One reader argues that the move to streaming instead of video game consoles will lead to more consolidation from giants like Apple and… Amazon.
Here’s an idea to get the discussion going among readers: I suggest we move quickly to the end of the home console hardware, especially in terms of the large Xbox/PlayStation box sitting on the floor and on. your TV is attached. There may be another generation or this current one may even be the last. Xbox Game Pass and Sony’s equivalent PlayStation Plus service are proof of this, along with past experiments with cloud gaming services like Nvidia GeForce Now and Google Stadia. As well as Microsoft’s recent strategy that Xbox is a service from which you can access games from anywhere and on any platform.
Cloud-centric gaming, delivered by a subscription-based monetization model for a host device with a large screen running a local app, but with a lot of the work shifted to the cloud, the way things go, and fast. That’s why capturing subscribers under Game Pass is vital and also why Microsoft is sucking up games companies. Microsoft is positioning itself as the Netflix of gaming when it comes to content, as the hardware platform and high street no longer matter.
The base platform simply becomes an access device to the content. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Disney, Netflix or Amazon start buying up who’s left in terms of publishers, there’s probably some bidding wars going on behind closed doors right now. Amazon already has Twitch and we know that Netflix has been experimenting with interactive content. As we look to the future of the convergence of games and TV content, I have a feeling we will see further consolidation in content providers. Microsoft could do something like buy Netflix (that could be a great strategy if they were allowed to).
Where is Amazon in all of this? Amazon, for example, is 14 times the market capital of Netflix. Apple is 10 times the size of Disney (and could almost buy them for cash). I’m not saying these acquisitions will happen, but they could. Especially if one of the giants is afraid to be left behind. Apple will buy all of this somewhere I don’t know, but we can pretty much guarantee they will. It amazes me that they have ignored the gaming market for so long and I suspect that when they realize their mistake they will work very hard to rectify it quickly.
Who knows, maybe we’ll finally see the highly speculated Apple/Sony takeover – wouldn’t that be nice? I feel like the portable games market is in a different place and probably still viable for dedicated carriers. The form factor for mobile phones or tablets to take over the role is just not right at the moment, even historical players like Nintendo have borrowed time because I suspect they will only have a generation or two more in that kind of market.
New multiplayer innovations, such as highly flexible displays (LG) and the return of wearables (Samsung, Google and probably Apple), will likely spell the end of Nintendo creating proprietary hardware platforms that dominate mobile gaming. They will finally complete the move to software, although perhaps through their own service and app frontend.
By reader Anon
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