We at the moment are almost six years into the present console generation that began with the launch of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S back in December 2020, so we must be stuffed with excitement for the subsequent one. Right? You’d think so, since every console generation in history has lasted an analogous period of time and naturally led into the subsequent with hundreds of thousands of us ready and waiting to be floored by latest hardware, sucked into latest games, and really joyful to place money down on a brand-new machine.
Next-gen hardware all the time pushes the boundaries on graphics, offering games, features, and concepts that justify the worth of being a part of the conversation. While the PS5 and Xbox Series X already approached a dangerous point of diminishing returns, they still had implausible titles like Astro’s Playroom and Demon’s Souls, and were capable of push things to 4K resolution and 60 frames per second for the primary time outside of PC. But because the years wore on, these consoles have did not push the boat out repeatedly because the industry continually butts against the cruel reality of triple-A game development and rising technological costs caused by outside circumstances.
First-party exclusives have been thin on the bottom, with some studios releasing just one or two titles throughout all the generation, if that, as others rely entirely on predictable remasters. Third-party developers and publishers have been picking up the pace somewhat, but they’re not proof against rapidly rising budgets and unsustainable production timelines that require all games to be quick hits or risk layoffs and studio closures. The video game landscape is in a rough spot immediately, and traditional console generations are rightfully being put under the microscope as each hardware and software turn into dearer than ever.
Not to say that, for the primary time in history, we have now spent all the console generation watching hardware rise exponentially in price, fairly than watching it drop and turn into more accessible to a wider audience over time. So, what reason is there to be enthusiastic about what’s to come back?
The PS6 Is Coming Whether We Are Ready For It Or Not
I even have to assume that PlayStation and Xbox were already making loose plans for the subsequent console generation when PS5 and Series X/S were just arriving in the marketplace, and rough specs for PS6 and Project Helix have also been locked in for a few years at this rate. The research and development for products like this takes a really very long time and value a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of dollars, so to suggest that either company can simply pull the plug now that the landscape is suddenly shifting beneath them is downright silly.
Triple-A video games take five or more years to make nowadays, so imagine how much runway that you must plan the event and release of a console used to run them. While recent reports suggest that the associated fee of constructing a PS6 has risen from $760 to just about $1,000 within the face of rising component costs that each major company on the earth is coping with, an ironic coincidence, provided that most of the same brands are also spearheading data centers that are driving up costs in the primary place. Unfortunately for us, we’ll be those paying the worth.
I struggle to see Project Helix or PS6 costing lower than $900. In a world where PS5 Pro is already approaching 4 figures, how long until a brand new console finally crosses this dreaded mark?
The proliferation of live-service titles like Fortnite, Roblox, and Call of Duty throughout the past console generation has also radically modified the gaming habits of hundreds of thousands, who now not operate on the belief that each few months there may be going to be a giant exclusive game to sink their teeth into or an annual release that redefines what a beloved series will be. We live in an ever-growing world of virtual ecosystems that, by design, have abandoned traditional platforms in favour of something more fluid, which removes the motivation to upgrade when a brand new console comes around. If Fortnite or Call of Duty runs just nice already, why hassle?
The PS6 rumour that it doesn’t have a disc drive, as PlayStation is abandoning physical media, is yet one more nail within the coffin for curious consumers whose investment within the medium is met with a brutal middle finger as they’re forced to depart the past behind in favour of a digital future. Helix can also be reported to be abandoning a disc drive to avoid wasting costs and further capitalise on the additional profits that come from cutting out the center man, which is hardly surprising given its hybrid-PC nature. This shouldn’t be a future to be thrilled about, as games as an art form are solid aside in favour of constructing as much money as possible.
But That Doesn’t Mean We Have To Accept It
Sure, we’ll be met with a brand new controller, a brand new user interface, and more powerful hardware than ever, but why does it matter when the present generation of consoles hasn’t managed to prove themselves within the six years they’ve already been available? We’re being asked to upgrade to a brand new model when what sits under our television works just nice, while the industry has dug itself into such an unsustainable hole of excessive budgets and overlong dev times that the generational timelines it used to rely on at the moment are its own worst enemy.
PlayStation’s exclusive portfolio is thin on the bottom immediately while Xbox is about to undergo the largest round of layoffs in its history that may reportedly see countless stellar studios closed to chop costs, which suggests every time these latest consoles appear they’re not exactly going to be filled with games to play that either don’t exist already elsewhere or run just nice on the consoles we have already got.
Our own James Lucas has written a terrific piece about how Sony giving up on physical media has handed the long run of video games to PC in additional ways than one.
I prefer to think that our current brutal present of relentless corporate cuts, rising costs, and studio closures can in some way pave the best way for a more sustainable and worthwhile future for the medium. Straight away, it’s incredibly hard to stay hopeful. So we should always try our greatest to vote with our wallets even when it means coping with the largest FOMO ever when the PS6 hits the market.
Things are going to get quite a bit worse before they recover, and I promise you that big gaming firms will take you for a ride if it means making more cash in the event that they can. We don’t need the PS6 immediately, or any latest video game consoles for that matter.