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Is Console Gaming coming to a close?
- Thread starter Cavalier
- Start date
Jonneh3003
Banned
Market is basically split into Triple A games, Mobile games and Indie Games and all of them are hugely successful. Triple A games almost always do better on consoles.
Vincent Grayson
Member
Oh, I'm not saying the Wii wasn't a console at all. Just that its resounding success was a fluke, and trying to compare the traditional-consoles-only environment this generation with the 360/PS3 and then magic Wii last generation is a fool's errand.
If you just look at the two big guys, they are doing far better than last generation, in a number of ways, including actual console sales, hardware reliability, and at least IMO, game selection.
IAmRandom31
Banned
" Is coach gaming dead? "
No
No
My short response is "no, but."
No, but it's a low-margin commodity market, and it's hard to earn a large profit at the end of a generational cycle. The PS4 is doing incredibly well; it's probably hit the sweet spot of what consumers in this market expect for price and features, and it's definitely generating some profit. But Sony isn't swimming in yen from the PlayStation project, either, and it probably isn't really going to. Camera sensors, components and their finance arm are the more reliable centers of profit for Sony.
That should tell you that very few companies are really in the position to sustain that business. Nintendo is a very interesting exception, but it's under pressure itself. This market is full of examples of companies that run for cover after blowing it, like Philips and Matsushita/Panasonic, and then there's the graveyard inhabited by Sega and SNK.
Then we have this really persistent AAA problem. I think platforms benefit users, and themselves, by offering more diverse content at multiple price points, and consoles today provide it, but not the way they used to. Mid tier games, at least here in the U.S., aren't really a niche anymore. The $40 game just doesn't exist, and instead, we're encountering more blockbuster bets from big publishers who are afraid of doing something else. There's a reason EA took a long time to consider a reboot of Mirror's Edge, for example; the original game didn't really perform the way EA wanted it to, and they invested in safer products. That's hardly unique to video games. There's a lot of risk if and when that bet goes bad, and there's a palpable sense of fatigue from some consumers who are watching this annual parade of stuff. It's like shoving multiple versions of CSI or Law and Order onto the tube. After a while, you don't want to watch.
No, but it's a low-margin commodity market, and it's hard to earn a large profit at the end of a generational cycle. The PS4 is doing incredibly well; it's probably hit the sweet spot of what consumers in this market expect for price and features, and it's definitely generating some profit. But Sony isn't swimming in yen from the PlayStation project, either, and it probably isn't really going to. Camera sensors, components and their finance arm are the more reliable centers of profit for Sony.
That should tell you that very few companies are really in the position to sustain that business. Nintendo is a very interesting exception, but it's under pressure itself. This market is full of examples of companies that run for cover after blowing it, like Philips and Matsushita/Panasonic, and then there's the graveyard inhabited by Sega and SNK.
Then we have this really persistent AAA problem. I think platforms benefit users, and themselves, by offering more diverse content at multiple price points, and consoles today provide it, but not the way they used to. Mid tier games, at least here in the U.S., aren't really a niche anymore. The $40 game just doesn't exist, and instead, we're encountering more blockbuster bets from big publishers who are afraid of doing something else. There's a reason EA took a long time to consider a reboot of Mirror's Edge, for example; the original game didn't really perform the way EA wanted it to, and they invested in safer products. That's hardly unique to video games. There's a lot of risk if and when that bet goes bad, and there's a palpable sense of fatigue from some consumers who are watching this annual parade of stuff. It's like shoving multiple versions of CSI or Law and Order onto the tube. After a while, you don't want to watch.
I don't think the console market is really changing just the mobile market is becoming as big as the console (if not bigger in some countries like Japan) and companies like Konami are changing their business and going after the mobile market rather than the console games. I also see them as 2 completely different markets (not replacing the other one just an extra one) as the mobile market has a lot of the casual gamers who would never own a console in the first place and play 5 mins here and their etc.
Also it doesn't help the fact that companies seem to aim too big when producing games (expecting 2-3mill+ (when not something like COD) sales and not more mid level games).
Goodacre0081
Member
if there is money to be made we'll have a core gaming industry. we've had consoles before the smartphone boom and we'll have them after.
you are right, I'm puzzled by all these "bigger than ever! PS4 on fire!" posts, really.
