Kevin Smith thinks that consoles will soon be irrelevant. I think that’s only half the story.
How important will consoles still be in a few years? This question seems to be of great concern to Shawn Layden, former head of Sony Interactive Entertainment. He has already spoken about it in an interview with VGC and mentioned it to Eurogamer a few days ago:
“We have reached a point where the console is becoming irrelevant[…]”
I agree with him, because the signs for this are becoming ever clearer. Gaming on the console will continue to change in the future. But in my opinion, fans don’t need to worry – thanks to Nintendo.
Why should consoles become increasingly irrelevant?
Shawn Layden talks about too small technical leaps between console generations in recent interviews, which are further diminished by mid-gen upgrades like the PS5 Pro.
“We are at a stage of hardware development that I call ‘only dogs can hear the difference’.”
But in my opinion, that is by no means the only reason for the dwindling relevance of consoles. There are a few more.
There are too few exclusive titles: Since the release of the PS5 four years ago, Sony has released exactly 21 titles that are only available on the PlayStation. Many exciting titles have all been released on the PC as well. And if I have the choice, I prefer to play them on the PC.
If this continues in the future, there is no reason for me to buy a console anymore, because exclusive titles used to be my main reason for buying.
Consoles are getting more and more expensive: The best example of this is the Playstation series. While the PS4 Pro was still priced the same as the PS4 in its day, the price of the PS5 was pushed further up. First, the conventional PS5 became 50 euros more expensive due to inflation, then Sony estimated 800 euros for the PS5 Pro.
I assume that the PS6 will not be cheaper, on the contrary, and that will make the console unattractive for many.
The elephant in the room – the PC: The discussion about “PC or console” is now far too old a hat to go into in detail here. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to leave unmentioned that the arguments against a console often strengthen the PC as a gaming medium:
- PCs and consoles are continuing to converge in terms of price. Therefore, for many people it could be worthwhile to buy a PC instead of a console. After all, you can do a lot more with a PC than “just” play and stream.
- As already mentioned, there are fewer and fewer exclusive titles for consoles. This is also because many games are also released for the PC, regardless of any delays. So why should I buy a console if I don’t need it for supposed exclusive titles?
Microsoft is already showing how it is reacting to the change: The company has long since recognized that it has to approach the topic of consoles differently. A good example of this is the “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign.
With this, Microsoft is showing that Xbox games can be played not only on an Xbox console. Thanks to GamePass and cloud gaming, they can also be played on a variety of other devices.
In my opinion, a clear sign that the home console as we know it could actually come to an end soon.
If it weren’t for a company from Japan.
Nintendo consoles are here to stay
No matter what you think of consoles and their games, there is little sign that Nintendo will be getting out of the console business anytime soon. With the Switch, the company has launched one of the most successful consoles of all time: over 140 million units sold speaks for itself. The hybrid console is currently ranked third among the best-selling consoles worldwide.
What makes Nintendo’s approach so successful?; It is the clear differentiation from the competition. While Sony and Microsoft primarily rely on powerful hardware, Nintendo focuses on accessibility, unique features and family-friendly games. Of course, this is not always successful; the Wii U, for example, was a disaster for Nintendo, with only 13.5 million units sold (Nintendo).
Even at its release, the Switch was technically uncompetitive. Nevertheless, it was able to convince with a strong game line-up like Breath of the Wild and innovative ideas like the Joy-Con controllers or the handheld mode.
Nintendo’s line-up remains strong to this day, with regular additions of games from well-known and popular franchises, where risks are sometimes taken. The vehicle from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom could have backfired if it hadn’t been so well implemented.
This shows that Shawn Layden’s statements not only apply to the future of the industry, but are already a reality: Success depends less on hardware power and more on creative gaming experiences.
Sony and Microsoft could learn a thing or two from this when it comes to making their consoles interesting for gamers in the future.
Conclusion: Don’t be afraid of change
Consoles will change in the future, but I doubt that they will ever completely disappear from our living rooms. There are probably too many people who just don’t want to deal with PCs, the main competitor of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
Rather, consoles will adapt to current events and find new ways to inspire us. Just like the Switch did back then.
Nintendo shows that it doesn’t always have to be the most powerful way that leads to the goal. And while Microsoft is already breaking new ground in the direction of service and cloud gaming with Xbox, the only question that remains is how Sony will react to the change.
They have also already experimented with cloud gaming, but the subsequent cloud update for the PlayStation Portal shows that this cannot have been a long-term focus for Sony.
I would also like to ask how successful the “This is an Xbox” principle will actually be. After all, cloud gaming still has some weaknesses (keyword: input lag).
But I am sure of one thing: Nintendo’s consoles will not become irrelevant anytime soon, maybe never.
