Consoles are the new PCs. That’s not just because they’ve adopted PC-like architecture and are embracing previously PC-bound models like free-to-play, but rather that just like we had with PC gaming, pundits have been – incorrectly – proclaiming them on the verge of death. But that’s obviously not true. With over 40 million new-gen consoles in homes (including the Wii U), I think it’s safe to say that console gaming – like PC gaming – is alive and well.
Speaking to Edge (via GamesRadar), Microsoft’s Phil Spencer affirmed that consoles were doing rather well at the moment, saying “it’s a great time for the console industry.”
“I’ve said this a few times, but four years ago when I was sitting doing these interviews it was, ‘Do people need consoles any more?’ and ‘Isn’t this just dead? Everybody’s playing on their phone,’” he said.
“And now you’re looking at the PS4 having sold over 20 million. And we’ve sold a ton of Xbox Ones globally, more than we’ve sold 360s [in the same period]. We’re both doing really well, and I think Nintendo has a plan for the future – I don’t know what the NX is, but it’s great just to see the business being done.”
Microsoft’s sold about half as many Xbox Ones as Sony’s sold PlayStation 4’s, but the momentum is slowly, slowly shifting, and the Xbox One is starting to be taken a little more seriously. In a previously published extract from the same Interview, Spencer admitted that Sony was doing tremendously well in European territories such as ours, and that it was an area that they needed to focus on.
A recent price drop, which has now taken effect locally, should help with that. The Xbox One can now be had for R5499 RRP, which for many is a lot more appealing than the R6299 RRP of the PlayStation 4. Of course, retailer specials and bundles take bigger dents out of the pricing.
Last Updated: July 28, 2015
Lollies the Laughing Lollipop
July 28, 2015 at 11:03
is it me or are the header rather weak looking today.. tsk tsk tsk.. expected better from you lazygamer lot..
konfab
July 28, 2015 at 12:02
Read the Discsworld series of Novels by Terry Pratchett, then come back and look at that header.
Dutch Matrix
July 28, 2015 at 12:12
Do not feed the trolls…
konfab
July 28, 2015 at 12:15
I wasn’t sure if it was trolling, or just literary insufficient.
Alien Emperor Trevor
July 28, 2015 at 11:07
They’ve sold a ton of Xbones? That’s what, 6 or 7 of them at their combined weight?
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 28, 2015 at 11:10
Is that including or excluding the external power brick?
RinceThis
July 28, 2015 at 12:22
Ouch!
Kinect
July 28, 2015 at 20:01
Phil Spencer is a master of lies. It’s funny how the snakey little bastard is talking about PS4 sales as if he is part of Sony, all while hiding the sales of the Xbox One. Phil Spencer is a clown. I don’t believe for 1 second that Xbox One has sold more than the 360 did at the same point in it’s life. Even if it did, it isn’t by much. The Xbox One is doing worse in Japan and Europe than the 360 did.
I also find it hilarious how he acts like he’s happy consoles are doing well, when he’s the one trying to make Xbox One a Windows 10 PC and bridge PC with Xbox. Can’t wait to play Halo on PC.
Everything out of Phil Spencer’s mouth is lies and dishonesty. The only people praising him are morons who are using him as an excuse to sa, “See?, Don Mattrick is gone and Phil Spencer is here, so Microsoft cares about us now”
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 28, 2015 at 11:09
Not so good time for PC, but that’s just because most of the devs don’t care about service quality. Only sales.
Alien Emperor Trevor
July 28, 2015 at 11:13
You keep forgetting PCs are dead too. Everything is a black vortex of despair and death that sucks all the fun out of life, and then we inevitably die, just like our beloved platforms… Happy Tuesday everyone!
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 28, 2015 at 11:13
Woohoo!!
HvR
July 28, 2015 at 11:21
Sounds like a fun rollercoaster ride “Vortex of Death and Despair”
RinceThis
July 28, 2015 at 12:22
GG4Life
Jonah Cash
July 28, 2015 at 15:50
Yes tablets will take over the place of PC’s…. hahahahaha
Sorry I couldn’t say that with a straight face!
Sun Streaker
July 28, 2015 at 23:50
better being a PC gamer now than a decade ago for sure!.
That and it’s getting bigger and better too.
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 29, 2015 at 09:50
Agreed. Though a decade ago we still had loads of nice strategy games to pick from. Now we barely have any.
Sun Streaker
July 29, 2015 at 15:39
We barely have any due to devs not being bothered and games like CiV getting stupidly popular, there’s far more turn based or non C&C RTS games now than there were back then, I heard MS is working on an RTS for XB1 and PC so I’m hoping they manage to pull it off because someone needs to bring RTS back in a big way since Petroglyph studios and the guys behind PA failed so far.
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 29, 2015 at 16:44
True.
RTS is what I’m looking for.
Sun Streaker
July 29, 2015 at 19:41
Same with me, I still enjoy playing PA but I want something more like AOE and Supreme Commander, something on a much bigger and more polished scale from someone we know.
