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SvennoJ on 28 October 2016
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Shadow1980 said:
SvennoJ said:

Great analysis. Do you think price cuts for the pro and scorpio or even a pro / scorpio slim version could provide another temporary peak. Or will that be pointless. Nintendo doesn't seem to be interested in a new 2ds or new 3ds lite.

Any chance of VR prolonging the generation? An affordable ps4 pro vr bundle in 2018 is still a possibility after price cuts and the Scorpio also has plans for VR. A revision of the pro in 2 years with the extra bits build in could shave off enough of the price to be bundled with the headset and camera.

Well, price cuts tend to have smaller and smaller effects over time as a given console reaches saturation. Eventually, it's sold to enough people already that slashing prices really won't squeeze as much extra sales out of the system. Also, there's only so much you can cut a system by and still make money off of it. Prior to last generation, the cheapest a system would ever get is $150-200 in today's dollars. The PS2 was doing its best sales at the equivalent of $260 in 2016 dollars.

The Pro costing more than the base model PS4 (and the Scorpio will likely cost at least $400 as well) adds a new variable here, but I think there's only only so many gamers willing and able to invest extra money in on new models of current systems that exist primarily to take advantage of 4K HDR TVs and VR.

And speaking of VR, I'm not expecting much in terms of moving additional hardware. It's a high-end accessory that costs as much as the system itself, and despite all the hype I think it will have limited lasting appeal. The first-person perspective naturally limits the variety of games that are really suited for VR, and I don't think it'll have enough in the way of added value to justify its price nor its existence in the long term. I think it will sell mostly to a smaller segment of gamers with deeper pockets than average and who already own the systems, and that it'll end up facing the same fate motion controls did: a fad that has an initial "Wow!" factor but is mostly a gimmick that isn't compelling enough on its own to warrant being a permanent or at least long-term fixture in gaming.

I fully disagree with the first-person perspective limiting the variety of games. 3rd person perspective works just as well if not better. Wayward sky (point and click adventure), Bound (3D exploration game controlled in 3rd person, camera steps along), Robot rescue playroom vr demo (3D platformer camera moves smoothly along with the character you control), Tethered (RTS game with fixed view points, control by looking) all work extremely well.
(Tethered review http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=221948 )

It's the entry price holding it back for now, but a lot of genres open up in VR imo. Ironically it's the first person perspective games that are lagging behind at the moment as the game devs are so afraid of getting the motion sickness label that they're limiting your movement options. However the experience is second to none. It's very difficult to market though. Yet I think a streamlined bundle reducing the wire mess could make an impact in 2 years.