Gaming is an expensive hobby.

One of many PS4 concept images.

As a large part of the gaming community is desperately clamoring for more information about the next iterations of PlayStation or Xbox, picking at morsels of information that may lend a clue as to the direction the industry is going to take next. With the information/rumours revealed I find myself somewhat concerned and disinterested at the same time. It's an unusual state of affairs given that gaming is a hobby that I am passionate about. I invest as much time as reasonably possible into gaming, I spend my hard earned cash on games and consoles where possible and if I'm not playing videogames I'm probably wishing that I was.

A videogame hobby is not cheap to maintain. A new current generation console is going to cost in the region of £160 just for the unit to play the videogames (the PlayStation 3 when launched cost £425, so the price has dropped significantly in the 5 years it has been around). A single retail copy of a new videogame release costs in the region of £40 (RRP is £49.99). While it is not necessarily required to have a broadband internet connection in order to make use of the videogame and console you have just spent £200 on, many features of current generation consoles do rely on an active broadband connection. Given that videogames are largely considered a social pastime and multiplayer options within new videogame releases becoming somewhat standard these days, they are far more common than single player only titles, limiting yourself to the solitary portion of the product
you have just purchased is effectively only using half of the product you have
 just paid full price for.

So you have your new console, new videogame with multiplayer options, a broadband internet connection and you're away playing the game with or against other videogame players somewhere else in the world. Maybe you want to communicate with those other players while you're playing the game as well. You'll need a gaming headset then. I bought the official PS3 bluetooth headset to use while playing Warhawk. Or maybe you don't want to speak with the random stranger you've been pitted against by the games server. You are more discerning with regard to your choice of social interactions and you want to play your new videogame with a friend or family member in the same room. New consoles do not come packaged with more than one controller these days, so unless your friend has their own controller to use you're going to have to buy a second controller. I had to buy a second controller so that Starbuck could play Fight Night Round 3 with me.

Now, I may not like to admit it but the gaming community can be somewhat fickle. When the online population of the new videogame you just bought has migrated to the next new game release leaving this one barren and lifeless. You're going to need a new game. And let's be honest you were growing tired of it yourself anyway. Videogames that maintain a perpetual online community do exist but they are uncommon. The new game is going to set you back a further £40. You could of course trade in your old game to help fund the purchase of another game but this approach is going to leave you with only one game to play at a time on your console and you probably don't want to do that. Trade in's and second hand games are something that I do take advantage of myself. Particularly when wanting to try a game that I'm not entirely sure of. I'm reluctant to pay full price for a new release if I'm not confident that I will like it. £40 is a lot to spend on something I may not like.

So, the initial outlay to start a videogame hobby is going to be a minimum of £200 + accessories + cost of internet connection + a further £40 each time you want to move on to a new game. This would be entirely dependent on your own videogame appetite though but needless to say, the price is starting to rack up. The rumour and analysts predictions indicate that the next generation of videogame consoles is not going to be any cheaper. Now, unless you're the sort to put your fingers in your ears and sing "La, La, La!" whenever the news comes on, you are probably aware that there is something of situation with the global economy at the moment. There is very little if anything that has not been adversely affected by this global economic situation and the videogame industry cannot be counted among them.

The effects of the global economic downturn are apparent throughout the videogame industry and are evident by the numerous studio closures, cancelled projects, flagging sales figures for many titles and the somewhat trepidatious approach to releasing anything other than a surefire success. The videogame industry is being hit hard in the pocket by the recession, yet it remains the worlds largest entertainment industry. Revenue for the videogame industry trounces figures for music and film industries combined. In June 2011 the videogame industry was valued at US$65 billion and the industry continues to grow. The industry has created millionaires, multimillionaires, even billionaires. Corporations have become household names off the back of videogames and have a vested interest in the success of the business that many of them have invested a substantial portion of their assets in. But the growth is slowing. As the industry, market and the majority consumer base has matured, sales have slowed. Add to this a global recession resulting in higher manufacturing and distribution costs, an increase in the standard cost of living, rising unemployment, governments desperately clamoring for every last penny in credulous attempts to stem the downturn, widespread media scaremongering and basically, more people having less money. This means that expensive videogames may not be as much of a priority as they once were. The corporations, being aware of this are now concerned that they may not end up seeing as large a return on their investment as they had predicted.

