
There’s a strong sentiment among gaming enthusiasts and the industry at large that consoles are a failing product and nearing their death knells. This opinion has been pushed broadly on social media and across specialist websites, despite it never really aligning with reality. It’s true that profit margins have slimmed as costs have increased and sales have been turbulent through testing circumstances, but both the PS5 and Nintendo Switch continue to sell incredibly well.
Mike Ybarra, a former high-profile Xbox executive and Blizzard boss, believes “those losing push the narrative that fits for them”. Writing on X (or Twitter), he said: “Consoles will never die in my opinion. If your strategy is to win the living room, you need exclusive hits because winning is both a platform and games perspective. Sony knows how to make hits, and how to pick the hits from others to be exclusive. If I was them I would double down right now because the blood in the water is all over the place.”
While he didn’t mention his former employer directly, it’s undeniably true that Microsoft has been building an “underdog” narrative among the media for years now – despite spending close to $100 billion on gaming acquisitions, including entire publishers like Bethesda and Activision. While it’s certainly never said it believes consoles are dying, at Gamescom earlier this year, Microsoft bigwig Phil Spencer said the industry is going to “change for all of us” as he explained his company’s reasoning for bringing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to PS5.
There’s been much hand-wringing about PS5’s performance, with some under the false assumption that it’s failing, but it’s important to take stock of the actual facts. The new-gen console is actually trending 7 per cent ahead of the PS4 in the United States launch aligned. This is despite the semi-conductor shortage prompted by the pandemic causing the console to be all-but unavailable during its first couple of years on the market. Recently it’s posted some year-over-year declines, but only because the console registered remarkable sales in 2023, when it finally became readily available after the aforementioned shortages.
In Europe, the system is trending behind its predecessor, but its average selling price is also much higher. At this point in the PS4 generation, the system could be purchased for $300 and the $400 PS4 Pro was already available. Meanwhile, the PS5 Slim costs $500 with a disc drive included, and we’re still awaiting the release of the PS5 Pro, which hasn’t been officially announced by Sony yet. This is all important context.
Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch is expected to eventually overtake the PS2’s record, a feat many thought previously impossible. It’s true that the hybrid nature of the hardware does muddy the waters slightly, as it could be argued the system is combining the House of Mario’s handheld and console businesses which would ever so slightly change the way it’s appraised, but the bottom line is that it’s one of the best-selling gaming products ever.
None of this, of course, aligns with the idea that consoles are dying. In fact, Sony has been registering record-breaking revenues for a while now, and it claims that the PS5 is already its most profitable system ever, owing to increased subscriber and microtransaction revenue, as well as higher overall prices.
That’s not to say there aren’t challenges facing the traditional console business: hardware costs aren’t coming down, making gaming more of a luxury than it’s ever been. Furthermore, building big budget single player experiences like The Last of Us and God of War is taking longer and costing more than ever before. These are headaches that Sony is currently wrestling with.
But to suggest that the console is dying doesn’t align with reality. The audience is ageing and the overall scale of the addressable market does appear to have temporarily stopped growing, but systems like the Nintendo Switch and PS5 are still doing extremely well.
Do you think consoles are dying? (1,738 votes)
- Yes, they're being replaced by mobile and PC
- Not necessarily, but there are issues to overcome
- No, the evidence shows consoles are healthy
- I don't really know to be honest
[source x.com, via wccftech.com]
Comments 91
The days of dedicated gaming machines will soon die for everyone except Nintendo. That is my opinion and I am sticking to it. The world in general is moving towards ''Swiss-Army knife'' devices that can do anything and everything. The whole world in one handy, easy to use package.
Both Microsoft and Sony have already worked this out BTW which is why there is such a drive towards cross-platform in recent times. The console wars now exist solely in the heads of fanboys.
@LifeGirl Somewhat true but I think there’s plenty of room within that portfolio of “Swiss army knives” to have a PlayStation. For many millions and millions and millions of people, the PlayStation will remain one of the ways they consume their games.
I just don’t see that changing in the near future.
I think consoles days are numbered but not because of pc or mobile, it'll definitely be online only and able to run through multiple devices. Gamepass on firesticks is a scary image of the future
In my opinion consoles need to stick around, especially for living room gaming. I've tried streaming games and it's nowhere near ready to be the main platform. There's input delay, game lag and audio delay over Bluetooth headphones, then there's video quality which most don't do 4k. It's worse on mobile devices, gamepass only offers 720p and then playing console games using touch screen controls is just awful, and casual gamers aren't going to want to play Console versions of Fifa, Call of Duty and GTA on a mobile phone.
