Do you think new consoles are just about finished?

[x7q3]

With the announcement of game streaming services, this means people can play video games the same way they watch YouTube or Netflix. No system requirements, no installation process, no updates. You just click the play button, on the device you want.

Do you think new consoles are nearing the end? Do you think PS5 could be the last Sony console? Do you think most people will move to game streaming services? When given the option, average people would subscribe to, for example, a 10 dollar a month game streaming service, as opposed to paying 500 dollars for a new console.

Do you think new consoles will go away, and game streaming services (from Microsoft, Sony, etc) will take their place?

[JEDGAR1000]

Streaming services haven't killed discs yet, so no. Maybe 20-30 years down the line, but not anytime soon. I'm betting Stadia will be a huge failure and Google will cease support in several years like they've done for G+ along with numerous other things.

[Steelmaker]

I think it will just become another option. I think there will always be a demand for dedicated hardware.

[NARMAK]

The idea of an all digital hardware free future sickens me. Genuinely.

I do not want to be hand wringed and under constant concern my content will be yanked and unplayable at any point they decide to or servers etc. go down. I don't mind digital as a parallel consumption avenue but history should be clear. Where greed leads, others follow and consumers are shafted.

[MOONPHASE]

My internet is really crappy (i’m actually in a part of town that my provider doesn’t support but get internet anyways somewhat). So yeah less streaming right now for me the better. My internet is way too unstable but stuck with it for now since the price is cheap.

But it’s also that internet in general just isn’t good enough anyways. It would need to improve by a whole lot without raising the cost for a digital only future. And even then digital just doesn’t beat being able to hold the game in your hands. Just look at books. Long, long since obsolete but continue because people want to hold a book in their hands and really own it. Digital and streaming just don’t give you that. Plus you can lend physical copies to friends and family, resell it, keep for display on your shelf, anything really.

Digital and streaming is more like a rental.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

My internet is really crappy (i’m actually in a part of town that my provider doesn’t support but get internet anyways somewhat). So yeah less streaming right now for me the better. My internet is way too unstable but stuck with it for now since the price is cheap.

But it’s also that internet in general just isn’t good enough anyways. It would need to improve by a whole lot without raising the cost for a digital only future. And even then digital just doesn’t beat being able to hold the game in your hands. Just look at books. Long, long since obsolete but continue because people want to hold a book in their hands and really own it. Digital and streaming just don’t give you that. Plus you can lend physical copies to friends and family, resell it, keep for display on your shelf, anything really.

Digital and streaming is more like a rental.

Yes, this. Hasn’t Fibre-To-The-Home been scrapped in large chunk of the US? There will be a need for consoles for a long time hen restraints are in place.

[KRW1]

No.

[Derb]

Nintendo will be the only one around.

[Mavrick]

Streaming games won't be taking over from consoles for at least 10-20 years, if ever.

Streaming still hasn't killed CDs, CD's still haven't killed Vinyl. Netflix still hasn't killed DVD of BD.

It will be a nice option but I can't see it completely replacing consoles until ISPs can offer infrastructure and data plans that can actually sustain the services at their peak performance, which for Stadia is going to be eating up 1TB of data every 60 hours or so at 4K.

[NARMAK]

Why does digital always come down to "One or the other" arguements. Why can't both co-exist on a parallel?

I see a future for both traditional hardware augmented by cloud tech and a full digital offering co-existing and corporations would be stupid to not offer both for as long as possible and rinse as much profit as possible. They risk short term gains for long term dips in lifetime profits imo ignoring a huge chunk of the audience wanting physical media.

Personally i've said once things go 100% digital, the days of me probably buying new devices and games is done. I'm gonna wait for bargain bin sales. That's in terms of a normal choice rather than if i had to keep up to date even digitally for any YouTube stuff i do as a content creator should i still be doing it that far in the future.

[Batman90]

Honestly I don’t see the difference between digital and disc anymore. Use to you just pop in the game and start playing it now you have to install the games with the disc. If you own a disc copy you shouldn’t have to install anything except for updates. I went digital cause it’s more convenient for me.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

My internet is really crappy (i’m actually in a part of town that my provider doesn’t support but get internet anyways somewhat). So yeah less streaming right now for me the better. My internet is way too unstable but stuck with it for now since the price is cheap.

But it’s also that internet in general just isn’t good enough anyways. It would need to improve by a whole lot without raising the cost for a digital only future. And even then digital just doesn’t beat being able to hold the game in your hands. Just look at books. Long, long since obsolete but continue because people want to hold a book in their hands and really own it. Digital and streaming just don’t give you that. Plus you can lend physical copies to friends and family, resell it, keep for display on your shelf, anything really.

Digital and streaming is more like a rental.

