I picked up a Steam Deck to get into PC gaming and frankly, I don’t get it. So many games not even worth the bandwidth to download much less actually play.
“Console sales are down. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella marked a 26% decline in spending on current-generation consoles this April compared to last April.”
We’re 4 years into the generation, sales declines aren’t uncommon, but this gen has had unique challenges:
Covid fucked it all up. Supply chain issues screwed availability, software engineering ganked game development.
Too much emphasis on “Cross Gen”. Why would someone scramble to get a hard to find PS5 or Xbox Series when the same game is out on PS4/Xbox One X?
Long generations are kind of the new thing, starting with Xbox 360/PS3. Previously they were around 5 years and people are looking for the next machines now.
“Historically, the console version comes first, so lets take things one at a time. Get the console version out the door, deal with any bugs that arise, maybe an expansion or two, then we’ll announce the PC port, not before.”
“He attended Harvard University in the early 1980s but dropped out to join Microsoft, where he helped create the first versions of the Windows operating system. He and another employee, Mike Harrington, left Microsoft in 1996 to found Valve, and funded the development of their first game, Half-Life (1998). Harrington left in 2000.”
When a new generation starts, I hook it up in the living room, move the previous gen to the bedroom, and mothball the oldest gen.
So when I kick off, my kid, or grand kids, are going to discover organized boxes of gaming gear. I’m sure it will be all over whatever passes for social media then. :)
Currently:
Living Room - PS5, Xbox Series X, Steam Deck Dock.