Then there's the fact that if your internet goes down then you can't even play single player games, even with internet running the more devices connected the more laggy it's going to be. A streaming only future just sounds awful to me, and I definitely won't be supporting any platform that relies on it.
So far the only streaming that seems worth it is remote play which is fine if it's 1080p at least and on a native device that you don't need Bluetooth controllers and headset attached to otherwise the lag/delay is there too.
Personally I will always prefer a console, I don’t like all the tinkering needed for PC Gaming but I recognize that right now it’s looking like the ultimate platform to bet for.
Consoles need to drop some BS, like having to pay to play online or having cloud saves, but they still have a big enough market at least for PlayStation and Nintendo, I mean in 2025 the record for the most sold console in history will be broken by Nintendo Switch even tho people have been saying consoles are dead since a decade ago.
I wonder what Nintendo’s opinion is… They have had steady high sales since 1985.
they arnt dying its just stagnant. theres no growth in the user base so they have to make more money out of the existing users
xbox will be the first to go
then PlayStation
Nintendo will be the last console standing
and throughout it all pc will remain
As long as Pokémon, Zelda, etc. exist, consoles ain't dying.
I’ve played PC for years but I like having dedicated consoles. The more they become like PCs, the less reason to have one. Nintendo absolutely will remain relevant because they see no need to become just another boring box. Sony need to avoid that trap and focus on providing reasons to go for a console rather than a PC.
@Yaycandy N64, GameCube and Wii U would like a word about that lol
Yeah Nintendo are close to having the Switch become the best selling console ever because consoles are dying 🙄
Then you have PS5 which is keeping pace with PS4 despite a lack of unique software (so far), whilst both Nintendo and Sony are selling more games than ever before.
It's only Xbox letting the side down
PC is certainly encroaching on this market but I don't see Nintendo or Playstation going anywhere anytime soon
@LifeGirl Already has existed for many years, its called a PC.
Finally someone is saying it! ***** an all digital future where we own nothing, and nothing is playable when the servers are turned off!
@LifeGirl Sony has almost Apple-like consumer loyalty in the console space. It’s hard to quantify but people buy PlayStation over Xbox because it’s a PlayStation.
It’s important to remember there is a huge divide in the consumer base between casual purchasers and hobbyists. Most purchasers are casual and buy the brand they recognize for having the big budget high resolution exclusives they see marketed. PlayStation consoles are likely going no where based purely on that brand recognition.
Again please listen to Sacred Symbols which has covered this topic a billion times. Consoles won't grow at the same pace as before but they're not going anywhere. The Switch, Playstation and PC ecosystems are competitive and symbiotic at the same time. The only outlier has been the Xbox and it's leadership that have constantly sold this concept to gullible people.
Say no to drugs to mike ybarra.gtfoh.console is always going to thrive.mabe your.but Nintendo and PlayStation aint going anywhere.word up son
@Malaise I do agree with this. I think the PC ports haven't really worked for Sony with sales. The games don't cater to that playerbase.
When streaming from supercomputers is flawless, then consoles will inevitably die. This won’t be in my lifetime so I don’t much care.
@playstation1995 Mike Ybarra is saying Playstation and Nintendo are fine but Xbox messed up. For a change he's making sense 😵
@playstation1995 You didn't read anything of the above, did you?
Consoles wil be around up until the point they are surpassed by streaming.
Simple as that.
I think the fate of consoles lies solely in the hands of Nintendo at this point. If Switch 2 is reasonably priced, has a strong exclusives lineup and backwards compatibility then I think consoles will be very safe. Xbox just won't be a part of it.
But if Nintendo started releasing their 1st party exclusives on PC like Sony did in 2020, I think consoles would die out as the message sent would be that PC is the place to own everything.
I think Xbox is dying which is going to have a negative ripple effect on Sony. The competition kept things healthy. I suspect the bubble will burst shortly after GTA6 launches with a price increase and successful sales, causing others to follow suit in raising prices and failing to hit sales expectations due to consumer disinterest in perceived value. I do think that Nintendo will continue to dominate as they, by and large, create quality products at a more cost effective range. I suspect 2026 and onward to be rough years for the industry if other market conditions continue the way they are trending. Consumers, plainly, need more spending dollars to compete with continued cost increases and inflation.
