Ex-PlayStation Boss Questions Future Of Consoles, But Not Nintendo Hardware

I think (Nintendo's "private idaho" aside) that consoles will continue to exist simply because they are cheaper, more convenient, and more secure than PCs. Even though exclusives are nearly a lost art (thankfully), these factors just make a console a much more reasonable purchase in a lot of situations.

Personally, I love my PC and Switch and will probably never own a 'real' console lol

i already live in a post-ps/xbox Idaho. Switch 2 exclusives will determine if I still care about Nintendo hardware, but the hardware itself is pretty boring and standard at this point tbh.

console gaming i.e ps and nintendo are not going away anytime soon layden is 100% wrong..

When oxygen stops circulating the earth, there will still be a new Nintendo console and Mario game on the horizon.

Living in Idaho these last 5 years I can say with 100% certainty that Idaho has different laws of physics.

Nintendo is unstoppable really. They have exclusives, which is what is needed for consoles to thrive. I have a 360, a PS1, and a Vita. While I love my Vita, I much prefer playing Nintendo honestly. I’ve been playing Pokémon Yellow Version and having a lot of fun. I borrow a Switch often from my brother, and love it. I might get one for myself. My first system was a 3DS, and I have fun playing Pokémon on that. Nintendo is what is fun. Plus with how lousy Xbox doing lately, having the hell no idea what to even do, and PlayStation having its ups and downs, Nintendo keeps going strong.

Idaho, one of the least interesting states I’ve driven through. It’s got just these weird brown bushes for miles down the highway, lol. I’m not sure if that’s like Nintendo. Maybe it’s the potato milkshakes..

Analysts have been talking about the demise of consoles for the last 10 years now but I doubt that will happen. Consoles still have a place in the gaming landscape.

Nintendo consoles on the other hand are worth owning simply because of their deep library of first party games that can only be played on Nintendo hardware.

Also I wouldn't say Sony vs Microsoft is the equivalent of Ali vs Frazier since PC gaming trumps both in terms of power. As a PS5 owner I will say if you own a gaming PC it honestly makes owning a PS5 or Xbox obsolete since both of them lack any real exclusives worth owning.

WtF does Idaho have to do with anything?

Oh, it's that liar Layden again...

I'll never game on PC. It just seems so lifeless and boring. The farthest I'll go is emulating VB Wario Land on my laptop (I'm not spending $600+ for the actual thing). Even if Nintendo fails me, I'll still have the older stuff.

It's true that PS6 and Xbox 5 will be the last console generation.
Remember Wii U were the last Nintendo TV console ever.

PC Handhelds runs 100% of new games natively already, and you can connect them to TV and choose between 10000 different controllers.
On PC Consoles it's irrelevant if you wanna use Xbox, Sony, Nintendo, Android, MAC, PC +++ controllers. 100% works in PC games.

People are ignoring that console market haven't had any growth at all last 20 years.
Switch can't even outsell PS2 even when market is bigger than ever.
There are 300-350 million PC gamers today and that market increases all the time.

Anyway. Even the demanding Stalker 2 and Indiana Jones 2024 game runs fine natively on Handhelds.
I mean real handhelds like Legion Go and Rog Ally, not the underpowered Steam Deck.

@Toastmaster I’d much rather play games on consoles than PC. I don’t even own a PC. If I do use one, it’s to play hidden object games which consoles don’t have too much of. Aside from that, I stick with consoles or handhelds.

I used to prefer to game on A, I have no reason to game on B, and C doesn't even have any games I like. I prefer A because it is before B and C.
B and C are too late as A has done it before both of them.
I had both A and B years ago but now I moved to D, it has more than I need and blows A,B and C out of the water.
Now I play on A for the exclusives and have D to play the games from B and C

Now Apply this to every game conversation ever, and repeat for the next 100 years.

Now you know your A, B, C's......and the occasional D.

@Toastmaster
This is the same rhetoric we had in the 2010s where mobile gaming was going to obliterate console gaming and Nintendo.
Maybe the gazillion windows handhelds out there are different but one thing I know about Windows PCs is that getting a non X-input controller to work with the majority of games is a massive pain in the ass and most certainly doesn’t just work.

@LavenderShroud PC gets on average 22.000 new games every year, while consoles only get 2000. Majority of game developers refuse to make console games.

