Console prices have rapidly risen this generation, leaving early adopters with the most value when it comes ot the PS5 and Xbox Series S|X. Most recently, PlayStation hiked prices once again, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see both Xbox and Nintendo follow suit.
As console prices continue to rise, a prominent analyst has come forward with an interesting outlook on the games industry and its future. He believes that these price hikes could eventually lead to the end of console gaming.
This statement comes from Michael Pachter, an analyst known for his controversial opinions and predictions regarding the games industry.
Michael Pachter says that with the recent US tariffs going away, console manufacturers will likely have no trouble securing RAM in the near future. To do this, however, the likes of Sony and Microsoft must pay more to secure memory than before, according to the analyst.
He further states that manufacturing costs will go down because of this decision, but the prices themselves might not change for a while. As per Pachter, the costs saved from the tariffs will be reallocated to securing RAM instead.
However, even with tariffs supposedly out of the picture, demand for AI is still a pertinent threat to gaming hardware. The analyst believes that this demand will continue to push console prices higher, and one potential solution to these price hikes is to completely get rid of consoles.
In fact, he says that console cycles will also progressively get shorter moving forward as prices continue to rise.
“I don’t think you’re going to ever get an affordable PS5 (again), and the question is, what’s the PS6 going to cost? At this rate, $1000. Higher prices are going to destroy the market.” -Michael Pachter
For anybody familiar with Michael Pachter, this is not the first time the analyst has alluded to the end of console gaming. However, because prices are now much higher than they ever were in the past, his statements do hold more merit than they did in the past.
The analyst also notes that the downfall of consoles could pave the path for streaming-oriented gaming. He believes that it would only be a matter of time before everyone moved on to streaming if the technology became a viable console replacement.
“Somebody’s going to figure out a way to play console games without a console. Then we don’t care. I’ve been predicting the end of the console lifecycle.” -Michael Pachter
The post Rising Costs Could All But Kill Consoles And Lead To Streaming Future, Says Analyst appeared first on Clawsomegamer.