Nah, I don't see consoles as a whole dying any time soon.
There's a lot of people out there where their only exposure to games is the console they have on their shelf, and if an exclusive game is releasing on PC, it means nothing to them.
@Malaise
There is an argument for saying that delayed release on PCs (the majority of which can’t run the games at PS5 levels anyway) could increase interest in Sony’s console and IP.
Consoles have been “dying” for nearly 25 years, just ask Sega. And Nintendo released a handheld with TV out b/c the Wii U died. And Xbox is dying. Sony is still making consoles, and I’d say a PS6, name and all, is practically guaranteed. But it likely will be digital only, and people will be mad they need to repurchase all of their disc games, so they won’t buy a PS6, then everything will be on PC and Nintendo handhelds, and consoles will be dead. And phones will have easy casting to TVs. Maybe even docks. And TVs will stream games.
So bookmark this article and let’s get back to it in about a decade shall we, say 2035, and see how well consoles are doing. 🤷🏻♂️
Not gonna take any words from an Ex Xbox employee seriously.
But the moment console died, i probably already long gone from this world...
Consoles will never die out. They may well evolve into something more than just consoles but they will never truly die out. If and when this happens there will be no more pushsquare etc so people better hope it never happens.
PC will die before Playstation.
It’s not that consoles are dying per-se, it’s that the margins on hardware are considerably slimmer and the cost of triple A development considerably higher and more time consuming.
Nintendo have been quite smart, whether by accident or design, by bowing out of the console hardware arms race. In doing so, they have slowed the costs of software development and have been able to focus more on gameplay than pushing 4k textures, ridiculously high poly character models and huge asset stacked open worlds.
The switch has also always been sold at profit and the margins have increased significantly over its lifetime.
I mean, look at the steam deck, asus ally, etc. Sure they're PCs in software but they're really consoles in hardware.
The steam machine flopped in 2014 but maybe it was just ahead of it's time. I think it would be a lot more successful now after the Steam deck's success.
I used to play on PC, but now I'm console only and even looking to get rid of PC all together as there's not much my mobile phone can't do at home (obviously a much different story if you do work on a PC)
If anything, I think consoles have room to grow. It's just $500 consoles in this economy are simply not going to do as well as consoles which were half the price
"Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch is expected to eventually overtake the PS2’s record, a feat many thought previously impossible."
More context for the scale of Nintendo's victory this generation:
it'll achieve this with a device that has virtually no multimedia capabilities. I think you can watch Hulu on it, but it's pretty much a pure gaming machine. There's no browser, no blu-ray playback, nothing. Whereas PS2 sold heavily on its value as a DVD player back in the day.
It'll achieve this with no price drops (or will come very, very close to doing so if they decide to drop the price when the successor drops). PS2 was discounted quite heavily later in life, as I recall.
It'll achieve this, most likely, very close to its active lifespan as a console, whereas the PS2 was sold for many, many years after the PS3 dropped before it achieved its current numbers.
Perhaps most incredibly, the Switch generation has generated more profit for Nintendo since launch than all of its other generations combined. In other words, more profit from 2017 till now than 1981 to 2016.
I have no idea what'll happen with Sony and Microsoft long term in the console space, but Nintendo will be just fine.
They think too much in percentages. Consoles are far from dead, but as the mobile slice of the pie explodes in size it makes consoles look like they’re shrinking.
I'd rather buy a $1300 gaming TV and a $500 console than spend that same amount of money on a pc gaming rig. You might think I'm crazy but I just see it as a better investment.
I couldn't get RTX HDR to work on my PC.
Hrs of searches later I found out it was that Windows was stuck on "Windows 21H2"... and needed "22H2"
Windows update kept telling me I was up to date. Only solution was to force an update via downloading "Windows Installation Assistant" That gave me an error.
More google - I found out I needed a Mobo Bios Update and activate "F-tPM" from AMD in the bios so Microsoft would let me install "22H2"
MSI (made my Motherboard) had no auto Mobo Bios Update... had to download the Bios from MSI to a FAT formatted USB drive and update via the Bios window.
Finally got "22H2" to install... that gave me a Blue Screen.
Re-install Nvidia "560.94" Drivers fixed that.
