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[Chromata]

There seems to be a substantial push towards portability lately. Nintendo Switch is a resounding success. Microsoft is expanding its Xbox platform beyond the home console to incorporate more hardware in its family. Google Stadia is essentially a "play anywhere" platform. We also see Microsoft potentially pushing towards that with XCloud. Sony only has hints of this with Playstation Now (which doesn't seem to be a focus for them, at least at the moment).

Note: I'm not saying there won't be any home consoles, of course there will be a PS5/Scarlett. I'm more specifically referring to the tradition where Playstation/Xbox/Nintendo services would ONLY or MAINLY be confined to a home console.

Do you believe that this coming generation will be the first major transition away from home consoles towards increased portability (whether it be hardware portability or digital)? Will we see these kinds of features showcased on all next gen platforms? Or is this a temporary trend and we will see Sony/Microsoft sticking to their guns with a traditional "by-the-TV" console?

 

[JoeyWestSide]

People can't even use their phones or laptops without being tethered to an outlet. I'm gonna say no.

 

[ipukespiders]

The Switch is a resounding success?

 

[PocoJoe]

No. And switch aint success like playstation is.

(Playstation sell good almost everywhere, switch only on certain areas)

Maybe after portable tech reaches some kind of limit, like 100tFlops, then it would not matter if console could be also portable

Switch and even next few gens of "switches" will be way too weak to replace home consoles.

And people even rarely play portables anyway, so it is kind of gimmick. I havent seen anybody playing portable system in years

 

[Rayderism]

It will depend on how much the general gaming public gets suckered into streaming. Personally, I want nothing to do with a future like that.

 

[Musky_Cheese]

Sort of yeah

Franchises will continue to be introduced to other new platforms. Success is imitated.

 

[Birdo]

I think we have a few more gens left before everything turns into a "service".

But it will probably happen at some point as the internet slowly improves worldwide.

 

[Radical Dreamer]

Hopefully not.

 

[Weilthain]

Not if anything to say about it, Nintendo does.

 

[base]

Don't think so.

It's waiting for a better hardware to kick PC.

 

[DESTROYA]

I really hope not op.

 

[GribbleGrunger]

It's a bit of a strangely timed question when we've just had Sony release the 'only on playstation' brand. That pretty much answers your question. At least for the foreseeable future.

 

[Riven326]

There seems to be a substantial push towards portability lately. Nintendo Switch is a resounding success. Microsoft is expanding its Xbox platform beyond the home console to incorporate more hardware in its family. Google Stadia is essentially a "play anywhere" platform. We also see Microsoft potentially pushing towards that with XCloud. Sony only has hints of this with Playstation Now (which doesn't seem to be a focus for them, at least at the moment).

Note: I'm not saying there won't be any home consoles, of course there will be a PS5/Scarlett. I'm more specifically referring to the tradition where Playstation/Xbox/Nintendo services would ONLY or MAINLY be confined to a home console.

Do you believe that this coming generation will be the first major transition away from home consoles towards increased portability (whether it be hardware portability or digital)? Will we see these kinds of features showcased on all next gen platforms? Or is this a temporary trend and we will see Sony/Microsoft sticking to their guns with a traditional "by-the-TV" console?

No.

 

[Bryank75]

No. I want my console.... I look forward to it every generation, it is a very memorable thing.

If gaming goes all digital service, I think I'm out.... and I spend quite a bit on games. I can see a lot of people that feel the same. I'll just stay on legacy systems, whatever they are at that point.

It would be a huge mistake to think people will just 'go along' with what corporate heads think is the best.

 

[Birdo]

 

[Lionel Richie]

The Switch is a resounding success?

Isn't it?

 

[Caffeine]

Longer dev times, this next gen will go to 2030 you will see a sharp drop in overall console sales. A sharp drop in game releases yearly, and after that $99 streaming boxes that come with a controller being sold to you outside of streaming to pc/mac/phone also. I believe this for Xbox at least. Xcloud is the future after Scarlett.
Nintendo could still dominate the handheld aspect with a switch 2 that's just wirelessly connects to a tv for output, but even they will be dabbling in streaming. Sony has been doing it since PS Now further proven with their use of Azure servers in a future update to the service.
In the sense of the only on PlayStation branding, PS Now is still PlayStation. Also marketing usually only stays in the current fiscal year before direction changes for the next strategy surrounding with what the company is pushing.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

No, home consoles will be stronger than ever. If there are markets for Mini consoles and for retro up-converting consoles, then there will definitely be a market for home TV units that play games on them. I do think that perhaps standalone consoles will become rarer because the Switch hybrid model is the way to go moving forward (IMO).

