TheCapsFan
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Hey everyone! Welcome to our fourth installment of The Arcade Cabinet, where The Arcade staff introduces a new topic for discussion every month! This month, we'll be talking about the next generation of gaming, the Ninth Generation!
With the launch of the Xbox Series X/S this week and the PlayStation 5 next week, we are moving into a new generation of gaming. This generation will largely be characterized by the power of these new consoles, which have the ability to run games at incredibly high resolution and framerate. The power of these consoles will be most noticeable in their vastly decreased loading times; content loading that used to take upwards of 20-30 seconds will now be loaded in a matter of 5 seconds or less.
This generation will also mark the beginning of the push towards digital gaming. Many experts theorized that this generation will be the last for video games as a physical media. This can also be seen through Microsoft and Sony's business decisions to provide cheaper, digital-only versions of their consoles, as well as the rise of cloud gaming as a potential competitor.
With the stage set, let's meet the players!!
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Sony PlayStation 5: The Defending Champion
With its PlayStation 4 selling over 100 million units by the release of the PS5, Sony has been the most consistently successful player in the video game industry, as three of its four home consoles up to this point have sold over that milestone number. Sony undoubtedly destroyed the competition in the Eighth Generation, boasting a huge first party lineup of quality exclusives for the PS4; all of which will be playable through backwards compatibility (some with enhancements) on the PS5. Sony is also entering the Ninth Generation with a pair of anticipated exclusives in the launch window: Demon Souls and Spiderman: Miles Morales. Though its console is slightly underpowered compared to its Microsoft competitor, its promise to deliver more highly anticipated games going into 2021 such as Horizon: Forbidden West, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and the sequel to 2018's Game of the Year, God of War: Ragnarok lead many to believe that Sony will be the early frontrunner in this generation.
Microsoft Xbox Series: The Dangerous Challenger
Microsoft is coming off an interesting generation with the Xbox One, a console that sold extremely well in the West but failed to ever take hold in Japan. With its Xbox Series, Microsoft is attempting to deliver a console that checks all the boxes; powerful, great games, with tons of value. The Xbox Series of consoles is the best in the industry when it comes to backwards compatibility; the console can natively play discs stretching all the way back to the original Xbox. Microsoft also offers Xbox GamePass, which is a subscription service that offers tons of legacy content; many analysts have claimed that the $300 Xbox Series S paired with GamePass gives gamers the most bang for their buck out of all the options. Microsoft's downfall at launch is its game selection: its primary first party launch title, Halo Infinite, was delayed into next year. However, with the recent acquisition of Bethesda Games, many believe the Xbox Series to be a long-term investment that will pay off in a couple of years time, with rumors/speculation that Microsoft is looking to further consolidate the industry in the years to come, putting a ton more IPs under the Microsoft label.
Nintendo Switch: The Current Frontrunner
In the current gaming market, the company that carries the largest market share at the moment is Nintendo. The Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite are an interesting set of consoles, and difficult to place in any one generation, as the Switch was technically released in the middle of the Eighth Generation. However, we will be placing it against the other Ninth Generation consoles, as the Switch is the current player to beat, with a monopoly on the handheld gaming market. The Nintendo Switch has been atop the sales charts in video game hardware since its launch over three years ago, and some industry analysts believe that will continue through the holiday despite the release of new hardware. Currently in a league of its own, the Switch boasts a 68 million (and growing) install base with nine software titles selling over 10 million copies. It is also poised for a very good 2021 with exclusives like Monster Hunter Rise and Super Mario 3D Land Deluxe + Bowser's Fury, and potentially a ton of Zelda content for the 35th anniversary; many believe that the year will end with the release of the highly-anticipated Breath of the Wild 2. No signs point towards any halt of the Switch's momentum.
Cloud Gaming: The Newcomer
For the time being, cloud gaming does not currently have the infrastructure to pose a serious threat to console gaming. The main entrants in the market right now are Google Stadia and Microsoft XCloud, but they have each had their fair share of problems. Stadia was released to a commercial failure, and XCloud has had issues getting permission to run on iOS-powered devices. However, with Amazon unveiling their new cloud gaming platform Luna earlier this year, it seems like these tech behemoths are not giving up on the cloud gaming market just yet. With all three of the major video game hardware companies anticipating a digital future for their hardware (Nintendo has even introduced cloud gaming on their platform itself!), it is possible that the competition between these two currently separate markets could increase.
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So, who do you think will win the next generation of gaming, and why? Which consoles, if any, will you be getting? Will cloud gaming begin to pose a serious threat to consoles? How do you see the ninth generation of gaming playing out? Let us know in the replies!
