PS4 and Xbox One Look to Revive the Falling Video Game Industry

By Justin Sarachik, Christian Post Reporter Friday, August 23, 2013

With the up and coming releases of the PS4 and Xbox One, the video game industry is looking to capitalize on a much needed revival as sales have been dropping over the past years.

Online gaming, free indie games, and smartphone downloadable games have hurt the console industry quite a bit the last few years; not to mention used game sales with no original money being given to the companies.

NPD industry tracker said video games hardware and software sales have fallen every month since January 2012.

"The recent industry sales figures are more a reflection of typical late console cycle dynamics than the momentum of this medium," said Activision Blizzard's Publishing Chief Executive Eric Hirshberg to Reuters.

In 2012 video games made $63.4 billion globally. PricewaterhouseCoopers expects that number to jump to $86.9 billion in 2017.

The XBOX One and Playstation 4 are not just competing against each other; they are competing to see who keeps video games alive.

Now with today's next console era, the graphics can't get much better, motion control remotes and systems already exist, so what is next?

"Sony and Microsoft still have work to do in order to convince a broad consumer base that they need to spend $400 or $500 on new hardware, in addition to $60 for each new piece of software," R.W. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said. "There doesn't seem to be as clear a reason to upgrade compared to prior cycles, which introduced DVDs, 3D and HD to consumers."

The XBOX One will be $499 while the Playstation 4 is set for a $399 release.

XBOX One and Playstation 4 will be much more than just a platform to play video games. These all in one machines will have online capabilities just about as fully functional as a computer, they will be able to watch and stream movies, listen to music, Skype, watch cable, and the options of growth are limitless.