Day 2 started off for me with back-to-back sessions this morning, covering the future of gaming. The first session, hosted by WildTangent CEO Alex St. John, and dealt with "Gaming in 2020". Crytek's Cevat Yersi hosted the second session, discussing the future of gaming graphics.

　　St. John's session dealt much more with the business side of the industry, while Yersi was strictly focused on the future of gaming visuals. Still, both had fairly hardline projections for what to expect in the near-future of games, even if sometimes their predictions clashed.

　　As for St. John, his boldest statement had to do with the future of gaming consoles. In a word, he thinks console gaming is on its way out, doomed to go the way of the arcades. He cited a number of examples to support his theory: including his assertion that Sony and Microsoft would never recover the losses they respectively incurred for the research and development of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. St. John also mentioned the "era of production values" is ending, as games featuring excellent graphics become more and more prevalent.

　　In a sense, it seems Crytek's Yersi agrees. During his lecture, he repeatedly pointed out the fact that thanks to increased graphical capabilities, game developers are creating games that look more and more alike. Yersi predicts that a graphical renaissance will occur at the earliest in 2011 with the next major graphics engines (including the next engine from Crytek); until that time, developers on this console generation will need to focus on things like AI, physics, and by developing an artistic style for their games in order to set themselves apart from the competition.

　　While Yersi feels certain that new consoles are around the corner from Sony and Microsoft, St. John says that the dominant gaming platform will be the PC and that the faster consoles move into the online space, the quicker they'll die. The logic here is a little twisty but it makes a strange sort of sense: As consoles increase their online presence, and more games become available via download, the need to have those games on store shelves will eventually become minimal. According to St. John, retailers like Wal-Mart receive very little premium on console sales; instead, they make money on the games that line their shelves. If, in 2020, everyone is downloading their games online, why would retailers carry games (and, by extension, the consoles that play them)?

　　If I was a betting man, I'd come down on the side of Yersi for the next console generation. I think Sony and Microsoft will make at least one more go in the console wars--and it's probably a safe bet that both companies are elbow-deep in R&D right now preparing for those console launches. How about you? Do you think we'll all be playing on PCs in the year 2020 or will we be plugging away on our PlayStation 5s and Xbox 1440s?