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Where is the industry heading?

Where do you think the industry is heading

  • Cloud

    Votes: 60 37.5%
  • Subscription

    Votes: 95 59.4%
  • Console

    Votes: 56 35.0%
  • PC (Desktop and Laptop)

    Votes: 43 26.9%
  • Mobile (Phone, Tablet, Handheld)

    Votes: 52 32.5%
  • TV

    Votes: 16 10.0%

  • Total voters
    160
With Microsoft making a play at Activision, it brings to question where the industry is actually going.

Personally, I think that we're heading for serious consolidation. If you look at TV right now you have major players all position against cloud and subscription services. Cable is clearly dead or dying and you have a multitude of players involved. I see a lot of parallels to TV/Movie media where content is more platform agnostic.

You have TV manufacturers who have coalesced with operating systems: WebOS, Roku, Tizen, Google TV (formerly Android TV), and Fire OS.
You have streaming device manufacturers who try to shift that decision outside of the TV manufacturer: Apple TV, Chromecast with Google TV, Roku, Amazon Fire

Then you have content creators and distributors: Apple TV+, Disney+ (Hulu, ESPN+), HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock, and Netflix (there are more of course)

What does that mean for gaming?

I don't think the console model is going to last forever (or that much longer). Once cloud technology gets to the point where you can stream a game without significant latency in enough areas of the world, the console is dead. Once the console is dead, the model of console royalties are dead, as so is the storefront as we know it today.

This begs the question of how games are distributed. Will they be distributed by publishers themselves via their own apps on TVs or streaming devices? Or will manufacturers switch from consoles to streaming devices? Will we skip these and go straight to TV operating systems and apps? Will things shift to subscriptions or will there be subscriptions plus premium or subscriptions plus stand-alone?

When Spider-Man No Way Home left theaters, you could buy it separately but didn't come to Starz until July 15th 2022. It arrived on digital for purchase on March 22nd and was also available on physical disc. Why was Spider-Man on Starz which no one has or wants? Because Starz paid Sony 1.3 billion for their content from 2017 to 2021.

I think this impacts PC as much as it does consoles, because without consoles, there really isn't any distinguishing PC from consoles. This means either something else will have to distinguish that or you're going to see games removed from Steam and siloed into subscription buckets. With maybe stream being a stand alone store front for games priced at a high premium like Vudu.
 

Stuart360

Member
I think long term, as in 25+ years in the future, most gaming will be cloud based, combined with subscriptions.
PC imo will be the only gaming hardware to survive due to PC's doing a whole lot more than just gaming, and obviously the likes of Nvidia, AMD, and Intel wont be pushing for a streaming only future on PC when their main business is PC hardware.

If there are any consoles, its will be those China style consoles that come preloaded with retro games.
Playstation and Xbox will be full services, designing games streamable to any device.. Nintendo, well who knows with them as they live in their own bubble.
 
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feynoob

Banned
Cloud gaming, with VR as a side Hustler.
Consoles will die in the future, since kids don't like easy way.
Always internet would be a thing and offline would a thing of the past.

Everyone would have subscription mode to play their games.

Dlc, mtx and loyalty brand would be the new normie.

And lastly, us old geezers would be left behind.
 
Eventually hardware is going to become rather ubiquitous.... as the power envelope will be so much eventually, that it would really just not have any effect on developers being limited so much by capabilities but more limited by budget.

When your average cell phone is as powerful as an Xbox Series X is today, I predict that gaming, just like most other forms of entertainment that you can get digitally, will be through a subscription service. It's already happened with music, movies, and television. It's even happened with books.
 
The other question we have to ask is what this means for generations...

If things move to cloud and subscriptions, when does the back-end hardware get upgraded?

With the cost of games becoming more and more expensive... maybe at some point we see the backend hardware stop changing for long periods of time...
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Implementing consoles in your entertainment center will still happen in the future, meetings are happening now for the PS6.
 

Stuart360

Member
Will the PS6 have a disc drive? Will there be a PS7 or a PS8?

