The video game rig is dead and there is only one alternative - Reader's Feature

PS5, Xbox Series X and Switch 2 consoles — Has gaming hardware become too expensive? (Subway)

Alarmed by the rising price of the Steam Deck, a reader fears that gaming equipment is becoming unaffordable for ordinary people and that companies are preparing to replace it.

You’ve probably seen the news over the week, which has a Steam Deck price grew by 40% worldwidemeaning a price increase of £200/$300. I’ve never heard of anything like this before, and while it’s obvious why, with the memory crunch and the whole world in chaos, it’s still a lot of money at the end of the day for a piece of hardware that wasn’t already cheap.

I’d never get one though, and I imagine a lot of people would too and just move on, but that’s all on top of the price hike for Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5and soon Nintendo Switch 2. And the price of PC components has gone up even more, so you can’t just wash your hands of consoles and say you’re going to get a gaming PC instead.

All this and we are on the cusp of a new generation of consoles that always cost more and that Xbox has specifically said it will be expensive. I don’t know about you, but I’ve already gone as far as I can with this. I’m not paying that much for a video game console, especially when it has next to no chance of doing anything new.

So this is a problem that’s already started and there’s no way to do anything about it because it’s not even specifically a video game problem. It’s also something that’s likely to get worse over time, unless the AI bubble ever bursts, which it really looks like it won’t.

But there is an alternative. It’s something I don’t like, but I think we’re going to start hearing a lot about it very soon, especially since Microsoft is very keen on it, as from their point of view they were cooked when it came to the console business anyway – so they have very little to lose at the moment.

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If you haven’t already guessed what I’m talking about, it’s streaming, which we haven’t heard much about this generation, even though GeForce Now is rolling along quite happily. Although the fact that Microsoft’s service is not really very good probably explains this, especially how Sony uses the same technology.

But really, like it or not, streaming seems like the only way out of the current problem. It’s not ideal, because if you don’t have waterproof Wi-Fi at home, you’re going to have choppy graphics, and that’s definitely going to happen when you’re out and about, so goodbye handhelds you can use anywhere.

Of course, this means not owning any of the games yourself, and the complete death of physical games, but I’m sure none of the console manufacturers will care about that.

I think there will still be consoles even after streaming starts, but I think, as Microsoft’s Project Helix is implied to be, they’ll just be very expensive high-end machines for super fans. That was probably always the plan, given what Microsoft has said so far, but now with the memory crunch they have no choice.

The valve they’re probably kicking themselves they didn’t release Steam Machine a few months ago, but I guess if they don’t cancel it outright, they’ll only do it for 1% too. After all, that Steam Deck price hike sounds outrageous, but it still sold at that price. So there are people out there who will pay anything to get the hardware they want.

However, most people are not like that. They just want to play cheap and convenient games, and that’s not where the industry is going. So when you switch to streaming, casual players will just deal with the downsides because it’s ‘good enough’, which most people do for most things they’re not passionate about.

It’s a bleak future as far as I’m concerned, especially because I think it’s going to happen a lot sooner than we think. If consoles are already becoming unaffordable for ordinary people, then companies will want an alternative as soon as possible, and that can only be streaming. (Or just put up with what you’ve got and embrace retro gaming.)

By reader Taylor Moon