Valve is releasing a multiple Steam Machines and they are not targeting console gamers with them. Last time a company released multiple SKUs of the same product, each of them way overpriced, said company failed enough to have a chance of going bankrupt. The Ouya flopped. Nintendo, a once great company, realized their Japanese marketing tactics (i.e. marketing to kids) do not work with Western audiences anymore. Nintendo has had to go back to the drawing board.
The last time the industry crashed, there were too many consoles out and each had their own versions of the same games. Not to mention all the failed attempts at innovation in the industry with Colecovision, Virtual Boy, etc., that released before it happened. One could say Atari caused the industry crash while Nintendo saved it. One could also say we will be in that same boat soon, as the industry has become congested with varying versions of the same thing and solely because it’s what’s most popular among consumers.
Any of the big three companies in gaming (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, obviously) could cause it. Each is experiencing some sort of failure. PlayStation Vitas aren’t selling and when they are sold, it’s at a loss. The Xbox One has a $500 USD price tag, which makes it a hard sell, especially if you know about the bad publicity. Reggie Fils-Aime believes consumers now know the differences between the Wii and Wii U though there are casual gaming consumers that, to this day, think the Wii U is nothing more than an accessory to the Wii.
Would a rather successful independent game studio, such as Mojang or Insomniac Games, be able to revitalize the industry by attempting to make a hardware? Or would one of the big three be just successful enough to live through the crash? Could it somehow be where the game industry wouldn’t even crash? Your input is important to us so please leave a comment below, thanks! 🙂
Shimbo Suzuki
Great article, Shawn! It’s possible though I don’t think it will not be any time soon.