US gaming hardware market in worst shape since early 80s analysts warn

kevin corms · Oct 11, 2026

GBATennpFukkedMyAccount said:
It really feels like we're coming to the end of an era. With the line between gaming PC and console blurring a bit more every year, I guess this was always a potential outcome. I'm just grateful I got to experience the video gaming era that I did when I did, and that I've become good enough with tech and emulation, that I can recreate the best parts of gaming's history for my children.

It'll be interesting how it all plays out from here. Consoles are a great way to have a set and specified internal/capability list for manufacturers, but I just don't see consoles having a viable future, not in this market. Does that mean gaming moves more and more into being "PC" and handheld exclusive (to include Linux/SteamOS), do console rentals become a common thing, or what else becomes of all the money currently in gaming??

I feel like we are getting close to the era where your tv is powerful enough to play games, files could probably be cached from the cloud.. and the current form of streaming games should go die in a fire.

hippy dave · Oct 11, 2026

I kinda wished I'd got hold of one of those exhumed E.T. copies - that's some real history.

I remember wanting a PS5 before it came out, but I'm so glad I never bothered. And glad we got a Switch 2 at January sale prices and before hikes.

Nintendo continuing to Nintendo unabashed. So much for XBox's plan to wait for them to be in dire straits and buy them, how's that working out for ya?

snuffbot1 · Oct 11, 2026

GBATennpFukkedMyAccount said:
It really feels like we're coming to the end of an era. With the line between gaming PC and console blurring a bit more every year, I guess this was always a potential outcome. I'm just grateful I got to experience the video gaming era that I did when I did, and that I've become good enough with tech and emulation, that I can recreate the best parts of gaming's history for my children.

It'll be interesting how it all plays out from here. Consoles are a great way to have a set and specified internal/capability list for manufacturers, but I just don't see consoles having a viable future, not in this market. Does that mean gaming moves more and more into being "PC" and handheld exclusive (to include Linux/SteamOS), do console rentals become a common thing, or what else becomes of all the money currently in gaming??

Kids today have a short attention span they are growing up watching youtube shorts and tiktok videos which only last a minute or two. When they play smallish games on Android or their phones that they can pick up and put down quickly that's enough for them to get a gaming fix so no need for a consloe. Then for those into gaming there's the handheld market, if you're a kid you don't need to sit in your bedroom alone anymore, you just take your handheld to your friends house and then play with them. Next there's different types of gamers and as games have gotten shit compared when we had game like The Uncharted series or Wolfenstein, Old Tomb Raider's etc, that had good story lines and no political agenda or some shit with devs trying to push their devious sexual fetishes onto you, this is something older gamers despise and would make them not buy or play that game. Then there's the prices of games/hardware - a family with 2 kids or more don't want to spend a huge amount of their wealth on gaming when you need to pay high rent/food/energy/clothing/schools/trips out and more. Then we have the "back library", yes believe that, there's already thousands of games to play that are good and worth playing again. Now we also have things like steam machine or small pc's that can sit under your TV and take the place of a console that allows you to use it as a pc, stream movies and stuff and play the latest games and emulated stuff....

So the future of consoles and the stupid ideas from Sony and co about locking them down and not selling physical media, well that will just be the final nail in the coffin for them.

Skv0ra · Oct 12, 2026

At the end of the day games are entertainment and not a necessity, so like with Lego price hikes - if you can't afford it, you have bigger issues to address about your life.

raxadian · Oct 12, 2026

Honesty I lack zero motivation to buy a new Videogame console.

AkiraCast · Oct 12, 2026

dilav said:
Hopefully things will get better in November. That's when Grand Theft Auto 6 comes out.

subcon959 · Oct 12, 2026

It's a strange time where pre-ordering is probably going to be cheaper than waiting till something is old. When gaming hardware is behaving like the luxury car market it's probably a bad sign.. or it's just a normal effect of capitalism.

arachnidsGrip · Oct 12, 2026

Skv0ra said:
At the end of the day games are entertainment and not a necessity, so like with Lego price hikes - if you can't afford it, you have bigger issues to address about your life.

Here's a particular problem:

If things don't improve, the signs are leaning to a major pillar in the industry collapsing, and suddenly a whole lot of people are in need of jobs.
For a great deal of people, that's more than just "Entertainment," it's their only way of making any kind of money.

There's now a massive surge in the workforce....And no openings at all, considering the industries are trying to L.L.M./A.I. Automate more and more, meaning there's no jobs for said workforce surge. Even Wal-Mart is trying to remove the basic workforce, as they're winding down hiring people, last I heard.

Skelletonike · Oct 12, 2026

Thankfully I had all my systems before the price increases (PS5, series X and the Switch 2), I did end up selling my Series X earlier this year for roughly the same I had paid for it (if not more) and got a new TV (and still had some money left).

The way Sony is going, I will only be buying exclusive physical games, for the rest I'll be getting them for my Switch 2.

I don't plan on getting anything else atm, (I was planning on getting the Zelda one, but I'll wait for a future revision LE in the far distant future).

Blasingame · Oct 12, 2026

A lot of fan mods make me want to replay and old game rather than buy a new one

Exnor · Oct 12, 2026

Finally. I hope it gets worse and worse until we get a new crash in order to reset all of this greed.

PatrickD85 · Oct 12, 2026

Well you can drop the word US in that title.
Globally a lot of things are causing shit for gaming.

AI:
which has its up and downs for gaming (hacks,recomps,decomps, emulation, etc.)

Chip shortages;
due to AI for a large amount as well, but this is not helping pricing for hardware all around (gaming, pcs, phones, laptops, cars etc.)

Ongoing wars;
Not gonna debate any ... but we all know them. I'll never forget the epic monolgue in Landman which puts a lot in perspective ;

"The existing infrastructure is heavily reliant on petroleum, with a 120-year petroleum-based infrastructure supporting most aspects of modern life, including roads, car wheels, tennis rackets, lipstick, refrigerators, antihistamines, plastic items, cell phone cases, artificial heart valves, and clothing not made from animal or plant fibers, soap, hand lotion, garbage bags, and fishing boats."

(first couple of minutes)

In short; if there is lack of that one thing; a lot of other things needed for various other directly unrelated things get the long end of the stick as well. And the wars happening across the world are making that a whole other clusterfck.

Skv0ra · Oct 12, 2026

arachnidsGrip said:
suddenly a whole lot of people are in need of jobs.
For a great deal of people, that's more than just "Entertainment," it's their only way of making any kind of money.

Any devs that were ignorant of AAA direction while working there for their 6 figure jobs who didn't start pivoting together to start their own indie teams waiting for layovers kinda did it to themselves. It is the easiest it's ever been to make and push entertainment media of all sorts these days.

Post automatically merged: Oct 12, 2026

arachnidsGrip said:
There's now a massive surge in the workforce....And no openings at all, considering the industries are trying to L.L.M./A.I. Automate more and more, meaning there's no jobs for said workforce surge.

If as a goddamn programmer you can't fathom how to improve your workflow/pivot into coding this shitty new plague to secure a better job, well you were basically a Walmart cashier of the tech world on top of choosing utter ignorance.

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