I saw this Trip Hawkins article:

http://www.vgchartz.com/article/250472/ea-founder-consoles-to-become-niche/

Trip says that console gaming will still be around in the future, but become increasingly niche.  If console gaming ends up being increasingly niche, what does that mean?  Does it mean that all we get are FPS titles?  Doesn't the strength of console gaming depend on a fairly wide audience?

Console gaming started off as something niche, so I don't see the problem with that. It just means it'll only be done by gamers who are wiling to pay for quality, instead of playing Angry Birds. I welcome this.

You mean gamers who are cheap, but want a dedicated system?  One can get a powerful PC that does more than consoles.

Over the past several years it has been clear that there has been almost no originality on the HD consoles and a ton of originality on mobile phones and the Nintendo DS ...

In my opinion the primary difference is development costs. If you're making a big budget blockbuster for the HD consoles and devoting $40+ Million to its development (plus an additional $40+ Million towards marketing) you're probably going to stick with an established formula in a well known genre while using a popular IP; in contrast, if you're producing a game for less than $1 million with no marketing budget you're probably going to be pretty willing to "break rules".

From what I remember, Sony was (initially) fairly hostile to developers who wanted to produce games with more modest graphics on the PS3 and for gaming to be as creative as it once was all companies have to be more open to development at all budgets for their system. Hypothetically speaking, if someone wants to make a game that looks like a high-resolution Wii game for the Wii U Nintendo should embrace it especially if it is original; and the same should be said for Microsoft and Sony with the 'XBox 720' and PS4.

The trend is one of the things that has me pondering the future of console gaming.  Niche means a smaller market, which means more and more focus on less and less genres.  This, in turn, causes more and more people to be less interested in console gaming, and the trend continues.

Innovation is coming on the low end.  High end production costs scare that off.   And this is one of the concerns I have for the videogame industry.

As long as blue ocean strategy continues, the video game industry will hold ground. The time of giant graphical leaps is over, and innovation is the key for this industry to thrive. I hope for all three companies that they can keep the drive going for my favorite hobby, and keep all of us as gamers entertained for a long time.

First, I think Trip has no clue what he is talking about.  The same thing has been said about console gaming since at least the days of the NES.

If console gaming does become increasingly niche, I believe we will actually see less of the blockbusters.  It will be more small budget games so that investments can be made back with more certainty.  Then again, that would rely on publishers making smart business decisions, so who knows.

GameCube was niche. I'm fine with that. GameCube had some of my all-time favorite titles. TTYD, Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin 2, Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime 1 and 2, Starfox Adventures, Double Dash, Melee, Wind Waker... Hells yeah!

No, by gamers I didn't mean those who were cheap, rather I meant those who were truly passionate about gaming as an entertainment. You see nowadays a lot of people coming into gaming who really don't care much about it and would give it up anyday for another form of entertainment. So it is those who will probably exit the console market when they find cheaper alternatives such as mobile as they don't really care or understand quality when it comes to games.

As for the people who are gamers (and there will always be a select group who will be passionate about gaming), they will continue on and there will be some company who will cater to them. It may mean lower budget games, but it will certainly mean a lot of innovation and fun gameplay for the hardcore. Because after all it is much harder to win over a hardcore gamer who is well versed in gaming than someone who is casual.

Core gaming has always been and will always be niche. It grows every generation because gamers are always gamers and their kids will be gamers too. But the majority of people aren't gamers. It seems like there has beena big increase in gamers this generation because of all the new casual gamers. But they aren't really gamers. Some bought into the Wii Sports fad, others play Angry Birds on the Toilet, and some play FarmVille. That's mainstream gaming to mainstream people, but to use gamers it's not real gaming.

What we enjoy is niche. It's hardcore, pure gaming. It's a lifestyle and a recreation. It's entertainment and indulgence. It's niche now and it was niche 30 years ago just as it will be niche 30 years from now.

So don't worry. Nothing is going to change, because nothing has changed. It is as it should be.