
An analysis of the advantages of innovative next gen consoles, and an assessment of whether the benefits they provide are really worth it to gamers.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter believes the next Xbox console might be already dead due to Microsoft embracing Game Pass at $30.
Wouldn't it be the case of Pachter finally agreeing with parts of us rather than we agreeing with him?
I remember vividly that back in the day when GP was introduced and shaped further, many of us were saying that it's a great service on one hand. But were also already skeptical, too, as to how Microsoft would be able to keep the service running financially in the future.
Or/and how it would affect studios and game development in general.
As of March 2026, I think we have the answers some of us anticipated back then, when it was still Pachter who had forecasted «100 million subscribers».
Likely the next Xbox will have a premium price tag so they have some profit margin on the low numbers they sell. We all know that the bulk of revenue will come from 3rd party sales on other devices and perhaps some from game pass.
And even Gamepass flopped. The end goal of Gamepass was to be hegemonic, to kill game purcahses with subscriptions. But that never happened. Game sales are still thriving, Gamepass' subscriber count has stalled, it's costly for MS and studios and its price is increasing.
The purchase of Activision allows them to hide Gamepass' failure. Not suprising that gamepass was removed from Nadella yearly bonus, they knew they would never hit the targets.
I am not a Pachter fan , but I have to agree...who would have though. It used to be to sell cheaper hardware that is subsidised by First party game sales in the first few years until you can reach millions owning the console and by that time you can cheapen your hardware because the tech have been revised. With gamepass on everything and developers losing sales that option is now limited. With the onset of more options for games and developers going for Gass gambling FOMO style games and dlc consumers have become rightfully picky. Add that to growing hardware prices and escalating ram and pandering to society... it kills a brand. Most og gamers are gonna find you out and stay away. Put on the pressure of companies demanding higher revenue for sales, the poor developer has no other option to put a new coat of paint on a copy of another successful game. Innovation , what we are looking for doesn't happen a lot because the danger of failing could lead to budget cuts and them letting you go...so you play it safe and make a copy of a copy. Yes we get genres and types but 80% is the same game we have had for ages. So then because you are scared you let them put it on gamepass and you know you know at least what you get.

Nintendo announced Friday that several of its long-time partners, including DeNA, will sell off some ¥300 billion in company shares.

Digital intelligence and analytics firm Sensor Tower has released its State of Gaming 2026 report, revealing flat growth in mobile game revenue, double-digit growth for PC and console gaming, and another record year for PC, with more games sold on Steam than ever before.
Absolutely
The current generation of gaming consoles have been on the market for the better part of a decade. Starting with the Xbox 360 in 2005, followed by the Nintendo Wii entertainment console, and PS3 in 2006. It is now 2012. We have been fighting the good fight with this generation for many many moons now.
Console cycles are very important for the growth of the gaming industry. Since gaming consoles have no upgrade option as does a PC. It is extremely necessary for updated consoles to drive the industry forward. The only drawback that I see from this is the likely chance of videogame prices hiking up $10 as they do annually each new generation. Also the price to develop games will skyrocket for developers. This will likely result to many studios closing down as they were during this current generation.
If some of these consoles are as powerful as rumores mention a good percentage of smaller dev studios will struggle. Even worse then they are today. Sadly it does not end there. We have a solid chance to witness the beginning of the end of used game sales due to new piracy tech that will likely be implemented into next generation consoles.
Hopefully the games produced next generation will justify the purchase. So far we have heard nothing but negativity in regards of new consoles. I pray that the games speak louder then all the hate thats been going around lately. The Nintendo Wii U entertainment console seems to be the 1st to cross the bridge. Hopefully Nintendo can start the war off correctly and shed some positive light back onto the videogame scene.
Rated E For Everyone
YES
yes for the real furthering of graphics cause i sure aint seeing the next gen with pc so yes next gen is necessary
No. Build games that use the strength of each console. Stop using generic run of the mill engines expecting them to give flawless experiences on everything.
Skyrim is a great example instead of coding for everything code for each platform to give the best it can get. Less bugs, better performance. I'm missing out on the witcher 2 but I would rather miss out then have a golden poo experience.
I own a ps3 and Xbox give each the best do not stifle one to make a profit on the other it just gives everyone a bad taste that lasts for a long time.
Well ofcourse but Nintendo shouldn't continue,they continue to dissapoint me.. I'm done!! -______-