Recently Gametrailers.com created a video in which they presented several threats to the upcoming Playstation 4 and Xbox One. However we don’t exactly agree with this complete and figured why not put our top threats to the upcoming next generation consoles. We’ve included their video below for you to check out if you haven’t already seen it and then provided my take on the topic.
*Trailer removed since Gametrailers.com is no more*
Done? Now I will say that I agree with the majority of what they said and now I’m presenting my take won’t you.
5. AppleTV – There’s no doubt that Apple has slowly but surely been working on it’s gaming platform with the rise of Apple’s Game Center over the past several years and it’s been rumored for quite some time that the company may want to jump into the living room space. In a sense they’ve been laying the ground work for a console for some time and definitely rival Valve’s attempt if those rumors ever turn out to be more than that. I put this at the bottom as we’ve never officially heard Apple mention gaming and living room together ever since since they first and last failure with the Pippin. Anyone remember that system?
4. Mobile Gaming – I’ve been preaching to the choir about this for quite some time now. With millions upon millions of smartphones and tablets, regardless of Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android OS, there’s no denying that the shear numbers and many companies have seen this. In fact several companies have move specific titles that were reserved for handheld or consoles over to the Mobile Gaming market, such as Capcom with it’s Breathe of Fire. Sadly there’s still some confusion in the industry on wheiter the Mobile market is indeed hurting the console sales with several top executives saying it is and then on the other side of the fence where other executives are saying that it is not. We can only wait and see.
3. Wii U – Sure, laugh it up but believe it or not the Wii U is not as dead as many think it is. Yes it may be under-powered when parred against the Playstation 4 and Xbox 360, however where fails in power it makes up for with titles that you simply can’t get anywhere that’s to Nintendo’s magic. There’s simply no denying that their 1st party titles such as Super Mario, Super Smash Bro’s and Mario Kart can keep the console in the running for quite some time. That my friends is it’s biggest strength with titles that won’t appear anywhere else and sadly it’s weakness with companies not exactly thrilled on developing or porting their titles for Nintendo’s possible last console go-round.
2. Last Gen Consoles – Both the current consoles are still pushing out hit titles like it was going out of style, oh wait they are. However with titles such as The Last of US, Gran Turismo 6, Destiny, Rayman Legengds, Battlefield 4 and many more coming, is there any real reason to join on the next gen train just yet?
1. PC / Steam OS – First and foremost both the PC and SteamOS are the same platform and even though SteamOS will run on a Linux kernel it’s still a PC so let’s leave it there. That said there’s no denying that the PC is home to just as many games as consoles and much much more. With countless Indie titles popping up on what seems to be a daily basis and with the majority of companies that were console only that are starting to see the light and are release titles on the PC at the same time as consoles, the PC is in a stronger position that it ever was. Let’s not forget about PC only titles as it is home to several key titles that aren’t available to current or next generation consoles. A catalog with thousands thanks to Steam, GOG.com and Origin, it’s going to be hard to ignore the PC juggernaut. Sadly most people will over look this and think of the PC as this still hard to use, I can’t sit on my couch and play games, it never works experience. C’mon people, we aren’t in the 1990’s anymore and the PC gaming scene has evolved.
So there you have it, my take on the greatest threats to the next generation of consoles. What do you think about it? As always we’d love you comments and suggestions so fire away!
