A brief overview of the console market

While reading Habr, I was perplexed to notice that Habrovchan was little aware of the console world, sometimes in the comments there are serious inaccuracies, and no one is in a hurry to correct them. I have no right to comment, so I am writing a brief overview of the market, especially relevant in connection with the upcoming arrival of a new generation of consoles. The article will be an excellent addition to the recent history of their development , but will describe only the current situation.

The market for PC games will only touch in passing. Just ignore portable consoles, this is a topic for another conversation.
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The article is for informational purposes only. Any subjective comments are hidden under the cath and are optional for reading.

Introduction

The transition from generation to generation in the world of consoles has always been a “technology race”. Beginning on cartridge systems, where the concept of 16 bits was much cooler than 8 bits, it turned into high-tech developments, culminating in the most complex Cell processor for PS3.

The console turned out to be very powerful (you can see its capabilities in peak condition in projects such as Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls ), but the price was the complexity of developing for it and the cost of production. As a result, many multi-platform projects on the Microsoft console look even better.

The latter made a bet on services in the current generation, on the online, their work with the community at the beginning of the Xbox 360 life cycle was beyond praise, and Sony was in the role of overtaking the entire current generation. Moreover, the Xbox has already managed to gain a foothold in the market, having come out a year or more earlier. The Microsoft console was created balanced, fairly simple to develop, and only a huge percentage of defects in the first installment (according to some sources up to 60%) overshadowed its output.

Nintendo's Wii was shown at E3 2005 , and it suddenly “shot”. More precisely, everyone knew that the console would have a remote in the kit, allowing it to track its movements, but no one imagined that this idea would be so popular with users. Queues to the stands with the Wii did not decrease until the end of the exhibition. At a cost of $ 250, the console was disassembled at the start as hot cakes, not paying attention to the low power of its iron.

Read more about the current generation.

The current position in the console market is briefly characterized by two tables:

Weekly sales of consoles for today



Total number of consoles sold for the entire period since their launch




For its new console, Sony radically changed its priorities. The console from an exclusive development turned into a modified PC with a unique set of functions. The bet is made on online services and socialization. PS Vita, Vita TV, Gaikai , Nashe and Torne (in Japan) will ideally create a holistic PlayStation universe covering all end-user needs.

Microsoft continued the already proven policy (to wrest leadership from the invulnerable Sony for several years is a great achievement), forcing an additional direction on TV and video services. The kinect that comes with each console differentiates the console from a competitor, even if not everyone needs it.

Nintendo made a bet on the uniqueness of its console, which worked perfectly with the Wii . Their console sold better on both the PS3 and Xbox 360, thanks in large part to capturing completely new players, mothers and grandparents. It was very popular among children. Wii U, their new console, has a built-in joystick screen, and also offers a unique gameplay.

A bit of history and what can we expect

Microsoft today is in a unique situation. The policy they sounded at E3 2013 caused a sharp rejection of the majority of players. Compulsory internet connection once a day, the inability to freely give the purchased disk to play to a friend, Kinekt , without which the console will not even work and the cost is $ 500 ... a squall of criticism fell upon the company.

The system proposed by the company reminded many people of Steam, it is clear that Microsoft was planning to take a step towards fully digital distribution of games, but hurried. Hastened and took away the players' choice, only playing into the hands of the main competitor.

Sony, behind them, frustrated the hall’s applause , simply telling them that they would have no such restrictions (video) .

Less than a month later, the Redmond fighters made a 180-degree turn , canceling all restrictions and returning to the usual system, at the same time destroying all the advantages that the new system promised. Unfortunately, the company is very closed for both journalists and ordinary users, and there is little news from them.

The rest of the Xbox One is following in the footsteps of the Xbox 360. Their most successful console still surpasses the PS3 in the US and the UK with a large margin, although it is lagging behind in Europe and the rest of the world.

