Lately, there have been some companies toying with the idea of streaming their video games instead of using home or portable consoles; with some believing that this is the absolute, and unavoidable future of the video game industry.
While some companies like Google have decided to join the video game industry, people are still not sure if they actually want to get rid of home consoles in exchange for a streaming service, especially since they would no longer be owners, but mere subscribers.
All of this talk about the video game industry going full-digital at some point, has made some players wonder if companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will be joining that trend in the coming years.
During a recent interview with Cnet, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan has revealed that he doesn't quite know what the future holds for the video game industry or PlayStation, but he does provide some very interesting insight about this whole topic that still poses a dilemma for some.
When asked whether players will be playing with brands instead of home consoles, Ryan narrows this down to three main points; which, in the end, still makes the loyal community they've built over the years the most important factor.
"It's a little bit of a simplification but you're not far off. It goes back to these three points, our enduring strengths -- exclusive games, the brand and the community we have, who we're very humbled by the trust of the level of engagement they have with us," explains Ryan while adding that "as long as we treat them properly and with the love and respect they deserve -- and that probably sounds trite coming from a businessman, but we actually believe in this stuff -- that will serve us very well."
Ryan is then asked if the company's next-gen console — which Sony still hasn't confirmed if it will even be called PlayStation — is their last console, and his answer is a little bit more ambiguous.
"What I think is: I actually don't know. I've been around a while, and I sat there in 2012 and listened to all sorts of smart people tell me about mobile and that the PlayStation 4 was going to be the most terrible failure ever. The logic was actually hard to fault. But we believed in that product then, we believe in this next generation product now. Who knows how it might evolve? Hybrid models between console and some sort of cloud model? Possibly that. I just don't know. And if I did know, I wouldn't tell you."
While Jim Ryan fully understands that the video game industry is evolving, he's still aware that it comes down to their own effort, as a company, to deliver the best experience possible regardless of the platform.
Sony has revealed that their next-gen console will not be shown at this year's E3, so we will have to wait longer for that inevitable reveal. Until then, we can still treasure the fact that we live in a world were home consoles still haven't been replaced by video game streaming services.