I think these are in question.
There is no way PS6 and Xbox 5 will have disk drives, no way. I mean by the time next gen comes around, in another 5 or 6 years, digital game sales will probably be 95% or higher. Hell Xbox is already there with some games.
 
There is no way PS6 and Xbox 5 will have disk drives, no way. I mean by the time next gen comes around, in another 5 or 6 years, digital game sales will probably be 95% or higher. Hell Xbox is already there with some games.

There are legal reasons to offer disc drives, otherwise their storefronts become monopolies, which opens them up to having to allow 3rd party storefronts on their systems.

I can see them throwing a drive version out there for as long as they have consoles just to pacify regulators.
 
I picked Cloud, Subscription, Console & PC (though technically the other two can count...you need a TV to see what the console puts out, right? 😉)

[CLOUD]

I don't think this is going to be the industry shift some people hype it up to be. Cloud, like subscription gaming, will probably continue to serve a supportive role rather than a main role in how people game. Its two biggest use-cases on the customer side are probably going to be for game demos (that you can stream, to try a game out, before deciding if you want to buy it digitally or physically), and to do some cloud-based backend logic & graphics rendering to stream results back to the client system, preferably in real-time. That way, games can have a touch more visual fidelity or physics going on beyond what the base console may be able to do if it had to render it all locally.

For developers, I think the cloud's going to be a big factor in enabling more decentralized development schedules and workflows, better sharing of tools and assets, communication, and allow for potentially more global development teams. I can also see AI programming and data creation models being powered through cloud networks and used by teams to help in the process of creating games more quickly and efficiently.

[SUBSCRIPTIONS]

Like cloud, I don't see it having a big transformative effect on how us regular customers engage with games in terms of accessing content. The budgets for AAA marquee games are just too big to have a subscription service absorb all of the costs, especially if it's from a publisher making multiple such games a given year. However, I think it might be a perfect solution for backlog libraries of content.

That said, platform holders have to be careful to what frequency they bring titles to sub services, because if it's too frequent, too soon, they can condition customers to wait until a new game "inevitably" lands in the service. Even if the service has no loopholes that can lower the ARPU significantly, that is a risky and potentially losing strategy long-term in regards to revenue, let alone if your service has a lot of options where customers can basically get it for super-cheap or free, multiple times. At that point, your entire content pipeline is being offered like a charity, but you're a business. And most companies don't have the pockets to sustain that without bleeding so much cash they are forced to downscale or shutter.

But, as a backlog for vault content? Subscription services can work great. And for helping enable the existence of smaller AA-type or indie games that may not be able to find their own audiences, I think subscription services can work well too. Though, truthfully, even a lot of those games would be just fine with demo slices in said services, then let those games sell in full directly to customers before considering to bring them into the service once they've saturated their direct sales revenue potential.

[CONSOLES]

These are here to stay. We've still got a ways to go before really reaching a point where graphics are virtually indistinguishable from real-life, and there are still many advances that can be made WRT physics and AI in games, too. What's more, for me personally I think the immersion aspect is only now starting to be explored, and when VR/AR is able to be "good enough" and at least initially offered at an entry-level price (I'd say, to where you can provide a headset with 1440p - 2K 90 Hz refresh per eye, 4 DOF, full-color passthrough camera at a $100 MSRP), we can see immersion at that level become mainstream.

Feels like we've got at least one, maybe two, more console generations where tech itself can advance and provide readily noticeable boosts locally, before I'd say gaming technology (processing, engine maturity/features, controls, sensory immersion, QoL etc.) reaches a point where even lower-end hardware is "good enough". When companies other than Sony, Microsoft & Nintendo can basically make boxes with solid baseline console-like specs and feature performance at mass-market prices, that's when maybe the idea of "consoles" coming from 2 or 3 specific manufacturers might go away.

