Is the console going to become extinct or evolve?

[Hugest_UK]

I was so excited to get the PS5 when it released as loved the PS4 generation but I feel this generation has been a total let down in the content that’s been released. What with Sony releasing games on the PC now I feel I will probably sell my PS5 and ditch console gaming completely.

The only thing I would say is I have a steam deck and if you consider this a console I beilieve this is the future. Moving away from platform centric releases. Which I beilieve is what Phil Spencer was hinting at recently.

Interested to hear other people’s thoughts on this?

 

[Martini1991]

There's an element of the damage that COVID did as it'll have caused some issues to such long term projects as games.

I also think it's caused an attitude change with companies wanting more and more profit chasing "growth"

We just need to reach a level of common sense to make things sustainable.

I think a lot is being made specifically of the word consoles as well. If Consoles disappeared, people wouldn't become PC gamers over night as that costs wayy more in the short term.

Phil Spencer is also throwing a lot of turd at the wall and seeing what sticks as some of what he's saying doesn't make sense from a technical or practical point of view for his brand.

On the Steam Deck, it's a brilliant device but it's basically dead going forward for modern games that aren't on the PS4/Xbox One

 

[Hugest_UK]

I agree too much profit driven shareholder pleasing games being released some of the best games released recently however (baldurs gate 3) have proven that this model is being noticed by gamers.

I disagree a little with your steam deck comment it plays most games way better than I expected from a handheld device and with a future revision the performance will improve further but obviously expect it will always be behind in regards with AAA games as it’s a lower power handheld device.

 

[Plainsong]

No interest in PC gaming nor the cost. I love my PS5 and I use it a hell of a lot as do many millions of other people. Same with the Switch it’s a great console. Console’s aren’t going anywhere for a long time yet.

 

[Martini1991]

I agree too much profit driven shareholder pleasing games being released some of the best games released recently however (baldurs gate 3) have proven that this model is being noticed by gamers.

I disagree a little with your steam deck comment it plays most games way better than I expected from a handheld device and with a future revision the performance will improve further but obviously expect it will always be behind in regards with AAA games as it’s a lower power handheld device.

So, there's a bunch of new games that have come out that don't perform well enough on the Steam Deck to get the playable moniker, Returbal being one of them and it's not exactly "new"

That's on a device 2 years old. It's not going to get faster in it's 3rd or 4th year.

Getting a steam Deck 2 doesn't change the original hardware and that's exactly my point, the original hardware doesn't have much of a future with newer titles (Obviously some exceptions depending on what the actual game is)

I've got 2 Decks, an OLED and I gave my LCD to my partner but I know it has limitations.

I'll get a Steam Deck 2 as I think Valve wants to stick to lower TDP's compared to the ROG Ally and Legion and the product is quality.

 

[xaldub]

I don't think consoles will become extinct, but these are clearly challenging times for Sony and Microsoft ( Xbox ) driven by rising development costs for games and unrealistic expectations for "growth" ( read profit ) within the console space. The bubble is going to burst ; one could argue it already has begun with the recent mass layoffs involving several studios.

From a hardware perspective I forecast a proliferation of handheld devices ; both Sony & Xbox will try and tap into the zeitgeist of what Nintendo and Steam have achieved with the Switch and Steamdeck respectively. Whether they succeed or not remains to be seen, but in my opinion they are being reactive rather than proactive and I fully expect Xbox to withdraw from hardware production within the next few years and focus on being a service provider/developer. Sony can't afford to do that ... Playstation is a huge part of their business portfolio. It has to succeed and they will do whatever is necessary to achieve that, but the path will be a stormy one.

Meanwhile, Nintendo are in a great position and will just continue doing their own thing, which clearly resonates with millions of casual gamers globally. I can't see the Switch successor flopping.

For me personally, I've become a bit concerned about the future of my "digital libraries" on these platforms, and what would happen if Xbox, for example, did leave the console space. In preparation I've begun to shift back towards PC gaming and have picked up some of the Sony exclusives on Steam etc. I'll continue to enjoy my Switch on the side but plan to sell my Series X. I'll keep my PS5 for now as it remains a good platform for JRPGs but a PS5 Pro and PS6 won't be an automatic purchase.

 

[Scrutinize]

In theory, the future 'console' is simply a games pass or subscription, controller and a fully digital cloud based experience. In Q1 2024, there is no longer any need for a physical console, let alone game disc.

However, I suspect that the desire to have a physical console will still remain strong for considerable time so both options remain in parallel.

I use cloud gaming for 90% of my gaming now via either GeForce Now or Xbox GP Ultimate, both of which can be played via a mobile phone, tablet, laptop etc

GFN's cloud gaming has come on exponentially in the last couple of years, even more so since last summer. It integrates both my Xbox and Steam library and gives me full RTX On high res gaming via a web browser or the app. It is extremely rare now that I find myself in a location where I can't get wifi or 4G/5G and I am unable to game.