From interesting facts: Microsoft in January of this year showed a very promising technology IllumiRoom



But representatives of the company said that this technology will be too expensive at the moment. Very, very sorry.

Sony entered the latest race (the decision to add to the GPU console was made almost at the last moment, which delayed the development), giving competitors a huge head start, which only Microsoft could play in the middle of this year. The company did not want to repeat such a story, because the PS3 hit their pockets very painfully, with each console sold they lost more than $ 200. And this is at a price of $ 600 for the top model, and $ 500 for the budget. Therefore, the policy of creating a unique platform that worked well with PS One and PS2 was revised. Times have changed.

When creating a new PlayStation, the company focused primarily on players and developers. Focus groups were created, surveys and many tests were conducted. This practice was very different from the closed, top-secret development of the PS3 with Cell inside. PS4 chief architect Mark Cernie talked about this in much more detail; you can watch his amazing performance in the video below.



Although Sony will continue to lose money on each console, these losses do not compare with the losses caused by the PS3. The company will make a profit if the player acquires at least 1-2 games, or subscribes to PS Plus. Microsoft will sell the console immediately at a profit that previously only Nintendo managed before the release of 3DS.

In addition, Sony said that the pre-orders for the PS4 are much higher than those of previous generations, and have now reached one and a half million consoles. Microsoft gives only approximate figures, but also encouraging: pre-orders are twice as high as they were on the Xbox 360.

Nintendo is in its position. Its iron does not cause enthusiasm for its power, although it is convenient to work with it. But their strength is in the interior studios.

If you look at Sony and Microsoft sales tops, you will see Call of Duty, FIFA, Battlefield and the like in the first places. In the top ten exclusives occupy only three, four positions. In Nintendo, exclusives occupy almost all the lines. They sell the console.

However, they are also trying to improve relations with third-party developers. According to igrodelov themselves, Nintendo is the second most open company for them.

Unfortunately, the current sales of their new console can not be called high. Perhaps the current situation with the Wii U was partly due to 3DS. Favorite games just came out on a portable console, and then a year and a half later there were already new parts, and you also had to buy a separate console. Due to unsuccessful marketing, many Wii owners did not even realize that a new console had been released. A joystick with a large touch screen was taken as an additional peripheral for the old console.

However, leading industry experts have repeatedly warned that Nintendo should not be underestimated. They unexpectedly fired off the Wii, but after the failure of the GameCube, they were not even considered to be their competitors. The company can easily pull out the Wii U by expanding the user base with its own projects, and making the console attractive for large publishers.

2013 best selling games for different platforms.

A few words about indie

Today, about indie games and developers did not hear unless deaf. There are they on Habré .

All the major platform holders unanimously talk about supporting independent teams, but hard work with indie is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they get on board a lot of talented teams capable of creative projects, on the other - a stream of unintelligible content that needs to be somehow filtered. Microsoft precisely because of this, initially limited the developers, setting a condition that the game must have a publisher. The simplest, but unloved by most indie way.

Their closest competitor from the very beginning emphasized the support of independent developers.


The PS4 devkit now costs $ 2500, but Sony has been distributing it to indie developers for quite a long time as part of a free lease for a year.

In response, Microsoft announced in August the ID @ Xbox program, in which developers can develop and release games on Xbox One without a publisher . The developers registered in the program will also receive two devkits free of charge, full access to the libraries for working with Kinect and XboxLive, and free access to the popular Unity cross-platform engine.


A curious detail, company representatives say that in 2014 it will be possible to develop games using the console itself, without a devkit. Naturally, licensing will be paid.

What indie developers will bring to the world of consoles is yet to be seen.

Digital distribution, and how it has changed the previously unshakable world of consoles

Starting with the current generation, it became possible to distribute games over the network. And this seemingly simple fact changes almost everything.

For the first time in history, consoles opened for small projects, which gave rise to the “indie” project boom observed today. A small game, worth a couple of dollars, will only be released on the disc and distributed through stores. Download versions have completely solved this problem.

