“I think they should try to keep the current generation as long as possible”
Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida has been speaking about the current state of the home console market and feels that Nintendo and Sony should try to make this hardware generation last as long as possible.
Speaking in an interview with The Verge (spotted by VGC), Yoshida was quizzed about Xbox’s possible intention to adopt a new subscription-based business model to cover the consumer’s cost for its next system.
He suggested that Xbox’s desire to forge ahead with new hardware is driven by the fact that the company is trailing Sony and Nintendo at the moment in terms of install base – and he believes that should convince the pair to stick with what they have:
“While Sony and Nintendo have sold enough numbers of current-generation hardware, because of the cost of goods they might be looking [at] pushing back the launch of next gen. And I think they should try to keep the current generation as long as possible, because I think people are very happy using PS5 and Switch 2.”
Yoshida picks up on the fact that consumers all over the world have been feeling the pinch when it comes to the cost of living, and luxury items like video game consoles might not be purchased with the same regularity they were in the past – and the recent surge in component costs means that these products are going up in price. “People who have systems like PS5, Switch 2 or good enough PCs probably will be happy to play games on them, and not necessarily consider replacing them,” he says.
He also expressed the opinion that gamers and developers are less concerned with increasing the power of console hardware at the moment:
“I don’t think lots of people are asking for ‘more power, we need more power’. Or even developers, I don’t think developers are asking ‘we need better hardware’, or [anything] like that. So I think that means that the current generation, Sony and Nintendo, are going to do pretty well for many years to come, still.”
