Former Xbox boss Peter Moore says Gen Z may reject new consoles in favor of smartphones and PCs
Former Xbox boss Peter Moore says Gen Z may reject new consoles in favor of smartphones and PCs
I can't believe we're talking about this again. Feels like every five years or so, some industry has-been wants to talk about phones changing gaming.
Last year was one of the best for games in recent years, all of which I wouldn't want to play on my phone.
Wake up, Touchscreens aren't ideal, it's just convenient. The market is bigger than just people wanting to play on the phone.
EDIT I reread and think my rant isn't really applicable to this, but I'll leave up how I feel anyway.
exactly, touchscreens are only good because they take no extra space and are terrible in every other way
Remember when Blizzard was like "You guys have phones right?"
What the world needs right now is Steam boxes. Just build a $500 PC, slap Steam OS on it and you're done. The ecosystem is already there. I really don't understand why nobody has done this.
They did try this a while back, steam machines were around at 2015. I could see it getting a rebirth in a similar design to the steam deck in a few years though.
Steam OS and big picture weren't very mature yet at the time. I think now that the Deck has proven the UX, they could definitely revisit this idea. And I pray that they do because it could mean more Steam controllers on the market
Yes, I'm aware of that. But the software just wasn't there at the time. But now it definitely is.
Can you build something like that for the same price as a higher end console? These consoles are designed to be loss leaders so it's hard to beat if you just focus on the hardware price.
Yes you can. You can build a PC with a RX7600 CPU for about $600. That's about in the same performance ballpark as a PS5. If you mass produce those and trim down some features, you'll be able to hit $500. And you won't have to pay the Microsoft tax. Sadly, this is also why it's not happening. I'm 100% sure MS are furiously working behind the scenes to prevent anyone from coming out with a system like this.
Personally, I don't really want to play games on my television.
But I'm probably not really representative.
I think that the bigger issue is that a console has to be absolutely idiot-proof. You can't have troubleshooting or tweaking or anything. Put game in, it works, fully and completely. You can't go screw up the system by misconfiguring it.
Windows PCs aren't really there -- if they were, people would use Windows PCs, not consoles. Adding Proton to the mix -- since a lot of Steam games are Windows binaries -- adds another layer of complexity to that.
If you go to ProtonDB and every single game had a Platinum rating, which they do not, that's still not enough. That means that you have something on the level of Windows, which still doesn't meet the bar for a lot of people who use consoles.
EDIT: Well, okay, to be fair, Steam does provide a certain limited amount of best-effort isolation between games when using Proton by having a different WINE prefix for each installed game, so that's arguably one way in which Steam+Proton is closer to the "appliance" model than a simple Windows PC.
I don't mean to say that this is for everyone. But they sold a couple of million Steam Decks and I'd bet there's a market for a couple of tens of millions of these boxes. And I'm not talking Windows here but Steam OS (or some derivative). That's based on Linux but you'll never notice unless you want to. For most people it's just a store and a launcher. While maybe not quite as easy to use as a console, it's certainly doable for the average gamer.
I'm a millennial and the last consoles I've owned were the PS3 and Wii.
Do you own a PC?
Do you think you're a gamer?
If the answer is No, and Yes. Then that's interesting otherwise, it's nothing new.
I had a Ps4, and A Xbox One. Now I game on PC. Honestly I'm sick of modern games so I mostly retro game, but a PC is a gaming "console" in that respect.
The last console I owned was a PS5 controller. Hooked up to a PC running YuZu. :D
Same lol. I still own DS and 3DS for emergencies though. If I were to buy a console now it would be Steam Deck, but then it's not really a console is it.
Can't afford a house, but a gaming PC is only $800-2000. 🤷🏻♂️
In american currency I'm assuming
There's always living with your parents and saving up money if you can
If you don't have that option avalible but have a way of getting money then you could look into bicycle campers or vanlife
But honestly fuck the exploitative capitalist system that causes homelessness in the first place
Did they realize consoles were nothing more than cheap PCs? That PC gaming gives more flexibility and freedom than a walled garden?