But I can also only see that happening when the Big 3 decide they've reached a point where adhering to certain aspects of the traditional console business model (i.e selling hardware at subsidized losses, having a licensing fee to make content for their hardware, selling games as exclusives on their hardware or their software service platforms, etc.) are not profitable or sustainable for them long-term. That would basically mean them treating their consoles more like PC gaming boxes or "players", but I don't see that happening if on the PC side, Microsoft specifically still have a stranglehold on the OS and (somewhat) game API markets, because that would just be Sony, Nintendo, Apple, Google etc. ceding control to Microsoft.
Things would have to be way more OS-agnostic on the PC side when it comes to gaming, for that to even start happening. So, I don't think a future where game consoles basically become like DVD players in their role, being able to play every game from every publisher at virtually any spec level, is going to happen for some decades. I just think it would require more compromises on control than pretty much any of these companies would be willing to make.

[PC]

Basically just gave the reasons why, above. At least, that's on the business side of things. For customers, I think we're going to see more 3P console games start coming to PC, in some increases cases Day 1. I can see Nintendo eventually testing the waters with PC ports of older games, say some N64, SNES or Gamecube titles, particularly ones that might've done well critically but not commercially back in the day. For example, say they wanted to do an Eternal Darkness remake; I can easily see them making that a Switch 2 & PC type of game, maybe the PC version comes a year later or something but that's the type of game I feel Nintendo could cater to the PC audience with, but without stepping on their own console audience's toes to do so.

I do see Sony bringing more of their games to PC as well but in either one or two ways. Some of the recent sales of PC ports haven't been great from what I've seen, and I think that may lead Sony to reconsider their porting strategy. A lot of the live-service games, will still be coming to PC and Day 1 in at least most of those cases for certain. But I can see them skipping on bringing larger marquee games like GOW or Spiderman to the PC platform in the future. Those games have strong selling power on PlayStation consoles; the hardware flow is finally good again, why kneecap it?

It seems like to me, the smaller, more creative AA-style games can do pretty well on PC/Steam, and might cater more to that type of audience. We're sort of seeing it right now with Hi-Fi Rush, although that's a MS/Bethesda game. Personally if I were Sony, I'd leave the marquee single-player games like GOW, Ghosts, Spiderman, TLOU etc. on console (or if doing a PC port, wait at least 3 or so years and at that point, can probably backlog the game into PS+ (the PS5 version) and offer the PC upgrades on console for a $10 upgrade fee), and instead prioritize smaller indie and AA-style 1P content and live-service games for the PC/Steam market. If they make a Dreams 2, for example, that would probably be a nice PS5/PC Day 1 type of game. Or another Little Big Planet. If Sony bothered to bring back some of their legacy IP like Parappa/UmJammer, Tomba!, Tearaway, Echochorme etc. then those could solid PC offerings alongside PS and mobile.

But..that's if Sony don't plan on doing their own storefront for PC. If they are, then I think those plans could change significantly. If they can monetize the storefront (through PS+ subs and some type of ad/affiliate-based 'Free' model), make it seamless between PS console and PC in terms of features, trophies, shared perks etc., have some type of pricing discount for double-dippers (maybe tied to PS Rewards), and ensure that marquee AAA games always target PS5/PS6 regardless what PC settings they'd need to run on that platform (i.e say Uncharted 5 needs a 4080 minimum to run, then so be it), then I can see all 1P games being Day 1 on console & PC, some even Day 1 between those & mobile, All depends on the specific game. If they are considering that strategy, though, then I think Sony are several years away from implementing it.

I think it'd be until PS6 gen before they did it, and the PC would basically be a "virtual platform" in that sense. If you don't want to worry about your PC meeting the minimum specs tho, you can get a console. If you still want PC, Sony still gets the full cut on any 1P software purchased through the storefront, their cut of 3P sales on the storefront, PS+ revenue on PC (paid & free tiers), etc. They would definitely have to scale back on Steam, though, which would be a challenge. Not an insurmountable one, though; some people like to complain that PC gamers won't "tolerate" buying their games anywhere else but, if the audience is that stubborn, why cater to them? Put up a good storefront with quality perks and services, great games, and if that person wants to play them, they have to become a customer of yours. It's that simple, just business.