Link to Previous Arcade Cabinets:
With the launch of the Xbox Series X/S this week and the PlayStation 5 next week, we are moving into a new generation of gaming. This generation will largely be characterized by the power of these new consoles, which have the ability to run games at incredibly high resolution and framerate. The power of these consoles will be most noticeable in their vastly decreased loading times; content loading that used to take upwards of 20-30 seconds will now be loaded in a matter of 5 seconds or less.
This generation will also mark the beginning of the push towards digital gaming. Many experts theorized that this generation will be the last for video games as a physical media. This can also be seen through Microsoft and Sony's business decisions to provide cheaper, digital-only versions of their consoles, as well as the rise of cloud gaming as a potential competitor.
With the stage set, let's meet the players!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sony PlayStation 5: The Defending Champion
With its PlayStation 4 selling over 100 million units by the release of the PS5, Sony has been the most consistently successful player in the video game industry, as three of its four home consoles up to this point have sold over that milestone number. Sony undoubtedly destroyed the competition in the Eighth Generation, boasting a huge first party lineup of quality exclusives for the PS4; all of which will be playable through backwards compatibility (some with enhancements) on the PS5. Sony is also entering the Ninth Generation with a pair of anticipated exclusives in the launch window: Demon Souls and Spiderman: Miles Morales. Though its console is slightly underpowered compared to its Microsoft competitor, its promise to deliver more highly anticipated games going into 2021 such as Horizon: Forbidden West, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and the sequel to 2018's Game of the Year, God of War: Ragnarok lead many to believe that Sony will be the early frontrunner in this generation.
Microsoft Xbox Series: The Dangerous Challenger
Microsoft is coming off an interesting generation with the Xbox One, a console that sold extremely well in the West but failed to ever take hold in Japan. With its Xbox Series, Microsoft is attempting to deliver a console that checks all the boxes; powerful, great games, with tons of value. The Xbox Series of consoles is the best in the industry when it comes to backwards compatibility; the console can natively play discs stretching all the way back to the original Xbox. Microsoft also offers Xbox GamePass, which is a subscription service that offers tons of legacy content; many analysts have claimed that the $300 Xbox Series S paired with GamePass gives gamers the most bang for their buck out of all the options. Microsoft's downfall at launch is its game selection: its primary first party launch title, Halo Infinite, was delayed into next year. However, with the recent acquisition of Bethesda Games, many believe the Xbox Series to be a long-term investment that will pay off in a couple of years time, with rumors/speculation that Microsoft is looking to further consolidate the industry in the years to come, putting a ton more IPs under the Microsoft label.
Nintendo Switch: The Current Frontrunner
In the current gaming market, the company that carries the largest market share at the moment is Nintendo. The Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite are an interesting set of consoles, and difficult to place in any one generation, as the Switch was technically released in the middle of the Eighth Generation. However, we will be placing it against the other Ninth Generation consoles, as the Switch is the current player to beat, with a monopoly on the handheld gaming market. The Nintendo Switch has been atop the sales charts in video game hardware since its launch over three years ago, and some industry analysts believe that will continue through the holiday despite the release of new hardware. Currently in a league of its own, the Switch boasts a 68 million (and growing) install base with nine software titles selling over 10 million copies. It is also poised for a very good 2021 with exclusives like Monster Hunter Rise and Super Mario 3D Land Deluxe + Bowser's Fury, and potentially a ton of Zelda content for the 35th anniversary; many believe that the year will end with the release of the highly-anticipated Breath of the Wild 2. No signs point towards any halt of the Switch's momentum.
Cloud Gaming: The Newcomer
For the time being, cloud gaming does not currently have the infrastructure to pose a serious threat to console gaming. The main entrants in the market right now are Google Stadia and Microsoft XCloud, but they have each had their fair share of problems. Stadia was released to a commercial failure, and XCloud has had issues getting permission to run on iOS-powered devices. However, with Amazon unveiling their new cloud gaming platform Luna earlier this year, it seems like these tech behemoths are not giving up on the cloud gaming market just yet. With all three of the major video game hardware companies anticipating a digital future for their hardware (Nintendo has even introduced cloud gaming on their platform itself!), it is possible that the competition between these two currently separate markets could increase.
-----------------------------------------------------------
So, who do you think will win the next generation of gaming, and why? Which consoles, if any, will you be getting? Will cloud gaming begin to pose a serious threat to consoles? How do you see the ninth generation of gaming playing out? Let us know in the replies!
Link to Previous Arcade Cabinets:
