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[Zathalus]

Sony hasn't had competition in the console space in a long time.

(I consider Nintendo a successful alternative)

Yet Sony keeps releasing powerful hardware.
Next Gen won't be different.

360 was absolutely a competitor to the PS3. Xbox One was a threat to the PS4 (Sony had no idea they would win the next gen). Only with the PS5 launch has Sony been in a dominate position but even then Xbox still had a userbase of almost 60 million consoles. Xbox during the 2018-2020 period was also spending a shit ton of money on expanding the business.Going from a competitor that is still doing half of your sales numbers and two thirds of your revenue to nothing is a major change.

I don't doubt that the PS6/PS6 will be powerful, I just doubt they would be as powerful if Microsoft doesn't bother to compete. I hope I'm wrong, but the historical behavior of companies with reduced competition doesn't fill me with confidence.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

I don't buy that argument. Its perfectly possible to make amazing looking games and not destroy the budget. Just off the top of my head; Alan Wake 2, Returnal, Demon Souls, Cyberpunk 2077, BG3, Metro Exodus, Robocop. Good graphics isn't the problem, the relentless obsession with the AAA presentation is.

ironic when CP2077 and BG3 have pretty much a AAA presentation obsessed with superfluous detail.

but graphics are dead. what i am saying is this: that current technology is more that enough to produce amazing graphics, but better tools/engines are required to squeeze the power of the current hardware in a more efficient way.

is like trying to go faster while using and old engine and to circumvent its efficiencies you put more fuel when what you need is a more efficient engine. which is basically what happened with BG3.


in other words, Trying to push native 8K for next gen will be mega stupid.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Technically we don't have Star Citizen (yet?).

that's the point. because they are chasing power that is always moving forward and by the time they finish some aspects of the game is already outdated

 

[The Fuzz damn you!]

Not too many industries out there which do this kind of thing. Almost every other industry on earth sells you products or services for upfront prices which profitable. I dont think many sell their stuff at a loss in hopes nickel and diming post purchase sales are the gold mine, where a lot of customers wont buy any of it but they get the usage for free or dirt cheap.

There are also not too many industries where the individual product costs next to nothing to produce. It costs essentially the same to manufacture 1 copy of Fortnight as it does to manufacture 100,000,000, which it what makes this possible. There are plenty of industries where loss-leaders or low-profit leaders are the norm though - cartridge razors, famously, or printers and ink - but you have to control the supply of the profitable product otherwise people without the initial loss to make up will be able to undercut you.

Anyway, all of this is a timely reminder that corporations are not your friend, and there is no such thing as a “pro-consumer” business decision. Anyone who thinks Sony won’t gouge the industry just as surely as Microsoft would should either one attain a monopoly, is delusional.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

360 was absolutely a competitor to the PS3. Xbox One was a threat to the PS4 (Sony had no idea they would win the next gen). Only with the PS5 launch has Sony been in a dominate position but even then Xbox still had a userbase of almost 60 million consoles. Xbox during the 2018-2020 period was also spending a shit ton of money on expanding the business.Going from a competitor that is still doing half of your sales numbers and two thirds of your revenue to nothing is a major change.

I don't doubt that the PS6/PS6 will be powerful, I just doubt they would be as powerful if Microsoft doesn't bother to compete. I hope I'm wrong, but the historical behavior of companies with reduced competition doesn't fill me with confidence.

So triggered that you didn't actually read what I said.
360 was a long time ago and Xbox One got smoked.

PS6 will be powerful.
It's Xbox who will come up short in this area if they release before PlayStation like rumors claim.

 

[Zathalus]

So triggered that you didn't actually read what I said.

Right back at you mate. I think I'll follow the apocryphal quote from Mark Twain and stop right here.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Right back at you mate. I think I'll follow the
apocryphal quote from Mark Twain and stop right here.

I read what you posted including you also telling another you was going to leave him be like me.

I respect the bowing out though

 

[Hudo]

that's the point. because they are chasing power that is always moving forward and by the time they finish some aspects of the game is already outdated

That and mostly because Chris Roberts has now absolute control over everything. It has already been made clear during the production of Freelancer that he needs a producer who can say "no" to him. It's popular to hate on Microsoft but they're responsible for Freelancer actually getting shipped.

 

[Jesb]

Having only one superpower in the console space will be a huge loss to the industry. Having Microsoft helps to drive innovation and significant hardware upgrades. There’s no reason for Sony to push as far as they can or try to innovate as much if it’s all left to them. But we are heading in different times where we might not be getting consoles period in the future. One day all you may need is a tv and a controller. The future right now is mobile, pc and cloud.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

It's Todd Howard and his likes who share the same mindset, he always wanted to build bigger worlds, why they keep incesting on making bigger games? I don't understand, I believe what will happen is the downfall of traditional aaa titles, it's inevitable.