However, for platform holders, this turned out to be a far from positive transition, breaking the established system for developing and distributing games.

First Valve responded - a small gaming company, not the wise mega-corporations. The success of Steam is no longer discussed by anyone.

At that time, they came to a completely empty market first and provided high-quality service, having received deserved recognition. Digital distribution on the PC was developed before, but it was very chaotic, the high level of piracy and the inconvenience of acquiring games greatly complicated the life of gaming studios.

The recent announcement of SteamOS - a further step in this direction.


Apple opened its own, unique market, such a success of their phone and AppStore was not expected by anyone.



Google started later, but having made a bet on an open platform, it did not lose. Despite the wild popularity of the iPhone, today the most common operating system in the world is Android. GooglePlay is rapidly gaining momentum and even overtaken by the number of applications downloaded by the AppStore, according to the latest information.

Console giants were much less agile. With a delay of several years, Microsoft began to move in the digital direction, soon followed by Sony. Only recently, prospects understood Nintendo. Both PS4 and Xbox One will allow you to buy any game available on the shelves online. Separate digital releases will be even more.

In topic: the announcement of PS Vita TV was a perfect surprise. The tiny console connects to any TV with HDMI input and serves as a media server with the additional ability to run games. Plus, over time, it will be possible to throw the box in your pocket, go to a friend and play PS4 games that are in your home. List of games supported at launch . The first batch of Japanese Amazon sold out for a day. Looks like a very good solution from Sony.


The announcement of SteamOS seems to be about the initiative of Sony and their desire to come out with their content on televisions, mobiles and computers. The free operating system, which allows you to stream games to any device, looks very similar to Vita TV and resembles the capabilities of PS4. Joystick SteamBox ( Reviews ) for the system only confirms the fact that consoles and computers are increasingly converging.

Conclusion

Wii U on the market for a year. Many detractors even refuse to name the next generation of the console. There was talk that it is weaker than the Xbox 360, although it carries on board 2 gigabytes of RAM (512 megabytes for the PS3, Xbox 360). The console suffers from a lack of games and a lack of support from major publishers. Someone does not like the power of the console, someone - a small user base.

Unfortunately, it is now fashionable to bury the console immediately after its birth. The death of 3DS, which has already sold more than 30 million, has been foreshadowed, PS Vita is still foreshadowed, Wii U is dead. PS4 and Xbox One will die, when a month after launch it turns out that not at all. And I do not believe that the console will go to the bottom, for which they make such games:



A set of already released and planned games: Wiki .

Detailed console overview with technical specifications

Nintendo fans are the most loyal. The company has several series with millions of armies of fans around the world. And they will find something to surprise the world and the industry. In addition, their consoles get along perfectly with Sony and Microsoft consoles, without competing with them directly.

Therefore, a direct confrontation will unfold in this holiday season between the Japanese and American corporations.


Today it is difficult to say who wins in the battle of two giants. In terms of the number of pre-orders and coverage of the countries in which the launch will take place, Sony is undoubtedly ahead. The price of the console is $ 400, curious social functions and the human attitude towards buyers are inclining the scales on their side. PS Plus gives an order of magnitude more bonuses: several free games per month on PS4, PS3, PS Vita; discounts, exclusive materials, early access to the beta.

Strongly modified joystick (video) . And it seems for the better. Sony engineers made dozens of prototypes and sent them to developers for testing. And based on the reviews created the current model.

Habrovchanam, I am sure, it will be interesting to watch the video, where the PS4 disassembles into parts one of the engineers at Sony.



The console will store on the hard disk the last 15 minutes of your gameplay, which you can at any time upload to the network, on Facebook , Twitch , Ustream , if necessary, edit it, cut out the right moment. Screenshots will be published on Facebook and Twitter . You can constantly stream your gameplay through the above services. To do this, no longer need a computer. Your friends will be able to watch, comment, is in voice chat. And if they watch stream with PS4, then even help you with the passage, you just give them their own game control for a while (this feature will be unavailable at launch).

