will be able to deliver that level of immersion to any kind of screen,” Harrison said, after some hands were raised.
Harrison predicted that a browser war, not unlike what went down between Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator back in the 90’s, is also poised to take place in the browser-based gaming future.
“The gathering storm that I’m talking about is about the technology that is going to go into a web browser that is going to power very rich, very impressive gameplay. Somebody is going to win. Somebody is going to deliver console level 3D graphics, video and audio into a web browser. That will be the tipping point for the evolution of our industry that will accelerate what we can do in a browser, and I think will create the next generation platform for games.”
In Harrison’s eyes, consoles as we know them today will be a thing of the past, and gamers will look for more open experiences to play on.
“I think we have probably seen the last of the traditional game console companies already in the market. I don’t think we’re going to see a new entrant who is going to be able to compete at the level that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have established. The battleground for the future, and the opportunity in the future is going to be about […] who is going to be satisfying the needs of the core gamer on an open platform. This is where we see opportunities for companies to create new businesses. These will be games delivered perhaps in a web browser, and perhaps in the future.”
Do you agree with Harrison? Can we expect an MW2 level experience within a browser in the future or is this just a pipe dream like rocket cars and hoverboards? Let us know in the comments!
via IndustryGamers
What you said, more like rocket cars and hoverboards. Now if he had said ten-to-twenty years, I might have a different opinion.
sure it will be possible but i dont see it killing consoles its just not going to happen to many people love kicking back on the couch to play there games
With the instant streaming experiences such as Onlive, Gaikai and Gamestringand it is very probable but that really can suck for the gamer who enjoys collecting games to enjoy in the future. To me, collecting games is a pride of mine that I enjoy when not only playing the game but when I first put my hands on the quality cover, the weight of it with the beauty of the physical media. I enjoy reading the manual and not rely on a hub and power source to view it. In a hundred years when my body is gone, these relics can be passed down and enjoyed and not evaporated into nothingness.