Square Enix: Consoles Will Become Extinct

Square Enix's Yoichi Wada, CEO of the Japanese developer, has stated his views on the potential death of consoles in an upcoming interview.

He states that Square Enix as a whole is preparing itself for the rise of a digital distribution-only world in the next decade, where consoles as we know them today simply no longer exist. He believes that all distributors and sales firms need to brace themselves for a significant negative impact as interactive entertainment moves from traditional hardware to server-based products, the streaming of new games and current digital distribution models.

"In ten years’ time a lot of what we call ‘console games’ won’t exist. Somewhere around 2005 the console manufacturers’ strategy shifted. In the past the platform was hardware, but it has switched to the network. A time will come when the hardware isn’t even needed anymore. With that, any kind of terminal becomes a potential platform on which games can be played �" that’s exponential growth in the potential of gaming. The potential size of the market is enormous. Social and browser games are going to grow dramatically �" especially in areas like Asia which does not have as big a console market."

Yoichi Wada, CEO of Square Enix, talking with UK Industry magazine MCV.

Do you feel that the console scene is indeed changing? Could Japan's current shunning of formats other than handhelds be a sign of things to come?