Who will be the next hardware maker to exit the market?

[cybercylon]

Atari Boy and Cosmic Stardust have brought up good points.

 

Completely cloud based gaming isn't going to happen in the next generation or maybe after that. While I realize there are several big markets for gaming, North America is one of them. The infrastructure does not exit yet to start streaming heavy hitter PC and current console games in a way that is usable for most. In the US, don't forget that internet speed are slower than in other parts of the world, and many ISPs cap usage by charing more once you are over, throttling your connection, or shutting it down all together until the next billing cycle.

 

Yes, Sony is testing the market with Playstation Now. Does anyone have data on the number of subscribers? With a quick google search, I did not find much in the way of a number, but I doubt 36 million PS4 users have subscribed.

 

It's natural for Nintendo to explore the phone,phablet, tablet market. Unless the NX is a flop though, I would not expect to see the latest Mario or Zelda game there. More likely to see those on another console.

 

Enough was already said about streaming Xbox One games to your PC. That said, if one is doing that or using a PS TV to steam PS 4 games in their own internal lan, a hardwired gigabit ethernet local lan is the only way to do it without a lag fest, and even that can lag at times. Trust me, I've tried, but I had to lay down new wires and make sure all of our switches supported gigabit ethernet. Trying to get these games to be playable over a remote cloud based solution.. we are not there yet and won't be for awhile.

[Cybermario]

Apparently Phil Spencer has said he wants the Xbox One to be upgradeable

 

seems to be the case, i think is a smart move to make an addon to power up the console rather than working on new hardware right now

 

Yes, Sony is testing the market with Playstation Now. Does anyone have data on the number of subscribers? With a quick google search, I did not find much in the way of a number, but I doubt 36 million PS4 users have subscribed.

 

when playstation now was announced called my attention but no, the prices are outrageous, 14usd to rent a single game? i can find an used retail version for that, even buying it digital for such amount if i wait for a sale. Dont see PS Now soaring the skies the way is handled right now.

[FUBARofPittsburgh]

Sony is in the most trouble at the moment. Yes, the PS4 is doing great. But the rest of the company is failing badly.

[JamesD]

Sony is in the most trouble at the moment. Yes, the PS4 is doing great. But the rest of the company is failing badly.

I think the current economy is hurting all manufacturers, but the current SONY stock prices are higher than they were for most of the period between 2011-2014.

They can't be in too much trouble.

[Cybermario]

technically, isnt the PS4 sales keeping sony alive since some other areas are doing bad? seems to be the oopsite for MS, they do great in other areas but console sales are stale

[Bill Loguidice]

technically, isnt the PS4 sales keeping sony alive since some other areas are doing bad? seems to be the oopsite for MS, they do great in other areas but console sales are stale

 

Microsoft console sales are actually quite healthy: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/245564-who-will-be-the-next-hardware-maker-to-exit-the-market/?p=3455783 . About 24 million sold at this point in the console lifecycle is more than fine, particularly in comparison to how sales tracked in the previous generation, and especially since the Xbox One sells next to nothing in Japan, where the PS4 enjoys normal, healthy sales, and even the Wii U has done well. So yeah, it's only in comparison to the PS4 that it doesn't look great.

[Gregory DG]

If Microsoft were to exit, would this be the first time in history there wouldn't be an American company producing game consoles?

[Atariboy]

No, since there was already a gap of five years or more in there until the Xbox launched.

[Andromeda Stardust]

If Microsoft were to exit, would this be the first time in history there wouldn't be an American company producing game consoles?

No, since there was already a gap of five years or more in there until the Xbox launched.

Well, if you count Google, Apple, and Amazon TV devices. They are technically game consoles too, just like Ouya, and none by Japanese developers...

[enoofu]

If Microsoft were to exit, would this be the first time in history there wouldn't be an American company producing game consoles?

Microsoft doesn't produce Consoles directly, and they are made mostly in China, just like Nintendo, and Sony

[Andromeda Stardust]

I think he means designed in USA by American company, versus designed in Japan by Japanese company. Nearly everything is made in China these days, regardless of who designed it.

[Mockduck]

I think Microsoft will be exiting the gaming console business, not so much due to strict sales (the One is outselling the 360 when it comes to units sold vs. time out), but I do think the One isn't selling like Microsoft wanted. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft shifted from a strict game console to an even more hybrid "all in one" entertainment unit, or perhaps try to make a gaming-focused tablet. They've done a nice job with cross-platform gaming so far, and it seems to be successful for them, so I can see them expanding on that rather than doubling down on console hardware. I see them having a TV-hooked-up console and PC with a central Windows Store; buy the game, play it on all their platforms.

