- The smartphone industry is already bigger than the combined market of PCs and consoles.
- The former Xbox boss believes this market will expand further since Gen Z is used to mobile and PC gaming.
- He thinks times have changed, and smartphones can eventually outlive consoles.
The mobile gaming industry has seen unprecedented growth over recent years, ballooning to levels that put it above both PC and console gaming combined. It has made around $100 billion in revenue, with expectations putting the industry at $270 billion in revenue by 2032.
The former Xbox boss believes that the mobile industry is a major threat to console gaming, and Gen Z may prefer smartphones over consoles as it allows them to do more things than a console.
Why it matters: Collectively, console sales have remained the same throughout each generation for two decades. Therefore, publishers might pursue mobile gaming for more growth moving forward.
During a recent interview with IGN, Peter Moore reflected on the current state of console gaming, expressing thoughts about a potential exit for Xbox and a return to Microsoft’s roots.
Sharing his thoughts on a potential end to console generations in general, Peter Moore stated that the industry has evolved in many ways over time, pointing to the current dominance of smartphones.
Gen Z is coming through and they’re going, why do I need to spend on a bespoke piece of gaming hardware when I’ve got my smartphone.
-Peter Moore
He says that this audience might end up preferring their phones and PCs in favor of traditional consoles. With Xbox expected to expand its game streaming and Apple taking an interest in mobile gaming, the market could grow exponentially in a matter of a few years.
Peter Moore has noted that modern audiences are more interested in snack-sized content that can be consumed in a limited time. Compared to previous decades, younger audiences have grown up on platforms like YouTube and TikTok.
This means that they inherently prefer short-form content.
Apart from Apple, various publishers are now shifting their attention to smartphones as they observe the tides of change in gaming patterns.
PlayStation, Xbox, and more are all hoping to grow on this platform. Microsoft, in particular, intends to use Activision Blizzard as a point of entry into the market, eventually hoping to establish its own mobile store.
Still, it is hard to say if this will lead to the demise of traditional console gaming. Dedicated gaming hardware, while stagnating, still has its place, so Peter Moore remains uncertain about the future.
Questions are being asked, as they have been for the last 20 years.
-Peter Moore
He also believes it’s hard to convince Gen Z to switch to new consoles since there aren’t many things that a potential PS6 could do to make its predecessor obsolete in their perspective.
This could lead to extended console lifecycles moving forward. However, console gaming remains in a safe position for the time being.
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[News Reporter]
Abiyan is on track to complete his Computer Science bachelor’s degree. His enthusiasm for writing and gaming motivates him to keep readers and gamers updated with the latest information from the industry. In his free time, Abiyan enjoys playing Dota 2 and Rocket League. Abiyan has also been cited in reputed websites such as Kitguru, Comicbook, GamingBible, Eurogamer and Gamingbolt.
