Good god, that list of '95 bestsellers takes me back. Three fighting games and four platformers!
I took a quick glance at the various charts available for 2024 (since the 2025 charts aren't done yet). Death, taxes and sports games making the top 10 are the only constants in the universe, it seems.
Definitely sad/bad news for the console industry, but with prices up so high (except for PS5 ish) and a definite recession (if you believe in actual data and not Faux New chirons) I'm not THAT surprised. I'm also going to guess that Black Friday sales for various items will be done a bit, but curious if the $100 off the PA VR2 will have actually goosed those sales at all?
Don't think it's quite the same thing, since movies can still be watched at home, right? You can't play games if you don't have systsms. A bit of an orange vs a sandwich - sure, it's entertainment, but that's about the only real similarity.
I actually think it’s more similar than it may appear. For movies it was an event that stunted attendance in theaters and had people look elsewhere for entertainment, including mobile platforms, YouTube/tiktok and other short form, etc
Consoles are no longer simply competing with each other as they are part of the desire to capture all our time. So consoles now also compete with social media, Netflix, and everything else that demands all our time
So when I look at poor console sales, that means they are not ending up in households during a critical sales time of the year. That, in turn, means people that might have been playing console games could be on mobile, PC, or simply doing other things with their time
It really comes down to a question of where people get their entertainment and what they’re willing to pay for it. In the past Consoles and AAA games were a recession proof industry. Due to multiple factors, some of which are listed above, that’s no longer the case. Weak sales should be concerning to everyone
(Let me also note, this is not what I want to see. I think a healthy console industry brings good games to players. I’m simply looking at the trends and concerned for the future of an industry I’ve spent 20 years in)
I always grab the free game from Epic every Thursday. Last week it was delayed so it would appear during Game Awards. It ended up being Hogwart’s Legacy. A wet fart of a reveal.
Good god, that list of '95 bestsellers takes me back. Three fighting games and four platformers!
I took a quick glance at the various charts available for 2024 (since the 2025 charts aren't done yet). Death, taxes and sports games making the top 10 are the only constants in the universe, it seems.
The irony of the top games in 1995 are probably all the physical games I purchased on whatnot in November 2025 for my new Analogue 3D.
Definitely sad/bad news for the console industry, but with prices up so high (except for PS5 ish) and a definite recession (if you believe in actual data and not Faux New chirons) I'm not THAT surprised. I'm also going to guess that Black Friday sales for various items will be done a bit, but curious if the $100 off the PA VR2 will have actually goosed those sales at all?
I was wondering when tariffs would effectively hit games and was surprised by the success of the Switch 2 earlier in the year
In a time when the industry is in a general state of turmoil and console is a bit lost, this is blow it does not need
I can’t help but think of the lasting effect Covid has had on movie theaters and their future and if consoles face a similar decline
Don't think it's quite the same thing, since movies can still be watched at home, right? You can't play games if you don't have systsms. A bit of an orange vs a sandwich - sure, it's entertainment, but that's about the only real similarity.
I actually think it’s more similar than it may appear. For movies it was an event that stunted attendance in theaters and had people look elsewhere for entertainment, including mobile platforms, YouTube/tiktok and other short form, etc
Consoles are no longer simply competing with each other as they are part of the desire to capture all our time. So consoles now also compete with social media, Netflix, and everything else that demands all our time
So when I look at poor console sales, that means they are not ending up in households during a critical sales time of the year. That, in turn, means people that might have been playing console games could be on mobile, PC, or simply doing other things with their time
It really comes down to a question of where people get their entertainment and what they’re willing to pay for it. In the past Consoles and AAA games were a recession proof industry. Due to multiple factors, some of which are listed above, that’s no longer the case. Weak sales should be concerning to everyone
(Let me also note, this is not what I want to see. I think a healthy console industry brings good games to players. I’m simply looking at the trends and concerned for the future of an industry I’ve spent 20 years in)
I always grab the free game from Epic every Thursday. Last week it was delayed so it would appear during Game Awards. It ended up being Hogwart’s Legacy. A wet fart of a reveal.