Consoles are running on adrenaline. Serious damage has been dealt to the industry, and while the pain hasn't fully set in yet, manufacturers are staggering through the same old motions of preparing a new hardware generation. We are currently in the seventh year of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and the pressure is mounting to enshrine a new box in the media center. But looking at the current landscape, I find myself asking a question that seems to be on everyone's mind: does anyone actually want new consoles right now?
Gaming has never been less affordable. Even Nintendo, which has historically avoided the cutting edge to keep costs down, has been forced to hike prices due to US tariffs and rising production costs. Meanwhile, Valve's recent entry into the living room with the Steam Machine offers a cautionary tale. Despite having a solid OS, the box is simply too expensive for what it offers. At a base price of $1,050, it is effectively a weaker version of the PS5, and it serves as a grim preview of the price hurdles facing the upcoming PS6 and Xbox Project Helix.
The Price Threshold and the Fast Food Problem
There is a specific price threshold where consumers simply stop caring, and console gaming is dangerously close to hitting it. Affordability and convenience have always been the primary selling points of the console bargain: you pay $500 for a box that just works. When that price balloons, the value proposition vanishes. It is the fast food problem—I buy fast food because it is cheap. If a meal at a fast-food counter costs the same as a sit-down restaurant, the incentive to choose the former disappears.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that performance gains have been diminishing with each passing generation. As we saw when consoles first adopted NVMe SSDs, the hardware reached a point where it felt sufficient for most users. Today, my PS5 and Xbox Series X still work fine, and frankly, they feel untapped. This hasn't been a stellar generation for exclusive software; between bloated production cycles, studio closures, and massive layoffs, the list of true system-sellers is incredibly thin.
A Digital-Only Future
Beyond the hardware specs, the industry is shifting in ways that may alienate the existing base. PlayStation has confirmed it will end production of all new physical games in January 2028. It is clear that the future of the brand is digital-only, and if you think the next generation of consoles will buck this trend, you are likely mistaken. Losing physical media hurts everyone, regardless of your personal preference for digital stores.
With developers struggling, studios closing, and the industry contracting, Sony and Microsoft are finding it difficult to secure enough software to justify the hardware we already have. Trying to sell us on an even more expensive piece of hardware seems like a massive gamble. For now, I would be happy to hunker down with my current console, let the industry navigate its current AI-driven component crisis, and wait until we are living through a slightly more precedented chapter of history before we worry about the next box.