Is the PC about to win the console war?
The lines between console and PC are blurring more than ever before. Major publishers already seem to know where things are headed: away from closed systems and toward open platforms.
What The Take-Two CEO Says About The Future Of Gaming
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick recently took part in an interview in which he shared his view on the future of the gaming world. Take-Two Interactive is the parent company of Rockstar Games, which means Zelnick is also responsible for titles like GTA VI and Red Dead Redemption 2. In his opinion, the industry is currently undergoing a noticeable shift:
“I think it’s moving towards PC and business is moving towards open rather than closed.“
However, he emphasized that he does not expect consoles to disappear anytime soon. At the same time, he defined the term “console” in an unusually new way:
"But if you define console as the property, not the system, then the notion of a very rich game that you engage in for many hours that you play on a big screen, that’s never going away.”
With these statements, Zelnick is pointing to a trend that has become clearly visible in the gaming industry at least by this year.
How Steam And Xbox Are Reshaping The Market
The realignment of the industry can be seen especially clearly in the two giants Valve and Microsoft. According to rumors, the next Xbox generation is expected to be a hybrid between a console and a PC. Valve has already introduced its own console with the Steam Machine, which is essentially nothing more than a PC in console form.
The Steam Deck also shows just how much gaming is shifting toward the PC. The Asus ROG Ally reinforces this trend as well. The PC has long since begun its rise in the handheld space too.
Even Sony, which relied heavily on exclusivity for many years, is gradually loosening this strategy. Former PlayStation exclusives are now appearing on PC as well. Examples include the 2018 version of God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn and Ghost of Tsushima. And who knows, maybe one day even Bloodborne will make its way to PC.
The only major company that continues to rely consistently on exclusivity is Nintendo. However, a look at the sales figures of the Nintendo Switch 2 shows that this approach can also be very successful.
Where the industry will ultimately go remains uncertain. However, the trend clearly points toward more open systems and less exclusivity.
The Change Has Already Begun
The industry is in a phase where old models are losing relevance and new platform ideas are gaining influence. The PC is moving further into the center, consoles are adapting and even formerly strict exclusivity strategies are being broken up.
How this will continue to develop cannot be said at the moment. The only certain thing is that the boundaries between PC, console and handheld are becoming increasingly blurred and that this shift is already in full motion.
What do you think? Are you on console or PC? Let us know in the comments!
