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[Sanepar]

What he means is a technology plateau in terms of graphics but he doesn't mean consoles will vanish. Cloud infrastructure and ww internet are not there for mandatory streaming model. This will not change next 10 years. If you exclude places with good internet ww and ideal setup for cloud streaming probably 50% or more of console sales are in places with low standards for streaming.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

"I think we're at a point where the console becomes irrelevant in the next... if not the next generation then the next next generation definitely,"

If this gen lasts until 2028, the next one goes from there until 2036...the next next starts in 2036 until 2044. Guys...is it really that hard to believe in 20 years consoles could become irrelevant? Or at least evolve?

 

[Holammer]

...a world without PlayStation hardware...

Yes, imagine gaming without the [brand] worship.

 

[Humdinger]

Maybe I missed something - I'm just reading what's quoted in the OP - but Layden seems to be saying that console generations will become irrelevant, not that consoles themselves will become irrelevant. He's echoing the familiar refrain about diminishing returns for technical upgrades. He's not saying that home consoles will disappear.

What he means is a technology plateau in terms of graphics but he doesn't mean consoles will vanish.

Right. That's what I heard, too. I think he's being misinterpreted here as saying consoles themselves will go the way of the dodo.

The console market is too big for that to make any sense.

 

[hinch7]

People are still buying consoles so nope. No shot. I don't see a future where Nintendo will stop making consoles and them dropping off. And Sony basically holds the high end gaming console market; with basically no competition.

Microsoft, on the other hand has made their intentions clear with their multiplatform approach, and they have new hardware in the works. Consoles will stay relevant so long as the numbers are there to back it up.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

I keep hearing this every generation and every generation it ends up being wrong. Consoles have been “dying” or on the way out since the PS3 generation lol

 

[chromatic9]

I keep hearing this every generation and every generation it ends up being wrong. Consoles have been “dying” or on the way out since the PS3 generation lol

Yeah they keep trying to predict it but local hardware that's easy to use for the general public just makes sense and will do for a long time yet. There's no infrastructure to stream for example GTA 6 to tens of millions and it's just insane and obscene bandwidth required when it can all be done locally without issues.

 

[Lambogenie]

For someone that was basically a blip in PlayStation heads he gets a surprising number of threads. I swear his legacy compared to Jack, Hirai etc pales.

 

[Shtof]

Probably not.

Just as people prefer to own cars instead of taking the bus.
The car is always available when you need it, just like physical hardware.

 

[Polygonal_Sprite]

Yup. Totally right.... just don't let the 150 million switch 2's that are about to sell hit you on the ass on your way out Shawn

Haha.

Controversial opinion. Switch 2 will outsell the original Switch because it will not only be a known brand but because it will have a fuckton more third party games from the PS4/PS5 gens and people will have established Nintendo digital accounts. It will also be more powerful than a toaster

 

[Katatonic]

All his quotes are being weaponized.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Until millennials die off there will always be a market. Sorry Shawn. Most of us alive now will not live to see the end of consoles.

It's fun to talk about this stuff because it seems like you have some forward thinking edgy futuristic ideas, but ya don't.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

Until 4 year olds can do all the pc and steamdeck compatibility tweaks, consoles will be needed. Unless we all become slaves to only renting games on the cloud.

 

[Topher]

Yes......there was no fighting at all when Game Pass sustainability was ever mentioned.

 

[ProtoByte]

If this gen lasts until 2028, the next one goes from there until 2036...the next next starts in 2036 until 2044. Guys...is it really that hard to believe in 20 years consoles could become irrelevant? Or at least evolve?

It's just difficult to imagine whatever shift this is going to cause consoles to be irrelevant. And evolve, how? Integrating AI capabilities into the hardware/software, like all other digital tech? Bearing in mind that we could just be talking about effective power gains and not a new fundamental change? How is the "necessity" for a dedicated gaming machine going to go away? How are the incentives for platform holders going to change as to allow that to happen?

 

[Cakeboxer]

I think he is right, but not short term. Maybe in 15-20 years.

 

[Kataploom]

Consoles are not going to be needed

*Meanwhile, Microsoft and sunny
Sony using consoles to run their cloud gaming services*

 

[HogIsland]

The era where Sony and Microsoft eat $200 per unit to get you in the door is over.

You'll still have a console, it's just a PC.