PS4 is selling very well on its own, in the West, but that's not the full picture, especially to OP's questions and issues
Boomstompfloppy
Banned
I have to disagree with the idea there is no variety now, indies and smaller games are flooding the psn and live stores will all sorts of genres of games.
Small budget games used to cone on disc, so people think they don't exist anymore
Xamtheking
Member
Cow Goes Moo
Member
I'm not one to care for the earning of success, but you would agree that the console market as a whole is contracting then, yes?
Exactly, it's actually growing
I consider mobile gaming to handheld gaming
Isn't every manufacturer's successor outside of Sony's PS4, trending downward worldwide versus their predecessor? That doesn't sound like "bigger than ever"
Last "gen" was the peak; and with more focus on AAA gaming, more developers going to mobile, I can see the core market size decrease more and more (and congregating around a single platform).
But LOL at "coming to a close". Its absolutely alive and kicking as of today.
Last "gen" was the peak; and with more focus on AAA gaming, more developers going to mobile, I can see the core market size decrease more and more (and congregating around a single platform).
But LOL at "coming to a close". Its absolutely alive and kicking as of today.
Vincent Grayson
Member
No, because as I said, the Wii was a fluke. Without the Wii, I think you'd see a steady increase in the console market. It only looks like it's contracting (and even then, very little) because we don't have a weird outlier this generation.
Mr. PlayStation
Member
Your membership to create thread like this might be coming to a close.
Joking
Console gaming is bigger than ever and both Sony and Microsoft have brought in so many people into the world of gaming, who hadn't played games before. Let's hope there's another generation of consoles from Sony and Microsoft
Sure, as long as I get my share of it, I don't mindGet in line, bruh
http://www.statista.com/statistics/276768/global-unit-sales-of-video-game-consoles/
Ye it is really growing man. look at that growth.
Zombie James
Banned
Haha, no. Some publishers might leave to chase that nickel-and-diming utopia of theirs, but others will take their place.
amstradcpc
Member
Whatever is happening, the less publishers remain more percentage of the market for them. EA,UBI and SONY could end up being the only suppliers of the AAA market.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/276768/global-unit-sales-of-video-game-consoles/
Ye it is really growing man. look at that growth.
Welp, that's it folks.
What that image shows is that Nintendo has severely shrunk, they're the main reason why the early years were so high (close to 50m in 2008/8, 30+ in 08/10) Xbox and Sony are getting back to their, or will likely be back to their 2008 levels by next year
edit - fucked up years by assuming graph started at 2006 not 2008....apologies
One of the two used to be the second biggest console manufacturer in the world, and is responsible for some of console gamings most iconic and enduring series.
The other is responsible for some of console gamings other most iconic and enduring franchises.
Don't play this off like Konami and Sega are some no-name companies that nobody should care about, wake up and smell the coffee that console gaming isn't a healthy market and hasn't been for quite some time.
Not at all, 20+ million PS4s sold, and that is only a part of console gaming today.
There is still the potential to make 1+ billion on a game (GTA V, for example), and it brings enjoyment to millions of people. The mobile thing is a seperate economy, and is already plateauing. Console / PC gaming isn't going anywhere.
There is still the potential to make 1+ billion on a game (GTA V, for example), and it brings enjoyment to millions of people. The mobile thing is a seperate economy, and is already plateauing. Console / PC gaming isn't going anywhere.
thekiddfran
Member
I've had them for awhile.
I knew Polygon Staff members were lurkers!
kamineko
Does his best thinking in the flying car
If anything kills console gaming it will be the maturation of utility PC's like the Alpha, especially since consoles are approaching convergence with PC architecture, combined with the growing interest (at least for companies) in software as a service.
That's not the immediate future, though.
The dearth of mid-tier games (with regard to budget) is not a platform-specific problem, and I think it will be addressed naturally as large studios look to make lower risk investments. I believe this is the largest issue in the console development space, and much depends on its resolution.
Mobile gaming itself is an important market, but not everyone wants a mobile game, and we aren't yet in a place where attaching a phone to an HDMI port will create a rich, performance-oriented HD experience. Mobile is a big niche, but it will remain a niche for some time. It's not surprising that companies wish to exploit it, but I hardly see its growth as a signal that other markets are disappearing (globally, I can't speak for Japan).
That's not the immediate future, though.
