The PlayStation brand is "doomed" and will likely cease to exist in the next decade, according to one veteran industry figure.
Outspoken video game analyst Michael Pachter appeared on the latest episode of the RDX podcast, where he was asked for his thoughts on whether PlayStation could ever truly compete with Xbox's wildly successful Game Pass subscription model. He makes it pretty clear that he... does not.
Take a look at our deep dive on the future of Xbox below!
"I think PlayStation is doomed and I think they're going to cease to exist as we know them in about ten years," Pachter said. "They can't compete. They have no chance of competing. They're not a couple of years behind, it's an insurmountable lead."
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It's a bold prediction, given the current success that Sony is enjoying with the PlayStation 5. Just last month, it emerged that the PS5 managed almost double the sales of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S combined.
However, it is important to note that Xbox Game Pass extends beyond hardware, allowing gamers to access a vast library of video games from almost any screen with an internet connection. If we truly do begin to move beyond traditional hardware in the next decade, it's undeniable that PlayStation would be at a significant disadvantage.
With that said, we do know that PlayStation is already making moves to completely overhaul the PS Plus subscription service and offer something a little more akin to Xbox Game Pass. Rumours suggest the new PS Plus will include access to PS Now, as well as a few other bonuses like free trial periods and "classic games".
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In a recent piece by L'atelier analysing the future of gaming services, our very own Mike Diver argued that if Sony can switch the 50 million or so PlayStation Plus subscribers it already has to a service that more closely resembles Game Pass (adding in things like the PlayStation Now library and day one first-party releases) then "Microsoft’s lead in the rush towards a Netflix for games could vanish overnight". In other words, the race is far from won.
We'll have to wait and see exactly what shape the "new" PlayStation Plus takes, but I can't imagine that PlayStation is "doomed" in even the worst-case scenario.
Featured Image Credit: SonyTopics: PlayStation, Xbox, Playstation Plus, Xbox Game Pass