The next console manufacteur?

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kremit

Member
With Xbox seeming to be on the backfoot and overall pretty low competition in the industry as a whole, I think it's worth speculating which company will be the next to enter the game console industry.

Personally, I believe the following companies could (could) create a games console and have a motivation to, from most to least likely:
Samsung
Capcom
Sega
 
I don't think we'll se another (new) console maker. Today's consoles are basically lower /mid-range PC's with some restrictions.
 
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Apple couple conceivably do it. They have the name recognition and plenty of money. But would they? To make a dent any company would have to be willing to operate at a loss for at least a generation or two. Not sure anyone would want to take that one. It would be a long, long term strategy.
 
video games sega GIF


Return of the King baby
 
Meta's been secretly the 4th console manufacturer since the release of the Quest 1 and they're likely releasing Meta Quest 4 later this year. And nobody has realized it yet.
 
Honestly probably no one. The industry is almost entirely homogenized at this point. Sony is next in line to assimilate, and then it'll only be Nintendo holding out. And that strategy will probably only work (on a hardware level) for another 10-15 years.

The future will eventually just be software.
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
Ironic that Xbox will be the next console to come out after the Switch 2 :)
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But will it be a console, or more of a PC hybrid? Would be odd for Microsoft to still try and compete in the traditional console space, while also putting out their games on PlayStation and Nintendo systems.

kremit said:
With Xbox seeming to be on the backfoot and overall pretty low competition in the industry as a whole, I think it's worth speculating which company will be the next to enter the game console industry.

Personally, I believe the following companies could (could) create a games console and have a motivation to, from most to least likely:
Samsung
Capcom
Sega
Click to expand...

What makes you think Sega will make a return?

Capcom becoming a console manufacture? Never going to happen.
 
IDKFA said:
What makes you think Sega will make a return?

Capcom becoming a console manufacture? Never going to happen.
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Sorry, I was slightly confused (Capcom used to produce the CPS system). Strike Capcom.

Sega I believe still produce there own arcade boards, meaning they at least have some experience with modern hardware. It would be a very risky endeavour though, since Sega is a lot smaller than they were before the Japanese economic crisis

Samsung is by far the most likely. There is a fledgling game industry in Korea and unlike most other companies are stable enough to make large investments in something like a console.
 
Icymanipulator said:
Apple couple conceivably do it. They have the name recognition and plenty of money. But would they? To make a dent any company would have to be willing to operate at a loss for at least a generation or two. Not sure anyone would want to take that one. It would be a long, long term strategy.
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This was my thought as well. Also, Apple has a history of throwing money around just to piss off Microsoft, or at least they did back when Steve Jobs was still around. So I could see it happening.
 
Dacvak said:
Honestly probably no one. The industry is almost entirely homogenized at this point. Sony is next in line to assimilate, and then it'll only be Nintendo holding out. And that strategy will probably only work (on a hardware level) for another 10-15 years.

The future will eventually just be software.
Click to expand...
This has been peddled for years though. Especially since the PS2 era when Playstation dominated

Meta and Valve I believe debunked this line of thought. They both have created hardware heavily used for gaming, thus proving you can at least find a niche in the modern market
 
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kremit said:
This has been peddled for years though. Especially since the PS2 era when Playstation dominated

Meta and Valve I believe debunked this line of thought. They both have created hardware heavily used for gaming, this proving you can at least find a niche in the modern market
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Sorry, let me clarify. I think many companies will continue to make hardware, I just think that a vast majority of software will be available on ALL hardware. The Steam Deck is a perfect example of what the future will be like.
 
Apple. They're like 2 iOS/tvOS restrictions away from already having one.

AppleTV 4K is tremendous hardware, the most recent revision can produce Series S level graphics. But just let people stream GamePass and GeforceNow, and boom there's your console. Works with any BT controller and basically zero footprint.
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
Throw in a handheld and you have the trifecta
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Ah, the rumoured Xbox handheld.

If this handheld is real, has some real power behind it and lets me buy and download games rather than just stream them, then I could be on board.

However, this is Microsoft, so if it is real then I'm just expecting a Gamepass streaming machine, meaning I'll be saving myself some money.
 
Icymanipulator said:
Apple couple conceivably do it. They have the name recognition and plenty of money. But would they? To make a dent any company would have to be willing to operate at a loss for at least a generation or two. Not sure anyone would want to take that one. It would be a long, long term strategy.
Click to expand...
I don't imagine this happening under Tim Cook. Maybe his successor though
 
kremit said:
With Xbox seeming to be on the backfoot and overall pretty low competition in the industry as a whole, I think it's worth speculating which company will be the next to enter the game console industry.

Personally, I believe the following companies could (could) create a games console and have a motivation to, from most to least likely:
Samsung
Capcom
Sega
Click to expand...
www.pcmag.com

Putin Wants Russia to Create Its Own Video Game Consoles

Putin calls for the development of both stationary and portable video game consoles. But local media says the plan could take up to a decade to bear fruit.
www.pcmag.com www.pcmag.com
giphy.gif
 
There won't really be any, because whatever company steps up to be a "console manufacturer", is just going to make a console in form factor only. In every other respect it will just run apps like any other computer device, just advertised for games most prominently, featuring that company's store on the boot screen, and they will sell other devices in other form factors.

