NVIDIA: Consoles are stable - but static

Hardware manufacturer NVIDIA has told GamesIndustry.biz that it believes while the console platforms do have an advantage in terms of stability, the resulting disadvantage is that the hardware is static - and the gap to mobile and PC is closing.

That's according to the company's senior corporate and Tegra PR manager Bea Longworth, speaking in an interview published today.

"Already mobile gaming is hot on the heels of what you would expect from console-class gaming," she said. "We were demonstrating an Xbox 360 game running on our quad-core Project Kal-El technology demonstration at MWC.

"The gap is definitely closing, and that has always been the Achilles' heel of the console - its greatest strength is it's a stable platform, it's very much plug and play, you don't have to fiddle around with the hardware and have all the hassle that you might get from the PC.

"But that's also its biggest disadvantage, the fact that they are static from one generation to another, and also that the technology can't improve. Whereas with other platforms like the PC and now mobile gaming, they will be constantly moving ahead.

"So it will be really, really interesting to see what console technology has to do in order to differentiate itself and stay ahead when it has to compete with a very mass-market mobile format instead of digging in its heels."

The company has been working hard to establish its technology in the mobile space, and while Apple uses its own chipsets, NVIDIA's confident its supply to the Android market can help it compete in the future.

"It already is extremely important to us, but in terms of the proportion of the business dedicated to that particular sector, it's definitely going to become one of our most important businesses in the future," she explained.

"We've been pretty open, over the last two or three years, that we have that expectation. And obviously mobile is currently the fastest-growing and the most exciting area of computing and technology, so it makes a lot of sense for us to be there at the forefront.

"So yes, we're definitely extremely committed to our mobile business and we're really excited to be able to start introducing devices from major manufacturers like LG and Samsung and Motorola based on our technology."

The full interview with Longworth is available now.