 

[TheVoice]

My only recent impression of cloud gaming is from Game Pass Ultimate on PC; I recently tried Forza Horizon 5 streamed to my PC and was left profoundly disappointed. Latency was decent but visually it looked like a low bitrate YouTube video. I have a 1Gbps FTTP connection and my PC is wired to my router so the conditions couldn't be more ideal unless I was sat on the roof of MS' data centre. On a smaller display like a phone or tablet when away from home, I could see it being acceptable and convenient, but it's absolutely not a replacement for actual hardware.

Cloud gaming certainly has a future as it makes gaming accessible anywhere and to almost anyone without devs having to cater for a multitude of hardware variations or make games specifically for a handheld market, but there's clearly still plenty of technical hurdles to get over and the uptake of lower-latency, more reliable fibre connections will need to increase first before it becomes a viable alternative to a gaming PC or a console in the home. Personally, I'm more than happy to continue owning the actual hardware even if that means paying a premium for it in future.

 

[Scort]

I can't see myself ever going back to PC gaming - the initial outlay is a bit like when you first get into motorcycling, and I simply cannot justify it to myself (or more importantly the Wife) - besides my PS5 is hooked up to a nice OLED and surround sound; so I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

Consoles certainly won't go extinct, and I'm not sure how, or why they would need to evolve either - there's many millions of customers put there; so there will always be a decent amount of uptake going forward.

One thing that I think (hope) might happen, is indie/non triple A games taking over from the AAA trash that's being pumped out at the moment. Taking Helldivers 2 as an example, it launched at half the price of a AAA game, and blew most of the competition out of the water it seems!

I would love to see the current trend of greed over good games, bugger off, but for the likes of Ubisoft, EA, etc etc - they're for the shareholders and not the players it seems

 

[Kainz]

Console is going no where. They cater for a specific type of gamer in more ways than one.

I am a former PC Gamer, tired of a utter cack OS, bloated analytic drivers, unfinished games etc. I want to click on an icon and play without the faff - PC hasn't given me that in ages and I haven't the time to waste fiddling around just to get a game to run right. I'd be more worried about the crapfest that is Windows evolving into a spyware mess than anything else if I was still gaming on the PC, which I do but not as much anymore.

One can argue back and forth really but the entire industry is struggling partly due to COVID. PC's getting a handful of old games means absolutely very little right now - the main situation is developers and publishers are struggling for reasons already mentioned in this thread. Game pricing at the moment is what really concerns me as publishers are certainly testing the waters with x editions of games approaching stupid money. Take2/Rockstar will push the pricing envelope sky high as they know people will buy regardless.

 

[chaparral]

I was so excited to get the PS5 when it released as loved the PS4 generation but I feel this generation has been a total let down in the content that’s been released. What with Sony releasing games on the PC now I feel I will probably sell my PS5 and ditch console gaming completely.

Why do you feel sony releasing games on the PC a let down ?

For myself i think it a huge bonus as now i can choose if i want to buy the game for my PC or for my PS5 (or double dip )

It also really helps the gamers that can't afford or don't want to buy a Gaming PC & Console or don't have room to setup both systems

 

[silvagti]

I love my PS5 and I use it a hell of a lot as do many millions of other people. Same with the Switch it’s a great console. Console’s aren’t going anywhere for a long time yet.

Likewise. As long as Nvidia are charging £500 for a mid-range graphics card consoles aren't going anywhere!

Personally, spending all day in front of a computer at work I'm quite happy to play games using a controller on the couch!

I can't see myself ever going back to PC gaming - the initial outlay is a bit like when you first get into motorcycling, and I simply cannot justify it to myself (or more importantly the Wife) - besides my PS5 is hooked up to a nice OLED and surround sound; so I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

That's how I'm starting to feel. My "gaming" is so old now (2014) it's at the point where everything in it needs replacing if I wanted to get back into PC gaming and I can't be bothered with what's likely to be a £2000 outlay bt the time I buy a PC and a monitor.PS5/Switch and a 65" OLED TV is cheaper than a new PC and a better all-round solution gaming IMO!

If anything I think a more pertinent question is whether "gaming PC's" are going to become extinct as I can see many beginning to question whether they actually offer enough added value above and beyond consoles/streaming to warrant the additional cost.........

 

[The_Arbiter]

Hard to say what's going to happen. I don't see Nintendo's favouritism slowing up any time soon. Xbox and PS will possibly move to quicker console releases to appease the shareholders for the short term. If Xbox did pull out and leave Sony in the hardware space i think Sony might try more varied hardware approaches.

Even with digital only games to purchase, the convenience of plug and play can't be downplayed. If Windows invested in an Xbox UI for PC then there might be a hint of the Xbox hardware going.

Though i think ultimately it depends on what gamer trends end up doing. If better and simple gameplay gets favoured over flashy graphics (as we've seen a few examples of), then cheaper hardware being considered acceptable would force everyone to continue with consoles. If it shifted that hard then another player might enter if Sony and Xbox don't pay attention, but it would have to be a major shift as we all know it wouldn't be a cheap investment for any company. It does seem some of the giants aren't scared of throwing cash at any hint of the next big thing.

