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We have predicted the death of gaming consoles many times long ago. But as the years pass by, we still see Sony & Microsoft announcing positive growth in the gaming industry. How is this possible?
Earlier this year, numbers suggests PS4s are outselling Xbox One nearly 2 to 1 and passed its 40 million mark earlier this year. Though Sony is “winning” in terms of sales, Microsoft’s console sales remained very healthy with more efforts focused now to garner a larger audience with Xbox Play Anywhere to further blur the lines between PCs & game consoles.
Video Game Consoles Are Here to Stay?
How could this be possible? Most people would agree that PCs are much flexible and always ahead of the game in terms of performance, graphics, adaptability to players’ requirements and many tons of other reasons why game consoles should die off. But here are a few reasons why I think game consoles are here to stay:
- China driving the demand
As China lifts its 14-year ban on gaming consoles in 2015, both Microsoft & Sony rushed in to convert a country full of mobile & PC gamers into game console fans. Though their efforts are not represented in hard figures yet, China is expected to booth further growth with game consoles with an estimated revenue of $29 billion by the end of this year. China enabled further gaming console growth in areas such as South East Asia and other parts of the world as well.
- You No Longer Co-relate Game Consoles with Low Graphic Performance
Though many of us write off the possibility of consoles being better than PCs, Sony’s PlayStation 4 is planning to change our minds. In fact Sony said the PS4 Pro isn’t a response to Microsoft’s Project Scorpio but rather aiming to give PCs a big challenge. Acknowledging that gamers tend to co-relate game console with low graphic performance, Sony aims to change perceptions by providing the very best and very highest performance quality.
- Sometimes the “Plug & Play” feature is all you need to sell
Though the hardcore gaming community is ever growing, we need to remember that casual gamers still outnumbers professional ones. To most people, gaming remains a great form of escapism and source of fun. Unlike PCs, consoles provide a hassle-free experience for both single & multiplayers both online & offline.
For the avid gamers, initiatives such as Microsoft as mentioned earlier are blurring the lines between PC & console games making is seamless to enjoy & save costs with games. For those who are unwilling to spend a lot & just want to enjoy a simple yet great gaming experience would prefer consoles.
What Matters Most in The End
Though many still argue relevancy of game consoles & its death, one should ask: does this even matter to gamers? What matters for gamers? A great gaming experience, awesome graphics, good fun for both single and multiplayer. Even if this might be a very slow death for game consoles or if it is here to stay for the long run, one thing we know for sure: we’ll never run out of great games as well as great variety of devices to play with. Not to mention other big competitions from mobile games and new tech like VRs.
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Written by Jeremy Chew from iPrice Group, a meta-search website in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.