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 30, 2015 at 11:46
Planetary Annihilation, though I bought it early access to support it, is such a disappointing game. The devs didn’t even do half the things they said they would and PA had one of the largest kickstarter funding ever. It’s sickening, actually. I’d rather play Total Annihilation at this stage. It was a better polished game in every way in my opinion.
Even just a new Total Annihliation would satisfy me at this stage.
Supreme Commander was great, I loved it so much, really bringing in the TA bits, but it was also terribly optimised.
Sun Streaker
July 30, 2015 at 19:05
In the end they eventually managed to add quite a bit in and are still updating and adding new stuff, I check back now and then to play a few games and then hop out but I spend more time playing Red Alert 3 and Supreme Commander.
Captain JJ Fantasticus
July 31, 2015 at 08:24
The sad thing is they didn’t add near the content that they said they would.
Grey Goo looks quite awesome though, really considering getting that. Plus the one alien race has a South African accent, which is nice. 🙂
Sun Streaker
July 31, 2015 at 15:01
Yeah they didn’t fully add in what was shown in the trailer and though the style is close to what it originally looked like, I still prefer how the game looked in the first trailer in terms of style since it looked more polished and refined, probably another reason as to why their Kickstarter for another type of RTS game didn’t work out because they’d already screwed up what goodwill they had, that and they didn’t support Monday night combat well and let that die.
grey Goo was ok, it definitely felt slow and wasn’t amazing to play with low frames and having FPS issues on the main menu, that and the max player count and unit cap wasn’t exactly great for a PC only RTS, I’m used to PA/C&C style RTS’s where we can make as many units as possible and the only limit is the hardware.
I heard MS has an RTS planned for both PC/XB1 (hoping the game is designed around PC first though), I’m hoping it’ll be decent and I really do want another C&C since the last game was C&C 4 and than was fairly ok but it got universally panned.
Lollies the Laughing Lollipop
July 28, 2015 at 11:09
Btw, if you going for a Next Gen Console just because its cheap.. you should not be buying next gen consoles then..
Jonah Cash
July 28, 2015 at 15:45
I went from a PS2 to a Xbox 360 because I couldn’t afford the PS3… I just didn’t have the money, but also wanted better graphics and games. So no, that is not a bad reason to buy a new gen console.
Kromas,powered by windows 10.
July 28, 2015 at 11:21
Here is the thing. Console can’t keep up with tech. We have various exciting new tech coming soon to a PC near you and these consoles are supposed to have a 8 ish year lifecycle. So unless the drop the life cycle by 5 years without increasing the price and making sure backwards compatibility is a thing they can’t keep up unless they have upgrading capabilities. The second that happens consoles evolves into something I like to call a PC.
Dutch Matrix
July 28, 2015 at 11:40
Dat Pratchett reference. Brought a manly tear to my eye…
Brady miaau
July 28, 2015 at 11:41
Indeed, I was about to post!
Hey Granny, how goes things?
Dutch Matrix
July 28, 2015 at 11:41
STAHP YOU MAKING ME WEEP!!!
Brady miaau
July 28, 2015 at 11:44
Read this book about 4 timessss over many yearsssssss. Buzzzzz
http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Terry-Pratchett/Lords-and-Ladies.html
http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1185086-lords-and-ladies
WitWolfy
July 28, 2015 at 11:52
You should’ve used a Wii U console instead.
konfab
July 28, 2015 at 12:03
Mistress Weatherwax approves of the header.
CypherGate
July 28, 2015 at 12:07
There will be another generation of consoles. Most people dont know the ins and outs of PC’s in general. For example if you playing The Witcher 3 on PC in your living room and bam you get some funny error out of nowhere that kicks you out of your game. You run to daddy and daddy says: “well son Im not too sure… I bought it for you to play games on. I only know how to use word and Pastel for my work.” What do you do then? search the forums you say? I dont think many people would be willing to take the time to do research like us PC literate peeps out there. Consoles is just sit down and play. If there is an error then you have a few options, hit the reset button, switch power off for a few mins then on again, eject disc and blow etc etc usually one of those helps like 99% of the time. With pc’s… its a little different. Now im not jumping down on PC’s at all. Just looking at real world situations with PC’s. Lots of older people wont know how to sort an issue out on a PC and PC’s can be quite random with its errors when it comes to games and no Pirated games isnt the only thing that gives issues. Even ones which you buy. I mean my brother downloaded a free version of Ultra Street Fighter 4 from Steam and when he eventually downloaded the game it gave some odd error. It didnt want to load at all. His PC is pretty much brand new and up to date. I mean his playing The Witcher 3 etc so in the end? He couldnt figure out the issue and saw it a waste of gigs to download. So yeah. Consoles will still be around for quite a long time.
konfab
July 28, 2015 at 12:11
There will always be those who have the time and inclination for the frustration of PC games. I decided to fire up Crypt of the Necrodancer the other day, it just wouldn’t damn well start:
The reason: updated drivers to get another game to work.
Dealing with those shenanigans when you are young, in school and have spare time is well worth the reward. However, I do not have the free time to waste writing batch files to force KOTOR to only use one core, so I just play on Playstation.
Dutch Matrix
July 28, 2015 at 12:12
What you said.