This is why genres like Hidden Object games, simulators, adventure games, most racing games, strategy etc. mostly are exclusive to PC.

@SalvorHardin Is this a early April Fool's joke?
I haven't configured a controller on PC since year 2004 when Microsoft set the standard on PC.

100% of PC games supported Xbox controller out of the box last 20 years, and is already mapped correctly by the developers.

'You are also 100% ignoring that Steam Input on PC supports any Nintendo and Sony controller too. No configuration needed. Are you sure you used a PC, and not a Macintosh?
Welcome to year 2004, or 2024...
I won't even ask what you are doing. LMFAO.

@FishyS yes, when Idaho turns into a veritable asteroid belt and you’re dodging spuds and sugar beets

Nintendo living in their own private Idaho is what Sony and Microsoft should had done cause then you're actually competing instead of catering to other audience. There's nothing wrong with going third party but if you want to go third party then go all the way, if not then don't bother. You can't have it both ways. Nintendo staying true to what they do best is why they are successful in what they do and if you want to play the best of what they had to offer you had to buy their platform, that's call staying true to being a 1st party, that's a game plan. Sony and Microsoft needs to learn from that. If they want their platform to do well, then stop releasing their 1st party games to other platforms (including PC) but if they do released their first party games on other platforms then go all the way, bring God of War, bring Horizon, bring the Ghost of Tsushima, bring Halo, bring Gears of War, bring Blue Dragon, bring Lost Odyssey, bring Killer Instinct, bring Astro Bot, bring all of those to everything.

It's like Microsoft and Sony doesn't know what to do with their gaming business now, they seem to be loss at a crossroad. If you want to go third party, go third party, if you want to stay first party, stay first party but stopped living in the middle. The middle doesn't help anything, the middle only makes everyone confuse. If you want to create a handheld, then create a handheld and go all the want by abandoning the disc consoles, you want to stick with the disc consoles then stick with consoles and don't bother with anything else, you want to go all PC, then go all PC but you can't stay in the middle. You can't do a little of console, a little of handheld, and a little of PC, that will only hurt your business and confused your audience. That's when your market crumbles. That's when you confused your consumer. Make a plan and go through with it. Nintendo got a plan and they went with it, Sony and Microsoft is like at a point where they can't decided what to they want to do with gaming going forward.

@Serpenterror Microsoft made games since 1978, so you are wrong there.
They made PC games for over 20 years before Xbox existed.

Microsoft even released games for Nintendo consoles before and after Xbox.
Microsoft were always third party.

Fun fact: Flight Simulator is the oldest gaming IP still alive. Almost 43 year old now.

@Toastmaster Those are software, not games and Microsoft doesn't make em, third party makes em. A simulator is not a game, if it's a game then you could lose. Something that you could never lose is not a game. There's a reason why we called Super Mario Bros. a videogame, it's a game that's digitally presented on a video screen. In it you could win or lose depends on your skills, in a flight simulator, you don't lose, you just simulate an experience to that of a real life flight training. That's not a game.

Compooter and the latest Nintendo is all I need. Don't miss what the other consoles have become..

@Toastmaster The first Microsoft Flight Simulator, licensed to Microsoft by the developer Sublogic, released in November 1982, 42 years ago.
Donkey Kong released in July 1981 and Pac-Man first released in May 1980.
Those two IPs are still alive and older.

@BTB20 Yes, Pac-Man is still alive as namco keeps milking it.

Donkey Kong isn't really a active IP as the last one ever released on Wii U over 10 years ago.
And besides it's nothing like 1980 Donkey at all.

Pac-Man stayed true to it's origin nearly all the time unlike Donkey that have nothing to do with the 1980 version

Flight Simulator were always the same for 42 years, but now covers the whole planet so you can fly over your own home no matter where you live on the planet.
First thing i did in Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024 were to use a helicopter and fly around my city...

if you ever needed a more obvious indicator that Nintendo won the console war.

They're the only ones of the big 3 that haven't caved to putting their software in rival platforms. they know their own value.

@Serpenterror
Remember that a lot of Nintendo games are made by third parties too and not Nintendo themselves.
Microsoft made the 3 Petabyte of scanned planet data from their own Bing, and made it work in a game.

Flight Simulator 2024 have a story campaign mode, so it's also a real game now.
In fact older FS games had missions you could fail in, so i don't know why you didn't know that.