In addition, PS Vita will allow you to play PS4 games remotely, 100% within the same local network, with high probability and via the Internet, depends on the quality of communication.



This technology is a continuation of the well-known service Gaikai . Sony recently bought the company and plans to use it further to ensure compatibility of PS3 and PS2 games with PS4, PS Vita. And maybe other devices.

The range of games available at launch is very extensive and contains both AAA projects and small indie games. More details . Wiki

The list of applications available at the start for Russia is not very relevant, but it may be useful to readers from other countries.
Detailed console overview with technical specifications.


At the same time, Microsoft, according to many experts, has a more attractive line of games for a mass audience, Kinekt in the set and a promising “cloud” that all developers can use for their games. 300,000 servers were installed only for his needs. At a minimum, this means a dedicated server for each game. Their user base is older and more united; most players call Xbox Live a more convenient and stable service. Long-time users will not switch to the Sony console simply because of the friends they made. Live Gold subscribers get two free games per month.

The console also keeps a record of your game, the last 5 minutes, and allows you to go on the air on Twitch . Automatically recorded the time of receipt of awards. The joystick has not changed much, and for the better, it is already quite comfortable. The quality of components has significantly improved, the vibration feedback system has been changed. Now she has the ability to give the vibration in the individual shoulder buttons (hammers or shifty, as they call). This function is difficult to evaluate without holding the joystick in your hands, but those who have tried the system in action, sing the praises of realism.

One of the features of the Xbox One is the simultaneous operation of three axes, each of which is responsible for its part. This allows owners to quickly switch between a game, video, browser or talking on Skype. Or even combine these classes.



The list of games available at the start of Xbox One is not so extensive, but it is very high quality and full of exclusives. More details . Wiki

Available at the start of the application .

Detailed console overview with technical specifications.

The games common to both consoles consist mainly of continuations of the already established series, all of which are available in the current generation.

In any case, only the buyer will benefit from the confrontation of console giants. As strange as it sounds, it is also profitable for platform holders. Andrew House , president of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., calls the current situation advantageous for both parties. "The confrontation of two large corporations, playing in the same market, caused a surge of public interest." About the same point of view adhere to Microsoft. Naturally, each side is confident in its victory. According to Yves Guillemot (Ubisoft CEO), the pre-orders of a new generation of consoles for some suppliers are more than twice the previous generation.

Among the players is very popular comparison of consoles in power, and Microsoft loses it. A year ago, voices sounded that the PS4 was almost one and a half times more powerful than the next Xbox. Now this is indirectly confirmed by the higher resolution on the PS4 multi-platform projects Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 . Unfortunately, for many players this will be a verdict, and they will choose a platform just for the sake of graphics. It is sad.

Excellent note with a very adequate opinion of the game developer about the meaninglessness of such a comparison.

Indeed, if you look at the history, the most popular in the previous two generations were consoles that were lagging behind in performance. PS One broke the head of the Sega Saturn, PS2 is much ahead of the more powerful GameCube and Xbox. The Wii is the queen of this cycle. The success of the console is determined by games, opportunities and, what is already there, marketing.

PS4 has already been released in the USA on November 15th.
In the same place, plus in 7 countries (including several European), on November 22 there will be Xbox One.
November 29 will get to Europe and to Russia PS4.
Xbox One will get to our country officially only in 2014, there is no exact date yet.

Both consoles will be region independent. Naturally, this applies only to games. Films on Blu-ray will work on consoles only in the respective region.

The simultaneous launch of two competing platforms did not occur in the industry since the confrontation of Nintendo and Sega. E3 2013 was the most interesting in recent years, and November promises to be hot. Will we watch or take part?

November 25 Update : Comparison Chart for All Three Consoles
Thanks for the navion tip .