> Why not? Game devs want to be compatible with multiple consoles.
Console games are typically highly optimized for particular console hardware. This coupling allows great-looking games for hardware that is cheap to make.
As a result, it's typical for consoles to far outperform regular PCs of the same price range. Especially at the beginning of the console lifecycle.
So it can be argued that consumers benefit from this arrangement: they get cheap special-purpose devices for gaming that can't be obtained if consoles are prohibited.
> Games can be packaged to support multiple formats or a standard interface.
Sure. But for AAA-type games that push the envelope, it's not at all trivial.
However, it seems that this pattern is fading with the recent consoles. So perhaps they also need to be unbundled.
Console games are typically highly optimized for particular console hardware. This coupling allows great-looking games for hardware that is cheap to make.
As a result, it's typical for consoles to far outperform regular PCs of the same price range. Especially at the beginning of the console lifecycle.
So it can be argued that consumers benefit from this arrangement: they get cheap special-purpose devices for gaming that can't be obtained if consoles are prohibited.
> Games can be packaged to support multiple formats or a standard interface.
Sure. But for AAA-type games that push the envelope, it's not at all trivial.
However, it seems that this pattern is fading with the recent consoles. So perhaps they also need to be unbundled.