How long will the PS3 and Xbox 360 be around?

Hello all,

I was thinking last night, with the new consoles coming out very soon and these new games being built for these consoles. How long are the current consoles going to last? By that I mean the PS3 and Xbox 360. When the PS3 came out I remember the PS2 games started to slowly die out but with the PS3 and Xbox they are both great consoles and have lasted so long. There is a lot of games out there which are built for online use so I do really wonder what is going to happen with these new games and if they will be building them for the PS3 as well.

Let me know your thoughts on this as I do want to get a PS4 but I don't want to get one if the PS3 is going to last a couple of years. May as well just play that!

Thanks,
Andrew
«13

Comments

  • StuC75
    StuC75 Posts: 2,065 Forumite
    Will all come down to how successful each is..

    Each System already has a significant and very profitable user base - i.e. people that own & play the games.. By way of PSN & Xbox Live account migrations they will know how many owners have only one or both of the systems - by way of what they sign in on...

    Through analysis of sales they will then get a good idea as to when it is no longer 'AS' profitable to develop games across twice the number of systems - ie PS3 & 4, Xbox 360 & One, and to support the online infrastructure..

    The best answer to which is how long is a piece of string..

    The Older consoles will no longer 'stop' working (afterall its not apple ;-)).. And there will always be a massive range of existing games available making a good value second hand market.

    The biggest sign will be when they close down online play on the older services..
  • ifstar
    ifstar Posts: 487
    First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    They probably will still both be around for a good few years with new games being released on them during this time.
  • Well the PS2 only ended production in January 2013 (that's not a typo) so had a solid 13odd year run.

    The installed base for consoles is nearing 100million so is far too popular to be abandoned for a long time yet.

    Whilst games will still be released the pace of system updates will slow though.
  • ITonyI
    ITonyI Posts: 80 Forumite
    I think Sony have pulled a smart card with PS+, which should keep the PS3 alive for a fair while. We'll probably get a year of cross-over titles released on both generations of consoles before focusing on the next-gen becomes normal practice though.
  • Sparhawke
    Sparhawke Posts: 1,420 Forumite
    I think the average game production time is about 3-4 years for new titles, so what you will have for a long while yet are very few games with most titles being available for the next-gen and older consoles. I would say you have a good two-three years at least for now :)
    "Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink. Good Luck" - The Doctor.
  • AndyBSG
    AndyBSG Posts: 986 Forumite
    They're still producing games for the PS2 now(FIFA for example had a PS2 version this year).

    Also, the PS3 was a MASSIVE improvement on the PS2 but with the PS3 already sporting HD graphics and diminishing returns then I suspect the PS4 won't be as big a leap in quality as previous generations have been.

    Those two factors combined and the state the world economy is in at the moment I suspect that the PS3 and 360 will actually hold in there a lot longer than X Box or PS2.
  • DavidA
    DavidA Posts: 44
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I work in the industry and I've spoken to both Microsoft and Sony about it in the past regarding the original Xbox and the PS2.

    Their intention was to continue to support the legacy platforms for some time but they claimed the problem was with retail. Nobody wanted to stock legacy platforms and legacy software. They wanted to make room for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, which had higher margins.

    This time around there is less of a concern about retail. Games will be downloaded via their respective online stores regardless of retail's position. The hardware will continue to be sold, progressively less in the west but more in developing countries like India. It will continue to undergo board revisions which will bring the cost of goods down.

    Software support might be a bit different though. As others have said, the production of new titles depends on the forecast the publishers have for them. I continued making PS2 games quite a way into PS3 but it has to be on a case-by-case basis. I wouldn't expect much new IP to show up on PS3 past the release of PS4 but you can expect licenses and sequels. Plus ca change :P
  • Sony will hopefully be releasing Gaikai in 2014 so any legacy games will be soon be sold via there. Thus making a PS3 redundant. These big companies don't want you to keep older hardware when they have more expensive hardware on the market, so support will dwindle.
    Knowledge is a tool, and like all tools, its impact is in the hands of the user.
  • bluenoseam
    bluenoseam Posts: 4,612 Forumite
    Looking at previous form, I'd expect maybe first party games (microsoft/sony) to be finishing up maybe Q2 2015, you'll still get some releases for maybe 2-3 years but after that you'll struggle.

    Joe Boy 1986 has a SMALL point in so much as Sony/Microsoft don't want you to still be playing 360/PS3 several years down the line, but there's not much they can do to stop it. They can restrict things such as access to PSN or Xbox Live in the way Microsoft did, but they can't strictly kill it off - retail is where that'll happen. Retail will naturally diminish the shelf space for games for these consoles which will in turn slowly snuff the flame out.

    I would expect Microsoft to abandon the 360 significantly quicker than Sony will the PS3 though - they abandoned Xbox pretty sharpish so I can't see them changing tack too dramatically here.
    Retired member - fed up with the general tone of the place.
  • I think there will be a difference to how the last generation finished because of the way gaming is carried out nowadays (online/streaming etc.)
    Knowledge is a tool, and like all tools, its impact is in the hands of the user.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards