Vincent Grayson
Member
And both are outselling their predecessors, aren't they? The only way this generation is weaker than the last if when you include the Wii vs Wii U. The Wii was a fluke, basically.
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Is Console Gaming coming to a close?
- Thread starter Cavalier
- Start date
And both are outselling their predecessors, aren't they? The only way this generation is weaker than the last if when you include the Wii vs Wii U. The Wii was a fluke, basically.
OnionPowder
Member
So cut off millions of people who want and buy other products? Why not both?
Firelord Chargrilled
Banned
DrROBschiz
Member
Here we go again
The market is changing but I think consoles (or more accurately cheap prebuilt settops) will continue to have a market for the extended future
They will change as they always have. Get smaller, built into stuff, or whatever else may come but their will always be a device to fill the space just out of how fast and convenient such a setup is for casual and serious gamers alike.
The market is changing but I think consoles (or more accurately cheap prebuilt settops) will continue to have a market for the extended future
They will change as they always have. Get smaller, built into stuff, or whatever else may come but their will always be a device to fill the space just out of how fast and convenient such a setup is for casual and serious gamers alike.
INFINITY TR1GG3R
Neo Member
No.
Console gamers seem utterly against mobile gaming in general. Can't see console users forsaking consoles, so as such, consoles will stay.
Console gamers seem utterly against mobile gaming in general. Can't see console users forsaking consoles, so as such, consoles will stay.
In Japan it is, in the rest of the world not so much, though it could be that the rest of the world is simply lagging, Japan does seem to embrace technological change faster. Though then it should extend to PC gaming too. Definitely it's worrisome that the new generation grows up with mobile first and might never migrate to something else.
Franchises and rehashing though is even more prevalent in the mobile gaming space than in the console space, and is a trend that you can see in all entertainment media, where people are so overwhelmed in the deluge of choice that they simply choose something familiar. I wouldn't hold that against console gaming. We would have to go back to a starved lineup for interesting games to flourish again, see also kind of the Wii U. The big hitters in the mobile scene are derivative too, and few and far in between, the average whale punter only invests its money into one or two games a year.
Franchises and rehashing though is even more prevalent in the mobile gaming space than in the console space, and is a trend that you can see in all entertainment media, where people are so overwhelmed in the deluge of choice that they simply choose something familiar. I wouldn't hold that against console gaming. We would have to go back to a starved lineup for interesting games to flourish again, see also kind of the Wii U. The big hitters in the mobile scene are derivative too, and few and far in between, the average whale punter only invests its money into one or two games a year.
Don't know about the actual console part. There will always be a pre-fab box to sit under your television (or beam to your laptop, etc.).
However, I do think the days of having software tied to a single generation of hardware are coming to a close.
In other entertainment sectors people are becoming more accustomed to pushing media libraries forward with successive hardware refreshes. I believe expectations will similarly change for game software as tolerance for re-buying the same old games over and over for newer hardware plummets.
However, I do think the days of having software tied to a single generation of hardware are coming to a close.
In other entertainment sectors people are becoming more accustomed to pushing media libraries forward with successive hardware refreshes. I believe expectations will similarly change for game software as tolerance for re-buying the same old games over and over for newer hardware plummets.
The Albatross
Member
Console gaming is not coming to a close. Is there a bright future for mobile gaming? Absolutely, but just as you can charge that console gaming lacks as large a variety of different types of games versus, say 15 or 20 years ago (when it was cheap to develop, publish, and take a risk [as gamers were far less informed than they are too]), you could levy some serious charges as mobile games for a lack of variety and a tend towards milking the gamer dry rather than making a good game.
It's true, console games from the major publishers tend to be conservative action adventure, FPS, fighting, sports or open world... But, in the mobile realm, for every Silent Age or Monument Valley, you have 10,000 "Age of Wars," "Game of War," "Grepolis" and whatever else, which are pay-to-win cookie-clicker non-games that generally have the same challenge and reward mechanism as a To Do list app.
Meanwhile, in the console sphere you still have inventive, clever, brilliant, or amibitious games. Ori and the Blind Forest, Shovel Knight, Guacamelee, GTA V, Witcher 3, Bloodborne, Super Mega Baseball, etc. There have been a tremendous number of great games released in the last 12 months on consoles, with a lot of variety, you just can't limit yourself to one specific publisher or developer.
It's true, console games from the major publishers tend to be conservative action adventure, FPS, fighting, sports or open world... But, in the mobile realm, for every Silent Age or Monument Valley, you have 10,000 "Age of Wars," "Game of War," "Grepolis" and whatever else, which are pay-to-win cookie-clicker non-games that generally have the same challenge and reward mechanism as a To Do list app.
Meanwhile, in the console sphere you still have inventive, clever, brilliant, or amibitious games. Ori and the Blind Forest, Shovel Knight, Guacamelee, GTA V, Witcher 3, Bloodborne, Super Mega Baseball, etc. There have been a tremendous number of great games released in the last 12 months on consoles, with a lot of variety, you just can't limit yourself to one specific publisher or developer.
So what?
The PS4 is console gaming itself?
Anyway it is definately contracting and I think it will continue to contract but not come to a close anytime soon.
The Albatross
Member
You're being too kind -- this is more like weekly as of late.
OnionPowder
Member
If only it was yearly
Iorv3th
Member
I think that's what they are doing. Though the wii counted. It's just that a lot of the people that picked up the wii because it was cheap and the motion sensor family fun stuff can now get a lot of that on mobile.
So the market is changing a little and having different ways to accommodate different types of people. The Playstation Xbox market is growing right now at least on pace too. It might slow down and stay relatively the same, or they may sell less. But they aren't having the problems with RRoD and YLOD right now either. They are also not taking a loss on each console sold this gen.
visiblemode
Member
If current gen is an indicator, then it is growing...or at the very least, healthy.
...but nothing can grow at the same rate as articles and threads speculating on the death of console gaming. At the current rate of growth those will be the only form of entertainment available by 2030.
...but nothing can grow at the same rate as articles and threads speculating on the death of console gaming. At the current rate of growth those will be the only form of entertainment available by 2030.
Stereogatari
Banned
No, but the diversity of the AAA space is.
TGO
Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Based on PS4 sales, console gaming is pretty much the dominant platform worldwid... In Japan? That's a different Story.
But you you must be doing bad in sales worldwide to pull out and go mobile only....or stupid.
Sadly not everyone is Rockstar*.
But you you must be doing bad in sales worldwide to pull out and go mobile only....or stupid.
Sadly not everyone is Rockstar*.
Infernal Monkey
Member
Yeah, I heard a rumour all the video games are shutting down tomorrow.
Juxo
Member
The PS4 has only shipped 22 million units. Console gaming is fucked!
Seriously, though; as long as there are consoles, there will be people to play them. I hate mobile games. They offer little to no depth and don't hold my interest for more than 5 minutes. I love games that have hundreds of hours of content and massive replay value, like the souls series and fallout/elder scrolls. I'm not the only one.
As far as publishers going for the "safe" option and releasing remasters/remakes/sequel number 60, eventually people will get fed up with the same lazy games being churned out and innovation will be necessary, not the tried and trusted formulas. I haven't bought a COD since MW2 and I don't intend to. Same with Assassin's Creed. Bought the second, and when I saw them ramp up production I called it a day with that series. I won't support that practice of releasing the same game over and over in a slightly different coat of paint.
Seriously, though; as long as there are consoles, there will be people to play them. I hate mobile games. They offer little to no depth and don't hold my interest for more than 5 minutes. I love games that have hundreds of hours of content and massive replay value, like the souls series and fallout/elder scrolls. I'm not the only one.
As far as publishers going for the "safe" option and releasing remasters/remakes/sequel number 60, eventually people will get fed up with the same lazy games being churned out and innovation will be necessary, not the tried and trusted formulas. I haven't bought a COD since MW2 and I don't intend to. Same with Assassin's Creed. Bought the second, and when I saw them ramp up production I called it a day with that series. I won't support that practice of releasing the same game over and over in a slightly different coat of paint.
SerTapTap
Member
To be a bit more serious here, I think much of the "consoles are doomed" stuff are a mix of a simple failure to understand that business is not a zero sum game (a new big market does not necessarily mean the death of an older smaller market), and some people who grew up with console gaming who seem really confused about it's actual scale at any point in time.
When you grew up with an SNES, as I did, it can be easy to think console gaming is no big deal now but was the most important thing in the world back then. There were stores, physical stores, lined wall to wall with carts and boxes, not anymore now. So consoles are dead, right?
...well no, distribution has changed, but console gaming is still extremely popular, in fact more popular, just more matter-of-fact, than it was in the 16 bit era or so. Consoles are no longer a life-changing thing and retail is far less relevant, but if you simply sit down and look at the numbers there's a goddamn lot of consoles and games out there and it would be absurd to assume that market is going to simply disappear.
DrROBschiz
Member
I would think its naive to think consoles wont change and morph with the times
I mean Technically a cell phone could also be a console
Either way what it comes down to is a locked proprietary device supported by some corporate network ecosystem right?
I mean console, by definition, is not something thats just going to disappear... ever.
I mean Technically a cell phone could also be a console
Either way what it comes down to is a locked proprietary device supported by some corporate network ecosystem right?
I mean console, by definition, is not something thats just going to disappear... ever.
Consoles won't die out for at least another 10 years IMO, but this isn't even close to the truth.
Cow Goes Moo
Member
because of aligned timelines and graphs, so far xbox and ps have outpaced, yes
but nintendo makes consoles too, the Wii U certainly hasn't outpaced the Wii in any stretch of the imagination
If you want to include handhelds, ps vita is a complete failure compared to the psp and the 3ds is about 1/3rd or more of the total units sold of what the ds has sold
I'm sure zhuge can bring up some graphs, or i'll link to some of them at some later point
the wii was a console, no matter how anyone tries to spin it
Mobile just gave easier access to people that wouldnt normally buy a gaming console, so while its growing I think the base of people playing games grew. Consoles will be around as long as people buy them, and this gen seems to be doing very well.
When they started releasing older PC games onto mobile/pads, I gave them a shot but didnt like it at all, didnt like the controls layout even if it were logically laid out. I do have a few of the time killer games..word games, angry bird type games, and card games, but just cant see myself playing a 20-30 hour RPG on a pad.
When they started releasing older PC games onto mobile/pads, I gave them a shot but didnt like it at all, didnt like the controls layout even if it were logically laid out. I do have a few of the time killer games..word games, angry bird type games, and card games, but just cant see myself playing a 20-30 hour RPG on a pad.
i find it weird that during a time that a console is selling comparitively better then even the mighty PS2, people are able to claim the industry is dying. lol. it's different, that's for sure, but dying?...lol. no.
the way i see it. consoles will always be around as long as PC games exist to be ported to them. whether it's via disc/digital/or streaming is another thing entirely.
the way i see it. consoles will always be around as long as PC games exist to be ported to them. whether it's via disc/digital/or streaming is another thing entirely.
djplaeskool
Member
Contraction doesn't mean death.
There is simply aggressive expansion in other devices in the same market.
There is simply aggressive expansion in other devices in the same market.
HitCtrlAltDel
Member
To everyone a few years ago: PC gaming isn't dead.... see what is going on now?
To everyone now: Console gaming isn't dying and won't die anytime soon.
(And handheld gaming isn't dead or dying either)
To everyone now: Console gaming isn't dying and won't die anytime soon.
(And handheld gaming isn't dead or dying either)
AAA gaming is gradually pushing out certain publishers and developers as it grows in cost, but that's about it. Consoles are still selling well enough and PCs are pushing in that direction of form factor as well. Those kind of devices, whether or not you consider them consoles as they evolve, do not look like going away or losing interest any time soon
Is this a joke thread? I can't imagine anyone saying bullshit like this with a straight face. So the PS4 is currently the fastest selling console ever but instead you opt to say console gaming is coming to a close? LOL, sounds like a subtle way of saying consoles are dead to me. Can I have whatever you're smoking please?
Haha Japan pissing away so much time and resources developing proprietary engines and thus games get released at a lethargic pace. Meanwhile western devs say "eh we'll just do everything using Unreal so we can produce quality games at a steady clip."
But yes yes sure these ancient businesses run by old-school committees bowing out of console games is proof that console gaming is dead
But yes yes sure these ancient businesses run by old-school committees bowing out of console games is proof that console gaming is dead
My above post was wordplay.
And sarcasm.
There is no way.
Mobile games are nothing like the console experiences that I enjoy.
I'll quit gaming if it becomes purely "mobile", and I think and huge number of other people will too.
Technically we won't be quitting gaming... gaming will simply have ceased to exist, for us.
And sarcasm.
There is no way.
Mobile games are nothing like the console experiences that I enjoy.
I'll quit gaming if it becomes purely "mobile", and I think and huge number of other people will too.
Technically we won't be quitting gaming... gaming will simply have ceased to exist, for us.
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
Because sales look like this;
The big blue burst got headlines, the sustained lower than red is mostly ignored.
EDIT; to be clear these aren't real sales numbers of anything in particular, they're indicative of trends