Really enjoyed this piece and agree with a lot of it. I think casual gamers are fine with this transition. Even I see the writing on the wall. Consoles themselves don’t mean as much as they used to either. The customer gains some and loses some with this approach. Thanks for the thoughtful commentary.
I completely agree that the days of the console are numbered.
When Stadia came out, I thought that Google was about 10-15 years too early, but that eventually, we would get there. One controller and a streaming network full of games.
Xbox is almost there!
That said, I hope Nintendo keeps bucking the trend, but I wouldn't be surprised if Switch 2 is their last traditional console in the old-school sense.
Good points, and I'm inclined to agree. I don't think that Microsoft's focus on renting and streaming will be good for the industry, but it's part of a change that in some ways feels inevitable.
When something’s lost it’s identity like this, it’s trying to copy what happened to the music industry and the movie industry, where they had certain devices and certain media designed for each, now those rest as streaming platforms on everything you have, what’s that? xbox is trying to copy it, it’s not a revolution in gaming, it’s killing the use for a console, glad to be a nintendo fan in 2024
The thing the fanboys don't want to admit, is that it's not a console war any more, it's a cartel.
Nintendo has carved out their corner and neither Sony nor Xbox can do anything on that turf, so that's no longer competition. Sony has made their brand on these exclusive single player games, so the got that cut of the pie. Xbox has no real reason to try and compete with either Sony or Nintendo in their respective turfs.
So they are thinking wider and different, and to be honest that's where the money is. Fanboys like to think it's the God of Wars making the money in the industry which is why consoles are important. It's not, the large majority of the money comes from subscriptions, multi platform games like COD, Madden, Fortnite. Xbox has figured out that their goal is to reduce the burden to onboard, cloud streaming and gamepass make it easier for people to engage, which means it's easier to spend money.
It's a tri-opoly. Neither company needs to compete with each other, they all make plenty of cash (let's not forget MS is a trillion dollar company).
Really enjoyed this piece and agree with a lot of it. I think casual gamers are fine with this transition. Even I see the writing on the wall. Consoles themselves don’t mean as much as they used to either. The customer gains some and loses some with this approach. Thanks for the thoughtful commentary.
Great piece, JM.
I completely agree that the days of the console are numbered.
When Stadia came out, I thought that Google was about 10-15 years too early, but that eventually, we would get there. One controller and a streaming network full of games.
Xbox is almost there!
That said, I hope Nintendo keeps bucking the trend, but I wouldn't be surprised if Switch 2 is their last traditional console in the old-school sense.
Good points, and I'm inclined to agree. I don't think that Microsoft's focus on renting and streaming will be good for the industry, but it's part of a change that in some ways feels inevitable.
When something’s lost it’s identity like this, it’s trying to copy what happened to the music industry and the movie industry, where they had certain devices and certain media designed for each, now those rest as streaming platforms on everything you have, what’s that? xbox is trying to copy it, it’s not a revolution in gaming, it’s killing the use for a console, glad to be a nintendo fan in 2024
The thing the fanboys don't want to admit, is that it's not a console war any more, it's a cartel.
Nintendo has carved out their corner and neither Sony nor Xbox can do anything on that turf, so that's no longer competition. Sony has made their brand on these exclusive single player games, so the got that cut of the pie. Xbox has no real reason to try and compete with either Sony or Nintendo in their respective turfs.
So they are thinking wider and different, and to be honest that's where the money is. Fanboys like to think it's the God of Wars making the money in the industry which is why consoles are important. It's not, the large majority of the money comes from subscriptions, multi platform games like COD, Madden, Fortnite. Xbox has figured out that their goal is to reduce the burden to onboard, cloud streaming and gamepass make it easier for people to engage, which means it's easier to spend money.
It's a tri-opoly. Neither company needs to compete with each other, they all make plenty of cash (let's not forget MS is a trillion dollar company).
Great article, well said.