5 Cutting Edge Technologies That Could be Used in Next-Gen Consoles

Image credit: Eran Cantrell

The next generation of consoles can't come soon enough, as gamers and developers alike are clamoring for new technologies to take games to the next level. Here's a few technologies that could make it into next gen consoles.

#5 Hologram TV Support

The next generation of consoles could very well contain support for holographic projection TVs, just as they currently support 3D TVs. Holographic projectors would allow the videogames to be projected right into your living room, with 270 degrees of viewing space, making your games feel realer than ever.

Faster refresh rates at lower prices mean that consumers will be able to get 3D holographic TVs in their living rooms without having to pay exorbitant prices for the technology. As the next generation of displays, we may see these projectors within six to nine years, at the max.

#4 Augmented Reality

Augmented reality could be accomplished through several means. The simplest of which would be a camera-enabled controller to project images into the real world, viewable on your TV, or on a screen on the controller itself. Developers could also take a cue from the anime series Denno Coil to create a pair of glasses that projects images into the real world, transmitted by 4G or EDGE relays.

#3 Wireless Electricity – WiTricity

Another possible technology is the innovation of wireless electricity. It seems like science fiction, but the advances in wireless technology make it possible for devices to power themselves up wirelessly, from conduits that transmit electricity through the air, specific to those devices. Nikola Tesla talked up a storm about it during the last century, and it may well become a reality this decade.

#2 HoloDesk Support

The HoloDesk is one such possible technology that may make it into the PlayStation 4. It allows users to control objects in three dimensions without the aid of a controller. With such a technology—perhaps aided by the Kinect—you get to actually interact with the objects in real time right in front of you. It's the natural evolution of motion control technology brought to the fore.

#1 Extra Computing Power from the Cloud

Instead of relying on just local processing power on your console, the future consoles could allow you to utilize computing power via the cloud, with online servers providing much needed horsepower to run graphically intense games without a single drop in framerate. This could possibly mean no future hardware upgrades would be needed, although it would be like PC's always online DRM where extra textures could be loaded off the cloud.