ALL THAT... was to get HDR working on Wukong via my 4KTV (looks fine on my 4K monitor but not my 4KTV)
But now for some reason Dolby Atmos sound cuts off via my AN1000 randomly. It was working fine before.
But I actually want to play my game for a bit... fix that some other weekend.
Consoles will exist for a very long time.
Consoles for life no matter what.
There will always be a gaming console under the tv.
Because millions get sold and there overall is a profit to make.
I definitely dont think consoles will die out, but i can see them losing an awful lot of users to PC over the years to come particularly if :
1) games continue to come out with poor or sub 60fps performance, or muddy images through low res, due to devs pushing the hardware too far. This will push those that can afford a PC towards PC just to get a decent experience.
2) Console exclusives remain the best way to keep players who are thinking of switching to PC on console, but even Sony are showing signs that they will eventually port all theirs to PC.
I keep hearing that people wont abandon consoles to go to PC due to price and convenience, yet I read lots of comments of people already doing so, and know quite a few considering it as this gen draws to a close.
Lol at the people who are falling for Xbox's BS. Xbox are trying to change the game because their hardware failed but consoles will still be around for a very long time.
Obviously not Xbox consoles though because they're on their last legs.
I game on my Ally mostly but I got a PS5 just to be able to play really demanding games that my Ally won’t be able to handle. No way am I paying $1300+ on a piece of hardware that plays games ever again. Had a gaming PC (Ryzen 7, RTX3070) a year ago and got rid of it- it was noisier than PS4 PRO (if you can believe it) and could heat the flat in winter all by itself lol. Never again.
This is an entirely speculative discussion that in reality will be determined by the market. I’d be rather curious to see how the market would react if someone hit the magic button tomorrow that made streaming any game from any device an actuality. That takes a lot of infrastructure and the world is very large. I speculate that consoles will be around for a long while yet.
If they stop making consoles, my days of gaming will end. I’m not interested in PC gaming. But I don’t think this will happen, at least for a long time, as I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels this way about them.
Consoles won't die because not everyone wants to mess about with pc for gaming plus it's expensive compared to consoles. Xbox ain't dying either 🤣 even if Sony as outsold em 2/3 to 1 there's still like 30 million or something there not just gunna leave that 30 million is still a lot of ppl n money
@WhiteRabbit expensive TV + console always looks better than expensive PC + montior IMO. Shame my TV is crap lol
@gollumb82 So many PC people will say you can get a PC to outperform PS5 for like $800, but neglect to tell you that requires buying a very cheap case, very cheap noisy fans, a cheap cpu cooler, and an awful PSU, creating a hot, loud, time bomb of a PC lol.
@Jimmer-jammer There would still be input delay. The experience will never be as good as having the hardware with you.
Games can't be buffered live video can. I am very skeptical it will ever work to a point we wouldn't feel.
@Jimmer-jammer never discount the heating factor, my PC saves me a couple of quid in winter
Jokes aside consoles are not going anywhere as long as they remain simple and reasonably priced living room gaming stations.
A nice piece of commentary + poll!
It would seem that you will also be right about an announcement of the PS 5 Pro (at Tokyo event). I just don't think so as I staunchly believe in (delayed) generations. The first two years during the pandemic didn't count as far as I'm concerned. I don't think the market is ready for a pro version and that they should wait.
So, if you ask me the pro won't come and won't be announced in 2024.
@SlipperyFish
This!! I couldn’t agree more. That’s exactly what I got. A good cpu, a decent gpu but at the cost of everything else cheap and crappy. I still paid $1300 because electronics equipment is ridiculously expensive in Poland sadly. I’m not making that mistake again. Even with my Ally being a handheld PC I slapped Steam OS on it just to make it more like a console lol. Windows sucks.
I bought a pc purely because I wanted a consistent 60fps that didn’t look like I’d smeared Vaseline all over the screen of my tv.
Final fantasy 16 was the console game that convinced me to buy a pc and I haven’t looked back since. Consoles are a great entry point, but outside of Nintendo I currently don’t see any reason for me to buy the next PlayStation or Xbox iteration when I can enjoy better versions of those games on pc (I don’t mind waiting on PlayStation’s pc ports).
I’m looking forward to mh wilds and have zero concerns about performance or visuals thanks to owning a capable pc. The same is true for avowed, a title that won’t have rtx or 60fps on series x at launch.
