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[IbizaPocholo]

PlayStation exclusives are back! The PS6 release date is anyone's guess, but we do know that the next gen of consoles is shaping up to be a three-way battle for the living room between Sony's PlayStation 6, Xbox's Project Helix, and Valve's Steam Machine. With Xbox promising a device that also plays "your PC games", it looks as though everyone will more or less be a PC gamer in the future, no matter whose box they happen to play on. But is this a future we really want? When does a console stop being a console?

• (00:02–00:52) The video opens by discussing recent speculation about the future of consoles (like PS6 or Steam-style systems). A retro-styled Steam Machine with a wooden faceplate is used as an example of how design nostalgia could shape the next "console war."
• (00:52–01:47) The current console generation is described as stagnant and struggling, with younger audiences (Gen Z and Gen Alpha) gravitating toward mobile games like Roblox rather than traditional consoles.
• (01:47–02:26) The traditional console audience—older gamers—is shrinking, and rising costs make the idea of buying expensive new hardware less appealing, especially when major franchises (like Uncharted) are missing from the generation.
• (02:26–03:13) The move by companies such as Sony and Microsoft to release their games on multiple platforms weakened the traditional idea of console exclusivity, reducing the incentive to buy specific hardware.
• (03:13–03:54) Sony's PC strategy has created controversy (e.g., PSN requirements), while Xbox's "Everything is an Xbox" approach is criticized for undermining the purpose of owning an Xbox console.
• (03:54–04:25) The video argues that consoles need strong exclusives again to survive—devices with a clear identity where the best games can only be played on that hardware.
• (04:25–05:41) The creator compares consoles to retro media formats like CDs and vinyl: younger audiences are rediscovering physical or single-purpose devices as part of a broader "analog" or digital-detox trend.
• (05:41–07:08) Retro gaming's appeal lies in its simplicity: buying a game meant you owned it outright, without constant updates, microtransactions, or broken launches requiring patches.
• (07:08–08:50) Historically, gaming ecosystems were clear—if you wanted Nintendo games you bought Nintendo hardware, and the same for PlayStation. The video suggests modern convergence (phones, PCs, streaming) blurred these distinctions.
• (08:50–10:39) The conclusion argues that next-generation consoles should embrace their identity as purpose-built gaming devices with prestige and exclusives, rather than trying to compete with PCs or become generic platforms. Without that uniqueness, console gaming could lose its cultural relevance.

 

[Sticks]

Just attach two PS Triples together

 

[neo raider]

Ign smoking crack

 

[Zacfoldor]

PCMR IGN wants a console. Sorry bros.

 

[Saber]

They should be worried about PS6 being mostly used to play PS5 games and relaunchs of LoU and Horizons for the 20th time.

 

[Durin]

When does a console stop being a console?

Probably the moment they started using x86 and standard ARM based hardware with minor customization. Consoles used to be more bespoke devices that could do weird things, had fun peripherals, and since the PS4 era have now felt more like closed PCs or Apple devices to me.

Nintendo at least created a unique form factor for themselves in the Switch, but even it still feels a bit ordinary compared to the DS/3DS as unique experiences that even modern retro handhelds can't fully replicate.

I'm fine with consoles being consoles, I just want them to be more unique hardware like they used to be, rather than feeling like gimped PCs that are a bit easier to use.

 

[analog_future]

more like gaystation

 

[Topher]

Sony is pulling their games from PC just so they can make a PC

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

 

[nial]

Based IGN.

Last traditional Nintendo home console - Wii U (November 2012)
Last traditional Xbox home console - Xbox Series (November 2020)
Next traditional PlayStation home console - PlayStation 6 (November 2027)

It's the last man standing.

 

[Fbh]

If Sony make a PC they are basically killing their business.
What makes Sony the most money isn't their first party games or selling hardware. It's the fees, commissions and services from their walled garden.

 

[diffusionx]

Just attach two PS Triples together

That's a PS9 though

 

[IAmRei]

just make sure the games are good are enough for me
they need to cranking up more great japanese games to balance the things

 

[lachesis]

PlayStation's future identity depends on whether they can capture younger audiences, not the old ones like me…. I accepted the fact that I am not the future but the past trying to hold onto relevancy after going past 50yrs of age.

I can tell at the sky all day long, but it would not surprise me if PS6 goes all sub based system with exclusive contents like Netflix.

Remember PS9? That strange orb? I now think it's a PS sub ball!

 

[Sticks]

That's a PS9 though

We wont get the PS9 till 2078

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Oh how the turns have tabled

 

[Bojji]

Just attach two PS Triples together

 

[Trilobit]

I just want PS2 era crazy fun games again like SSX, Burnout, Ape Escape, Sly Cooper etc. Back when games had some level of attitude and pizazz.

 

[nikos]

Not sure why anyone would want games to be stuck on a specific platform, especially one that is closed and limited in performance.

Brand loyalty, I guess.

 

[PropellerEar]

That's a PS9 though

You're a genius like cerny.
You found exponential power.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

Sony has made some idiotic decisions over the years but they aren't complete morons like the idiots at MS. Next Playstation will be a console, and the only traditional console left in the space. They can't compete in the PC arena as that is totally dominated by Valve and they don't have an OS or platform to push like MS does.

They need to stick to what they are good at and what has always worked for them and that's the Playstation consoles and their single player AAA IPs. The same way Nintendo has stuck to what they are good at when it comes to gaming. Getting sidetracked by bullshit like GAAS gaming and porting their SP exclusives to PC hurt their brand this gen, and they would be complete idiots not to learn from their mistakes going forward.

 

[Killer8]

It's a mistake to focus on what young audiences prioritize. When you are young, you have time to fuck about. Once the party is over and young people join the workforce, they too will cross that Rubicon to become console gamers.

Minimalism and simplicity are why consoles endure and its audience skews older. When normal people come home after a hard days work, they just want to kick their feet up and play some COD, GTA or whatever sportslop without interruption. They do not want to wrestle with graphics options or play QA tester for the night.

Steam Machine and Helix are engaging consoles in a battle over ease-of-use. But that is just as much an internal struggle against the worst elements of PC gaming as it is an external one.

 

[uncreativename]

Well at least it's definitely not an Xbox

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

Based IGN.

Last traditional Nintendo home console - Wii U (November 2012)
Last traditional Xbox home console - Xbox Series (November 2020)
Next traditional PlayStation home console - PlayStation 6 (November 2027)

It's the last man standing.

This is 2026 Playstation. It's the last woman standing, let's be accurate.

Still buying it

 

[tomato shrub]

This is 2026 Playstation. It's the last woman standing, let's be accurate.

Still buying it

Hopefully only one or two more GAAS flops until Japan takes back control.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

Sony is pulling their games from PC just so they can make a PC

Never let them know your next move

 

[PlayStaytion]

Yup, with Killzone, Ridge Racer, Socom and Twisted Metal. Some people just don't get it.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

nvm

 

[Ellis]

 

[nial]

Hopefully only one or two more GAAS flops until Japan takes back control.

You think Japan is against GAAS? Also, it already is in control.

 

[MCH2024]

0% chance PS6 is a PC.

The actual interesting angle is if PS6 Handheld becomes PS6 and PS6 Becomes PS6 Pro. Due to the memory price correction pushing PS6 pricing out of the mainstream.