Now that there are few hardware differences between the two platforms (there were quite a few between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), games could be better if the two brands merged, according to a former PlayStation executive.

At IGN Live 2024, there was a discussion about what games we’ll be playing in the future. Shawn Layden, formerly known as the head of PlayStation in the US, said that if the platform war between Sony and Microsoft were to end in some form, games could benefit: “Xbox, PlayStation, high-end PC, that’s almost at a plateau where all things being equal, they’re pretty much the same. We’d be in a better world if we could get down to one standard home console technology that we could get together and get this platform war thing out of the way,” Layden said.

He also shared his views on the console market. He says it is nothing new that it is struggling, as the international user base has never grown beyond 250 million users, with the exception of the Wii, because some of the games on it (such as Wii Fit) were able to appeal to an audience that does not otherwise play games. The Wii’s results were not sustainable, so the number of users dropped to around 250 million. Even though there was more revenue in the industry during the pandemic, it did not bring in new users, but the older camp spent more during the quarantines.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Sony and Microsoft use essentially the same components (both companies use AMD technology in their consoles). In April, Kepler, a well-known AMD leaker, said that every hardware manufacturer has converged on essentially the same design, whether it’s a processor or a graphics chip, so if they optimize for one, they’ve done it for all. With Microsoft starting to bring more of its games to the PlayStation 5 and/or Nintendo Switch, this console war may finally come to an end.

Or not: Nintendo doesn’t look like it’s leaving the market anytime soon. After the Wii U, their fortunes took a huge turn, and maybe they won’t fail again with their yet-to-be-announced Switch successor…

Source: WCCFTech