 

[TGO]

 

[Virex]

I'm going to put all my money on NOPE

 

[kraspkibble]

No.

what a stupid thread. seriously?

 

[Deputy Moonman]

Consoles ain't goin nowhere.

 

[UltimaKilo]

Is the era of this same thread topic coming to an end? I don’t think so.

 

[Grand Theft Scratchy]

I think Sony will release the PSVR 2, Microsoft will continue to expand the Xbox ecosystem specifically with GamePass, and it's anyone's guess what Nintendo will do. Traditional portable platforms have more or less died out and I think Nintendo saw this when they combined their hardware and portable divisions and introduced the Switch. Of course they recently introduced the Switch Lite but it's an alternative, not meant to replace the original model.

Funny thing is, there has never been a major transition away from home consoles towards anything else. Companies like Google want to market their product to imply such a thing, that the Google Stadia will be the "future of gaming", but most people know better.

 

[HE1NZ]

Consoles won't go away, but their role will change. Microsoft basically downgraded Xbox consoles to what Steam Machines were supposed to be and Sony will follow suit at some point. Consoles will become secondary to service. You'll buy a game on Xbox or Sony service online and it will say what platforms are compatible: for example you buy Uncharted 5 and it's compatible with PS5, PS5 PRO (better graphics), PS 2025 (best graphics), PS Streaming service and PC (through Sony Store of some kind). Yeah, I think, Sony will release their games on PC too eventually.

 

[bitbydeath]

I expect we’ll see flying cars first.

 

[Shifty]

Is the era of home consoles coming to an end?

Note: I'm not saying there won't be any home consoles

C L I C K B A I T

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Technology always changes but i can see at least another 2 console generations before anything can fully replace a home console.

 

[quickwhips]

No. We are lucky in a way. Even if microsoft or sony called it quits we still have the other with 70% of the games we like.

 

[Vawn]

The Switch is a resounding success?

Duh?

 

[Chromata]

The Switch is a resounding success?

Of course, in what way is it not? Sales and reception wise it's all good.

People can't even use their phones or laptops without being tethered to an outlet. I'm gonna say no.

What does that have to do with a greater proportion of gaming migrating to portable platforms? Portability doesn't imply outlets being unnecessary.

No. And switch aint success like playstation is.

(Playstation sell good almost everywhere, switch only on certain areas)

Maybe after portable tech reaches some kind of limit, like 100tFlops, then it would not matter if console could be also portable

Switch and even next few gens of "switches" will be way too weak to replace home consoles.

And people even rarely play portables anyway, so it is kind of gimmick. I havent seen anybody playing portable system in years

I don't buy the power argument, sales go where the games go. That's why PS4 and Switch are far greater than the Xbox. The same held true for the Wii and PS2 in their respective generations.

Why do people rarely play on portables? The mobile market is enormous. The Switch is selling very well (so well that they now have a portable only Switch), and adoption of services like Game Pass/Stadia are either increasing or upcoming.

 

[kraspkibble]

maybe i'll take your post seriously when battery technology has improved and internet speeds improve.

 

[Chromata]

It's a bit of a strangely timed question when we've just had Sony release the 'only on playstation' brand. That pretty much answers your question. At least for the foreseeable future.

What does this have to do with my OP? It makes sense that Playstation would rebrand and capitalize on the successful IP's they've had this gen. That doesn't mean they cannot explore services or portable options in the next generation. You can even have the same service while maintaining said portability too.

 

[Alucardx23]

There seems to be a substantial push towards portability lately. Nintendo Switch is a resounding success. Microsoft is expanding its Xbox platform beyond the home console to incorporate more hardware in its family. Google Stadia is essentially a "play anywhere" platform. We also see Microsoft potentially pushing towards that with XCloud. Sony only has hints of this with Playstation Now (which doesn't seem to be a focus for them, at least at the moment).

Note: I'm not saying there won't be any home consoles, of course there will be a PS5/Scarlett. I'm more specifically referring to the tradition where Playstation/Xbox/Nintendo services would ONLY or MAINLY be confined to a home console.

Do you believe that this coming generation will be the first major transition away from home consoles towards increased portability (whether it be hardware portability or digital)? Will we see these kinds of features showcased on all next gen platforms? Or is this a temporary trend and we will see Sony/Microsoft sticking to their guns with a traditional "by-the-TV" console?

