PS4 designer says "of course" console gaming is here to stay

With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, some have questioned whether or not traditional consoles like the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U still have a place in the gaming landscape. For PlayStation 4 lead system architect Mark Cerny, the answer is obvious: "Of course they do." In an interview with Kotaku, Cerny explained that the rise of smartdevices does not signal the death of consoles.

[Benjaminkno]

Yeah, but it'll never be like it used to.

Smartphones and iPads are here to stay.

I'd like to see a different control scheme, and maybe something revolutionary with the kinect in the near future.

[C-H-E-F]

That's how everything progress in life, from candy to lays chips, from records (vinyl) to cd's, there's plenty of things that will never be like it used to be. I know i'll miss getting the actual finished copy of a game instead of paying triple what I used to for an gorgeous alpha to only wait a year or so down the road to have the final copy (through updates). But in a sense it's all of our faults, the consumer, we allowed these changes (supported by buying into the new model of gaming we have today), we cried and cried for this for that. Now they are doing it, but because they can "update" a game they don't have to "finish" the game like back in the day.

That's why you have to find devs. that still have that old school work ethic and care for consumer satisfaction (Ready at Dawn, GG, Santa Monica, Naughty Dog etc.) that release quality and you support them because they are the last of a dying breed of devs. that care more-so about the art they are creating opposed to the monetary value of that art.

[darthv72]

Console gaming will remain as long as there is appeal for it. However, there is also the competition of "convenience". The convenience is taking on a more popular trend with the rise in portable entertainment.

Portable entertainment is also beginning to double as freestanding entertainment when more devices are outputting to TV's now more than ever. its becoming a standard that even dedicated portable devices have yet to fully embrace.

When someone can plug their phone/tablet into a tv and pick up a controller to play some games you know its challenging tradition. That isnt exactly a bad thing because we have seen where even a dedicated portable can do the same.

PSP 2000 introduced tv out and the PSP Go took that one step further by adding in real controller support so the ability is there for there to be a hybrid portable/console by a big gaming entity. Yet that is sort of where it ended.

i understand the traditionalists but you have to be just as understanding with moving the industry in a new direction. Gaming is no longer limited to the couch even if there are those who refuse to accept that. Gaming wants to move into everything and become bigger than it was. it wants to be as big as music, movies and accepted by all walks of life as THE mainstream media outlet.

you cant do that by staying traditional.

[curtis92]

And I'd like to see something different than a steering wheel in a car. I mean it works flawlessly... I just feel like something with less control is how I'd like to steer my car, ya know? Just... because.

[u got owned]

"Of course" he in not gonna said otherwise.

[RPG_Lover]

Not in Japan it isnt. Mobile is killing hardware. That is a fact

[Hicken]

You have some evidence to back up this "fact" of yours?

Handhelds are more popular in Japan than home consoles right now. That's not the same as mobiles. And that's also not something that can never change.

Edit: That's not evidence.

First of all, you lack any links to back that claim up.

Second, that seems to coincide with the decrease in console sales, does it not? What percentage of that decrease was from handhelds slowing?

Third, there's no proven positive correlation between the increase in smartphone and tablet sales, and a decrease in dedicated gaming device sales. Granted, there's definitely some small percentage of handheld sales that will have been affected, but the difficult thing on the mobile side is that sales numbers are skewed by people getting new phones or tablets when the next model come out, or when they break their old one, or when their contracts are up.

It's often said that "numbers don't lie." It's true, but only partially: given context, numbers can say whatever you want them to say. Unfortunately, you don't have enough evidence to support what you say your numbers mean.

[RPG_Lover]

Over the last 10 years Dedicated hardware sales have gone down over 50% according to famitsu.

[GW212]

It's here to stay until you can fit console hardware into a phone or tablet and take it with you. The desire to play games on a big screen (or VR or stereoscopic etc) will always be there.

[chrissx]

Ofcourse console gaming is here to stay, for a long time B)

[IanVanCheese]

Was there ever any doubt?

[Pandamobile]

Well, eventually Sony won't be making consoles, Microsoft won't be making consoles and Nintendo won't be making consoles.

