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> most games will run on future hardware. I'm starting to get uncertain about how much longer there will even exist future Playstation hardware. Apple and Goog
by kibwen 16d ago
> most games will run on future hardware.
I'm starting to get uncertain about how much longer there will even exist future Playstation hardware. Apple and Google phones have devoured the casual/mobile gaming market and as that market hits saturation they'll be eyeing the prestige AAA gaming market. It's not hard to imagine that a modern iPhone or flagship Android has the hardware chops to run something like GTA 6 at an acceptable level of quality. Continuing the GTA 6 example, it's not hard to imagine Rockstar taking one look at the TAM of current-gen console owners vs. the TAM of high-end phone owners and realizing how much more money they could be making by porting it to the majority platform. With the right games signed on (GTA, FIFA, Madden, COD), all it would take is either Apple or Google releasing a $100 dock-plus-controller to absolutely blow the traditional console makers out of the water; everyone either needs or already has a phone, and nobody needs a dedicated game console.
The point being, it's not much comfort to preservationists to consider the longevity of a proprietary platform that might realistically be defunct in a decade. I don't know if there will be a PS7, but I tend to doubt there will ever be a PS8.
- mywittyname 14d agoYou're right, IMHO. Platform convergence is already here and I think Minecraft represents the epoch for it. Kids growing up today are used to playing Minecraft on anything, and that will probably grow to be their expectations going forward. Just log into your account from any computing device and play the game. Playstation will probably stick around, but it will probably eventually become a Switch/Vita. There's still value in a platform that is a strict set of hardware requirements that are designed ground up for gaming. Plus, Sony & Nintendo have great development studios making games people want to play. Tying this back to preservation - there's probably a large number of games that are not preservable due to their "GaaS" model. But anything single player built for Android will be around forever since 99% of the software for it is cracked not long after release. I'm not sure about the iPhone stuff though.