I don't expect for traditional consoles to go away for a long time. Streaming services will definitely accelerate the transition away from consoles, but I will be surprised if we don't get at least two more generations from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. At some we will also need to decide if stand alone VR headsets and AR glasses can be called consoles.

 

[Chromata]

No.

what a stupid thread. seriously?

I appreciate the well thought out response, if you have an argument against it feel free to voice your concern.

You just might find a counter-argument in response that makes you consider something new, fascinating, I know .

 

[Chromata]

Is the era of this same thread topic coming to an end? I don’t think so.

C L I C K B A I T

You're both misconstruing my title to imply home consoles will die out next generation (at least from my interpretation of your responses).

I'm highlighting a trend that seems to indicate a gradual shift away from home consoles. I never stated they will die, that's what the bolded sentence is for.

Regardless, you cannot always look to the past to forecast the future. This is because the landscape is changing and new innovations are coming our way. Last gen it might have been a long shot, but I'd argue that we have never had the degree of portability in gaming that we do now. Heck, the Switch is the first portable console ever made. With Stadia coming soon and download-based services like Game Pass, surely we cannot simply rely on the past?

 

[cryptoadam]

The value proposition of them is going to be seriously challenged as streaming becomes more and more main stream.

In 6-7 years when Next Next gen will launch I figure selling a 500$ box is going to be a lot more difficult then it is today.

MS will most likely exit the console space to focus on being a streaming platfrom.

Nintendo will probably continue doing its own thing with its hardware and if streaming takes off I see them releasing some sort of VR/Portable hybrid after the Switch 2.

Sony will probably never leave the market because PS is basically keeping Sony alive at this point. If they got out of the consol market what do they have left? Sony pictures isn't that hot, no one buys Walkmans or discmans. Blu Ray is on the decline. And they make great TV's but so does LG and Samsung. They need consoles.

 

[Chromata]

I don't expect for traditional consoles to go away for a long time. Streaming services will definitely accelerate the transition away from consoles, but I will be surprised if we don't get at least two more generations from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. At some we will also need to decide if stand alone VR headsets and AR glasses can be called consoles.

This is close to the opinion I hold too. Hopefully we will see considerable changes in the VR/AR market next gen. The two biggest barriers hindering it this gen (upfront cost, limited performance) seem to be handled by next gen (from reports of Sony's PSVR2). I'd expect a greater adoption rate of VR/AR to jumpstart further technological advances since that's a pretty big incentive for the tech giants. I know some people are nostalgic of the "home console" experience, but I wouldn't mind the change if it comes with a reasonable suite of benefits.

I've always wondered how long a controller will last. We've had 2 joysticks and the standard bumper/4 face buttons etc. for a very long time. It may seem basic and obvious now, but these are innovations. I believe it's silly to expect this to always be the case moving forward and VR/AR is as good a time as any to change that up since it presents unique control challenges.

 

[Chromata]

The value proposition of them is going to be seriously challenged as streaming becomes more and more main stream.

In 6-7 years when Next Next gen will launch I figure selling a 500$ box is going to be a lot more difficult then it is today.

MS will most likely exit the console space to focus on being a streaming platfrom.

Nintendo will probably continue doing its own thing with its hardware and if streaming takes off I see them releasing some sort of VR/Portable hybrid after the Switch 2.

Sony will probably never leave the market because PS is basically keeping Sony alive at this point. If they got out of the consol market what do they have left? Sony pictures isn't that hot, no one buys Walkmans or discmans. Blu Ray is on the decline. And they make great TV's but so does LG and Samsung. They need consoles.

Companies that get stuck in the past tend to fall behind, though. Just look at GameStop. Sony's much more flexible than that so I don't think the same will happen to them, but in general if you want to stay on top in business you need to move forward.

I'm in no place to dictate what "forward" is, but I assume at some point Sony does need to change up their formula and adapt with the times.

 

[Alucardx23]

This is close to the opinion I hold too. Hopefully we will see considerable changes in the VR/AR market next gen. The two biggest barriers hindering it this gen (upfront cost, limited performance) seem to be handled by next gen (from reports of Sony's PSVR2). I'd expect a greater adoption rate of VR/AR to jumpstart further technological advances since that's a pretty big incentive for the tech giants. I know some people are nostalgic of the "home console" experience, but I wouldn't mind the change if it comes with a reasonable suite of benefits.

