Next-generation of consoles will be the last, predicts Crytek CEO

Death to consoles!

Tarryn van der BylJune 4, 2012

Rumours of PC gaming’s impending death may or may not be exaggerated, but Crytek boss Cevat Yerli is sure of one thing – console gaming is on its way out, to make way for our new gaming overlords. That’s not PCs or consoles, but… tablets and smartphones. What?

“The console will displace the PC, you hear it again and again. On the contrary, I suspect that the next-generation of home consoles will be the last one,” Yerli told German site Golem.

“Of course there are still hardcore gamers who sit for an hour to install and then play for eight hours. But these consumers are becoming the minority. Today’s gamers buy a game for 99 cents, download it and play it for 15 to 20 minutes per day over a period of two months – and then they move on.”

He’s also pretty sceptical of the Wii U and PlayStation Vita.

“For the Wii U, there will be games that run on the CryEngine, but from licensees,” he said.

“The Playstation Vita is currently too uncertain for us as a platform. Technically, I find the Vita very appealing, and have fun with it – no question. From a business perspective it is a bit too late.”

Well, the world is supposed to end this year anyway, so it probably doesn’t matter. Unless the world doesn’t end, although that doesn’t rule out some sort of nuclear post-apocalypse scenario where reconfigured game consoles could be used to steal cash from the New World Order, but maybe I’m over-thinking it now.