I have been thinking about finally upgrading to a PS5 or Xbox Series X. However, consoles usually only last 5 years before the next generation comes out. Granted, the 8th lasted 7 or 8 years, and the 9th was hurt by the COVID lockdown... But the 9th Gen consoles came out in 2020. If the consoles follow the past pattern then there is only 1 more year till PS6 and Xbox whatever comes out. Hell, the Switch came out in 17 or 18 and I have heard rumors that Nintendo is getting ready to unveil the Switch 2. Has there been any word of Microsoft and Sony developing their next consoles yet?
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I honestly think the only one that will definitely have a console in the future is Nintendo because they have a committed and dedicated niche market.
Microsoft are going to abandon the console market and go a PC subscription service, all the signs point to that.
The trickier one to predict is Sony, they still hold the record for the most successful console (PS2), their PS3 started as a loss and then regained as it started being sold more as a blu ray player and then the PS4 dominated because Xbox flounded on DRM messaging. They might go subscription based too but it does mean relinquishing some control to Microsoft and Apple to go into a PC market. They're the ones that I can't judge the direction they might go as they also own Crunchyroll so they have PS to deal with AND AI replacing localisers who a lot of the higher ups in their streaming service support.
Microsoft is not leaving the console space. They are a dominant force in work and home offices. The Xbox acts like a Trojan horse and grants them access to the living room.
They have hinted that they view the future of consoles to be like cellphones. The come out with a new model every year, you buy one and, it has forward compatibility for a few years. With consoles becoming glorified X86 prebuilt PCs, they are right about to achieve their vision. And you think they will quit right at the finish line?
What people miss is that the CEO was going to spin off Xbox because Microsoft had to keep supporting it. Phill Spencer convinced him that they can reverse the direction of support and have Xbox prop up Microsoft.
So what does that mean for the future? It means that the Xbox console isn’t going to be the center of their world. The game pass/cloud gaming system will be. Xbox the system will stick around and be a leg of the stool. It acts like an easy on-ramp into their ecosystem.
If you were to say this back in 2020, I would agree with you. However, with the way the Xbox consoles are doing currently, to say they're selling badly is an understatement.
It had massive discounts in the UK and Europe over the holiday season, to the point consumers could get an Xbox Series X over 100 pounds or euros cheaper than the PS5. The result? The Xbox not only sold less than the PS5, but it also sold less in the 2023 holiday season compared to the 2022 holiday season. It already peaked during its 2nd full calendar year which is bad. You want to peak at the 3rd and 4th years.
The Series consoles have already tracked behind the Xbox One which performed substantially worse than the 360. If anything, Microsoft would be extremely lucky to sniff anywhere close to 40 million console sales. Making it even more damning is that from the court documents, 75% of the sales come from the Series S. Pretending the Series consoles sell 40 million lifetime, only 10 million of them will be Series X.
Microsoft's biggest issue isn't hardware related, but software related. The company has done a horrible job curating its flagship IPs like Halo, Forza (Motorsport. Horizon is doing well), and Gears. By the time they bought Bethesda and Activision, they were already damaged goods.
Probably better to just emulate old games and play indie titles these days. Even Ubisoft starts with a subscription service now, wouldnt be surprised if more big companies follow and then you cant even refund a game which you didnt like or was buggy. So maybe worth getting a steamdeck or switch 2 if it has to be a console. Sony/MS have become too greedy and censor happy. But I would thing at least the switch 2 is still a 2 years away.
Supposed leak is Switch 2 is releasing September and will be announced in April. Seems short notice on announcements but that has been Nintendo’s announcement style. Take with a grain of salt but it’s a good time with no real big releases coming soon.
I am not sure if I care for it really, would have to be compatible to the normal switch games. And then I dont know what games they would sell really, since games like mario kart/smash bros usually make them the most money. And I would be surprised if they dont want to double dip and make a new one.
For the record, I have a gaming laptop. Always been a Nintendo and Xbox guy... But Microsoft has shit the bed so badly it's hard to stick with them, especially since Halo is fundamentally dead. Sony, or should I say "Soyny", has their problems but at least they have interesting exclusives... Still, the current state of gaming and the consoles makes me wary of finally poning up the money for one of the "big two" consoles, especially since my Xbox One, laptop and Switch still have plenty of fun games to play.
I'm keeping my eye on the Switch 2, particularly when it comes to its specs, backwards compatibility and eShop cross-generation support.
I honestly only wait for a new Nintendo console. Sadly the only console on the market that has good games. Why would I play soyne slob that gets dumped on pc in a year anyway? Even then I won't buy it. Xbox i cannot see continue in the console market in the future and all their games are also on pc. Nintendo is the only one I see have anything worthwhile.
At current levels of hardware performance, it's more of a matter of devs not bothering to optimize than a ''we must push the boundaries'' situation that could warrant a new console generation.
Last year I got a relatively cheap laptop ( Ryzen 5 5625U, 8GB ram, integrated graphics ) which can also run many games.
There are so many options I won't even bother to buy and plug an extra RAM stick in the thing to open more.
There have been tons of rumours about a Switch 2, but nothing actually substantial. It's right up there with the Switch Pro rumours a few years ago. The media types want a new switch because that is a difficult time for a company and fun time for a website.
I don't think Msoft and Sony are even in the market anymore. They just pretend to be so they get funding for other stuff.
never
I would predict 5 plus years. Gaming companies are still making games for the ps4 so I doubt the ps6 comes out before we get ps5 only games becoming the norm for a while. Even the switch 2 seems odd to me but more likely than ps6 and a new Xbox.
Games seem to take FOREVER to make these days.
Has the PS5 got any PS5 only games besides Spiderman?
god of war2, horizon2, demon souls remake only the last one is good if you dont mind the shitty worlds and invasion system in that game.
Have they put out more than one or two PS5 exclusive games yet? I guess you could upgrade to be ready for whenever GTA6 comes out.
That is a big thing right there. No truly good exclusives for either of the big two. Stellar Blade looks great but it's not out yet. Everything else I can get in my laptop but I would like to play some of the games on a TV. Just not sure it's worth it.
It better collapse. And eradicate every IP, publisher and studio along with it. Only Indies will survive because they have no studio or publisher. Especially Sony, nintendont and Microsoft