By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
Intrinsic on 31 July 2016
Edit Thread

As the title, this is something i have been thinking of for a while now. And these are the two points to support my notion.

  1. Yes, the PS4 is selling better than any PlayStation console and  so is the XB1; the wiiU not so much. Some say that the 8th gen (if we still choose to believe we have gens) won't do as well as the 7th and how that's a bad thing.

    I think casuals moving to Mobile, enthusiasts staying with PC is actually all still a good thing. Cause console attach rates are still very high, meaning that be it physically or digitally gamers are buying more games than they ever used to buy. And that's a good thing. The casuals, who never really spend lots of money on games are off with their phones/tablets and those that can potentially spend $60 twice every month of the year for games are sticking with their consoles/PCs.
  2. Another big thing is the fact that both the PS4 and XB1 requires a subscription service to get the most out of your console. What this really does is that it prevents people from investing in multiple platforms. While at the same thing making them become more entrenched in their chosen platform. Which probably ties in to why we are seeing the start of mid gen refreshes. 
So what I'm getting at is that I don't know if these consoles will do better than the previous gen, or if the would do better than every gen due to the iteration based model currently adopted which would allow them pad sales by blurring the generational lines. But what I do know is that game sales are generally good. And they are consistent. And I think at the end of the day that's all that really matters. 
I think the console model has completely evolved, and that that evolution happened so gradually that most didn't notice. Now we aren't just buying consoles, we are buying services (PS+/XBL/PSVue), buying digital licenses instead of just physical games, buying DLC....etc. I think gamers today are spending more on games and affiliated hardware and services than ever before. I even believe that a time will come soon when the only physical copy of a game you will find is the collector edition of the game.
Overall, this is all kinda filtering the herd. Thinning it so to speak. But at the same time retaining the user base that is willing and likely to spend the most. 
Discuss?