Nintendo president says game streaming won’t replace hardware within next 10 years

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa believes that dedicated hardware like the Switch and PlayStation 4 won’t be replaced by video game streaming any time soon.

In an interview with Japanese business publication Nikkei, Furukawa says he believes consoles will stick around for at least 10 years, as long as companies continue to focus on improving how to play games.

“It’s a long way off before we’ll really know the outcome,” said Furukawa in the interview translated by Nintendo Everything. “With that said, it is imperative that we focus on improving methods of play that can only be had on dedicated hardware. Once your audience starts saying they can play on other consoles or smartphones instead, you’re finished.”

Cloud-based streaming has progressed since the end of 2019 and is proving to expand as the year progresses.

Google launched Stadia in November, offering the first real test to a video game streaming platform. The service, while promising, still has improvements to make in terms of its games lineup and features.

Project xCloud is Microsoft’s breakthrough into the streaming space, offering previews to select countries before it launches worldwide. The service already offers a number of high profile titles, including Devil May Cry 5 and Tekken 7. Canada, along with India, Japan and Western Europe, will have a chance to try out xCloud later this year. MobileSyrup‘s Brad Shankar’s hands-on impressions were positive, experiencing a constant frame rate and high resolution with little input lag.

PlayStation’s own service is PlayStation Now, which offers various games to be streamed on a PS4 or PC hardware. Sony cut the price of this service last year to $12.99 CAD per month and recently added Horizon Zero Dawn and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

Despite these comments, it’s important to note that this doesn’t mean Nintendo is shying away from video game streaming services until 2030.

Source: Nikkei via Nintendo Everything