 

[TGO]

They'll die when they stop selling.....and that's not happening anytime soon unless the manufacturer forces a streaming service instead.
Which will likely cause a downfall.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Well it's a good thing he still has interviews in his life, because this man has not a single hobby other than yapping.

It’s…not interesting and insightful to hear from an expert who was there for 30 years?

Such an odd take.

 

[Topher]

You'll still have a console, it's just a PC.

There are still fundamental differences between consoles and PC even if they are built using the same tech.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

It's just difficult to imagine whatever shift this is going to cause consoles to be irrelevant. And evolve, how? Integrating AI capabilities into the hardware/software, like all other digital tech? Bearing in mind that we could just be talking about effective power gains and not a new fundamental change? How is the "necessity" for a dedicated gaming machine going to go away? How are the incentives for platform holders going to change as to allow that to happen?

We won't be playing native games by 2044. We probably won't even buy games even. If nowadays we can already stream games and barely notice anything different from having them installed, imagine in 15/20 years from now.

 

[FoxMcChief]

We don't need to make a thread everytime he says something. But I guess Art will take any excuse he can to troll.

 

[HogIsland]

We won't be playing native games by 2044. We probably won't even buy games even. If nowadays we can already stream games and barely notice anything different from having them installed, imagine in 15/20 years from now.

I believed this about Stadia, and it was erased from the history books within 18 months. Between consumer rejection and 1st parties absorbing all the hardware costs, cloud gaming might just be a bad business.

 

[GrayChild]

I completely forgot how quickly Layden can turn from "our guy" to a villain when he says something that the console warriors do not want to hear.

 

[SmokedMeat]

I am so tired of future of gaming, or gaming in general, being reduced to GPU, power etc... Think less about ground breaking visuals and performance, and more about arts, story telling, interesting gameplay mechanics, art design etc...

So you mean indies. You’re in the minority around here. Most only care about graphics, not gameplay or art design.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

I believed this about Stadia, and it was erased from the history books within 18 months. Between consumer rejection and 1st parties absorbing all the hardware costs, cloud gaming might just be a bad business.

2004 we were on our PS2 gen. 20 years later we're having cloud gaming on PS5 Plus Premium at virtually the same quality as a native install. You only need decent internet.

Consoles might stop releasing with physical support in a few years. Imagine saying that 20 years ago?

Stadia was only 5 years ago and didn't have many stuff to choose from. Imagine that in 20 years. Totally believable tbh.

If yall think you'll be carrying your videogames on your lil blu ray discs in 2044 for your PS7 then...good luck.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

He's right. The usual suspects just don't want to face reality.

 

[HogIsland]

2004 we were on our PS2 gen. 20 years later we're having cloud gaming on PS5 Plus Premium at virtually the same quality as a native install. You only need decent internet.

Consoles might stop releasing with physical support in a few years. Imagine saying that 20 years ago?

Stadia was only 5 years ago and didn't have many stuff to choose from. Imagine that in 20 years. Totally believable tbh.

If yall think you'll be carrying your videogames on your lil blu ray discs in 2044 for your PS7 then...good luck.

no, i'll have a steam library going back to 2004 and about 5 different PC form factors to play on. if i'm streaming games, it'll be from my steam library.

given the current trends, I have more faith in VR taking off than cloud gaming.

 

[deriks]

I can say that we will always have some kind of box to distinguish the brands and play some games in a way that the other box can't

Oh, that's called a console?! Ok

 

[Sooner]

Shawn layden is someone who is desperately trying to cling onto relevancy by consistently running his mouth and spouting nonsense 24/7.

Reminds me of another has-been who was once highly associated with PlayStation.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

 

[HogIsland]

whatever cope there is about the bright future of consoles, these factors can't go on:
- total worldwide console ownership hasn't grown since 2000
- cost of game development doubles every 5 years

 

[Robb]

Yup, the dark ages are coming..

 

[PurePlatinum]

It's not just Shawn who thinks this. Clearly the marketing team @ Sony believes this is true, which is why they've leaned in on elements other than graphics to sell consoles. 3D Audio / DualSense / / SSD are a huge part of the marketing push on PS5, because these games cannot be sold on graphics alone anymore. The hardware is very strong but the # of studios that can really push it is getting less and less with each generation.

 

[Katajx]

The headline is stupid, but he is right in the end. It’s about the software, not the platform you play it on.

