The Console is Becoming Extinct

The Console is Becoming Extinct

British game developer Codemasters’ co-founder David Darling CBE recently released a blog post revolving around the subject area of the so called ‘digital revolution’ and the fall of game consoles. This revolution is a factor that has been on the tongues of a vast number of members of the gaming industry and is quickly drawing up speculation as to the future of the industry itself.

What is certain is that nobody can know for sure what the impact of the digital revolution will be, however Darling seems to believe that consoles are “old fashioned” and like “dinosaurs heading for extinction”. He has valid reason for this, there has been a massive decline in sales of CD’s and DVD’s due to the increases in the digital market, and the convenience of purchasing games online severely outweighs the effort of going to a store to physically pick up a copy.

Digital purchases on the consoles do exist with the most prominent being available on the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE yet David Darling also states that their “over-priced models” will be an additional factor that will “end the console wars”. In order for them to succeed he claims that they must be “digital only” or we will witness the demise of the console.

David Darling has wide experience in the video games industry, ranging from computer gaming to consoles and has now moved on to mobile gaming as well. A smart move considering the mobile gaming industry is projected to become an $18 billion industry by 2018. The advantage that the mobile gaming industry has is that everyone can enjoy it and it is easily accessible whether you are an avid gamer of have never played before, thus making it highly prominent.

Darling stated: “Angry Birds has had more than one billion downloads. A sales figure totally beyond what can be achieved by boxed games. Giants like Apple and Google are taking over as the industry is transitioning from boxed to digital games.”

Consumers are supposedly beginning to abandon their consoles and stopping paying the $50 on a boxed product, to a free or $1 games with optional in-app purchases. This is not necessarily true, a gamer who enjoys the content provided in an Xbox or PS3 purchase would be highly unlikely to be coaxed into the very limited content of a mobile game just to save the money. Gamers have been paying high prices for a long time now and it would be unlikely that they would be swayed by such a game as angry birds, that for some offers nothing more than a distraction on a train journey.

Darling’s blog post offered an interesting perspective on the issue of the digital revolution however much of what he claims is not supported by everyone. Digital releases of games are growing ever more popular and with the manufacturing costs being cheaper are undoubtedly going to be the more popular approach in the future. However it is unreasonable to suggest that the console is becoming extinct, they bring more to the table than being simply a platform for games.

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