Gaming: Has the end of games consoles begun?

The gaming industry is currently in turmoil. According to the former Xbox boss, this is mainly due to the new gaming behavior of Gen Z. Are we on the verge of a huge upheaval?

Gen Z places different demands on gaming

In many living rooms in households around the world, a games console is just as much a part of the home as the TV. At least that was the case for many years. However, the demand for PlayStation, Xbox and co. seems to have declined noticeably recently. This may certainly be due to the fact that experience shows that less money is spent on such luxury goods in times of inflation. But if former Xbox boss Peter Moore has his way, changing consumer behavior could also be causing a decline. In his opinion, the principle of the games console no longer quite fits in with the demands of so-called Gen Z, as revealed in an interview with IGN.

According to Wikipedia, all people born between 1997 and 2012 belong to this age group. For the big players from Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation and Nintendo, the problem should lead to real headaches, according to the industry expert. After all, a new generation of consoles is always associated with initial losses in the billions. This can only be compensated for if correspondingly high sales figures follow. And this is precisely where the problem lies. At the moment, the gaming industry is doing anything but well. Waves of redundancies, for example at Sony PlayStation developer studios, make this clear.

Consoles are no longer a prerequisite for gaming

Gen Z has grown up with cell phones and smartphones. Accordingly, most of them take it for granted that they can do more than just make calls and send text messages. Powerful processors and brilliant AMOLED screens ensure that they can also play games comfortably on their smartphones. This means that for many teenagers and young adults, a games console is no longer a prerequisite for a good gaming experience.

Furthermore, the demands on content have changed. Die-hard gamers who have grown up with consoles generally want to be told a great story. They are also willing to put up with many hours of playing time at a time. From Moore’s point of view, this has also changed with Gen Z. It is important to them that the gaming experience is used more as a gap filler. The former Xbox boss describes this as “snack-sized content”. In his view, 10 to 12 minutes of playtime would be enough for many kids.

The concerns are not new

It is also interesting to note that Moore explains that the problem is not new to the console industry. Back in 2007, as head of Xbox, he had to think about what the future of games consoles would look like. But back then, people clearly believed in the future of living room peripherals. Despite the unsatisfactory sales figures among young gamers, Microsoft clearly wants to stick to the gaming console principle. However, the whole thing is to be modernized a little with the next Xbox. The next generation will apparently be launched as a hybrid console. This means that games will also be streamed.