Last week, Google showed off its vision for the future of smartphones: Project Ara — a modular device with interchangeable hardware pieces that snap in via electro-permanent magnets.

In other words, it's a device not unlike a desktop PC, which can be upgraded by installing new components, such as a new graphics card, or a fresh top-of-the-line processor. But upgrading Ara is idiot-proof, while building and upgrading your own PC requires a fair bit of technical know-how – at least, enough to deter the average consumer.

What if it didn't?

The debate between console and PC superiority in the gaming space has raged for as long as the two categories have existed. Both sides have valid reasons for sticking to their preferred platform.

It has been a battle between the living room and the office, the couch and the desk. You connected your PC to a monitor with a VGA cable, while consoles plugged into a television via the RF port. Mouse and keyboard controls made no sense on the couch.

But things have changed. HDMI ports have become standard, so hooking a PC up to your television is a breeze. Similarly, many PC games come with controller support.

More and more, it's just a debate about the hardware. PC enthusiasts swear by their ability to upgrade their boxes. Console life-cycles are long, and though the young members of the new generation are looking slick now, they'll once again be outclassed by their PC counterparts in just a few short years.

On the other hand, consoles provide the ease-of-use that comes from a "plug-and-play" system. As I mentioned before, the average consumer doesn't know much about PC hardware and components, let alone how to install them. On top of that, consoles provide a gaming-dedicated operating system that lets them squeeze more performance out of less power.

But what if a hardware manufacturer built a gaming machine that, on the outside, functioned with all the ease-of-use of a console, but could accept modular upgrades like Ara? A machine that could quickly and easily be upgraded as if you were screwing in a new lightbulb?

A modular gaming console like this could, and I think should, be the future of gaming hardware. Imagine if, instead of being locked into the eight-plus-year-long console life cycle, you could buy one machine and then, every year or two, pop in a fresh component to keep everything up to date.

Some companies are trying this. Hardware manufacturer Xi3 actually already attempted such a plan with its Piston computer, which it launched late last year.

The Piston is an easily-upgradeable modular PC, but it hasn't taken off. At $1000, it doesn't deliver as much bang for the buck as a similarly-priced standard gaming PC. Buying into the Piston also means buying into Xi3's hardware ecosystem – you can't upgrade it without buying Xi3's proprietary modular upgrades.

But what if it was a hardware maker with more sway? What if there was a modular "PlayStation 4.5" or "Xbox One Point Five" that offered the same console user experience people are used to, but could be easily outfitted with a fresh processor or graphics card without any technical know-how? We can already buy the entry-level Xbox 360 Arcade Edition and then easily swap in a larger hard drive — why shouldn't the rest of the machine's components function the same way?

Of course, there are all manner of roadblocks and hurdles facing this machine of my wildest dreams. Console game publishers like the fact that they can just create their games for a single hardware standard, and not have to take into account the fact that different users might have different configurations. Players like that any game they buy for their console will Just Work.

But if Google's Project Ara is any indication of the things to come, maybe my dreams aren't so wild after all.