[MOBILE]

This one's pretty easy to predict; we're going to see more platform holders make games based on their IP specifically for the mobile market. Nintendo and Sony are already doing it, and have for a while, but I can see them expanding with more such efforts. Microsoft HAD some of these games, but shuttered them; now they want ABK to get access to that Candy Crush revenue.

At least for Sony, and maybe Microsoft, I can also see mobile acting as a means of justifying reinvestments into smaller and mid-sized AA-type games. There is some notable crossover between the audience for that on mobile, Steam, and console. Collectively, that audience is big enough to justify those games on small/moderate budgets and getting healthy profit returns on them.

Mobile will also factor a lot into the cloud & subscription side of things; perhaps for mobile audiences, those become the main means of consuming gaming content. But again, I think it's going to be limited to non-AAA games. I also think it'll have to be with games that are friendly to mobile audiences; just mapping console controller button schemes to a virtual touch button setup won't do, because that just makes everything more convoluted. The games have to inherently work well with limited buttons & swipe/motion controls, or at least have the foresight during development to accommodate that setup.

[TV]

Not really too noteworthy IMO. It's just another access point for gaming content via the cloud or through a subscription service. I can see Sony & Microsoft making their own TVs specifically designed with gaming in mind; Sony's already doing this with the InZone monitors, mostly.

But I mean, more so in the way where Sony & Microsoft may design such monitors and bundle them with the console in a premium SKU. Monitors specifically designed for absolute low-latency gaming, perfect color balance, audio output, tons of controls for the image quality, sync, refresh options, maybe even touch capacity, monitor tilt options and more. I can't picture that type of SKU with even a smaller TV of that type & console being cheap (probably well over $1,000), but some subset of the hardcore would love it.

I can't see it happening with the current consoles though; it is probably something with 10th-gen, because I think they'll have more horsepower to provide much higher refreshes than 120 Hz at Full HD (and above) native resolutions (plus they'll have advanced image upscaling tech in them, making the need for native resolutions that much more a non-requirement).
 

X-Wing

Member
If Microsoft gets Activision then the industry will be moving into a monopoly that only Big Tech (Google, Apple, Meta, etc.) will be able to defy. Probably also to surveillance capitalism making it's way into games. If the deal fails I see both Sony and Nintendo pushing the industry forward with innovation like they have done so far.
 
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samoilaaa

Member
Will the PS6 have a disc drive? Will there be a PS7 or a PS8?

I think these are in question.
most likely the xsx2/ps6 wont have a disc drive , you can see that they are already testing the market to see how people react to digital only consoles , if the digital loses by a small difference then we might see full digital next gen because people most likely wont give up on their hobby just because physical copies wont exist , especially the young generations

and lets be honest you dont own the game not even today
 
Making games cloud exclusive and tying them to a subscription will keep players paying out the ass no matter how many games they're actually playing while simultaneously eliminating piracy and giving platform owners and publishers full control over what games people get to play how, when and where. There is no way they will pass up on that, so it's coming eventually. Might not be next gen, or even the one after that, but it's inevitable.
 

Topher

Gold Member
Making games cloud exclusive and tying them to a subscription will keep players paying out the ass no matter how many games they're actually playing while simultaneously eliminating piracy and giving platform owners and publishers full control over what games people get to play how, when and where. There is no way they will pass up on that, so it's coming eventually. Might not be next gen, or even the one after that, but it's inevitable.

I think indie developers are going to continue to advance and will offer games for direct sales even if the big publishers abandon sales for subs and cloud. As long as there is a market for something then there will be someone who is willing to sell to that market.
 

Wildebeest

Member
Mobile gaming is already much bigger than all the alternatives combined. It is like the swordsman saying that he has already cut off your head, you just haven't noticed yet.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Do we still have CDs, vinyl, purchasable digital music and dedicated physical hardware? Yes, even alongside music streaming.

Same question but now for DVDs, Blu Ray and 4k Blu Ray.

So you take gaming, which is even harder to pull off without dedicated hardware because it's not only speed dependant but latency dependant, and the answer becomes pretty clear. I'm 30, in my lifetime there will always be some physical dedicated hardware for gaming.

