It seems an unfortunate truth that soon video game consoles will be significantly more expensive than they were ten and twenty years ago. Rumours of the PlayStation 6 costing $1000 at launch keep circling, no matter how unsubstantiated they may be at the time of writing. At that price range, a lot of people might not be able to afford the upgrade, but one analyst might have a solution to the problem.
Gaming industry analyst Michael Pachter believes the future is in streaming and streaming alone. In his podcast, he said that we could even see the complete end of consoles in the future. “I believe the prices are going to keep going up, and I think the solution to that is to get rid of consoles and go to streaming games on your TV,” he said, also claiming that he’s been predicting the end of the console lifecycle for 10 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4DWFHybMRA/
It does seem like the next generation of consoles will be markedly different from what we’ve seen in the past. The PlayStation 6 and Project Helix won’t be competing head-to-head by the looks of things, as they’re aiming for different audiences. If prices do balloon as well, it’s likely that this could be a next-gen experience hampered by current-gen hangers-on. If you thought the PS4 lasted too long, imagine how long Sony will have to keep putting out new games on the PS5 to keep that user base happy.
The complete end of video game consoles doesn’t seem like a viable option. It’s hard to imagine a future where Nintendo isn’t chucking some mad machine at us, for example. But, when it comes to Sony and Microsoft, it’s clear they’re both interested in game streaming, too, and perhaps are trying to crack it just as Pachter predicts.
