Ryu Kaiba
Member
I agree with your first statement but the 2nd one contradicts itself.Let’s be accurate: assuming the rumors are true, Horizon came out 3 years ago and Dreams is a game that requires the broadest community possible. TLOU 2 and co. aren’t being released day and date yet, so exclusives are still a thing and will continue to be.
That said, if you subtract exclusives, hardware sales could and should die. The real golden goose is the licensing fees platform makers are able to extract via publishing, but platforms don’t have to be limited by a physical footprint any longer. Hardware is ultra risky and low margin. Aiming to be the place where games are played is more important than selling people the box to play them on.
The Box is the place where games are played.
The Box is the place where licensing fees are obtained.