If you think that video game consoles as we know them are on the way out, at least one visionary shares the same thought.
David Jaffe, the man best known for creating the Twisted Metal and God of War franchises, says he believes the next generation of consoles will be the last.
He said in a Gamesindustry.biz interview that he was not even impressed with the only piece of new hardware on display at E3.
“I don’t see the Wii U and say ‘oh my God I have to have that.’ But with new hardware that’s usually the case; the software’s going to drive it. Or it’s like Apple and the hardware is so elegantly designed that it’s like, ‘Oh they make toilet plungers? I’ll buy it!’ I played some games, I enjoyed Rayman… it’s not like I’m knocking it but I would say that I wasn’t blown away by any individual piece of software that was exclusive to Wii U,” Jaffe said.
E3 was admittedly a bit bizarre. For veterans of the industry, 4 years since the PS3 launch and 5 years since the Xbox 360, with not even a hint of new hardware, blows away all previous video game conventions.
Nintendo is the only one playing by the old rules. The Wii ran exactly the same kind of life cycle as any other console. At least, if we were talking about 10 years ago. The market, though, has changed.
“Look, consoles are going away. I think in 10 years – probably sooner, but 10 years is always the safe thing to say so you don’t sound like an idiot – but here’s what I’ll say: I’ll go on the record and say that the next generation of hardware will be the last consoles. And they should be,” said Jaffe.