Also remember you can walk around the planet on foot in FS 2024 and it will most likely get cars soon, so you can drive instead of flying and walking.

Fun fact: The animals in Flight Simulator 2024 were licensed from the Planet Zoo game, so you can say Frontier were involved too.

Isn't Own Private Idaho that movie with Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix when they were both extremely hot and sexy?

What does that have to do with gaming?

Not that I'm complaining about being reminded of that film 🤣

Since no one here understood "Idaho" i will explain it.

"Their own Idaho" = "Their own world".

So long as Nintendo releases Pokemon and Mario Kart exclusively to their own hardware. They will always have their own hardware.

@Toastmaster That's cool and all, but you said "oldest gaming IP alive". Doesn't matter that Donkey Kong games aren't much like the original arcade game from 1981 anymore. It's still Donkey Kong. Also DKCR HD is releasing next month.

Doesn't this nail the difference between Nintendo and their competitors. If Nintendo struggle they think "We'll have to do something different". If Sony or Microsoft struggle they think "Well, there is no future in this." If it's not a safe bet, they just aren't interested. Hence adopting popular trends rather than being creative.

Going to book my trip to Idaho. Sounds much better. I'll live there instead, thanks.

This sounds a bit like taking the ball and going home though.
'If we can't play and win, then nobody else can either!!! Well, apart from that Nintendo kid, who brought his own toy. '

I like video games. They're fun and easy to play

@BTB20 The "new" Donkey Kong game were released in 2010 and is not new.
Donkey Kong from 2014 were the last time Nintendo released a new DK.

It's not a active IP when it never get sequels anymore.

@Toastmaster By your own admission, Flight Simulator has been the same game since its inception, and not new at all. So why have this discussion about which live IP is oldest?

Plus, you criticised the DK games for not being the same as the original.

So what is it?

Playstation and Microsoft bosses have been questioning the future of consoles for 25 years.

@Daniel36 Buy your logic all Super Mario 2D platformers were the same since NES.

Flight Simulator have a brand new game engine every time, the world size increased in size in every one of them.
In fact the graphics got another big upgrade since 2020.

Nintendo only remaster extremely old DK Games, because they are unable to make new ones.

@SalvorHardin Am curious, what actually is an X input controller?

@Ashunera84 They were right, because console market stagnated last 20 years.
The only gaming boxes that had a huge sales boost were gaming PC's.
Steam alone have 132 million active users every month, but over half of PC gamers don't use Steam.

Problem is that PS5/Xbox blockbuster titles cost too much to make. See Concord for a recent example of an expensive failure. They have to recoup their investment somehow and leaving it on one platform is too risky. A possible way forward would be for consoles to focus on exclusives with a smaller scope and lower budget.

But, yeah, all you need is a Switch, a PC and some patience waiting for PS5 titles to be ported to PC eventually. Maybe Astrobot will stay PS5 exclusive, but that's the only game of note that you'll miss out on.

I’m pretty sure the PS5 will be the last monstrous box connected to my telly. The games I envisioned for the system (fun Japanese stuff) haven’t really materialised, and there are now other ways to access streaming tv- basically just through the tv. I can think of better ways to spend £700+ than on a PS6. I can’t be the only person in my situation, and that’s going to hit PS and XB bad next Gen.

As for Nintendo, I know their console will have another Mario, Zelda, Xenoblade, Bayonetta, MK9, and all the rest that I love to play. I may not buy the Switch 2 day one, but I can put enough confidence in knowing they will deliver.

An absurd position to take when Nintendo is 1) Absolutely capable of failing, and 2) Their strategy is sitting right there in broad daylight and everybody refuses to learn from it.

Nintendo carefully manages their release schedule to publish one noteworthy game every month. This schedule dictates game scope, budgets, everything. It keeps the Switch constantly in the news and creates tons of variety in the library. PlayStation publishes like two or three games a year and they’re all the same genre.

Why say only Nintendo can do what Nintendo does when both PlayStation and Xbox are sitting on similarly valuable IP and refusing to use it to make MORE GAMES? It’s right there. Nintendo makes more games than you do. Nintendo makes 20 games with the budget they use to make one. That’s not unique to Nintendo, it’s the strategy that everyone used until ten years ago.

@Mariotag It's just a protocol like Direct Input.
Both standards are common.