The major players in the business have begun to analyze where they may be suffering losses and taken steps to combat these losses in order to maximize their profits. Piracy hit the industry pretty hard and has been combated quite effectively with this generation of consoles through means such as anti-piracy DRM (digital rights management). Next in the firing line is the used games market. A used game sale makes no money at all for the publisher of the game and the publisher is not happy about that. Recent steps taken by publishers to combat this include the introduction of online passes. An online pass is a single use code included with new releases used to activate the online/multiplayer content of the game. The code can only be used once and is tied to the PSN/XBL account it was activated on. Buy a used game that requires an online pass to activate the online features where that code has been activated already the game will be locked out until an online pass is purchased from the relevant online store (PSN/XBL). Depending on the price paid for the used game, the additional cost of an online pass may make a new game purchase more appealing.
It used to be possible for a Sony PlayStation Network ID to be activated across 5 different PlayStation 3 devices. This enabled a user to share any games purchased though the PSN with 4 other PS3 users. In the summer of 2011 Sony reduced this to a maximum of 2 PS3 devices.

The next generation of consoles are currently rumoured to be taking even further steps to combat the scourge of the used game market. Industry analysts have foretold that the next iterations of consoles from both Sony and Microsoft could contain anti used game technology whereby a single copy of game release is tied to a single user account and cannot be used on another account once activated. Not only would this prevent used game sale and purchase but it also means borrowing a game from a friend isn't going to be possible either. This is merely rumour so far though. It has been neither confirmed or denied by the big hitters but it did prompt much outrage from both consumers and retailers. Some analysts and retailers have proclaimed that this action is unlikely though. What is more than likely though is the move towards more digital distribution of software. Making a new release available to download directly to a console HDD through the relevant online store at the same time as a boxed copy release in the shops can be considered an incentive to some but the current execution of digital distribution means paying full RRP (£49.99). A trip to the shops for the boxed copy that will be cheaper is more appealing (at least to me it is) and in many cases quicker than waiting for it to download. Amazon can deliver the boxed copy on release day for even cheaper in most cases too. The other thing is, a digital copy cannot be traded in. The manner in which the digital distribution service is currently being delivered needs to be reconsidered.

The PSVita store.

With the launch of the PSVita, publishers seem to have caught on. Every new release for the PSVita available as a boxed copy is also available to download via the PS store and it is cheaper to download from the store than to buy the boxed copy. Progress? Perhaps. Marketing strategy to encourage more direct sales, reduce trade in's and second hand purchases? Definitely. This is the format the next generation of digital distribution is likely to take. But that's good, right? There is a cheaper option right there on the console. No need to travel to the shop or wait for the post to arrive. It's all win, surely. But the publishers have just set themselves up as the cheapest option. This cheapest option has advantages but also means that there are no trade in's or lending your game to a friend.

The cost of developing videogames is considerable and is only going to become more expensive with greater technological and artistic demands, the constant battle against piracy and the used game market. The next generation of consoles are rumoured to be arriving late 2013 and I for one am not entirely looking forward to the extra cost that adopting the next generation may incur. Particularly when I consider that the current generation still has so much to offer already. I can easily say that I am not even close to being as excited about the next videogame generation as I was waiting for the current generation to begin. The current generation was such a huge leap from the previous generation. The introduction of 1080p HD visuals played a big part in that as well as the constant internet connection capability. I cannot see the next generation making such huge leaps and bounds over this generation. Apart from the price perhaps. Also bearing in mind the recession and all of the troubles that brings, I cannot help but feel that the manufacturers, publishers and developers are taking quite a gamble with the next generation. It's not that far away and the world is still in the grip of the financial downturn. I do not know myself if I will be able to afford to buy into the next generation when it arrives or even if I will want to. There will have to be something spectacular included in the next generation to convince me. So far, I've only seen the things that will not be possible in the next generation. To be sold on it I need to be able to see that there is so much more that will be possible when the next generation arrives.