Wild Tangent: "Consoles are dead"

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 19th May 2008

Alex St. John, the creator of DirectX, has vehemently defended PC gaming.

Well, this is refreshing. At a time when apparently everyone in the industry is saying that the PC is no longer viable as a games machine because of rampant piracy, Alex St. John takes the argument in exactly the opposite direction.

Speaking in an ION keynote, the creator of the original DirectX technology and CEO of Wildtangent said that the future of consoles is uncertain according to Gamasutra.

“Nobody needs a console when a game's value and DRM is defined by community or an input device. Consoles just serve to keep you from playing a game you didn't pay for,” said St. John in what Gamesutra described as just "one of several brazen claims."

“What's Sony and Microsoft's motivation to make another console? It's been so rocky, and it's not about the pretty graphics anymore,” continued St. John, playing no doubt on the news that Sony is losing $260 on every PlayStation 3 sold.

St. John went on to talk about how graphics have become the main commodity of games and how the platform is no longer important for a game as long as the input device is good. Obviously, St. John prefers the feel of keyboard than a game pad, though he did discuss the Wii briefly as well.

“The Wii is the exception that proves the rule — it's not about the graphics, it's about the input device."

Do you think that consoles are dying a horrible death too, or has St. John lost the plot? Let us know what you think in the forums.