Whenever Valve, Apple, Google or Samsung makes a box, it will be this.
 
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Barrier is too high to enter for a new console manufacturer of any consequence to emerge. Nintendo and Sony are too far ahead at this point.
 
poppabk said:
No-one is going to enter the traditional console market going forward.
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Any console that's going to sell needs to break boundaries. So no, someone strapping a name to a cheap gaming PC with a controller in the modern day will not do well.
 
kremit said:
Any console that's going to sell needs to break boundaries. So no, someone strapping a name to a cheap gaming PC with a controller in the modern day will not do well.
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And therein lies the problem. You're going to have to break boundaries, while also making games that are a) exclusive to your hardware and b) something that people want to play badly enough that they'd be willing to buy said hardware. The issue is that these game companies all know that the smart money is diversifying your game onto as many platforms as possible (PC, PlayStation, Switch, etc.) to maximize potential sales. Artificially limiting your product for the sake of console sales is something Microsoft tried (and failed at) even with their vast fortunes.
 
jshackles said:
And therein lies the problem. You're going to have to break boundaries, while also making games that are a) exclusive to your hardware and b) something that people want to play badly enough that they'd be willing to buy said hardware. The issue is that these game companies all know that the smart money is diversifying your game onto as many platforms as possible (PC, PlayStation, Switch, etc.) to maximize potential sales. Artificially limiting your product for the sake of console sales is something Microsoft tried (and failed at) even with their vast fortunes.
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With any business investment there will always be a risk. That's why third parties outnumber first parties by many magnitudes.

The thing is Xbox isn't failing because it doesn't have exclusives. It's failing at the lack of them, as well as very idiotic brand decisions.

You can apply this anywhere. For example, Apple broke boundaries with the iPhone, despite never making a phone before. In 2006, people would have looked at you strangely if you said the Motorola Razr was sorely lacking in features
 
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Dacvak said:
Sorry, let me clarify. I think many companies will continue to make hardware, I just think that a vast majority of software will be available on ALL hardware. The Steam Deck is a perfect example of what the future will be like.
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Not to mention the technology for remote play/streaming is constantly improving, meaning that buying a box to attach to a TV could become less relevant over time. I know a lot of people here believe it can't happen, but as we dinosaurs die out there is going to eventually be a generation who never knew a time when you couldn't stream games on your phone or through your TV. We might think it sucks, but we'll literally be the ok grandma meme.
 
Take2 with Rockstar Games and 2K has a console manufacturer presence already with their catalog.

If they made games like GTA6, Max Payne 4, Mafia 4, RDR 3, etc. as launche exclusive and a large amount of PC ports, they'll be able to get console sales up to Xbox numbers quickly.

The only issue I can see happening would be cost. They may end up with a console around the same price point of the PS5 Pro.
 
Icymanipulator said:
Apple couple conceivably do it. They have the name recognition and plenty of money. But would they? To make a dent any company would have to be willing to operate at a loss for at least a generation or two. Not sure anyone would want to take that one. It would be a long, long term strategy.
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Please not. Apple is terrible.. have they even made a game?
 
Icymanipulator said:
Apple couple conceivably do it. They have the name recognition and plenty of money. But would they? To make a dent any company would have to be willing to operate at a loss for at least a generation or two. Not sure anyone would want to take that one. It would be a long, long term strategy.
Click to expand...
Apple could do it in seconds with a software update on the Apple TV. I already play chrono trigger on it with a dual sense.
 
I would LOVE to see a new console manufacturer enter the ring. I know for 5 or so years people have been speculating consoles are on the way out through advancements made in streaming and tablet devices growing in their ability to play modern games but I think the success of hardware sales for the Switch, PS5 and a cultural rallying point of caring about physical media and nostalgia for the 90s/00s just might be enough to argue console gaming still has life left in it. Aren't there some mega wealthy oil-focused companies that have been trying to branch into entertainment? I feel like if a serious console manufacturer were to enter the ring it would come from a company like that.
 
Apple is already the biggest non-gaming centric gaming hardware out there with apple arcade and designing the iphone 15/16 for mobile gamers.

As much as I hate Apple, theyre the only one I'd expect to join the console wars realistically.

Sega wont, they already rely on nintendo (and sony) to pay their bills.
 
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Hohenheim said:
I don't think we'll se another (new) console maker. Today's consoles are basically lower /mid-range PC's with some restrictions.
Click to expand...

Well, and without armies of cheaters online, without using 600W GPU alone to play games, without unoptimized software, without shader compilations akin to load a tape game on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

There could be space for a third competitor maybe, as in the PS360-Wii days, but it's true that aside that gen each time than more than two have been in the market, the third has suffered a lot and fourth have been obliterated.

There's only space for two. Most big tech enterprises won't try to compete seeing how MS has been slaughtered. I only see possibility if Sony keeps doing harakiri with their PC ports and Valve thinks that its vulnerable.
 
Icymanipulator said:
Apple couple conceivably do it. They have the name recognition and plenty of money. But would they? To make a dent any company would have to be willing to operate at a loss for at least a generation or two. Not sure anyone would want to take that one. It would be a long, long term strategy.
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If apple would make a console, suddenly 90$ for games would feel like a steal.
 
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