Hardwired gaming TV's

Factual Questions
1

We have TV’s with VCR’s and DVD’s built in.

Why no TV’s with mainstream gaming consoles built in?

Or are they out there and I just missed them?

2

Well, I can tell you why I wouldn’t want to buy one.

  1. Combo devices in general are troublesome. If the DVD-ROM drive in the console breaks (which has been a big problem for PS2 and Xbox in the past), you have to take the whole thing in for service, and in the meantime you have no TV. Or you buy a new standalone console, and there’s still a broken console attached to your TV, mocking you.

  2. Consoles advance a lot faster than video playback devices. If you buy a TV with a built in PS2, it’s going to be obsolete as soon as the PS3 comes out. But VHS tapes were still going strong all through the 80s and 90s, and DVDs will probably be with us for several more years, so a TV/DVD player is a much better investment.

  3. A video game console is less useful when it’s anchored to a TV. If you want to take it to a friend’s house, you have to haul the TV around too. If you want to open it up and install a mod chip, you have to expose yourself to all those high voltage TV parts. Fitting the console into a TV form factor may require eliminating or rearranging some connectors, so third party accessories might not work. And your controller cables have to reach all the way to the TV, instead of just to the shelf or floor where a standalone console would go.