PS / XBOX are basically PCs with a custom locked down OS and locked bootloader. (Unlike a SteamDeck which is a PC with a customized OS (SteamOS) and an UNlocked bootloader, so you can install any OS on it).

The Switch is basically a Tablet with custom software and locked bootloader and a detachable controller.

I'd love to see a 'console' with an unlocked bootloader someday. So you could install Linux or Windows on it. I'd say an dual booting XBOX with Windows would be preferred. Or a Switch-like that dual boots Android.

I think the "consoles going away" idea is that they will be replaced by televisions via streaming. You won't need a box at all.

Right now you can get an Amazon firestick, plug it into your TV and you have an Xbox. By all accounts, it doesn't work very well at the moment, but a few years down the line...

@chefgon Sony closed and fired all their AA studios after PS3, and is why their game output are very slow.
Sony are paying for third party exclusives instead of making their own games.

Microsoft made low budget games like Hellblade II, Battletoads remake, Pentiment, Grounded, HI-FI Rush, Bleeding Edge and others i forgot. MS will still make low budget games with shorter development time.
"South of Midnight" coming in 2025 are also a low budget game i think.

Yes, Hellblade II is a low budget game and is why it were also sold at a lower price as it's not AAA and never had a AAA budget.
You don't need a big budget to make the best graphics.

The "Console Arms Race" is very stupid IMO. Whether it's the 150GB requirement space of the games that are a result of this, or the 10+ years of development cycles, or AAA games needing to sell upwards of 5million copies just to break even, the entire thing is a slow-strangulation, guaranteed recipe for disaster that will not be sustainable long-term unless something miraculous happens to the gaming industry at large.

But hey, they can continue running towards the edge of the cliff if they want. Make games that need 700GB space, 35+ years of development time, 6Billion dollar budget. It'll be fun watching them crash and burn before they wake up.

@Lightsiyd You are so right! Seems like they just forgot the whole point of a game .. just to have fun 🎮

@MontyCircus "I think the "consoles going away" idea is that they will be replaced by televisions via streaming. You won't need a box at all.
Right now you can get an Amazon firestick, plug it into your TV and you have an Xbox. By all accounts, it doesn't work very well at the moment, but a few years down the line..."

Yes, TV's will handle everything at some point in the future without any box connected.
TV's already supported Xbox controllers the last 10 years.

When consoles are gone, Gaming Handhelds will still live on for while, but later they might get replaced with phones.

Phones in it's current state can't replace any gaming handheld as long as Candy Crush and farming simulators dominate them.
On top of it, majority of developers refuse to make phone games.
Phones are kind of the "black sheep" in the game industry as they rarely get any proper games.

PC handhelds runs Xbox Series X games natively, and the same for all PS5 exclusives ported to PC.

Also remember you can make your own TV console interface on PC Handhelds or use pre-made ones from Switch, Xbox or Sony for example.
There is no limits. If you want a tailor made console interface, it's easy make it yourself. Just use EmuDeck, Playnite or something.

@Yalloo Most new AAA Games are bad for two reasons.

1.) Micro transactions have a higher focus than gameplay.
2.) The development times are so long, that investors demands games to be released 1-2 years before they are completed.

@Lightsiyd The industry are already ahead of what you say, except for the budget and development time.
It didn't take that many years to include the whole planet in FS including the house you live in no matter where you live.

FS 2024 are nearly 3 Petabytes big and is why local install is only 30.GB as not even PC users have close 3000.TB of SSD.
I only have 6.TB SSD on my PC. I need another 2994 TB for local install... lol

I have a Switch (and a boatload of retro Nintendo consoles), PC and RetroFlag GPi Case 2 to game on. I really don't miss my PlayStation or Xbox. One trend I really don't understand is the lack of exclusives on PS and Xbox. And what few exclusives there are, are not my cup of tea. Nintendo is where it's at for me and it will continue to be until the day I depart for the stars.

So, underground like a wild potato.

