Is There Room for a 4th Console?

The Intellivision Amico wants to be a console for casual gamers.

[DarkVoyager]

I think Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft have most of our gaming needs covered.

[darthv72]

I think it's satire because everyone knows the other market (the one for retro reboots) is getting a 3rd. We have the Atari box, the Colectorvision Phoenix and now the Intelevision Amico. Those three are for the retro/nostalgia gamer. MS, Nintendo and Sony have nothing to fear.

[VenomUK]

There isn't room.

[killatia]

Even if there was room for a 4th I doubt the Amico will get the fan base to be the 4th console

[rainslacker]

I'd put my money on Apple or Samsung. Amazon is a maybe. But if they do try, they'll probably just do it in the way that tries to promote their current services, which means just a streaming console, or one that uses mobile games to play them on TV.

I wouldn't mind a 4th player coming into the big 3's market to shake things up a bit. Who knows, maybe they can do better, or bring something worthwhile to the mix.

But in the end, I think that the market itself is probably not going to be able to support three consoles. I think the only reason we can have 3 now is because Nintendo is something different. When Nintendo tried to stay with the AAA market, not all three could make it....although the market was much smaller, and one was domnating by a substantial margin.

[crazyCoconuts]

I thing Google vs. Samsung. They could build it into Android and have the platform available to multiple manufacturers. Between Apple and Google they'll look to mature the phone gaming world until it blurs the lines with consoles. And then they can make consoles with iOS/Android that will finish the play. Nintendo Switch stands to lose the most in the short run imo

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Well, this gen was kinda a dumpster fire for the Xone/WiiU, but the PS4 had a stupidly strong gen this time round, we could have easily dropped one of them this gen if things went even worse for one of those two. I'd like to see Sega make a return to hardware, but that will clearly never happen.

If anything, I think a 4th contender will cause people to become more choosy with what console they purchase.

[PhoenixUp]

When has there ever legitimately been room for a fourth contender in the console space?

Anytime something like that has ever close to happened that competitor has to contend with scraps

[rainslacker]

Better question is, when have there ever been four contenders where they were all something of interest to the overall market?

Most I can think of, where they were all pretty much equal, was the SNES, Genesis, TG-16/Duo, and then the 3DO. Duo never picked up steam outside most of Japan due to poor marketing and a great game library which Japanese publishers didn't want to bring to the west. 3DO was way too ambitious for its time and overpriced....despite having everything it needed to actually compete otherwise.

That being said, its interesting to ponder what some other company might bring to the market, but at the same time, I'm unsure if the current market could handle it given how entrenched the big 3 have become. Couple that with console preference not allowing the community to bolster the marketing, and it'd be a rough ride.

[TheColbertinator]

I only know of two consoles this generation : The Nintendo Switch and the Xbox One X.

[MWH]

Bad boy ☝🏻

[doggo84]

I know one which is much better than both of those put together: ps4.

[King_Noctis]

Better than both? That is just reaching.

[TheEnigma313]

you're missing out. oh well your loss.

[rainslacker]

You're right....Sony is in a league of their own..although I think its unfair to put the Switch in there with the X1X. You shouldn't be so harsh on Nintendo.

[crazyCoconuts]

Well hang in there... Maybe you'll get a PS4 for your 4th birthday 😉

[SierraGuy]

Along with the 4 games on Xbox.

[CrimsonWing69]

No there isn't. The only reason Microsoft was a success was due to Halo, had they not have had that game I feel it would've been like the 3DO or Jaguar all over again. The thing now is you have 3 super strong established publishers/manufacturers. You throw a new fish into the pond and it'll definitely get some support but in no way will a majority choose it over the other 3.

If it could work they'd need killer apps and so many exclusives that they'd have to be willing to take a loss that generation in order to get a footing.

[TheEnigma313]

MS was successful because Sega went under.

[rainslacker]

Funny enough, if it weren't for them pushing out the 360 so early, which they didn't actually want to do but Nvidia screwed them over, they probably wouldn't have gotten the market presense that they have now. That year head start, and getting some key support in that time from 3rd party devs was really what made them start selling. Gears of War was probably their best acquisition to get exclusive, as that, coupled with Halo, coupled with the year head start, gave them the bump they needed for the media to start licking their boots.

Then Sony did the unthinkable, and came out with an expensive console, during a time when click bait journalism was really starting to take off due to the internet and people's lack of attention span and critical thinking skills, and it's a recipe for MS to have the positive, and for David(the press) to slay his Goliath.

People love to hate the giant. Which is why not many seems to not appreciate MS outside of the gaming community.

[crazyCoconuts]

I've been wondering how meaningful a year's headstart is, because I feel like with Sony's Pro coming out a year before the X, and being a lower priced entry, it's kinda set up for the PS5 to have a year head start on the next Xbox. I mean, we could conceivably see a PS5 in 2020, but I feel like that would be VERY unlikely with the Xbox given the X's existing power and price point. I can't imagine either of them like this leapfrogging rat race, but it certainly benefits us as consumers...

[rainslacker]

It was enough to get them more attention, which is what they needed for the time. Before the 360, they were more a curiosity, although doing pretty decent for a new contender in the market.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@crazyCoconuts,

True, but there seems to be a stringent set of unspoken rules that determine a consoles success, e.g. price, exclusives, DRM, online services, marketing (look at the WiiU), ect... These kicked in hard during the PS3's release (the price and complication of the Cell processor) and during the initial Xone reveal (they really botched it there, plus making a the camera a necessity really hurt them).

[wtf0]

We already have a platform for casuals, we have 5 actually , xbox, ps, ninty, pc, phones. Everywhere you look. I for one wouldnt spend any money if i was a casual gamer. $300+ for a couple hours of gaming a week is absurd.

[Bleucrunch]

Of course there is room for a 4th and it should be Sega or even Valve, but the 4th could really already be mobile phones...but what do I know.

[MWH]

If history proved anything, the answer is no.

[ChasingTheSun]

A 4th? I dont consider switch to be a home console, they failed bad and and went handheld for the foreseeable future, dont give me that hybrid pr spin bs from nintendo, because if wii u would of been a success they would of never went handheld. Getting back to the main point here, yes we do need a 3rd home console to replace the nintendo failing in the home console business.

[Tross]

For casuals? Are you kidding me? If that crowd isn't content with their phones as their primary gaming devices, then even they probably want something like a Switch that has substantial software support. This company's barking up the wrong tree unless they can provide something comparable, or at least much cheaper. I'm sure it will go the way of other failed attempts to get a piece of the console market.

[bellome]

No, we already have the hw. We just need good games.

[Valkron1]

If anyone does it it will be Google 😢

[SprigganN4G]

Google Is the 4th with their Chrome based cloud project. We need more games though, no more hardware.

[Einhander1971]

The new Intellivision isn’t trying to compete with the big players. It’s appeal is towards retro gamers.

[King_Noctis]

According to this site there is barely enough room for one console.

[addictedtochaos]

Only 4th console I would be willing to accept would be from Sega.

[Platformgamer]

3 consoles are already too much