 

[Personality+]

My only recent impression of cloud gaming is from Game Pass Ultimate on PC; I recently tried Forza Horizon 5 streamed to my PC and was left profoundly disappointed. Latency was decent but visually it looked like a low bitrate YouTube video. I have a 1Gbps FTTP connection and my PC is wired to my router so the conditions couldn't be more ideal unless I was sat on the roof of MS' data centre. On a smaller display like a phone or tablet when away from home, I could see it being acceptable and convenient, but it's absolutely not a replacement for actual hardware.

Cloud gaming certainly has a future as it makes gaming accessible anywhere and to almost anyone without devs having to cater for a multitude of hardware variations or make games specifically for a handheld market, but there's clearly still plenty of technical hurdles to get over and the uptake of lower-latency, more reliable fibre connections will need to increase first before it becomes a viable alternative to a gaming PC or a console in the home. Personally, I'm more than happy to continue owning the actual hardware even if that means paying a premium for it in future.

GeforceNow is years ahead of xcloud, in terms of raw performance, image quality and latency. Its truthfully not even a fight, Geforcenow is the only legitimate choice for cloud gaming that actually does as advertised provided you have a good Internet connection.

I agree however it will stay a niche solution for now as most people would rather have the physical hardware, but 10 years from now and fttp and 6G slowly rolling out... who knows how the performance will be that far in the future. Perhaps it'll potentially be closer to a lossless compression on the cloud side by then.

Physical devices will be around for another 2 or 3 generations I think. Physical media though... harder to say.

 

[malachi]

I was so excited to get the PS5 when it released as loved the PS4 generation but I feel this generation has been a total let down in the content that’s been released. What with Sony releasing games on the PC now I feel I will probably sell my PS5 and ditch console gaming completely.

The only thing I would say is I have a steam deck and if you consider this a console I beilieve this is the future. Moving away from platform centric releases. Which I beilieve is what Phil Spencer was hinting at recently.

Interested to hear other people’s thoughts on this?

Only major thing I can see happening is consoles going disc-less and removing the optical drive. So you have no choice but to buy directly from their overpriced digital market place.

 

[chrismscotland]

I can't see consoles going anywhere for a while yet; although how many are actually available probably is up for more debate; I don't doubt there will be a new generation of Xbox but if that's as successful as the current one I don't see Microsoft staying in the Hardware game.

Nintendo will carry on doing what they do and likely very successfully; if anything I can see a Switch 2 being even more popular than the first; they have their own unique suite of titles along with as much 3rd party and independent support as anyone else (and its the first time we can say that about Nintendo for a very, very long time).

You do wonder if we might see other entrants; I don't think it would be a stretch to see Apple enter the market with some kind of gamified Apple TV box.

I'm sure we'll see more and more Handheld PC's although I personally think these are more of a PC market competitor than consoles, to some extent anything that needs to be handheld needs some semblance of battery life is likely to be less powerful than a dedicated home console.

I've been doing a lot of reading of almost anything I can get my hands on just now around the 90's console war after reading Blake Harris' "Console Wars" a year or so ago; I miss the sheer craziness of the market those days - with some bonkers hardware, etc - the gaming industry has become so boring, corporate and bland since its (in my opinion) early 00's peak with the likes of the PS2 and Xbox 360

 

[Rroff]

I'm not really a console gamer but I'd probably go for handhelds in the future - the SoC used by the Ally and Go, etc. has a ridiculously powerful CPU for what it is, the GPU is rather mediocre but that can change - the SoC used wasn't designed from the ground up as a game device and has been reused for that purpose, so plenty of optimisation possible. With an appropriate dock these handhelds would do console duty with the full options of going portable especially if they use detachable joycons like the Go which could be connected together to use more like a traditional controller.

Personally not a fan of streaming games and hope it isn't the future, though it has its uses.

 

[chrismscotland]

Only major thing I can see happening is consoles going disc-less and removing the optical drive. So you have no choice but to buy directly from their overpriced digital market place.

In some respects while I agree about digital only (and for me it'll be a sad day when that's the case) - it might open things up; there's no chance that the EU Competition law is going to allow say Sony's e-Store to be the only means available to buy games for download.
It might take time but I'd expect we'll see opening up of consoles to other stores; I know you can get EA Play, etc on some now but I mean a proper separate store to buy games.

 

[Ixon]

I have a feeling portability might be the future of consoles.

The Switch has been a massive success for Nintendo, the Switch 2 will also be a successful if Nintendo make it fully backward compatible with the Switch & don't screw it up with something stupid and quirky that nobody wants.
The Steam deck has also sold pretty well for Valve, then you got the likes of the Legion Go & the ROG Ally, I have the Legion Go myself and love it.

Microsoft are now rumoured to be jumping into the handheld market if this ends up being a success for them, then i can see them moving away from tradition consoles at some point.
Sony will probably be pressured to move back into the dedicated handheld market as well.

 

[iamtheoneneo]

Its all just going to be handheld with the ability to dock it.

I think chasing pixels is going to become a thing of the past instead studio's opting for lower budget games that they can build relatively cheaply without an extensive workforce.

It's not healthy for the industry to have these AAA studios that are one bad game away from falling under or being swallowed up by a bigger publisher.