Consoles aren’t becoming irrelevant, but they would be nothing without the games. That has always been true.

 

[mckmas8808]

I see. We're in that console is dead cycle again.

Yep! Every 5 years consoles will be dead. They say it over and over and over.

 

[mckmas8808]

The headline is stupid, but he is right in the end. It’s about the software, not the platform you play it on.

Consoles aren’t becoming irrelevant, but they would be nothing without the games. That has always been true.

How is the bolded different from 1991, 1998, or 2004?

 

[CitizenKratos]

The next major innovation for consoles will be ML for language and behaviour generation. Whether that will be on device, I don't know, but it may be. And if it is a part of console specs going forward there would be plenty of room for future growth there.

 

[yogaflame]

Nah, I don't think so. That is why he is not with Sony anymore. He is even very vague and not sure when it will happen. They said that a long time ago but still console is selling pretty big especially ps5. As much as the industry and developers continues to suck especially in the west, gamers are still the life blood of the industry and console will continue due to preference and fan base. Good thing Asia developers is saving the industry right now. Sony just needs to go back to it's roots , and that is great single player exclusives, just like Ps1 and ps2 era. Stop those gaas games and woke infested games.

 

[Brakum]

I am so tired of future of gaming, or gaming in general, being reduced to GPU, power etc... Think less about ground breaking visuals and performance, and more about arts, story telling, interesting gameplay mechanics, art design etc...

Most pc users have pc's that are way less powerful than consoles. Power is not the reason why 95% of pc gamers are pc gamers. All those things you mentioned wouldnt be affected at all if consoles ceased to exist. Or PC's, doesn't really matter. It's just that one is way more popular and growing.

 

[SmokedMeat]

 

[noob smokes]

Pc dudes sound stupid asf with this consoles dead narrative like 300million console players are gonna stop buying consoles & switch to pc like sony & nintendo are gonna stop making their bread & butter

 

[Clear]

Its kinda obvious now why Layden was passed over as Playstation head!

Leadership is supposed to have answers for how to improve profitability and marketshare without abandoning the product category they've been largely dominant in for the past 30 years!

Even if the console market stagnates a 100m user walled garden is not something to be sniffed at! Its one hell of a base to build and learn from.

 

[midnightAI]

If this gen lasts until 2028, the next one goes from there until 2036...the next next starts in 2036 until 2044. Guys...is it really that hard to believe in 20 years consoles could become irrelevant? Or at least evolve?

You are going one gen ahead there, next gen starts around 2028 (I think more like 2027) then next next gen would be approx 2036 (max) so it's really only around 10-12 years from now.

Could we be streaming only by then? Maybe, but it would be very brave of a console manufacturer to go first. Will probably be MS, but their cloud experiments so far haven't exactly led to good results (I say that but flight sim is actually good, but not sure how well that translates to actual games)

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

"Yeah, this is the end, bla bla bla, Xbox 360 ans PS3 are the last consoles, bla bla bla" [2007]

Consoles will never be irrelevant, why ? Because this is FUCKING PLUG AND PLAY on your couch.

 

[ProtoByte]

We won't be playing native games by 2044. We probably won't even buy games even. If nowadays we can already stream games and barely notice anything different from having them installed, imagine in 15/20 years from now.

We can definitely notice the difference, Cap. lol

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

We can definitely notice the difference, Cap. lol

I'm sorry you have a bad internet connection...ir that PS Plus Premium doesn't work well where you tried it.

I also didn't say it was the same. I said "barely notice anything different"

 

[TGO]

I completely forgot how quickly Layden can turn from "our guy" to a villain when he says something that the console warriors do not want to hear.

The Switch is nearing 150mil and the PS5 is at 65mil in 4 years.
And you think they're dying....

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

It’s…not interesting and insightful to hear from an expert who was there for 30 years?

Such an odd take.

No, because he's parroting shit that people already know, or making sensationalist claims that demonstrate that he's an absolute relic. And he's chattering about these things constantly.

You know where listening to "experts" who have been around for a long, long time got us? Here, where AAA gaming is today, in the shitter. Because nobody wants to question whether these people still know what they're talking about, or whether they've made a genuinely informed decision in the last decade.

So no, it's not an odd take. It's a reality check that people would do well to consider before putting any stock in what these washed-up execs have to say.