What, really, justifies future consoles?

[Cyan]

The market is certainly undergoing change and it's a worthwhile discussion to discuss. We have children who have grown up with smartphones and tablets, streaming services etc. And having this gaming console is extremely limiting for an audience of folks who are used to playing on the go. At the same time, when a player gets more serious about gaming, they'll want to settle down into something heavier, and that's when consoles start to find their place. And after consoles, PC would be the next place to go as they continue to become more dedicated towards the hobby.

The issue is that both smart phones, tablets, and PCs are multi-purpose devices, whereas consoles are still largely designed to play games and play games only, while being locked into a similar physical space that a PC also resides.

the Steam Deck paved the way, but the idea is revolutionary if you think about it. Merge the ease of use of a console, its biggest strength, with the freedom of a PC and the possitiblity to add the OS to even more powerful hardware than the Steam Deck, typical of PC.

When you try some mods in certain games, you aren't going to live without those. If MS could add emulation of MSDOS, full historic Windows compatibility since the 90s, other emulators from hardware that disappeared forever, and a native support for mods via Steam Workshop and nexusmod and the likes compatibility, stores like Epic, GoG, itch.io, humble bundle, etc etc, that could be the next step.

Make that transparent and easy to use to the most hardcore console gamers and people could use those devices for almost anything.

 

[Color me Dan]

I really would love it if Valves steam deck became a hardware SKU that devs targeted like a console. Guaranteeing a decent experience on it. And it sounds like Microsoft is aiming for something similar in the future with their own solution. I've never tested a steam deck though, so I don't know how much of consoles "ease of use" it carries over. Do steam deck verified titles gain default recommended settings as part of the verification process?

As far as pure consoles go I think the Switch is potentially a model for future consoles though. As @see colon and @iroboto already mentioned, console added value by evoving towards a sort of HTPC setup.

Switch is none of that. With smart TV's, streaming dongles, and smartphones it doesn't have to. If the Switch 2 is powerful enough the argument between it and a PS5 comes down to what budget and image quality you prefer. And if you like it portable or not. Dumbing down to the essentials and saving on price while providing a great experience isn't a bad sales argument in a time when consoles and PC's shuffle closer together and prices are rising.

Frankly I think a PS6 that tweaks Nintendos Switch concept wouldn't be bad. Have a powerful dock for playing on your 4K TV and a portable for the rest of the time. A sort of reverse PS5 and PS Portal setup.

 

[Cyan]

The market is certainly undergoing change and it's a worthwhile discussion to discuss. We have children who have grown up with smartphones and tablets, streaming services etc. And having this gaming console is extremely limiting for an audience of folks who are used to playing on the go. At the same time, when a player gets more serious about gaming, they'll want to settle down into something heavier, and that's when consoles start to find their place. And after consoles, PC would be the next place to go as they continue to become more dedicated towards the hobby.

The issue is that both smart phones, tablets, and PCs are multi-purpose devices, whereas consoles are still largely designed to play games and play games only, while being locked into a similar physical space that a PC also resides.

now that you mention it, it's also worth mentioning that for instance my 5 y.o. and 7 y.o. nephews have both their own tablet and they spend a good amount of time installing and uninstalling games on their tablets, which for them is as easy and natural as breathing. And they unlock cars in Asphalt 9 lol.

I installed Alphalt Legends on Steam and they unlocked a few cars on my computer too, although alas the games doesn't have local co-op so they didn't play much yet, but they navigate the Asphalt Legend menus like true champions.

The other day my 5 y.o. nephew told me: "do you know how many games did I uninstall?". I asked, and he told me: "I uninstalled 16 games the other day on my tablet". xD

 

[Cyan]

Another problem with consoles these days, generally excluding Nintendo, is that they don't have any fun games.

The exclusives are either there to impress you, or they just release AAA games, or potentially successful games but very few good AA games, which are the staple of video games in many cases.

Whether you like playing on something other than a console or not, you go to Steam and you'll find about everything. EVERYTHING.

And there are games that are way more fun than the famous ones (these well-known games are the kind of games that get published on consoles, but what about the fun games?).

 

[Johnny Awesome]

No. Not really. Plenty of fun AA games on consoles. Belatro, Vampire Survivors, Hi-Fi Rush, Crusader Kings III, Grounded, Pentiment are all on Xbox Game Pass.