The market will stay the same but more options will be added diluting the layout.
 

Lunarorbit

Member
I think it means Jack shit for the gaming industry. Isps have their head up their own ass and charge an exorbitant amount of money for simple services. For streaming to ever work isp would have to put in high speed internet for the country (which they have already been paid to do).

More console to pc remakes. Consoles will be around for several more generations. I refuse to get forced into a Stadia situation.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
I've said it before and I'll say it again.

The future is a combination of cloud and subscription ONLY.

If you want to play future games, or games you've previously purchased as a digital download, the only way you'll be able to do this is by paying Sony or Microsoft a fee to access the games via their sub/cloud service.

As this will be the only way we'll be able to access games, the monthly fee will be higher than normal, possibly around £40 or £50 per month, but people will gladly pay this to access their catalogue and play future games.

Consoles won't exist. Instead, you'll be able to access GP or PS+ via any device that has a screen and connects to the internet.

Book mark this page, because that's the future of gaming.
 

winjer

Gold Member
Black And White Oops GIF by Buyout Footage
 
All of the above. Subscription, cloud, digital only, mobile etc. This is what these gaming companies are really pushing for. They want full control over consumers and they don’t want anyone to own anything. Wherever it’s going, I can assure you that it won’t be good for gamers that like traditional, no nonsense gaming experiences. The really perturbing part is, it seems like there are a plethora of gamers who will happily embrace this future because of “convenience”.
 
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Spyxos

Member
I think a big part will be mobile and cloud. I have now seen several times how my family abroad in poor countries have discovered cloud gaming for themselves, almost no one buys an expensive PC or a Ps5. They just can't afford it. They only play on their mobiles or in the cloud.
 

reinking

Gold Member
crash GIF


I believe the market will crash or go mobile/handheld before it goes cloud. So, I think we are console/PC until the next crash. Subscription will always be a part of gaming but that is just an evolution of renting games.
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
The kinds of platforms we play on probably won't change much in the next decade, but I think we're going to see more focus on live service games because developers are going to need a recurring revenue model to keep the lights on.

I think we're going to continue to see erosion of the AAA third party space as the cost to develop big AAA games becomes increasingly unsustainable for anyone besides platform owners like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. It's not greed that is driving live service and MTX as much as it just costs too much and it is becoming too risky to spend 5 or more years investing $100 million or more in the creation of a single game that may not pay off in the $70 single purchase model once marketing and distribution costs are factored in.

That's why Activision has pretty much every studio they own working to make sure they can get COD out every year at the expense of almost every other IP they own. Third party AAA game mills like EA, Ubisoft and Activision are going to need to change how they build games or risk obsolescence. I think Activision needs someone to acquire them because their business model can't run like it currently does forever. Ubi is already experiencing it. It will be interesting to see how the loss of the FIFA license impacts EA.
 

Mercador

Member
Subscription based is a given. Will connection speed and reliance get to the point where we can "cloud" everything? Perhaps. What you haven't mentioned but I think it will be meaningful is IA content creation.
 

ChorizoPicozo

Gold Member
With Microsoft making a play at Activision, it brings to question where the industry is actually going.

Personally, I think that we're heading heading? we are balls-deep for serious consolidation. If you look at TV right now you have major players all position against cloud and subscription services. Cable is clearly dead or dying and you have a multitude of players involved. I see a lot of parallels to TV/Movie media where content is more platform agnostic.
is it though?.
You have TV manufacturers who have coalesced with operating systems: WebOS, Roku, Tizen, Google TV (formerly Android TV), and Fire OS.
You have streaming device manufacturers who try to shift that decision outside of the TV manufacturer: Apple TV, Chromecast with Google TV, Roku, Amazon Fire

Then you have content creators and distributors: Apple TV+, Disney+ (Hulu, ESPN+), HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock, and Netflix (there are more of course)
The distribution model has evolved. but something reminds the same:

The Importance of content tied to an exclusive platform....is the key differentiation between competitors.

