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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Will there become a time that we dont need a new console??

 

Will there become a time that we dont need a new console??

yes 10 23.26%
 
no 21 48.84%
 
I hope so 3 6.98%
 
i hope not i like a new c... 9 20.93%
 
Total:43

For the first 50-60 years of film, new technology is what would bring people to the theatres: "films now have sound", then "films now have color", etc....  At a certain point new technology stopped impressing people.  There was a big push for 3D films which failed and also a push for an ultra wide screen format which also failed.  Eventually the movie makers realized that technology wouldn't be the driving factor anymore, so they had to rely solely on non-technological factors like a good script, good acting, good directing, etc... to make a successful movie.  (And ironically the 3D thing has come back, but it hasn't increased ticket sales).

 

So will we need new consoles? Yes.  I think that is like asking, "will we need movie theatres?"  But the console makers will have to find other criteria to sell their consoles other than having the best processor or latest graphics.  Nintendo sold quite a few Wii systems even though the graphics were basically the same as the Gamecube.



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haxxiy said:

Well, don't we seldom have to buy new microwave ovens, fridges, washing machines etc.?

One day, say, a decade or two from now, when the technical aspects of the hardware won't advance any further, it will be just about the same, people will buy a new one when the old one breaks, or because of new functions, or fancier and better looks etc. and whatever games which can't be played on local hardware because they are too demanding will be streamed like a service.

It will possibly be the end of what some economists call the information technology supercycle: technical achievements will plateau, competition will increase and the profit margins of tech companies (which dominate the ranks of largest companies now as they did by the 1999 - 2000 stock bubble) will fall more in line with other businesses.

That's what I make of it, at least.

The largest tech companies nowdays don't rely on hardware to push their profits. In fact, hardware traditionally has much lower margins than software (and software won't plateau nearly as soon as hardware tech). The exceptions are Apple and Samsung, but Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and such - all of them are primarily software companies.