@Nem Agreed. Emphasis on ‘magic’ I suppose 😄
@Ilyn Exactly. Speaking on the most surface level, I could set up a gaming PC today but I don’t because I don’t want to. There are presumably many others out there in the same position.
I've said recently that I think Sony and Nintendo have another good decade in them. But Microsoft moving away from exclusivity is the first big sign consoles are dying. PlayStation regularly on PC doesn't help either.
I think this course can still be subverted. But, at the moment, it seems inevitable.
Consoles and handhelds with physical media are the only stuffs I play.
I don't care with PC and handphone games.
Who said that? Microsoft? They are right, their console is dying 🤣
@gollumb82 I try and help my friends build their PCs and I always advise investing in really good cases, cooling, and PSUs. Of course they don't listen and only a few months go by until they have loads of issues and everything needs upgrading. It's so, so much easier to upgrade RAM, GPU, or SSDs than to rewire your entire cooling system, repaste the cpu, replace PSU etc 😂.
Windows indeed sucks. SteamOS I think is pretty good, I'd love to see valve have a second go at the Steam Machine thing. The Asus looks like a much better handheld but the Windows puts me off, I'll have to look at SteamOS on it
PC’s aren’t going to take over.
Maybe a % of enthusiasts like us who frequent here.
But the large majority - casuals - just aren’t going to migrate to PC’s.
They are going to go to streaming.
We don’t have to make fun of xbox but consoles won’t truly go away, it’s the fanboys that are more worried about it
I used to game on pc alot a few yrs ago but came to the realisation that I was really spending more time checking settings etc than actually playing but I have always as well had consoles,I much much prefer console gaming as the convenience and just feels absolutely right for me,don't get me wrong though pc gaming is awesome but gaming wise I'll defo stick to consoles,think Sony etc will keep making them as long as there is demand,when I bought into the Sony playstation ecosystem something felt right very quickly ,nothings ever perfect and things can always be improved,I think Sony have nailed mostly about what makes console gaming so fantastic overall
Not even Microsoft says isn't saying consoles are dying. Mike is being sensationalist. Microsoft says console is changing.
Let's be real, is stagnant, non growth, and even shrinking. Swiss army platforms have taken the majority of the pie. Hardware is more expensive, owning multiple less practical for consumers. Hardware doesn't advance nearly as rapidly as it once did do generations are rare and don't even change much (PS4 pro plus!). And I'm the long term yeah console days are numbered but not yet Ave even Microsoft doesn't claim that.
Like or dislike Microsoft, everything they've said about console loudly is the same things Sony is managing quietly. Console IS changing and it's not at peak anymore.
Mike sounds like he's positioning for a Nintendo job. Sony knows they can't meet sales targets on their own platform anymore for software, they said it publicly. Only Nintendo gets away with locked exclusives driving console empires because they sell cheap high margin hardware and mostly because they have legendary family friendly cultural touchstone brands people attach their childhoods to. Disney is the ONLY other company in history to have pulled that off. Right characters at the right place at the right time targeting the right kids. Sony doesn't have that. Apple doesn't have that. Xbox doesn't have that. And none of them ever will the Nintendo model is Nintendos alone and nobody will ever find success trying to copy it. Sony tried. It didn't work. They're trying other things now.
Yeah mike is right that exclusives have impact between two otherwise identical consoles. Ave that Sony leads that. But that's not enough success in an era where there's not much room for 2 identical consoles and most customers will not buy both no matter what at the modern pricing.
Consoles are dying. It's not that there won't be consoles but that the whole model isn't the same as it was in Y2K, and it never will be again. You'll have dedicated boxes to play games on for a while still. But the whole ecosystem and razor and blades generational model can't continue as it was
@gollumb82 The fan curve on the PC desperately needed to be adjusted. Modern PCs with proper airflow should be darned near silent most of the time unless you're REALLY pushing a GPU and the GPU happens to be loud.
Consoles will never die as long as people want an all in one gaming system with good graphics, built in ecosystem and guaranteed game compatibility that can be played easily on a TV.
PCs can't even come close to that.
And the bang for buck of a console obliterates a comparable PC.
So no, consoles won't die unless a technology that can replicate that experience and cost is developed to replace them.
Nah consoles won't ever go away and PC won't take over either.
I had a 770Ti that could handle whatever I threw at it running at either High/Very High 1080p@60, then I upgraded to a 2060 back in 2020 that literally can't handle most of games released in 2023/2024 at Medium 1080p@30.
