Gaming is bigger than it has ever been before and shows no signs of slowing down, whether it’s the newest triple-A titles that are pushing the boundaries of what we’ve come to expect from video games, to the growing world of esports that captures hundreds of millions of viewers each, to even smaller niche titles with idle games, puzzle platformers, and even the latest breed of online casinos which have found a new home on mobile.
As consoles, mobiles, and PCs are the home for these titles, just as soon as a new device or new bit of hardware is announced, people are looking forward to what the next generation may offer almost as soon as the previous generation is released. So, what may be expected from the next gen consoles, and will the direction of gaming change?
More Power is Inevitable
The biggest trend through the latest iterations have simply been in delivering more power that lasts for a longer period of time, whilst development starts slow by the end of the console life cycle developers are able to pull maximum performance from these machines.
What can be achieved is already impressive, and new hardware can do some fantastic things, but with the average console lifespan being close to a decade, what may pop-up in the next ten years could push the boundaries of what’s expected even today.
Plenty will be hoping this comes with a specific performance bump; however, the latest generation of consoles did a great job at moving away from 30fps and into the 60’s or higher, something that has become vital for faster games. A push into the hundreds to make use of faster displays and a smoother game will be a welcome change though, and something that’s becoming increasingly sought after.
A Fresh Push for VR
A few years ago VR was all the rage in gaming and every studio would strive to have a VR option, alongside this there were a slew of new VR devices from the likes of Meta, Valve, HTC, and many others. This big push became quiet for a time, a slow uptick on users buying VR devices and the cost became quite a barrier.
Apple seem to have reinvigorated the popularity with the Vision Pro, however, and although this initial platform is still extraordinarily expensive, when manufacturing costs come down there’s no doubt Apple will be on the forefront of popularity as always, and corner some of the VR market.
A Potential for a Higher Cost
It came as a huge surprise for many with the latest generation as the price point of the consoles were extremely low, the digital versions coming in at below $400, and breaking the pattern for what has been common to see within console releases.
Costs are going up, however, with prices of hardware still looking to rise and manufacturing costs also creeping back up. Not to mention the prices of the games themselves as some are now surpassing $70 for their base versions, and whilst not part of the cost of the console directly, always needs to be considered.
There’s still a long time to go before we find out what’s around the corner, with the newest platforms having only just released there may still be close to a decade before any major announcements are made, but there are some that may be possible to look forward to, Nintendo are expected to announce a successor to the Switch with more power, and mobile devices geared specifically for gaming could be on the horizon too as gaming continues to thrive.