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Gaming, as an industry, has really come a long way. From floppy discs and cartridges, over CDs, to virtual platforms, we saw both games and consoles become more and more convenient to handle. With the rapid improvements in technology, this begs the question: what will happen to physical consoles in the future? PlayStation CEO, Hideaki Nishino, thinks traditional gaming consoles are going nowhere.
“We Don’t Think the Hardware Will Go Away Just Yet”
A popular Japanese video game magazine Famitsu hosted an interview with Hideaki Nishino, the CEO of PlayStation where they talked about the rise of cloud gaming, the future of traditional gaming consoles, and new hardware launches.
On the topic of gaming consoles, Nishino was asked about the future of physical consoles, due to the rise of the popularity of cloud gaming. Will virtual gaming take over, or will traditional consoles remain safe? Hideaki Nishino had this to say:
“As of today, we have a large number of PS4 games being played, and the number of PS5 games is increasing rapidly. It is unlikely that this will suddenly change tomorrow, so I am sure that home video game consoles will remain the center of our business for a while.
However, we are also seeing an increase in the number of PCs and other different styles, so we are in the process of thinking about how to increase the number of PlayStation users overall, including those on the PSN. Some people may misunderstand me when I say this, but if you have cloud gaming on PS Portal and PS5 games running, some people may think that we have already entered the era of cloud gaming. But you still need a controller and a screen [in] your [hands], and we don’t think the hardware will go away just yet.” (translated via Deepl)
Virtual gaming platforms and cloud gaming are pretty convenient, but the majority of players are a bit wary of it. Players like to physically possess their games and consoles, especially after all the statements that “you don’t own the games you have on Steam”, as one example. Announcements like these are why gamers still prefer physical gaming, and as Hideaki Nishino said, chances are it is not going anywhere anytime soon.