Nintendo will always exist when

1. It’s cheaper
2. Puts the most emphasis on portable play
3. significant investment on good first party exclusives in large quantities

That paragraph reads like this to me "I think Nintendo will continue to do the things that consumers want, where as we are going to do things that are more profitable"

Nintendo is the only one who takes risks for the sake of inovation and learning from their mistakes…

They realize early on that power is not important and they knew Games are witch they turn around and solved with the Switch… Thats why they turned to a handheld/console device! Their output is crazy with the switch.. and they are truly the last console maker who know what Games aren and should be…

I believe that they are prepping te Switch 2 launch with precisely care to get everything right this time, delayed for the right games be ready in a bunch of different genres.. and stacked some remake games that are done for if a game is delayd and got some fillers for the time…. And they are more dedicated for online this time…

Sure shot launch title

• Mario 3D

Posible Launch titles

• F-Zero GX/AX Remaster with Online (F-Zero 99 is a technical testground for that)
• Metroid Prime Beyond incl. multiplayer
• Mario kart
• Donkey Kong

@solarwolf07 the only reason why nintendo games sell well is because they make games for their gamers nit for critics.
Games like concord do not sell while critics thought it would be a new overwatch just because.

I am a happy console gamer and I hope it will stay that way. Even my Switch is being used as a console.

Please just continue making good exclusives and I will gladly purchase your products.

He phrased that like it's a big mystery why Nintendo works. It's pretty simple, but it requires a business discipline that Sony and others hugely lack. Nintendo does their withered technology with lateral thinking thing to keep hardware costs down and aren't always chasing the latest tech. They never devalue their products with constant deep sales despite the constant whining for price drops, which allows them to market their stuff as the premium evergreen gaming standard with a seal of quality. They're good at retaining talent in house and are very selective in their acquisitions, which typically has allowed first part releases to maximize the so-called limited hardware. Having the boost of marketing framework set by Iwata and Reggie's collaborative years definitely helps bigly but those basics they've held onto forever are why they will continue to hold strong and can weather a bad generation like the Wii U. So he's not wrong, but it's funny he phrased it that way because it's like he doesn't understand what should be right in his face. It's like democrats who can't figure out why they lost this year and just point to something specious.

My first thought was that it's really offensive and insulting to Nintendo fans to compare the company to the state of Idaho.

Then I realized--wow, I must really hate Idaho.

I had a PS4 Pro but didn't really use it much, and now most of the games are on PC. I can't picture myself ever buying another Playstation or Xbox, but there's no void here. I get all those cool high end graphics games if I want on my PC, Nintendo consoles because 1st party and interesting hardware gimmicks, and Meta Quest VR because it's awesome. Those 3 things are quite different, I don't need another box that plays similar games to what I can already get.

@Toastmaster Yes, and it is a song by the B-52's and a movie by Gus Van Sant.

@Ristar24 Ha ha!

@RubyCarbuncle Sure, nothing he says right now is going to change anything but as someone who used to run one of these companies he's going to know a heck of a lot more than we do and have some interesting insights.

The reference to "private Idaho" comes from a B-52s song released in 1980. Some of you younglings may not have heard it. It's about living in a state of isolation and paranoia.

@batmanbud2 As someone who games on both Switch and PC. You couldn't be more wrong.

@rosemo Also a movie named "My Own Private Idaho" from 1991 with Keanu Reeves.

@MontyCircus
If that's what's going on, then I'm even more on board with consoles, and even more on board with consoles where the games don't have big memory requirements. Because not everyone has the connection speed to stream games.

I don't know if consoles won't exist but I could imagine a future where the games aren't exclusive to say only PS6 or PS7 but where it is just a new Playstation where you can play any games that come out with your previous library and future games because the games won't be limited by hardware and most games will be playable on new tech. Also in this hypothetical future I think upgrades will be like smart phones where it 1,000 dollars for minimal improvements sporadically.

You can say there are in both path in own direction and with Playstation and Xbox.
When the Wii came out it became his own path.
Gamecube was strong console like Playstation 2 and the original Xbox.
Nintendo 64 was like Playstation 1 too.
Nintendo Switch is beyond from Playstation 5 and the Xbox Series X with power. That is why Nintendo looks like there are in his own path.

I'm sorry, but I'm not willing to spend amounts of money on the 5 digits by Mexican currency just to build a PC if its only purpose is to game on it. Maybe that's why I'm not into PC gaming.
For the record, my job doesn't demand a powerful PC, either.

So for me, consoles and handhelds still have a reason to exist beyond exclusives.

As someone who grew up and lived in Idaho for the first 22 years of their life, that statement.....confuses me

Don’t go on the patio…

@FoxyDude It is a B-52’s reference. Hilarious that I saw them perform that song a few weeks ago.

