With the Wii U coming out towards the end of this year, and increasing speculation with regards to what Sony and Microsoft will do next — people are finally starting to talk about the next generation of consoles, and what they’ll mean for a rapidly evolving industry. David Jaffe, speaking to Games Industry Internation, believes that, no matter what happens, the next generation of consoles will most likely be the last generation.
“I don’t think any of the consoles are going to do as well as they used to,” he said. “It’s a declining market, I think. That doesn’t speak ill to any of them as pieces of hardware – it just speaks about the fact that the industry has changed, the business models have changed and the world has gotten even smaller with smartphones and tablets and the internet, and stuff like Gaikai and streaming.
“Look, consoles are going away. I think in 10 years – probably sooner, but 10 years is always the safe thing to say so you don’t sound like an idiot – but here’s what I’ll say: I’ll go on the record and say that the next generation of hardware will be the last consoles. And they should be.”
Jaffe believes that ‘AAA’ titles like Uncharted and God of War will still exist, but the delivery method will be different.
“The asteroid has hit the Earth, the dust cloud is covering the sun and the dinosaurs are on the way out – but not the games! We’ll always have great games and bleeding edge graphics… it’s just going to be a new delivery mechanism.”
It’s well worth heading to the full Games Industry International interview — to hear Jaffe talk about his opinions on the Wii U and more.
Game consoles will be extinct after next-gen, says Jaffe [Games Industry International]
Leave a Reply