UPDATE
Do you agree that there should only be one console out there? Or should we keep things split up? Let us know below!
ORIGINAL STORY
There are many debates in the video game space that are likely never to be settled. But one of the biggest is the question of “console exclusivity.” Simply put, many gamers don’t like that numerous big-name franchises are either rooted on one console or are unlikely to get ported to other systems until much later. A great example of this is Final Fantasy 16. The game by Square Enix was released on PlayStation 5 recently and will stay there for many months until it is ported to PC. It won’t go to Xbox or Nintendo. But one of the game’s producers wishes things were simpler.
The producer, Naoki Yoshida, spoke about the topic of consoles during an interview. In it, he noted that it would be “better for players and developers” if there were simply one console for everyone to develop for:
“I probably should not say this, but I wish there was only one.”
But is he right to feel this way? Well, it’s a complicated issue. However, if we were to boil it down to its most base argument, he’s not wrong that everyone would benefit from a singular console coming out, everyone having that, and then the developers only working on that one system.
For example, one of the biggest problems of recent game development is that games are being launched full of bugs and without proper optimization. It’s gotten so bad that gamers have berated developers for the “rushed releases” and dread another one coming out.
However, if there was only one console to develop for, many of these issues would be dealt with. Optimizing for one console is easier and less time-consuming than it is to customize things for several. Multiple developers over the years have noted that one of the hardest things they’ve done is to make a game great not on one system but several.
Focusing on one system would also streamline the game design process and allow developers and publishers to work simply on making their games as great as they can be.
The catch is that the lack of numerous systems means that gaming would become a monopoly, which many would be against.
Plus, they would then be at the whims of the console maker, whoever that may be, and have to capitulate to whatever they do, whatever price they set, etc.
Again, it’s a complicated issue. But if nothing else, people are talking about it, so things could improve over time.