What does that mean for gaming?

I don't think the console model is going to last forever (or that much longer).
😆
Once cloud technology gets to the point where you can stream a game without significant latency in enough areas of the world, the console is dead. Once the console is dead, the model of console royalties are dead, as so is the storefront as we know it today.
consoles will never be dead. no mattet what.

why? pretty simple.

the same reason turntables and Hi-Fi speakers/amps are still a thing.

plus, there is a bunch of benefits for companies like sony-Nintendo (MS is a different beast) to keep making them.


This begs the question of how games are distributed. Will they be distributed by publishers themselves via their own apps on TVs or streaming devices?
just like EA play or Ubisoft Plus?

Or will manufacturers switch from consoles to streaming devices?
no need. streaming will co-exist with consoles.
Will we skip these and go straight to TV operating systems and apps?
no need to skip anything.

Will things shift to subscriptions or will there be subscriptions plus premium or subscriptions plus stand-alone?
will? we are the subscription era. FOR EVERYTHING.

When Spider-Man No Way Home left theaters, you could buy it separately but didn't come to Starz until July 15th 2022. It arrived on digital for purchase on March 22nd and was also available on physical disc. Why was Spider-Man on Starz which no one has or wants? Because Starz paid Sony 1.3 billion for their content from 2017 to 2021.
see. where is you 'platform agnostic"?.

Netflix paid a bunch of money for 3 Knives Out movies.

I think this impacts PC as much as it does consoles, because without consoles, there really isn't any distinguishing PC from consoles.
wat? i don't understand this.

This means either something else will have to distinguish that or you're going to see games removed from Steam and siloed into subscription buckets.
With maybe stream being a stand alone store front for games priced at a high premium like Vudu.
huh?
 
Cloud: Worldwide infrastructure isn't happening anytime soon. People still need hardware until this happens and this option doesn't consider the worldwide audience. This future would be 100+ years from now.

Subscription: Will last forever.

Phones, TV, and PC Only: Possible future due to Gen-Z growing up on mobile, tik tok, youtube, and twitch. Most of SK, JP, and China has already moved on to these options as a primary. Ultimately for other countries it depends on how easier and how much cheaper gaming PCs have become. Graphics would have to reach a plateau where any TV, netbook, or laptop could compete with a console and aren't just avenues into a CounterStrike tournament. Would be 40-50+ years from now depending on the worldwide audience.
Whoever managed to make the first successful dummy proof-modular PC (similar to Razer's project Christine/project Sophia) will become a billion dollar company in a matter of 5 years and could potentially shorten console lifespans by 20-30 years.

Consoles: Will last as long as worldwide audiences want cheaper options for better graphics and next-gen features. Possible future for 40-50 years minimum. They key to longer life is convincing Gen-Z and below to want consoles.
Nintendo has already succeeded on their end due to a clever console(a mobile console) and parental indoctrination.
Xbox (The console) will possibly die and be pushed more as a PC store/cloud service whenever Phil Spencer is removed or retires as head, and is replaced with someone who will most likely be more of a bottom line businessman than Don Mattrick ever was. Xbox will earn more money this way but console fans will be upset about it.
Playstation will last as long as Nintendo(due to worldwide appeal) but they're going to experience a slow burn of death over the next 50+ years.
 
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bitbydeath

Member
The first one to move to cloud only will be the first one to die. Consoles aren’t going anywhere in the near future.
 
ChorizoPicozo ChorizoPicozo

The amount of consolidation will grow significantly in the coming years. The only thing slowly it now is that cash has become so expensive, but when the global economy picks up again, I expect we'll see it happening quickly. Even if it doesn't that will cause it to happen as well.

The difference between what you're mentioned and consoles is that all those devices agnostically play everything and don't have a primary license holder.

EA Play Pro is more of the future I think we're going to see with consoles dead. You have to ask yourself if streaming can be achieved a mass market level, why the publishers need the console.

Skipping streaming devices straight to the TV cuts out a potential middle man and increases margins.