CypherGate
July 28, 2015 at 12:22
EXACTLY. perfectly said. I fired up Far Cry 4 and worked perfectly fine. a week later I wanted to play it and got driver errors. I think it has something to do with one of the games I installed before wanting to play Far Cry 4. Updated drivers and still gave some error. Not sure what the error was about and thought hell no im not going to sit here for hours trying to get this to work when it worked before. So just uninstalled and left it. There is just no time to sit and troubleshoot ones life away to get a game to work thats why consoles are good. Get on that couch and play.
Brady miaau
July 28, 2015 at 12:26
Yip. But I have been lambasted on these very forums for saying that, as it was claimed that this is no longer the case with modern games and stuff. I beg to differ.
konfab
July 28, 2015 at 12:33
Probably by people who are:
1) Young
2) In school
3) Have the spare time to muck about.
There is nothing wrong with any of it, hell I used to enjoy it. It is just I am in a different stage of my life and don’t feel like doing it. Consoles are a nice compromise, get 80-99% of the graphics with 0% of the trouble.
Sean Carbutt
July 28, 2015 at 13:26
I’m a PS4 gamer and I must agree with you. Yes we all know that PC’s are infinitely better due to their upgrade path etc. As you stated. how many people actually know how to get in via back doors etc, not a lot. Consoles are easy. Hit the restart and off you go. The plus on consoles is that the architecture is a known one and as such, the dev’s can make the games to run optimally for that architecture. PC’s, well how big is your budget?
CypherGate
July 28, 2015 at 13:40
Exactly. Sure you can get budget gaming pc’s, medium and high end ones to cater to your budget etc, but honestly now… would you spend ±R5000 on a budget PC to play games at say low to medium settings running at various frame rates or spend ±R15 000 on a PC that can run all games on ultra settings (which I personally feel the game was made to be played that way why play games on graphic settings of years back) Console games might not have ultra graphic settings, but they have great graphics for everyone to enjoy. No need to dial down your graphic settings cause your hard earned money couldn’t buy you a PC that could run the game the way its meant to be run on that specific hardware. Many will say Consoles cost a lot more where the costs of buying a game is concerned. sure they cost more in most cases and many will bring up the whole steam sale thing, but console games also have sales at the end of the day. Maybe not as cheap, but its still at atleast ±R300 cheaper than original price. I enjoy gaming on PC and console, but PC gaming just gives me more issues than Id like anyway. Like my one buddy… all he plays is DOTA on PC. His more a pc gamer than anything, but even he says he cant still deal with all the extra things he needs to consider when buying a newer game.
Jonah Cash
July 28, 2015 at 15:49
I bought a gaming PC in March, first gaming PC I have owned for more than 15 years… I have had days where I was more on Google to fix Witcher 3 than play the game. I am slowly starting to remember why I got a PS1 instead of upgrading my PC.
But having said that if you put Witcher 3 on your 55″ TV and run it at Ultra it is very very good looking!
CypherGate
July 28, 2015 at 15:59
That sucks so much. Ive had my old PC for about 10 years now myself and do plan on building new one in the new year. Not specifically for gaming, but for work mainly and the odd game here and there. I do plan on getting me a console just for gaming. I do agree 100% that the Witcher 3 on a 55″ TV on ultra graphics does look awesome!
RinceThis
July 28, 2015 at 12:22
SONY4LIFE bwhahaah
Tiberian_Fiend
July 28, 2015 at 23:41
People only rushed out and bought PS4s because console makers tried to stretch the last generation too long and consumers were desperate for new hardware. In truth, this generation’s console sales are lagging far behind last generation’s when lined up for comparison, and the difference will become exacerbated in years 3-5 when PS3 and X360 sales pick up and this generation’s falters. Neither PS4 nor Xbone will outsell their forebears.
Sun Streaker
July 28, 2015 at 23:49
I wish I had the crack the op was smoking because damn, last gen and the one before that console gamers were all about PC gaming is dying” for two gens straight, PC gaming is getting more popular so it’s no surprise to see the op claim PC users are proclaiming console gaming is dead and not telling everyone it was the other fucking way around for two gens straight, I love the typical spin on that.
Also it’s typical PR, for Sony it’s great this gen but for Xbox it;s shit due to their hardware choice and damaged image, Wii U isn’t getting much 3rd party support at all, they lost Iwata and just aren’t doing much in terms of stepping up against Sony.
So yeah I suppose it’s going well but only for Sony, I’d much prefer next gen where PC gaming is bigger than ever and all 3 consoles are neck and neck so everyone can have great games and be fucking happy instead of at each other’s throats or gloating shit.
Paladinrja
July 29, 2015 at 01:14
Scared of NX? No need. It will provide everyone with continuity in the gaming narrative moving forwards. The real deal is that all these businesses are in it together at the fundamental level. The real prize is IP and I don’t mean game IP but the kinds of innovations that can be licensed to everyone including competitors to further help innovate. Thats how Nintendo brought back the industry and thats how they are seemingly going to do it again.
The old business model of the past 20yrs has hit its limit. Its time for an industry reset. Welcome to NX the end of the console war 11.11.16.