True that not everyone has access to great internet. Square Enix addressed this directly, and said they delayed FFXV so that gamers without internet, could play as complete of a game as possible from the disc version. I respect that point of view, since it's trying to include all gamers and not just those with fast internet.

Sony supporting disc support with PS5 so far, is a positive thing.

Originally Posted by NARMAK

Why does digital always come down to "One or the other" arguements. Why can't both co-exist on a parallel?

I see a future for both traditional hardware augmented by cloud tech and a full digital offering co-existing and corporations would be stupid to not offer both for as long as possible and rinse as much profit as possible. They risk short term gains for long term dips in lifetime profits imo ignoring a huge chunk of the audience wanting physical media.

Personally i've said once things go 100% digital, the days of me probably buying new devices and games is done. I'm gonna wait for bargain bin sales. That's in terms of a normal choice rather than if i had to keep up to date even digitally for any YouTube stuff i do as a content creator should i still be doing it that far in the future.

I hear what you're saying. Until games download as fast as MP3 songs (seconds or minutes instead of many hours), it's disc consoles for my preference too, for 50 GB+ games.

Originally Posted by Batman90

Honestly I don’t see the difference between digital and disc anymore. Use to you just pop in the game and start playing it now you have to install the games with the disc. If you own a disc copy you shouldn’t have to install anything except for updates. I went digital cause it’s more convenient for me.

Finding the disc in the games library is a challenge in itself, as to which box that game was placed inside, or if it was misplaced, with so many games, so I definitely see the appeal to just going through your PS4 menu and not needing a disc to play it, since it doesn't use the disc other than for verification most times anyway. Even so, the disc is my preferred option with slower internet, since the loading goes much faster from the disc for me anyway. I believe you said you have fast internet, so that's cool.

For PSVR games, those are better digital, since they're only 5 GB or less on average, except for big games like RE7 VR, which I own on disc.

[Anthony P]

to the initial question

1) streaming games is nothing new and has existed for ages, for example and since we are in the PS forum, PS now was first available on Vita and PS3

2) a console will always be superior in gameplay so I think that in itself will mean that gamers will prefer a console and so consoles will continue

3) a few days ago PSN was down again but that did not stop me from playing videogames, if I was streaming them that would mean that I would not be able to play my games in those few hours that I would have had.

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Finding the disc in the games library is a challenge in itself, as to which box that game was placed inside, or if it was misplaced, with so many games, so I definitely see the appeal to just going through your PS4 menu and not needing a disc to play it, since it doesn't use the disc other than for verification most times anyway.

I just don't get people complaining about this, all that is needed is a minimum amount of organization. For me I take the disk out put it in the player and leave the case on the player, then when I want something else I eject the old disk put the new one in and put the old one back in the case. How hard does someone have to try to misplace disks and case. As for finding what you want in the library, admittedly each9of my consoles game library is not that large (around 100-200) but my movie libraries are all very large and in the thousands and yet it never take me more then a couple of minutes to get a desired film.

[Captain Flint]

I can't really say anything that hasn't already been said. A large portion of the U.S. (and the rest of the world for that matter) still doesn't have access to reliable, fast internet. Monopolies still exist. Crappy speeds at high prices still exist. Any game company would be stupid to cease production of dedicated hardware and physical copies to make the jump to all streaming. As soon as Microsoft and Sony make the switch to all streaming, I (along with many, many others) will be done with those companies.

I have no problem with streaming games being a secondary revenue source for companies, but there's no way dedicated hardware and physical copies of games are going anywhere for at least the next 20 years or so.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

to the initial question

1) streaming games is nothing new and has existed for ages, for example and since we are in the PS forum, PS now was first available on Vita and PS3

2) a console will always be superior in gameplay so I think that in itself will mean that gamers will prefer a console and so consoles will continue

3) a few days ago PSN was down again but that did not stop me from playing videogames, if I was streaming them that would mean that I would not be able to play my games in those few hours that I would have had.



I just don't get people complaining about this, all that is needed is a minimum amount of organization. For me I take the disk out put it in the player and leave the case on the player, then when I want something else I eject the old disk put the new one in and put the old one back in the case. How hard does someone have to try to misplace disks and case. As for finding what you want in the library, admittedly each9of my consoles game library is not that large (around 100-200) but my movie libraries are all very large and in the thousands and yet it never take me more then a couple of minutes to get a desired film.

I'm 100% for a choice on the pS5 where gamers can choose either discs or digital on the same console, as with the PS4.

I agree, organization of my main games is easy, but I have my less played disc games in boxes, so sorting through the 30 plus games to find the one I'm looking for is a challenge sometimes, as it's been years/months since I last accessed that storage box. Plus having many game disc/cartridge libraries from the past consoles.