I've always wondered how long a controller will last. We've had 2 joysticks and the standard bumper/4 face buttons etc. for a very long time. It may seem basic and obvious now, but these are innovations. I believe it's silly to expect this to always be the case moving forward and VR/AR is as good a time as any to change that up since it presents unique control challenges.

Next gen should be awesome for VR. I see AR a little bit farther along. Eye tracking with Foveated rendering alone is a game changer for VR and traditional gaming as well. Once this is added we will get a lot better performance on a VR headset compared to playing games on a traditional TV. I think controllers will be here way long after traditional consoles don't exists. The will of course continue to evolve and become or advance, but they will still be controllers. On regards to feeling nostalgic, VR has everything I need.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

I don’t think traditional consoles are going anywhere anytime soon due to their very admirable sales, but I am concerned about the future.

One of the reasons I am dreading next generation is because the greed and manipulation imho will be at the highest magnitude. They will try to implement some anti-consumer practices or features. The one after that if there is one could be the scariest generation because I feel companies will try to change consoles for their benefit even more.

 

[Chromata]

I think Sony will release the PSVR 2, Microsoft will continue to expand the Xbox ecosystem specifically with GamePass, and it's anyone's guess what Nintendo will do. Traditional portable platforms have more or less died out and I think Nintendo saw this when they combined their hardware and portable divisions and introduced the Switch. Of course they recently introduced the Switch Lite but it's an alternative, not meant to replace the original model.

Funny thing is, there has never been a major transition away from home consoles towards anything else. Companies like Google want to market their product to imply such a thing, that the Google Stadia will be the "future of gaming", but most people know better.

I'm very curious to see how Stadia performs. I know people on here (and on most gaming forums, actually) crap all over it. There's good reason for that too, it has many shortcomings. Even still, Google is big enough to invest in such a challenge without it seeming too far-fetched. I don't think it will crash and burn like many would expect.

I agree that we haven't seen a major transition away from home consoles, they've been the centerpiece of gaming for a surprisingly long amount of time.

Next gen should be awesome for VR. I see AR a little bit farther along. Eye tracking with Foveated rendering alone is a game changer for VR and traditional gaming as well. Once this is added we will get a lot better performance on a VR headset compared to playing games on a traditional TV. I think controllers will be here way long after traditional consoles don't exists. The will of course continue to evolve and become or advance, but they will still be controllers. On regards to feeling nostalgic, VR has everything I need.

That video is so cool, I didn't know they had stuff like that already. It also makes me wonder how many old games will be remastered for VR just to get that nostalgia money, lol.

I don’t think traditional consoles are going anywhere anytime soon due to their very admirable sales, but I am concerned about the future.

One of the reasons I am dreading next generation is because the greed and manipulation imho will be at the highest magnitude. They will try to implement some anti-consumer practices. The one after that if there is one could be the scariest generation because I feel companies will try to change consoles for their benefit even more.

I share the same concerns, this gen had too many egregious practices. There was also a lot of backlash from the community though and it caught the attention of government, so there is hope!

 

[FStubbs]

No.

what a stupid thread. seriously?

These viral marketers are trying hard to force streaming down our throats sell streaming.

 

[FStubbs]

The value proposition of them is going to be seriously challenged as streaming becomes more and more main stream.

In 6-7 years when Next Next gen will launch I figure selling a 500$ box is going to be a lot more difficult then it is today.

MS will most likely exit the console space to focus on being a streaming platfrom.

Nintendo will probably continue doing its own thing with its hardware and if streaming takes off I see them releasing some sort of VR/Portable hybrid after the Switch 2.

Sony will probably never leave the market because PS is basically keeping Sony alive at this point. If they got out of the consol market what do they have left? Sony pictures isn't that hot, no one buys Walkmans or discmans. Blu Ray is on the decline. And they make great TV's but so does LG and Samsung. They need consoles.

I hear Sony makes more money off of insurance than anything else these days. Not that Playstation isn't hugely profitable for them.

Here's my opinion: we're already just about at the point of diminishing returns for graphics. I don't think 8K TVs will be a thing (again, diminishing returns), and so Gen 10 boxes will actually end up cheaper at launch than we've seen in awhile - other than Ray Tracing they may not be the usual ~10x leap we're accustomed to, but more a Gamecube -> Wii leap.

 

[cryptoadam]

I hear Sony makes more money off of insurance than anything else these days. Not that Playstation isn't hugely profitable for them.