[enoofu]

Microsoft is trying to push the console to the server-side, but Nintendo and Sony are trying the same thing

 

All three are Publishers and would rather not have to deal with consoles on the consumer end, especially when it takes around 2 years for newer consoles to replace the old platform

 

Plus their are billions of internet ready device

[Andromeda Stardust]

I think Microsoft will be exiting the gaming console business, not so much due to strict sales (the One is outselling the 360 when it comes to units sold vs. time out), but I do think the One isn't selling like Microsoft wanted. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft shifted from a strict game console to an even more hybrid "all in one" entertainment unit, or perhaps try to make a gaming-focused tablet. They've done a nice job with cross-platform gaming so far, and it seems to be successful for them, so I can see them expanding on that rather than doubling down on console hardware. I see them having a TV-hooked-up console and PC with a central Windows Store; buy the game, play it on all their platforms.

Kind of ironic that stuff like the Amazon TV is trying to become game console...

 

Streaming boxes have more than enough power to run games now. Offloading the game to a remote server is dumb because

lllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggggggggggggggggg.................................................

[JamesD]

I think Microsoft is moving towards a universal platform across Windows, consoles, and tablets/phones.

[Major Havoc 2049]

I think Microsoft is moving towards a universal platform across Windows, consoles, and tablets/phones.

I'm a Windows guy and there are already apps that work across all the Windows 10 platforms. The new Windows 10 phones almost function like a Windows 10 computer with a display dock, keyboard and mouse. Edited March 9, 2016 by Major Havoc 2049

[cimerians]

Xbox One is basically a flavor of Win10 running VM's so in a way its not really a traditional console but something like a steam machine or small Windows PC's built for TV's.

 

I think they will continue to make these compact PC's (Xbox's) for the mass public but you will see less and less exclusive stuff for it (UWP).

 

If that happens expect Steam and the Steam OS to continue to be worked on. The future could very well be Steam (Linux) and Microsoft (Windows) with a few Japanese companies on the side still making some hardware (Sony/Nintendo).

 

Then there's Google and Apple, you never know.

[Gentlegamer]

Mike Kennedy

[Andromeda Stardust]

Mike Kennedy

He never entered the market to start with...

[Rick Dangerous]

Surprised to see Microsoft still leading this poll given what has been revealed about the Switch...LOL

[cimerians]

In my opinion Nintendo released a handheld that can hook up to a TV so in a way they're not making "consoles" anymore.

 

As long as they make some money from the groups of people and fans that buy handhelds they will probably keep making them....just how I see it right now.

[Flojomojo]

these plucky young upstarts

 

http://retroblox.com

 

https://www.retroatk.com

[Flojomojo]

Surprised to see Microsoft still leading this poll given what has been revealed about the Switch...LOL

we get it, TT, you don't want one

[BillLoguidice]

we get it, TT, you don't want one

 

It's a fair point he made, although way too early to make a call one way or the other (although pre-order and overall enthusiasm for the Switch seem promising). At this exact moment in time, of the three, Nintendo is definitely closest to being the odd man out concerning the original premise of this thread. That's still not that close, though.

 

Perhaps the most interesting historical point about the big three, though, is that they've been the same three mainstream competitors in this space since November 15, 2001, or 15 years, 3 months, 2 days. That's pretty damned impressive considering what happened prior in the videogame and adjacent computer industries.

[Flojomojo]

Perhaps the most interesting historical point about the big three, though, is that they've been the same three mainstream competitors in this space since November 15, 2001, or 15 years, 3 months, 2 days. That's pretty damned impressive considering what happened prior in the videogame and adjacent computer industries.

 

Yes, that's unprecedented ...though it seems like you need to be a giant, diversified multinational corporation to absorb the risk of large-scale manufacturing and marketing something that needs big adoption like a game console.

 

Travis said he thinks it would be a race between two companies (not three) by the next generation -- that's going by traditional definitions, which doesn't include PC or mobile, of course. I suspect something like that might look more like a game console by the time 2020 rolls around. Does anyone think another player could enter the scene successfully? It's safe to say that Sony and Microsoft could have been predicted, they just had to apply the effort.

 

Considering the tech companies that have big pockets, do you think any of these could play in the tier of the current "big three" (or two, depending what happens next)?

 

Google -- their Android Gaming and TV ambitions never seem to take off

Amazon -- they've started some game studios, and some Fire boxes with controllers, which seem to have fizzled

Apple -- probably the biggest revenues in gaming, even though they don't seem interested in it

Verizon -- buying all the 90's internet companies must be leading up to something, right?

Comcast -- media empire has a big interactive hole in it

Netflix -- streaming a la Playstation Now?