The dearth of mid-tier games (with regard to budget) is not a platform-specific problem, and I think it will be addressed naturally as large studios look to make lower risk investments. I believe this is the largest issue in the console development space, and much depends on its resolution.
Mobile gaming itself is an important market, but not everyone wants a mobile game, and we aren't yet in a place where attaching a phone to an HDMI port will create a rich, performance-oriented HD experience. Mobile is a big niche, but it will remain a niche for some time. It's not surprising that companies wish to exploit it, but I hardly see its growth as a signal that other markets are disappearing (globally, I can't speak for Japan).
http://www.statista.com/statistics/276768/global-unit-sales-of-video-game-consoles/
Ye it is really growing man. look at that growth.
Brought to you by Polygon.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/276768/global-unit-sales-of-video-game-consoles/
Ye it is really growing man. look at that growth.
About what I figured.
Sony's main platform is the only traditional platform trending upwards versus its predecessor.
Xbox One looks better than it is thanks to an insane first couple months and the 360 being supply constrained launch aligned. One is not going to do anywhere near the numbers of the 360 worldwide.
The less said about Nintendo the better...
Dredd97
Member
Resource allocation.
Eh, this is all a bit myopic. As you know, LHC came back online a little over a month ago (after a 2 year hiatus) with new collisions slated to begin in June.
Now, as these collisions are expected to be substantially more energetic than any collision to date, there's every reason to believe that we'll be looking at a scenario where the perturbation of higher dimensional spaces will lead to a serious vacuum metastability event, with obvious and tragic consequences... at which point you're not going to be too concerned about the fate of console gaming.
Now, as these collisions are expected to be substantially more energetic than any collision to date, there's every reason to believe that we'll be looking at a scenario where the perturbation of higher dimensional spaces will lead to a serious vacuum metastability event, with obvious and tragic consequences... at which point you're not going to be too concerned about the fate of console gaming.
qa_engineer
Member
More like monthly thread.
Cow Goes Moo
Member
why would you not include the wii, despite it being a console then? the barometrics as to why something earns sales don't have much merit in my opinion because in some ways every console is sold that way and is largely debatable due to a wide array of varying opinionated reasoning. Many people could say they bought a ps3 because of the bluray instead of games, or the 360 because of kinect, but to categorize each set of reasoning isn't favored to something wholly factual as well, number of consoles sold. And outliers are still included in data, for "better" or "worse". In this current generation's case the wii u is the low outlier.
SerTapTap
Member
What? No, Xbone is still outpacing 360 last I heard, it most certainly did at launch. Wii U dropped the ball but if anything it was a fluke that the Wii worked out, Gamecube didn't sell great either.
It's relevant to consider what outliers exist and why they're outliers...if you have to include outliers regardless of validity you might as well start including the Ouya and say console gaming is dooomed and so on. The Wii was certainly a console, but the loss of it's market is not particularly relevant to the performance of PS4 or Xbox One or even the Wii U.
Look at my post quoting the graph.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/276768/global-unit-sales-of-video-game-consoles/
Ye it is really growing man. look at that growth.
That would be great to show that handhelds are on their way out, not as much consoles. this does not really end the discussion.
Glass Shark
Banned
Fortunately, most gamers seem content to take whatever sequel, remaster, or rehash that publishers shove down their throats. It's win-win!
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
Monty Mole
Member
This would be true if you ignored digital-only titles. But then why would you?
There's plenty of variety when factoring those in. One thing I hated about the PS2 era was the major lack of 2D games - there's plenty of such goodness now
My only gripe is the massive decline of Japan-developed games.
We are talking about console gaming as a whole right? Not specific companies.
Even if we take out the Wii out of every year, they are still more or less better than 2014.
Newtype-001
Member
i wonder if we'll have a gaming crash and resurgence.
And yet neither one has been relevant in years. Companies have replaced them. Outside nostalgia, neither one will be missed.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/276768/global-unit-sales-of-video-game-consoles/
Ye it is really growing man. look at that growth.
You should probably take the dying handheld market out of that graph.
Vincent Grayson
Member
This would be true if you ignored digital-only titles. But then why would you?
There's plenty of variety when factoring those in. One thing I hated about the PS2 era was the major lack of 2D games - there's plenty of such goodness now
Convenience of making your argument better, I guess.