@Toastmaster

People are ignoring that console market haven't had any growth at all last 20 years.
Switch can't even outsell PS2 even when market is bigger than ever.

Those two sentences contradict each other. Has the market not grown in 20 years, or is it bigger than ever?

Over here in kerrrazy Nintendo Land...it's this bizzarro universe where they make video games, sell those videos games, then use that money to make more video games. Amateurs! I have no idea how they are still in the video games business!

@HammerGalladeBro you don't want to spend two grand, just to scream and cry about bad ports like you deserve an audience with a senator?

I don't think that the argument that "consoles are going to be dead" means that we're all going to be on PCs, I think it just means that by the next generation we're truly going to see the feasible limits for what a video game can be. The PS5 is already being pushed to its limits, but the PS5 Pro can do 4k 60fps, 4k 120fps, 8k 30 fps, and even 8k 60 fps.

Where do you go beyond 4k 120 fps and 8k 60 fps? We're at the limit at what the HDMI cable can provide, and practically no TVs have Display Port. I think the PS6 will be upgradable, a "PC" in a sense.

Now if Xbox knew what they were doing, they would simply make the next Xbox more powerful than the PS6. They already said that the next Xbox will be the biggest leap in graphical power. We haven't really had a console that's more powerful than the other since the PS2 days, give people reason to buy an Xbox.

This is just bollocks. 25 years ago people said the same thing really. That the days of dedicated properitary consoles with exclusive was soon over and to be replaced by a common standard.
I dunno about Microsoft but I'm sure PlayStation and Nintendo will continue to make consoles for the forseable future.

Consoles are “stuck” because they limit the utility of the hardware for gaming/entertainment. For some, it’s hard to justify purchasing a device with limited purpose if you could buy a PC for the same price. While that PC won’t run the latest games well for that money (if at all), it could still run older titles, emulate much older games, and play other entertainment platforms while having productivity apps.
I wonder what might happen if the PS5s and Xboxes could officially run a PC OS…I think the value proposition could attract more buyers…I certainly would buy it.

All the Xbox players I know seem to despise Microsoft and a lot of the gamers I talk to seem to be switching to PC lately. I expect Xbox will go before PlayStation and become some kind of app.

Sony haven’t figured out yet that games matter more than power.
Throwing more and more pretty pixels at things don’t make them any more fun, and usually the end customer won’t notice difference anyhow (and will need someone like digital foundry to tell them whether it’s good or not)
The very definition of emperors clothing

@Toastmaster Your argument sounds like it’s coming from an absurdly thick bubble. Sure, PCs get way more games every year, but most of those are throwaway indie titles or niche games no one cares about outside a small group of players. Hidden object games and farming simulators were never what people buy consoles for anyway. Consoles are all about big, “polished” games you can play in the living room—sports games, shooters, platformers, and stuff you can play with friends or family on the couch.

Those ‘22,000 games’ don’t mean anything when the biggest games—FIFA, Call of Duty, Mario—are still dominating on consoles. Families aren’t booting up a gaming PC in the living room to play FIFA or Mario Kart. This has always been the case, and it hasn’t stopped consoles from being the go-to for most people. Pretending this somehow proves PCs are ‘winning’ just sounds silly.

Also, who cares about whether or not pcs are “winning”?

@MrPeanutbutterz
Gaming market have never been as huge as now, but consoles never increased in sales last 20 years.

Consoles sells worse now than 20 years ago vs market size.

@cedarhyped If you go to Switch shop, 80% of the games there are shovelware no one care about.

PC have a huge amount of great exclusives that is impossible to play with a controller.

Then console gamers cheers every time they get a 5 year old PC game that sold millions, everyone forgot.

A lot of the big PC indies that releases on Switch etc. are dead old million selling PC games, no one care about.
Then these old useless games sell millions on Switch etc. after they are dug from a landfill, and people like you pretend these PC oldies are brand new games...

Do you see the pattern here or do you need it explained?

It's right in front of you and you didn't even notice...Is that even possible? LOL

@RubyCarbuncle Maybe his time is over. But he most likely represents the thinking of many industry leaders out there, and we can learn from it. The latest strategies of Sony (PC releases) and Microsoft (full multiplat) aim in the same direction. The demanding audience out there wants games on the production level of an Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and the high production costs make exclusivity a rare thing, in future even more.

