Could there eventually be a single gaming platform rather than all the different, competing consoles? That’s the dream of game publisher Electronic Arts. Talking to the BBC, Gerhard Florin, EA’s head of international publishing, pointed out that the company currently produced games for 14 different formats,but he could see a future that relied more on games being streamed to PC or set-top boxes. At present in the UK, BT and Sky bothhave recorders that will play basic games, a primitive version of the future Florin envisages. “You don’t need an Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii – the consumer won’t even realise the platform it is being played on," he said in his interview. It’snot the first time this issue has raised its head. As far back as the 1980s, Microsoft suggested a common platform, MSX, but the rise in popularity of the PCkilled it quickly. Sensible as Florin’s idea is, could it work in reality? After all, Sony and Microsoft have signature games for their consoles. Yet that could translate into contentthough a set-top box – the Sony Channel, for instance, with the company licensing content. It would certainly be a boon for gamers, who wouldn’t have to spring for expensivesystems – meaning they could spend more on games. When could it happen? "I am not sure how long we will have dedicated consoles – but we could be talking up to 15 years," MrFlorin said.