I haven't owned a console in years and don't care to own one.
Do you realize the difference is that a console will generally give a known quality and they usually just work without tweaking and tinkering? You don't have to research compatibility, drivers, USB versions, or any of a hundred other tiny things.
I have a gaming PC, steam deck, and a couple of mini PCs so that I can stream games across the house and play what I want in any room. It's much more plug and play than it used to be, which is why I don't feel the need to get a console. But not everyone wants to do more than plug in, update, and play.
Do you realize the difference is that a console will generally give a known quality and they usually just work without tweaking and tinkering?
The problem with this argument is that it only applies to PCs that you buy and build from off the shelf parts like any other computer you get where everything can be different. It does not apply to a pre-built console type PC manufactured using a custom IC pre-configured operating system dedicated to run games in a console-like experience, where every single one of those models are the same, especially in a case like the steam deck where it's made by the same manufacturer.
But not everyone wants to do more than plug in, update, and play.
Pretty sure you don't need to if all you want to do is play games, a good majority of games work out of the box already. Maybe it wasn't the case in the beginning when proton was younger (which is where this mentality comes from) but it certainly does now.
Edit: Hmm Downvote with no response, that plus your username tells me all I need to know. Have fun.
This guy seems to be full of takes that sound like theyre really, really bad. Only time will truly tell, but I feel pretty confident in saying that whatever this guy says is probably mostly incorrect.
Why? Phones are already the most popular device to game on.
While that may be technically true the overlap between phone games and console/PC games is no minute as to make them effectively two seperate markets. At its best phone gaming conists of people running DOS box on their phone and playing DOOM with a bluetooth mouse, at its worst phone gaming is a bunch of shovel ware gache trash appealing to the lowest common denominator.
The reason why phone gaming will never take over the computer/console market is because it is just absolutely filled with shit, also phone are just too underpowered and clunky when it comes to controls.
Heard this two generations straight already.
Maybe PCs. IF Microsoft brings out a cheap and form factor PC instead of a Xbox whatever they call it. And that'd be a good thing. Besides, a Xbox Series X and a PC is about the same thing except less configuration on the console, and that's fine... Microsoft still makes games, they just bring it to PC as well as their console. We should applaud that.
But no, Consoles and PCs will be in gaming as long as people buy millions of them, and the good news is they don't buy millions, they buy HUNDREDS of millions.
And Gen Z continue to buy them too. Because GenZ is 22-38. I hate the phrase but I feel like "OK Boomer" is actually appropriate here.
GenZ is 22-38
Um, no?
Gen Z is 12-27.
Millenials are 28-43.
Smartphones were supposed to kill off portable consoles and for a brief moment they did. It took 2-3 years until people realized dedicated hardware was so much better and Switch happened to launch at perfect time.
Well, we've now got Steam Deck turning your portable console into a full PC, just connect a keyboard. Also no need to buy a Steam Deck version of that game you bought on Steam ten years ago, it's already there and probably runs great.
It might be that proprietary, single purpose gaming portables are going to lose to more flexible portables even if smartphones are too limited to do the job.
Android could have had this same advantage too, but Google's now pushing this whole framework version check thing.
There's also the fact the mobile gaming industry worked hard to make it an ad riddled, predatory monetisation & whalebait laden skinner box hellscape.
I don't deny there's a few gems mixed into the dogshit, which is a shame because I'm not going digging for it.
Made a comment in another thread the other day, but as a gamesir x2 pro owner the telescopic controllers are really good now too.
I got the USBC one so no input delay or battery to recharge, cost me $100AUD, built solid and there are mod guides out there now (I'm gonna add a 30mm fan or two to keep my phone cool it can get a bit hot under heavy load.
Phones are by far the most popular gaming device.
It's just not the same market, might as well say that smartphones are killing tabletop gaming. DS lifetime sales were 155m, Switch is at something like 140m and still going. There's not that much room for growth probably but smartphone gaming is saturated as well.