Here's my opinion: we're already just about at the point of diminishing returns for graphics. I don't think 8K TVs will be a thing (again, diminishing returns), and so Gen 10 boxes will actually end up cheaper at launch than we've seen in awhile - other than Ray Tracing they may not be the usual ~10x leap we're accustomed to, but more a Gamecube -> Wii leap.

Like life insurance? Or insurance on their products as in up selling useless warranties like when you get a credit card? Imagine Sony became like Sunlife or Manual life LOL.

as far as diminishing returns, consoles always need some sort of expensive gimmick to get people to upgrade. If the upgrade is going to be minimal then the hardware won't move. And if hardware has to compete with streaming that is good enough its going to have to have more gimmicks. I see it going the opposite direction. You can stream on some service and not buy any hardware, or you can buy this 800$ box that is 16 K with a 100000TB SSD and 480 GB of RAM and a 100 core 25GHZ processer and a GPU thats 75 TFLOPS. Yes sarcastic there but if the next machines are beasts then why would someone buy it over the quick and simple option of streaming a game?

 

[Bryank75]

Console sales growth is over 14% annually and that research was done last year while PS4 and X1 were towards the tail end of their lifecycle and there were no huge hardware launches.

If you're going to spend 100 to 200 on a streaming box that turns into a paperweight when services are down, why not pay a bit more for a proper console and be a proper gamer, it's not expensive.

PC gaming is at 4% in the same research. So, if console gaming is going away... PC will be gone before it. But anyway, neither will happen. I was talking to a few people who play games but dont follow the industry and they had no idea what streaming games or Stadia was.

 

[KungFucius]

It's a bit of a strangely timed question when we've just had Sony release the 'only on playstation' brand. That pretty much answers your question. At least for the foreseeable future.

Yikes. Only 10 exclusives over the last 5+ years and 2 of them are remasters? It makes a strong argument not to bother with consoles when they are current. If the PS5 is BW compatible then you can pick it up used at the end of the gen and grab the 15 or so exclusives across both gens that interest you and be all set until PS7 is old.

 

[FStubbs]

Like life insurance? Or insurance on their products as in up selling useless warranties like when you get a credit card? Imagine Sony became like Sunlife or Manual life LOL.

as far as diminishing returns, consoles always need some sort of expensive gimmick to get people to upgrade. If the upgrade is going to be minimal then the hardware won't move. And if hardware has to compete with streaming that is good enough its going to have to have more gimmicks. I see it going the opposite direction. You can stream on some service and not buy any hardware, or you can buy this 800$ box that is 16 K with a 100000TB SSD and 480 GB of RAM and a 100 core 25GHZ processer and a GPU thats 75 TFLOPS. Yes sarcastic there but if the next machines are beasts then why would someone buy it over the quick and simple option of streaming a game?

Yep, Sony is a legit insurance company. Life insurance, auto insurance, etc. Mostly life insurance. They make so much off of it that essentially Sony is an insurance company that does electronics, music, and movies on the side. Some investors have actually even wanted them to dump the other ventures and stick with just insurance and Playstation.

I'm admittedly making one small assumption and one big assumption. The small one is that streaming won't take off. I think it's pretty safe though. Streaming has yet to be proven as a major gaming platform, and you can almost guarantee pegged servers, games getting removed at any given point, ISP bandwidth limits and throttling, and in the case of Stadia, no price advantage whatsoever for the games, will mean streaming will have severe difficulties catching on. The big assumption is admittedly that we're at the point of diminishing returns for graphics, but budget wise, TV wise (especially if we stay at 4K), I think it's a safe bet. The Gen 10 boxes may go back to differentiating based on gimmicks, new ways to play games, etc as opposed to 10x horsepower over the previous gen. So that $800 box might actually be only $250.

Keep in mind if streaming DID take off, that $800 box might be DoA, because nothing's stopping Google from putting similar boxes in their data centers and streaming them. So even then the console manufacturers would have to differentiate in other ways.

 

[Bryank75]

I don’t think traditional consoles are going anywhere anytime soon due to their very admirable sales, but I am concerned about the future.

One of the reasons I am dreading next generation is because the greed and manipulation imho will be at the highest magnitude. They will try to implement some anti-consumer practices or features. The one after that if there is one could be the scariest generation because I feel companies will try to change consoles for their benefit even more.

That's exactly why the companies want streaming , to take ownership away and thus have more control over the practices they can implement to farm cash from users. They can probably deny you all sorts of consumer rights that you would otherwise have, particularly in areas with strong legislation like Europe.

 

[Damian black]

Xbox consoles are going the way of the dodo. Everything else is here to stay.