Of all the spelling mistakes to make, this was the most unfortunate.

 

[SHA]

Of all the spelling mistakes to make, this was the most unfortunate.

My bad, that's not what I meant.

 

[Toons]

I think the console market, as it exists now, is unsustainable. It’s based around launching a new high-end piece of hardware, then funding some big AAA showpiece exclusives to justify the hardware’s existence.

Now we’ve reached the point where those AAA games are taking insanely long + expensive to create, and most of them are cross gen. How many more generations can that formula even survive?


Nintendo is in a somewhat better position as they have a huge library of beloved IPs that they can crank out at a fraction of the cost. But even then, it’s no guarantee. Just look at Wii U, even having Mario Kart, Smash Bros, 2D Mario, 3D Mario, and Zelda wasn’t enough.

Been the case for a while.

The setup and system is unsustainable and bound to crash. Aaa games cost more than Disney blockbusters and need to sell 3 million copies in the first month just to break even. The consoles are sold at a loss and use the above mentioned aaa games to try and sink or swim.

 

[SportsFan581]

Strange headline with MS already commenting on next-gen hardware.

 

[Topher]

Strange headline with MS already commenting on next-gen hardware.

From the article:

"While the US technology giant has said it is still working on a new generation of more powerful consoles, analysts think its long-term direction is clear."

 

[SportsFan581]

From the article:

"While the US technology giant has said it is still working on a new generation of more powerful consoles, analysts think its long-term direction is clear."

Not much purpose in looking 10 years into the future in tech. If history is any guide, the realities of that moment won't mirror what we think we will see there today at all.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Not much purpose in looking 10 years into the future in tech. If history is any guide, the realities of that moment won't mirror what we think we will see there today at all.

People predicted Xbox One would be MS' last console. That sure was accurate.

Other great predictions. PS will never do PC ports, one of those twitter insider guys had a list of companies that will never be bought (Activision was one of them), digital gaming and mtx are trash (discs forever).

Yet here we are.... PS PC ports, MS bought Activision, console digital sales are like 75% and mtx galore.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Less competition is almost never a good thing. If MS leaves the console hardware business you can be certain Sony will not nearly invest as much effort and development into the next iteration of console hardware.

Although I must say that the statement 'define the console as a commercial cul-de-sac' is pretty much on the money. While revenue has massively increased, the home console userbase has not grown in over 20 years, which is bad news for a company trying to expand.

Sony is expanding to increase the console userbase.

Shawn Layden discussed this and said they have to take a different approach than what we're used to.

We see it with them bringing games to PC, so they have PC gamers build a Playstation library.
But we also see it with movies and tv shows, which allows them to bring their content to a broader audience than just the gaming audience.

All this is to potentially grow the console userbase.
The revenue this approach generates is just an added bonus.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

People predicted Xbox One would be MS' last console. That sure was accurate.

Other great predictions. PS will never do PC ports, one of those twitter insider guys had a list of companies that will never be bought (Activision was one of them), digital gaming and mtx are trash (discs forever).

Yet here we are.... PS PC ports, MS bought Activision, console digital sales are like 75% and mtx galore.

People also predicted that sub services are the future, that Series X would destroy PS5 and that GamePass wouldn't canibalize game sales.

 

[mckmas8808]

From the article:

"While the US technology giant has said it is still working on a new generation of more powerful consoles, analysts think its long-term direction is clear."

MS is such a weird company when it comes to this.

 

[mckmas8808]

People predicted Xbox One would be MS' last console. That sure was accurate.

Other great predictions. PS will never do PC ports, one of those twitter insider guys had a list of companies that will never be bought (Activision was one of them), digital gaming and mtx are trash (discs forever).

Yet here we are.... PS PC ports, MS bought Activision, console digital sales are like 75% and mtx galore.

Are they though?

 

[Daniel_Mallorca1985]

“The concern [Microsoft] will have is that you’ve already convinced your customers to buy the hardware; by telling them that Xbox games will be on every other platform, you risk upsetting your highest engagement and most dogmatic customers,” he said.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Weird. From my non-business perspective, it's certainly not Nintendo who are "loosing". It seems more like Sony are in a position where they don't really know how they should move forward. And Microsoft trying to come to terms that their plan of being the "Netflix of gaming" is retarded.

I’d say Sony knows what they have to do going forward and will adjust. They still posted big numbers last quarter and have already started 2024 off with a bang!

Xbox is the only fish out of water and that’s why they are looking for other ponds to swim in (Nintendo and PlayStation).

 

[Solidus_T]

That's only true if your PC doesn't use Windows.

With the Steam Deck, more and more devs are focused on getting their games working at parity on Linux.