Console-icide: former Xbox exec says consoles will die within decade

Former Xbox exec says consoles will die within decade - Image 1Remember those talks of a one console future? Well, one former Xbox exec doesn’t agree. Sandy Duncan, former VP of Xbox Europe, believes that in 5 to 10 years, there won’t be consoles at all. What would the landscape of video games look like in the future then? Read the full article to find out what Duncan has to say on the matter.

Former Xbox exec says consoles will die within decade - Image 1Last year, there’s been a lot of talk about a one-console future. Electronic Arts and Silicon Knights‘ Denis Dyack in particular, were very outspoken on the matter.

However, one former Xbox executive disagrees on the matter. To Sandy Duncan, former VP of Xbox Europe, there won’t be a one-console future. In fact, there won’t be consoles at all.

Duncan believes that in 5 to 10 years, consoles will die out. But that doesn’t mean the end of gaming:

The industry is fundamentally driven by technology. I think dedicated games devices i.e. consoles (and handhelds) will die [out] in the next 5 to 10 years.

The business model is very risky and the costs associated with creating new hardware are incredibly high.

There is a definite “convergence” of other devices such as set top boxes. There’s hardly any technology difference between some hard disc video recorders and an Xbox 360 for example.

In fact in 5 to 10 years I don’t think you’ll have any box at all under your TV, most of this stuff will be “virtualized” as web services by your content provider.”

An interesting thought. Consoles today are already being pushed as being more than just gaming devices. The online features and media offerings of the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live are testaments to that.

However, it may be some time before we see exactly what the future holds. Duncan’s thoughts seem plausible, but it’ll take a few years before we’ll actually be able to see if the consoles’ trends are heading in that direction.

Via That Videogame Blog

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