Give it 10-15 years, dedicated gaming boxes will likely be a thing of the past as other devices become more powerful and more ubiquitous than consoles could ever hope to be.

[IanVanCheese]

That will be a sad day, and I hope it doesn't come nearly as soon as you think it will.

I think making consoles upgradeable is the future for them. Having games with multiple settings depending on how upgraded your console is, ala PC. They'd have to do it in a very user friendly way to appeal to mass market though.

[Pandamobile]

Having an upgradable console defeats the purpose of a console. At that point, you'd just be buying Sony-branded PCs with even more off the shelf parts than they have now.

Not to mention the costs that that would add to the devices.

Do you really see a Wii U2, PlayStation 6, or Xbox Three on the horizon when Nintendo is barely hanging on, most of Sony is in financial ruin and Microsoft's Xbox division is a sinkhole of money and effort?

It's unlikely that we will still have dedicated gaming consoles 15 years from now. Markets previously dominated by consoles have been cannibalized by Facebook and mobile devices. That huge casual audience that brought the Wii so much success has moved on to a different medium entirely, leaving the PS4 and Xbox One to squabble over the rest of the core console audience.

[Summons75]

Of course because who want's to settle for a small screen and shoddy controls that don't work half the time with 'games' that have zero quality, zero story, zero effort put into making them good and 100% focus on trying to get you to lose so you can pay to win.

Console/PC gaming/ 3DS/Vita>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>& gt;>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> ;>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>& gt;>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> ;>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>& gt;>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> ;>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>& gt;>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> ;>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>& gt;>> a cell phone

[Gamer666]

I'm not sure console gaming is on good footing.

I buy a lot of games. All were bought at retail prices, and none are used... You could say, my spending and people like me fuel console vendors and game publishers with money.

I like to walk in the store, pay one price and get the entire game experience. With all the new supposedly F2P, micro transaction, etc based games I am frankly turned off of gaming as a whole. When faced with a 15 hr grind to play through a game or buy some micro transaction perk that will do it in 15 mins I will simply quit playing the game.

I would rather spend the $20-90 up front to get the whole game experience then to have the entertainment part of the game ruined by purchasing stuff as I play or watching ads. But, it seems that this is not the direction the industry is going. If this continues and I do not get the ability to pay once for the whole experience of a game, then I will stop gaming.

[ExCest]

Well, he wouldn't say they're on the road to ending. Their stocks would plummet drastically and he would lose his job (someday).

I'd prefer a neutral third-party analyst to say something like this.

[Tzuno]

i could only see branded computers with exclusive games for future. I think this is the last time when Sony would try with a console.

[Hugodastrevas]

Both console gaming and pc gaming are fine, they just need some pruning. Let's get rid of MicroTransactions, early access, yearly installments of the same franchise, monopoly on licenses and ovr-hyping of games and it will all be fine!

Mobile gaming will fall on it's own weight soon, please, let's not allow gaming to follow the same path.

[JBSleek]

"Mobile gaming will fall on it's own weight soon"

That's not true. It only goes up from here due to phones and tablets becoming more affordable and capable.

[Hugodastrevas]

Mobile gaming is plagued with awfull repetitive shovelware filled with micro-transactions, soon all the casual players and soccer moms will get bored of them and everyone will get over this fad.

Anyway, this is just my opinion.

[JBSleek]

Your opinion doesn't trump facts though. Mobile gaming isn't a fad. Mobile gamers are increasing and so is the revenue. It's the fastest growing segment in gaming.

If you personally think mobile gaming is inferior well that's fine. Do I personally enjoy mobile gaming, only to kill time, but I won't deny it's a big part of gaming.

[Hugodastrevas]

"It's the fastest growing segment in gaming." - Do you remenber the success that was the Wii? Look at the WiiU now, it's not about my love or hate for mobile games, it's about it being a bloated market full of shovelware turned to people that at any moment can quit being gamers. It will grow a bit longer then it will fall under it's own weight, just like a small "gaming crash of '83". It's not a sustainable business model even though it looks like it now.

[Geobros]

well said

[paulogy]

Consoles will exist as long as TVs exist.
TVs will exist as long as couches exist.
Couches will exist as long as asses exist.

If asses go away, we're all full of shit.