Good lord another article to fan the flames. Can we just be happy and play games?
Until PC's become idiot proof, maintenance free, simple, impossible to mess up plug and play devices Consoles won't go anywhere. So consoles won't be replaced by PC until PCs become consoles. So never.
PC's are a hassle. They're also increasingly niche. Most people don't know what thermal paste is. Most people browse the internet on their phones and tablets, that's what "a computer" is to them.
People want to play games not tinker with driver updates and graphics settings. Or rather enough people do that it's a non-starter. As big as the PC gaming market is it's still a subset of an already enthusiast dominated market. Casuals, the largest part of the market, don't mess with that kind of stuff.
Then venn diagram of PC gamers and gamers is basically a big circle that reads "games" and a second smaller circle entirely within it that says "enjoys tinkering with hardware and menus"
I don't think "consoles" will die however I am almost certain that dedicated consoles will be gone in a decade or two, we are already seeing Sony and Microsoft bringing their games to PC and in some cases other platforms, I think we will get to a point where consoles are too expensive to make Vs sale price we already know Sony take a rather big loss on console sales so once prices keep going up I think we will see a somewhat joint operation between Xbox and PlayStation I think this will need to happen for PlayStation to actually survive
I can see it now in 10 years let's say the price to make consoles goes up double if Sony sticks to the same £500 price point that is already losing them money with double the cost on their end it would bankrupt them, and if they tried to increase the consoles prices to like £750/800 they would also loose many sales, this is where Microsoft would come it due to that company having pretty much unlimited money they could undercut Sony by a lot and effectively push them out of the market, it may be hypothetical but it's based on stats and figures we have currently
We will see an end to a dedicated console, we will get something like "Playstation powered by Xbox" it sounds crazy I know but it's happened in other industries when times were tough/end of life phase
@Mustoe PC players will still buy games. The steam crowd is weirdly as defensive of tradition as the physical crowd. Even though steam is what broke physical media to begin with.
I smell fanboy post when will you give up your narratives
@Tevor @gollumb82
Its really not the complacated to play PC games and change a few settings.
Consoles will be gone after next gen. I don't think there will be a PS7. Consoles themselves stopped being interesting after the PS3/360 generation because they used off the shelf parts and were basically the same thing no matter which you bought.
SNES vs Mega Drive
PS vs Saturn vs N64
PS2 vs Xbox vs GameCube vs Dreamcast
PS3 vs Xbox 360 vs Wii
Those generations were fascinating and great times to be a gamer if you had multiple systems because every one of them offered something truly different and had incredible exclusives.
@UltimateOtaku91 No bespoke consoles doesn't always mean streaming only.
Why do so many people here seem to think that no consoles means streaming???
The future is a PC in a box under your TV made by existing PC hardware manufacturers like Asus etc. They will have access to the PS Store, Steam, Xbox store and Nintendo store and you can BUY and download whatever you want.
Every.single.console.cycle we hear some self-proclaimed know-it-all nitwit claiming the console is going the way of the dodo and every time it's not.
Is Xbox failing, yes.
Is it because consoles will stop to exist, no.
It is because they can't manage game studios, the can't grow nor improve them. They have no idea how to do that. The end result are bad to mediocre games.
Consoles aren't dying.
I'm in awe of how MS has a cheaper box and practically gives their games away and is still failing though. ¯(ツ)/¯
@SlipperyFish 100% people need those bloody price cuts. Wage growth has stagnated, inflation is bad, value of all currencies except the USD is devalued.
@NEStalgia
Yeah, well, Cyberpunk 2077 with RTX on ultra can’t be called subtle 😜 Still, it was worth it. In the long term, though, I couldn’t imagine using that setup as it was just too loud, too RGB and too noisy. When I checked how much I would have to spend on a punchy PC with proper cooling etc I realised I was looking at spending about $1800. In Poland, at least, where we pay luxury tax on anything gaming-related 🙁
@palmab
I don’t have a problem with adjusting settings. In fact, I use the ROG Ally as my main gaming platform and installed Steam OS on it (and a whole bunch of emulators) so I know a thing or two about PCs. It’s just a matter of how expensive it is if you want an experience that beats current gen consoles in terms of both performance (fairly easy after 4 years from launch) and user experience (ease of use, performance under load, slick OS etc). That’s why I switched to the Ally- it’s a PC, but is fairly affordable, customisable, can be used docked or handheld and with Steam OS on it, it’s basically a console).
