For about as long as the video game industry has existed, the divide between competing systems has been palpable. From Nintendo, to PlayStation, to Xbox, the arms race of video gaming has been ongoing for decades. However, in recent years, it almost feels as if it has come to a standstill. As gaming approaches a plateau of innovation and more and more cross-platform games emerge, what does the future of the console gaming industry look like?
In an interview for Eurogamer, Shawn Layden, former PlayStation Worldwide Studios chairman, provided his thoughts on the subject. He noted that as the budget of projects increases, the margin for risk and innovation grows lower and lower, resulting in a lack of diverse IPs and a heavy focus on imitations and sequels. On top of this, the room for further performance increases is starting to plateau, as more and more games push towards photorealism the improvements start to become marginal.
With these concerns in mind, it’s natural to be left wondering what the future for home consoles will be. Layden compares it to the rivalry between VHS and Betamax. Following the competition between them, the industry ultimately came together with CDs and DVDs. Rather than compete for hardware as had been the case before, the competition shifted towards the content on the hardware itself. While it seems unthinkable now, there may come a day where the console one uses is irrelevant to what they can actually play.
What will come next for the console gaming genre is still up in the air. While many predict that PC gaming will supplant the home console idea, others yet believe the future looks different. The full interview from Shawn Layden goes into far more detail on his thoughts, so if you’re eager to hear more you should give it a read. Either way, whether the future of gaming lives on a single unanimous library across all systems or otherwise, it’s exciting to imagine what experiences lay ahead.
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Written by Abbie Maxwell
Lifelong Nintendo fangirl, Abbie holds a special place in her heart for video games. She has always strived to provide tips and tricks to make the experiences of those who share her passions that much better.
