Will new PlayStation and Xbox consoles be the last we see or will cloud gaming still struggle to gain a foothold?

Some experts believe that cloud gaming services offered by companies such as Google and Amazon will end the need for large, expensive consoles

But network limitations mean key features likely to be highly desired by gamers will still be many years off for cloud gaming, others say

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Microsoft’s new Xbox Series X (right) and S consoles will compete against Sony’s PlayStation 5 starting from November, but some experts are saying this could be the final generation of physical games machines. Photo: DPA

Published: 8:15pm, 22 Sep 2020Updated: 8:15pm, 22 Sep 2020

The upcoming release by Sony and Microsoft of a ninth generation of games consoles is set to be a sales slam dunk with consumers seeking entertainment during pandemic confinement, but could it also be their swan song as the habits of gamers change?

Both companies have been dripping out information for months about the PlayStation 5 (PS5) and the Xbox Series X to build excitement, and now have announced the consoles will hit shelves – and living rooms – in mid-November.

Pre-orders for the PS5 quickly maxed out at several US retailers, showing many gamers are indeed raring to upgrade and setting up a sales battle just in time for the holiday season.

And it will be a major upgrade in terms of hardware as the current generation of machines were released all the way back in 2013. Both new consoles will offer much more powerful central and graphics processors, support 4K televisions, as well as offer ray tracing, which allows for better rendition of how light behaves. All of this will make for more fluid and vivid play.

“When one looks at the technical specifications of the new consoles, they’re 10 times above the current generation,” says Charles-Louis Planade, a video game expert at advisory firm Midcap Partners. “We’re going to have games that are more beautiful, more realistic, more immersive. People are going to be blown away.”