Reality, Console Industry has become Stagnated.

[Azzanation]

RolStoppable said:

Azzanation said:

This is where you fail to understand. You are not looking at this as a whole. The Console industry has always been this way, it started when companies were choosing to be different all the time. Did you game during the Nintendo and Sega era? If so, then you would have seen how different companies were back then. Always trying new things to break the market open. The issue we have today is, the market has reached its peak. Unless these manufacturers go full experimental mode with their next line up of consoles, I can't see that happening. It's too risky and many have fallen straight out of the industry for trying to innovate. These companies are playing it safe now, unfortunately playing it safe only keeps the same customers, it doesn't create new customers.

I also don't ever expect Nintendo to put their games on other platforms, not unless they are on the verge of closure, and even then, they probably would rather just die than give up their IPs. In saying that, what I mean is that Nintendo will find ways to please shareholders if they start to fall behind targets. Nintendo have been smart with their approach over the years. They develop affordable hardware and have focused on a market that has been lacking AAA gaming and that's the portable hybrid market. That will soon be flooded with options as the years progress. Its only going to get harder for Nintendo as more competition arrives.

As for Sony following Microsoft's way, it's pretty simple. Sony are not doing enough for their shareholders, and they know they can't compete with Nintendo in the portable market, they have tried many times. Sony are not set up for that style. They have designed their structure to make high budget AAA experiences, it will all need to be shuffled around if they start focusing on Nintendo's way of gaming. 

Xbox might not be doing as good as the other two in raw sales figures; however they are set up for the future, they can adapt and evolve a lot quicker than Sony and Nintendo if the digital, PC, Streaming future started to explode tomorrow.

Yeah... no. Big budget AAA experiences and more reasonable budgets are not mutually exclusive things. If hardware sales are stagnant and software sales only increase marginally, then you simply have to look at ways to keep your costs under control instead of having development costs make big jumps each generation.

Microsoft isn't set up for the future. Digital is nothing special and available on all major gaming platforms, so I don't know why you even mention it. PC is always there and steady because there's no such thing as generations in PC gaming, so a sharp increase in popularity is just as unlikely as a sudden implosion. Streaming is what Microsoft had high hopes for, but it's not taking off; input delay and lack of game ownership are big reasons why and these are inherent flaws that can't and won't be fixed.

Again, you are not understanding. Sony's approach in making games is very different to Nintendo's. Nintendo focus on Gameplay and X factor, stuff that sells well on a hybrid system; Sony rely on graphics and cinematic story telling. Graphics and Cinematic story telling games isn't why people buy Switches. You don't have to look that far back when Sony tried when it was Vita vs 3DS. Sony isn't going to have Studios like Naughty Dog, pay them premium dollars just to make mid tier platformers again. We have seen this before.

Now before you counter argue by bringing up high performance hybrid systems like the Steam Deck. This is the thing, Steam's ecosystem drawfs Sonys and MS games when it comes to variety and sheer quantity. People buy Switches and Steam Decks for variety of games. Sony want photo realism and that contradicts that direction, if they decide to dumb down hardware to make portable hardware in the future. 

As much as you hate to hear it, MS is well set up for the future, they are failing to compete in the hardware market but they have been building a solid foundation. They own their own Cloud Network, the PC Operating system, Created GamePass, and most importantly brought studios that can deliver Online, Multiplayer, GAAS games that match the direction they are heading. This is why if hardware disappeared tomorrow, Xbox would still continue like they always have been and making money from software via Xbox play anywhere etc. Sony and Nintendo not so much, they rely heavily on their own hardware.

This is why we are seeing Sony and Xbox open up to PCs, they need more customers because they know it's not coming from the console market, its stagnated. We will see what Sony and Xbox have up their sleeves for their next hardware showings, maybe Sony might dip in the hybrid market again or maybe Xbox might dip into VR tech. That I don't know.

Last edited by Azzanation - on 01 March 2024