I remember the days when the games were the selling point of a console. If I wanted to play Last of Us, I just had to get PS3 or later. Now people can just wait (not a long time anymore) and play those on PC, that is if there's anything to wait for.. Of course people still buy consoles, but there is less need for it than ever.
@Meowmixes98 yeah,that’s what I did.
Not regretting one bit
Well if the narrative is coming from Microsoft/Xbox I can see why they would do it because they want an all digital future that is cloud and subscription based only.
For me they are dying. Pc is more accessible than ever. I would much rather build a PC and plug that into my living room tv. Or use my ROG Ally or Steam deck as my "console."
The big question mark will be what does next gen look like. For one they will be even more expensive (probably closing in on $700 US) and they will still face the similar issue of the most played games (Apex, warzone, roblox, etc) working just fine on ps4 and ps5. There is also no marketable upgrade they can push, the narrative for ps5 pro is what? Ray tracing will be 15% better? Who cares?
The value of a home console from any of the 3 has never been lower in my opinion. This generation has sucked big time. The much rumored playstation pc app will probably be where I play their games in the near future.
As an avid hobbyist who's owned most major platforms since the Atari 2600 and thousands of games, I can't declaratively state that consoles are dying but I will offer my personal take on the state of the hobby and industry.
When I look at both my PS5 and XBox Series X, I honestly don't feel that either has come close to justifying my investment in them compared to previous generations in terms of games. Yes, they've both had some standout titles, but thanks to endless development cycles and games releasing all too often in a glorified beta state, the high points are fewer in number and further apart than before. Subscription models (which I will NEVER pay for; I buy the games I want, end of story) are the latest fad aimed at convincing consumers to accept not actually owning anything they play on those $500 consoles they invest in, and predictably they're already hiking the prices. It's also created a throwaway culture where online-centric titles routinely get their plugs pulled to disappear forever; game preservation is the last thing on publishers' minds.
Which leads into what "games as service" is doing to the hardware brands themselves. In short, if you're making a huge enough percentage of your profits from subscriptions, it begins to render dedicated hardware obsolete. So with GamePass already on multiple platforms Microsoft figures it's a good idea to put their games on PS5; Sony's putting theirs on the PC.
Problem is, when it comes time to launch their next console, what will it be able to offer that any other box can't when even first-party games are crossing the lines? So is it feasible that dedicated consoles as we know them could be in danger of disappearing? Maybe.
Speaking for myself though, my buying decisions always come down to the GAMES. If quality games are there...and AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE AND OWN...then I'll continue supporting the industry. If subscriptions ever become the sole way to access future games, however, I will walk away from the hobby and never look back.
Xbox players and SPECIALLY the PC community, say that consoles are dying because they want to see that about Playstation and Nintendo.
I don't know why the PC community hates so much console and seeing people having fun with their consoles.
@waynesworld I still don't see any reason to waste so ***** money on PC.
I'm pretty fine with my consoles and I'll be for a long time, thanks!
@SlipperyFish This is the best comment here.
@LifeGirl If the future is PC only, this hobby will be over for me. I don't like PC gaming, I don't care PC gaming, and I don't want to be force to be there, specially how ridiculous the prices are just for a machine that can run games.
@IOI PC is the ultimate platform if you have the money for that.
The sooner they stop pushing trends, give us what we want (each is different, some know what they want, others follow crowds, others set priorities) or if not what we wanted but surprise us & we are on board with it (the chances of that happening varies) instead of telling us to just eat up their games/be sheep yeah what a great idea.
My answer is not necessarily but issues to overcome it's been obvious for generations now and each publisher/studio & new indies formed by veteran devs. Financial situations, backlogs, consoles/games are unappealing, store discounts/game decisions, it's all over the place.
Besides streaming/other possibilities console may disappear & mobile/PC/streaming & less of a middle market with console is possible. Sad but possible. But business practices/boring products doesn't help either.