I meant that Netflix was platform agnostic, meaning you could play it on anything, not that the content within Netflix is on any service.

If games no longer release on consoles and only release on cloud subscription services, steam will also likely die. You might be able to use the PC as a device to play your games, but it won't be the same as PC gaming. If Steam continues to exist it will be at a high premium like services that exist for VOD, such as VUDU.
 
The first one to move to cloud only will be the first one to die. Consoles aren’t going anywhere in the near future.

The mistake here is thinking that you have to MOVE. Even Xbox is highly rumored to be working on a streaming stick. Netflix didn't just jump to cloud, they supported both models until the streaming model became much more viable. That is how the industry will transition.
 
Cloud: Worldwide infrastructure isn't happening anytime soon. People still need hardware until this happens and this option doesn't consider the worldwide audience. This future would be 100+ years from now.

Subscription: Will last forever.

Phones, TV, and PC Only: Possible future due to Gen-Z growing up on mobile, tik tok, youtube, and twitch. Most of SK, JP, and China has already moved on to these options as a primary. Ultimately for other countries it depends on how easier and how much cheaper gaming PCs have become. Graphics would have to reach a plateau where any TV, netbook, or laptop could compete with a console and aren't just avenues into a CounterStrike tournament. Would be 40-50+ years from now depending on the worldwide audience.
Whoever managed to make the first successful dummy proof-modular PC (similar to Razer's project Christine/project Sophia) will become a billion dollar company in a matter of 5 years and could potentially shorten console lifespans by 20-30 years.

Consoles: Will last as long as worldwide audiences want cheaper options for better graphics and next-gen features. Possible future for 40-50 years minimum. They key to longer life is convincing Gen-Z and below to want consoles.
Nintendo has already succeeded on their end due to a clever console(a mobile console) and parental indoctrination.
Xbox (The console) will possibly die and be pushed more as a PC store/cloud service whenever Phil Spencer is removed or retires as head, and is replaced with someone who will most likely be more of a bottom line businessman than Don Mattrick ever was. Xbox will earn more money this way but console fans will be upset about it.
Playstation will last as long as Nintendo(due to worldwide appeal) but they're going to experience a slow burn of death over the next 50+ years.

Maybe Nintendo has proven that the race for better graphics isn't ultimately sustainable and we maybe need to see something of a pivot among microsoft and sony. We're getting diminishing returns on graphics.
 

Skifi28

Member
Video games will be created by AI and then will be played by a different AI. No room for us, time to find a different hobby.
 

bitbydeath

Member
The mistake here is thinking that you have to MOVE. Even Xbox is highly rumored to be working on a streaming stick. Netflix didn't just jump to cloud, they supported both models until the streaming model became much more viable. That is how the industry will transition.
They don’t have to move, but the first one that does.


disgust-threaten.gif
 
Maybe Nintendo has proven that the race for better graphics isn't ultimately sustainable and we maybe need to see something of a pivot among microsoft and sony. We're getting diminishing returns on graphics.
It currently is this way because development costs have skyrocketed. And development costs have skyrocketed because we simply weren't ready for the 1-2-punch of 4k and ray tracing at the birth of their popularity. It's why engines like UE 5 and AI advancements are so crucial, because otherwise it truly wouldn't be sustainable over time.

The problem with Nintendo's way, is that it only suits Nintendo. It's a trap for any other console manufacturer to follow them and they know this and thus take advantage of it. They have proven that the need for better graphics isn't sustainable for themselves, and that's perfectly fine.
 

Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
All consoles have subscriptions and will continue to have them. But gamers also want to OWN their games.....many wanting physical copies too. That won't go away. All will co-exist.
 

analog_future

Resident Crybaby
All of the above. It's all about accessibility and connectedness looking forward. People want to be able to start the game on the couch w/ their console & big TV, continue it on their commute on their mobile device, play some more from their laptop during their lunch break, only to come home and resume on their couch from there.

Microsoft has the most solid foundation for this approach, followed by Nintendo, but we'll see how it plays out. Quality games of course are first and foremost.
 
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