'Consoles have hit their peak' - say analysts

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Sony and Microsoft in no hurry to introduce new hardware - the glory days of consoles are behind us, according to a new report from research firm DFC Intellignce. "We feel the consoles have hit their peak," analyst David Cole said, according to VentureBeat.

He expects next year's Wii U release to drive strong sales, but not Wii-level ones, and says Sony and Microsoft are hesitant to introduce new hardware as they're currently enjoying rising profits from PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively.

But the longer they wait, the more opportunity console makers give platforms like mobiles, tablets and other devices that can play games as a secondary feature a chance to steal market share, Cole believes.

"Systems like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are having their best sales ever five or six years into their lifecycle," he said. "Unfortunately this means Microsoft and Sony are in no hurry to launch new systems that would generate substantial consumer excitement and spending.

"Games on Facebook and products like the iPad help expand the audience and the way products are delivered. The console business is firmly established and suffers mainly from the reluctance of hardware manufacturers to commit to expensive new products.

"The dedicated console business is still the major driver of industry growth, but we feel overall it has peaked with the current console systems."

THQ CEO Brian Farrell said this week he expects future consoles to drop support for physical discs in favour of cloud gaming, resulting in lower hardware manufacturing costs, lower console prices driving mass market adoption, and no physical goods cost for game makers.

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/318227/consoles-have-hit-their-peak-analyst/

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"'Consoles have hit their peak' - say analysts" :: Login/Create an Account :: 11 comments

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DoIanPosted:

nintendo went down the shitter since after n64 considering all there games are shit because of the kid friendly style they have with like 90% of there games i say go back to how they were when nes, snes, n64 was and make the online better ive never played it but i heard u need to have a telephone # to add friends, lol gay

BlakeaphobiaPosted:

They may have hit a sales peak but consoles are becoming obsolete. If you look at BF3, they had to downgrade the game just so that consoles can handle it. :0

iAmMasterFPosted:

both can do 3d, both can do hd gaming but its still limited, but does anyone care? no... so long as games still look decent, and as 3d gets better for gaming, there is nothing to change.

but they have already reached the limits, so creating that huge scaled high quality graphics & gameplay will have to wait till technology is cheaper for them to develop new consoles.

Thy_BlugoonPosted:

I have to agree if we try to make gaming better we wont get much further than 3D for a while.

TheBrownGuyPosted:

Even if they have peaked there won't be any new consoles for a while

seegeePosted:

How many times have they said this now? Every day I look and another article about how the consoles have hit there peak. -_-

PeriphuralsPosted:

aimiami12 consoles wont be able to advance any furtther until T.V.s get new technology, most likely a higher quality then 1080p.
The only reason the wii got such great sales was because it was something no ones ever seen, now its stale and microsoft and sony have made this an add-on to the console.
I wouldnt say theyve reached there peakes considering that games are just getting bigger and better. Video games probably never reach a true peak, theyll just keep getting more and more popular

There are actually higher quality TV's now, they have a a RGBY Cable instead of just Red Green and Blue

aimiami12Posted:

consoles wont be able to advance any furtther until T.V.s get new technology, most likely a higher quality then 1080p.
The only reason the wii got such great sales was because it was something no ones ever seen, now its stale and microsoft and sony have made this an add-on to the console.
I wouldnt say theyve reached there peakes considering that games are just getting bigger and better. Video games probably never reach a true peak, theyll just keep getting more and more popular

gtapro151Posted:

ps3 has not hit its peak since every game is made for 360 then ported over take a look at resistance 3...

marcusmonsoonPosted:

BraddieBoi Hit their peak? People are always going on about how boring and repetitive xbox is getting now. Microsoft are just dumb money grabbers who don't want to spend money on creating a newer console when they are probably the most (or one of) the more profitable companies in the world. Such selfishness
Oh really, a company based solely on making profit? I've never heard such a thing... -_-