If controller gimmicks/games & consoles were better handled I'd care. Nintendo it's tricky as for a family/kid option or gamers it has a place. Their IPs aren't going anywhere, they see the appeal in consoles for many audiences for a middle gaming space to sell to. The others are either the exclusives or third parties and easier access then PC for price or less tinkering. That and of course the Sony quality/lifestyle. They make quality. It's Apple like. I get the appeal. I don't buy them anymore as PS5 doesn't interest me so PS4 pre-owned/new for cheaper only and not 1st party only 3rrd party but I get the appeal. Only 1st party PS1-3/PSP/Vita for me. Xbox if they make something decent in their Series S/X variety otherwise OG/360 only of 1st/3rd party from me. Nintendo's variety is just better & like Sony used to offer. I'll buy their niche IPs I can easily skip Mario/Zelda/Pokemon I don't care.
Whether physical/digital or a online media/CD to Blu-ray player who knows there but middle tech has a place sometimes. It has a sizeable audience then cutting too many out.
Studios focused on mobile & took years to get better at them, "8th gen console won't last mobile is where the money is". Same things again raised & not as much Covid people indoors MTX numbers still. This nonsense is just annoying every gen now to hear higher ups complain.
They know the ceiling has been hit per live services coming out/comfort games or other games, bad decisions they make towards games & gamers make that clear. But don't care. I don't like PS5/Series for what the consoles offer, games are really underwhelming/unexciting of gameplay/structure & other factors.
The sooner they work things out of staff balancing, what they want a game to be then changing their minds all the time and staff go what are we supposed to do, & get their game identities/features together to make the products appealing I'll buy them. They don't, so why should I give them my money.
They have staff with particular talents/values, execs/publishers with their heads in the clouds of trends/money making, some staff take their time, waste their time with emails/other things or struggle to code/animate/do art, if struggle to code I mean I suck at programming but at the same time the work is going to be tough.
Part 2:
Understanding how older staff work through solutions (like Tim Cain has made clear at Obsidian & his Youtube videos whether the Fallout 1 & 2 days or modern era, Pirate Software's takes, and other examples are the case as well) & pubs/execs changing their minds (BF 2042 & Anthem examples) on what a game needs to be so the staff scramble & have less than a year sometimes to make a game, years to 1 year because pubs/execs screw them over with their expectations. Veteran staff leaving making it hard to tweak the engine/do things yeah that becomes a problem.
Yeah I wonder why the industry is pathetic & gamers are sick & tired of such a disastrous state of the industry.
Casuals are what they are of needing to move on, play whatever suits them, trends or more particular genres of puzzle, city builders and more that's totally fine. They don't need to buy up all games just play what they are happy with.
Console players have a ceiling, gamers are their own sizable group, the marketing is what it is, CGI trailers, pathetic games so trend focused I can easily laugh and see the lack of care, the price, the games being safe, samey or sometimes compelling but it varies.
ONL/Future Gaming were clear of some really cool new IPs (many I already knew about in articles months earlier XD), some fair sequels and a lot of garbage. It's been clear for a while now.
I go retro/buy pre-owned or cheaper modern releases to watch for sales, play for the mechanics in old games, not nostalgia I buy what I've never experienced before, get context on competition/better competition of mechanics & worlds and other aspects then the lazy trend competition attempts these days, not modern gaming where I don't find many compelling gameplay design or other selling points if at all. Odd ones but they aren't the big games of the year they are particular IPs or a remaster/port making it easier to get then the older one.
There are more veteran staff making their own veteran dev filled Independent studios, making successors/continuations (Yooka Laylee, Bloodstained, Judas, Callisto Protocol and more) without the same license they once had, or making something completely new (No Man's Sky/Nightingale).
While mobile keeps going, keeps making manipulative games or sometimes some solid ones, so it ends up people see the shovelware then the quality on mobile.
i honestly couldnt care less as long as i still get to play the games i like
@Yaycandy I wonder what PlayStation's opinion is. They REALLY have had CONSISTENTLY high sales with all their consoles to date.
No 16 million Wii U or 50 million N64 or 20 million Gamecube style sales with PlayStation. In fact, I think PS3 still beat those 3 consoles combined.
That's an absolute fantasy that Nintendo have had consistent sales since 1985. Did you know that the Switch was the first Nintendo console to FINALLY beat the PS1's sales, nearly 3 decades later? Now that's a fact for you.
And for the article, Xbox consoles are dying, you know it, I know it. Nothing else to be said on the matter and I 100% agree that certain people want everyone to say its all consoles and we know who you are, the Cope Eastwoods of gaming.
Ps5 is the last PlayStation I've bought. Sony has lost all it's appeal and truly innovative games.
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