What is going on with this console generation?
I’ve been gaming since the late 80’s with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the Atari 7800. Since then, I’ve owned every Nintendo console (except handhelds), and a handful of Microsoft and Sony consoles. My current lineup is the Playstation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2. The current console generation started at the end of 2020 with the release of the Xbox Series X/S and the Playstation 5. Nintendo has always been on their own schedule, releasing the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025.
This generation has been anything but normal. First off, and this is just a personal feeling, but this generation hasn’t really taken off. We’re in the 6th year of the Playstation and Xbox and we’re still seeing major AAA games released on last generations consoles. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, arguably the top selling gaming franchise every year, was released in 2025 on the PS4 and Xbox One, both released in 2013. Generation overlap is expected, but 5 years??
Second is price. What’s going on with console prices is something I’ve never seen in my life. Consoles traditionally launch at a loss or a slim margin, with manufacturers recouping through software, services, and accessories. With the announcement from Nintendo last week, the Switch 2 price is going from $449 to $499. This marked the final console manufacturer having raised their prices this generation. Xbox and Playstation went from $499 to $649 in two hikes since launch. I’ve always been an early adopter, buying consoles on or around their release date, and it looks like that has payed off for me this generation. The traditional advice of “wait a year or two and it'll be cheaper” no longer applies. Just look at the graph below, all lines go down, with the notable exception of these recent consoles.
So what’s next? We’re already seeing talk of next-gen consoles, with Xbox announcing Project Helix and PS6 being rumored for 2027/2028. It kind of feels like manufactures are punting on this generation and planning for what comes next and what that’ll look like (and how much). The elephant in the room is of course the release of GTA 6 later this year, which is being touted by Rockstar as “the largest game launch in history”. I don’t doubt it, and will surely inject enthusiasm, and money, into gaming.