On the PS4 and Xbox One, all games will be available digitally for download. Microsoft are already implementing DRM which makes disc based games functionally indistinguishable from downloaded ones. Meanwhile, games at high street retail are dead and buried - compared to just a few short years ago, when many high streets would have 2 Games, a Gamestation, an HMV and probably a Choices and Blockbuster tucked away somewhere too.
Meanwhile, we've just experienced an unusually long console generation, marked by the emergence of technologies like OnLive and Gaikai which allow Netflix-style instant streaming of games. These systems are still in their infancy, but they do work - maybe not that well yet, but they're only going to get better.
At the same time, internet connection speeds have been improving across the country, in many places drastically. Even the tiny rural hamlet that my parents live in is now being fitted for 50Mb fibre, with the promise of 100Mb in the near future. The logistical barriers to the downloading and streaming of large files are disappearing in the territories which the console manufacturers rely on for the majority of their income.
By 2020, the next gen systems will have been on the market for 6+ years, and we'll be at a similar point to the one that we're at now. PCs will very noticeably exceed the Xbone and PS4 in terms of capability, and gamers will be hungry for the new. But will 'new' come in a shiny ?400 box of high powered hardware?
Do Microsoft and Sony want to keep making games consoles? It's doubtful. The R&D costs are enormous, the need for an attractive price point means that they often make a loss for the first year or two on each console due to the cost of components, and the machines are often unreliable and require replacement.
But we know that they want to keep selling games, and retain their position as living room devices that people are actually willing to own. Accessories and subscriptions are a great money spinner too. So will the PS5 and the Xbox Zero consist of Apple TV/OnLive style hockey pucks, streaming games from the cloud?
Meanwhile, we've just experienced an unusually long console generation, marked by the emergence of technologies like OnLive and Gaikai which allow Netflix-style instant streaming of games. These systems are still in their infancy, but they do work - maybe not that well yet, but they're only going to get better.
At the same time, internet connection speeds have been improving across the country, in many places drastically. Even the tiny rural hamlet that my parents live in is now being fitted for 50Mb fibre, with the promise of 100Mb in the near future. The logistical barriers to the downloading and streaming of large files are disappearing in the territories which the console manufacturers rely on for the majority of their income.
By 2020, the next gen systems will have been on the market for 6+ years, and we'll be at a similar point to the one that we're at now. PCs will very noticeably exceed the Xbone and PS4 in terms of capability, and gamers will be hungry for the new. But will 'new' come in a shiny ?400 box of high powered hardware?
Do Microsoft and Sony want to keep making games consoles? It's doubtful. The R&D costs are enormous, the need for an attractive price point means that they often make a loss for the first year or two on each console due to the cost of components, and the machines are often unreliable and require replacement.
But we know that they want to keep selling games, and retain their position as living room devices that people are actually willing to own. Accessories and subscriptions are a great money spinner too. So will the PS5 and the Xbox Zero consist of Apple TV/OnLive style hockey pucks, streaming games from the cloud?
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