Game consoles may take over the living room with VR

Playing games is human nature. I still remember that when I was a kid, the Subor game console was the one that accompanied us the most during the winter and summer vacations. Nowadays, with the development and progress of technology, the types and carriers of electronic games have become more abundant. PC games are as popular as ever, and mobile games are out of control, but games have always been in a relatively weak position in living room entertainment. Although there have been many game boxes based on the Android system recently, and there are also living room micro game consoles based on their own OS, such as Tencent miniStation, they are more positioned in casual games; while game consoles that represent living room entertainment, such as Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One, have always been tepid. So, what has caused the current situation, and how will the game consoles that are committed to occupying the living room break through?

The ban on game consoles caused the console to miss its golden period of development

The current lukewarm situation of game consoles is mainly due to policy reasons. In June 2000, in order to prevent young people from becoming addicted to games, the General Office of the State Council forwarded the "Opinions on Carrying out Special Governance of Electronic Game Business Venues" issued by the Ministry of Culture and other seven departments, and began to regulate the domestic game console market. In the "Opinions", it is stipulated that "from the date of the issuance of this opinion, the production and sales of domestic electronic game equipment and its parts and accessories will be stopped. No enterprise or individual shall engage in the production and sales of domestic electronic game equipment and its parts and accessories." This ban officially closed the door to my country's game console market.

This caused the rising game consoles to miss the golden period of development to occupy the world's largest living room game market. Since then, my country's online game market has also flourished during this period, and has gradually cultivated Chinese consumers' consumption habits of liking free games.

It was not until January 6, 2014 that the General Office of the State Council issued a notice to adjust the catalog of administrative approval or access special management measures stipulated in relevant administrative regulations and State Council documents in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. It clearly stipulates that foreign-invested enterprises are allowed to engage in the production and sale of game and entertainment equipment, and game and entertainment equipment that has passed the content review of the cultural authorities can be sold to the domestic market, which means that my country's 13-year-long ban on the sale of game consoles has been officially lifted.

Then came the Microsoft Xbox One's introduction to China on September 23, 2014 and the official release of Sony PS4 in China on March 20, 2015.

Regulation and consumer habits put consoles in a difficult position

Although the ban on the sale of game consoles has been lifted, the regulation is still very strict. In actual experience, we found that the game servers of Xbox One and PS4 in China are independent and locked, and cannot communicate with servers in other regions; at the same time, due to audit reasons, the number of games is still scarce, and players are more likely to purchase other versions of game discs through third-party channels, and the overall experience is still not smooth enough.

At the same time, the consumption habit of playing games for free, which was cultivated by domestic consumers during the period of rapid development of online games, also put the promotion of the console in a difficult situation. The model of charging for consoles and games has never been accepted by the majority of domestic game players. Influenced by traditional concepts, many family members also expressed their incomprehension of spending a lot of money to buy a game console.

In addition, the domestic game market is currently dominated by PC games and mobile games. Compared with console games, the gap in game quality between PC games and mobile games is narrowing, but they focus more on social interaction and can better satisfy players' communication and vanity. As a result, game consoles lacking top masterpieces are even more neglected.

Virtual reality may retake the living room

So, are game consoles no longer going to occupy the living room? The answer is no. Although game consoles are currently in trouble due to various reasons, their powerful performance and the shocking effects of top games still have the capital to attract consumers.

As for blockbuster games, with the progress of society and the relaxation of policies, there should be more and more blockbuster games that are synchronized with foreign countries. At the same time, more and more local manufacturers will join in the production of games; so it is only a matter of time before the overall enrichment.

As game consoles have powerful performance, they have more room for development. Combining them with virtual reality devices may be an important breakthrough for them to occupy the living room. After all, the two biggest application scenarios of virtual reality technology that pursues shocking effects are games and movies.

Sony and Microsoft have already started to make some arrangements for this. Sony recently renamed its virtual reality headset Project Morpheus to PlayStation VR. In addition to the name change, Sony also confirmed that there will be multiple games supporting PlayStation VR, including "RIGS: Mechanized Combat League", "Summer Lesson" and "Final Fantasy 14", and the product will be officially released next year.

In addition to its own HoloLens holographic 3D glasses, Microsoft has also chosen to cooperate with Oculus VR and Valve. The latest Oculus Rift and Valve Vive virtual reality helmets will fully support Windows 10. Players can play Xbox One games on virtual reality helmets through the streaming function on the Windows 10 system. HoloLens has already demonstrated its potential in gaming.

In general, with the rapid development of virtual reality technology, it will inevitably bring about a breakthrough in living room entertainment, and the game consoles closely related to it will also have a new opportunity to occupy the living room.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.