Why don't console manufacturers build products with expansion slots anymore?
Because no console expansion has ever actually made money. Sega CD was almost profitable, but that's it.
I honestly don't know. Later years of gen 7 would be so much better if they slapped another 512MB of ram on the consoles.
Because of the Jews.
Imagine the shitstorm if now a days a console came out with a big hole in it for "future hardware" it would be considered the pinnacle of physical dlc.
>>316823137
>>316823261
Console expansion has never been done right. I actually think Nintendo came closest with the Expansion Pak because it literally came packed in with one of the biggest title releases. Sure, it was mostly just to fix DK64, but the pak really did increase the resolution, texture detail and performance of quite a few games
>>316823717
>>316823441
I honestly thought this would be the gen when consoles would have expandable RAM and/or GPU, but my expectations were obviously too high. It would be easy to market too, "give your Shitstation eternal life with these memory expansions!"
>>316824674
>console does this
>everyone throws a fit
>"they left out/out in inferior hardware on purpose!"
It would not go well.
>>316823137
because then you split your market between people who have the upgradeand people who dont. If the upgrade cathes on you alienate the people who dont have/cant get it and if it doesnt catch on then no dev in their right mind would ever make a game that would use it since their potential market is so small.
Dont get me wrong, id love a console with a 15 year life span via upgrades, but unfortunately its an idea that just doesnt fit the modern console model
Because they can make more money by releasing an entirely new system.
>>316824674
Apparently it's just technically infeasible to make a modular computers user friendly in regards to swapping components in or out. At least, not without performance penalties and enormous increases in cost in manufacturing.
CPU slots, for example, aren't the way they are just to piss people off for fun. Back in the old days of the Pentium the CPU actually did come in a sort of cartridge you just slotted onto the motherboard but that sort of connection is just way too slow these days.
I know there's been a few attempts, especially in regards to mobile computing and smart phones, to have user friendly component swapping and they all just went nowhere.
Also, do you think people would be willing to drop several hundred on a console and then several hundred more upgrading it later? They'll probably just want completely new hardware.
>>316823137
Hardware is not the same anymore.
Wire length matters, bandwidth matters.
>>316825860
You could just have a PCI slot sticking out, sell the second GPU separately and include optional crossfire support.
>>316823717
>ps2
>xbox
>gamecube
it worked a couple of gens ago, but I see your point. Kids would be fucked in the head like that now woudlnt they?
>>316826107
You can't just place things like PCI slots arbitrarily on motherboards, they are incredibly complicated and precisely engineered. Also, they are kind of sensitive, you probably don't want their connections exposed.
If it were simple it would have been done long ago for PC, forget consoles.
>>316823950
>>316823261
/thread
Because they invented the fucking USB port.
>>316826775
to be fair they could use built in pci-e risers to move the port somewhat. Or a better option would be something like dockport or thunderbolt, but obviously it would be something proprietary to the console.
What it really boils down to is the R&D not being worth the cost. Addons barely make money and are more just crutches for it's lifespan. They could license the technology but that as well adds costs. And even if you do release it, getting consumers and developers to adopt it is just a pain. Consoles are all about a standardized experience so when you start bringing in required accessories and addons, it tends to just complicate things too much for the consumers.