Sony and MS's biggest problem is that they are now going toe to toe with low end gaming PCs. That's true on specs and maybe true in the next gen on price.

Their USP they continually chase of most powerful console is now competing with PCs. This happened with consoles and Arcades in the 90s but consoles eventually won through.

Where next? I'm not sure just more powerful is enough anymore.

@Serpenterror I totally agree with your comment regarding the big mistake that microsoft and sony have made. Inititally the 'looking good' strategy worked and they both had sucess with the PS2 and original Xbox. But overall there message was that why buy a Nintendo console because they look so much better here. But actually all that did was to promote PC gaming, then add in people confidence using PC's and Steam making it easy to buy games. They literally promoted their own competition.
Now they have nothing that sets them aside, so they try and buy a few games makers to make exclusives, but like you said they often put them on other consoles. Sony trying the VR but charging a fortune. They have spent years shooting themselves in the foot.

But don't get me wrong I think anyone buying those consoles will find more than enough to have fun with. But as a corporate giant trying to rule the world they have done a ***** job.

@Duncanballs Lol, I just finished writing my comment and then read yours. Suffice to say I agree with you there.

@dew12333 yes. They have created their own dilemma!

I own a good gaming PC and Switch.

I was looking at Xbox but there is absolutely zero reason to own it. I was interested in PS 5 but PS has only one decent exclusive (Horizon) which they also release on PC.

Nintendo has Zelda, Metroid and Animal Crossing. I will buy next Nintendo console just to play Animal Crossing. I could live without Metroid Prime and who knows when next AAA Zelda game releases and how it will actually play out - there is only one BotW (Im not interested in 2D Zelda games, both on Switch bored me in hour or two).

So to wrap it up, Xbox and PlayStation do not have exclusives that are worth buying the console for.

Someone else said this, but "Private Idaho" is a B-52s song. The title was later used for a movie from the early 90s, I think starring Keanu Reeves? Anyway, he just meant Nintendo does its own thing.

So is he trying to comment that Sony and Microsoft should go the way of third party?

@Toastmaster Incorrect. 140 million Switch + 65 million PS5 + 30 million Xbox Series. Console market has never been bigger

I'll happily concede I'm wrong of you can put to any other time where there were 235 million consoles in circulation (especially a time twenty+ years ago).

The mic's yours, so by all means prove me wrong...

I can't see Xbox surviving in its current form. With the advent of the Steam Deck, the PC market has sharply deviated from its snobbish elitism that demanded machines could be upgraded to accepting a set level of technology as perfectly viable. In that light, dare I mention the Steam Box? The market teased with that idea before it was ready, so the right time might be next Xbox. Imagine it actually be a PC console that runs Steam and therefore immediately provides access to gazillions of games, provides Game Pass, all the new games, and Microsoft only need to support one ecosystem instead of two.

@MrPeanutbutterz I hope you put a calculator on your Christmas wishlist, including a instruction manual that tells in details how you press a button.

PS2 sold over 160 millions
Xbox 360 sold nearly 90 millions.
PS3 sold nearly 90 millions.
Wii sold over 100 millions.

I totally agree with you as none of these consoles existed. It's just a myth from the Legends Smurfs saga.
That's why Xbox alone with 30 millions sold outsold all these combined as you claim.
As you know, 70 is more than 140.

Since consoles sell more than ever, it makes sense that Sony went multiplatform 5 years ago...
In fact Sony lost more money than ever on consoles because PS5 outsold Switch in Wonderland.

I own a pc. It’s just never been a gaming machine for me since…I don’t know, Quake 3? Unreal Tournament? I lost interest in FPSs decades ago. I like Nintendo games and buy Nintendo systems. When they stop making physical games I’ll likely stop buying. My backlog will keep me busy after that.

@Toastmaster And I hope you put a calander plus a guide to basic numeracy on yours because the PS2 was a different generation from the PS3 (which was same gen as Wii/360). That should've been evident from one being the PS2, and the other the PS3. "Three comes after two? OMG who knew?".

Or are you being deliberately disingenuous because your argument disintegrated under the slightest of scrutiny? Hmm, yeah, I (and anyone with so much as a shred of reading comprehension) will go with that one.

Try again, champ 😊