The latest controversial decision by Sony over the future of PlayStation could lead to a huge boon for the esports industry.
It was confirmed that Sony will stop producing discs for new PlayStation Games from 2028 onwards.
With no physical copies discounted in stores, no second-hand market, and no easy game sharing, gamers feel they are being priced out of their own hobby.
All this on top of the news that the PlayStation 6 will release at a rumoured $1,000 price point, many are looking to make the leap to pc gaming, and esports could benefit massively if so.
You know you’ve gone too far up when playing League of Legends is the lesser of two evils.
Could Esports Be the Big Winners?
While it’s ultimately awful news for gamers as a whole, PC gamers and esports fans could get the last laugh.
Building a new PC has also become excessively expensive due to AI data centers driving up the price of hardware.
Yet, PC’s have a longer shelf life than console generations, and online play for them is free.
With no discs on consoles, PC immediately becomes the best digital gaming option. You can even choose which controller you prefer.
And PC gaming will become more accessible and fit into people’s living room set-ups once Valve releases the Steam Machine.
And the upcoming Steam Machine will cost $1049, around the same price as a new PS6, but will launch much sooner.
If more and more gamers hop over to PC, there’s a heavy chance that popular esports titles will gain a new wave of players.
As gamers get priced out of their own hobby, free-to-play models stand to gain the most.
And a lot of the most popular free games are usually heavily competitive multiplayer games with healthy esports scenes like LoL, Counter-Strike, Overwatch, and Valorant.
The Future of Esports
The esports industry itself has struggled over the last few years as heavy-handed investment led to major crashes and budget cuts across the scene.
Yet, there are still large hopes that esports will explode further in popularity as gaming continues to become a mainstream pastime.
For example, London mayor Sadiq Khan wants London to become a global hub for esports with major plans to support the industry in England.
Big bosses are betting on esports sticking around and growing in cultural significance, as it has already done in Korea and China.
You would think future generations would be smarter with PCs, but many are only used to mobile phones and touch screens.
PC gaming becoming the go-to gaming platform would introduce a lot more gamers to competitive MOBAs and keyboard andmouse shooters at a younger age.
And that would then lead to a new generation of extremely skilled players and a further interest in esports.
Ask most esports pros, they’ll tell you they started playing LoL or CS at like nine years of age because a sibling or parent introduced them.
Console’s loss could be esports’ gain.
Are we finally approaching the end of esports winter? Share your thoughts with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
In other news, an analyst has predicted that Nintendo will be the last console manufacturer with physical media. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
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