The No Console Generation
Posted on August 10, 2026 by Aywren
As a gamer, specifically a console gamer, things are getting tough out there. Sure, it’s tough for PC players, too, in terms of the cost of maintaining and upgrading hardware, but we’re seeing in real-time the effects of the AI datacenter glut on the cost of current gen consoles.
Time and again, every console has jacked their prices up. Xbox and Playstation have both raised the price 3 times so far. Nintendo released Switch 2 at a high price, raised the price of the original Switch, and seems to have tried to hold out on raising the price on Switch 2 until September. Steamdeck raised prices and launched the Steam Machine at a much higher price point than we (or they) wanted.
Even other console and handheld makers, such as ASUS ROG Ally X, Analogue, and AYN (Odin & Thor) struggle to meet shipments and responded to the economic environment by raising the price.
About the only maker I’ve not seen raise prices is Modretro, who was bound and determined to release their M64 (a modern system that can play N64 retro games) at the cost of the original N64. Even that had a catch – you have to pay for the controllers separately. Still, an effort was made.
No More Consoles for Me
All of this to say, it’s looking bleak on the console gamer front. Video after video on my YouTube feed talks about how gaming is becoming a luxury hobby and how the average person is getting priced out of it. If it’s not the hardware jumping up in price, it’s the software and games going digital only, being locked to an online library and hitting an $80+ price point. I’m looking at you, GTA6.
Was the experience of being locked out of games when both the Playstation Network and Xbox Network went down recently not enough of a wake-up call what the lack of ownership really meant for gamers? Even those who had physical disks were left out in the cold during these outages because the systems required an online check to play some of these games.
All of these elements lead to one thing for me. I can’t afford to buy a next-gen console, and really don’t want to. Not if prices are well about $1000 for hardware that leads to a locked-down library of digital games.
I’ve not been a heavy console gamer as it is – though I did invest in collecting a lot of physical games for my original Switch. I have never owned an Xbox at any point in my life, and my last Playstation system was the Playstation 2.
Interestingly, I dusted off my old PS2, and it still works. As do all the physical discs I own. My memory cards even retained saves that are nearly 20 years old at this point. Incredible!
So, all that is to say, it’s not a huge loss to me to swear off consoles. I’m not interested in GTA6 – a crime, I know – and I simply don’t have the disposable income to throw at luxury gaming. If I must spend that kind of money, it will be on PC upgrades as I use my PC for everything, including gaming.
Indie and Retro Gaming has Become King
So, with all this rotten news – and you know I don’t like leaving any post as simply rotten news – is there any glimmer of hope at all?
Yes.
The answer is to look to our past with retro games and to the scrappy, affordable indie experiences that individual game devs produce.
There’s been a rise of retro gaming happening in particular. I’ve heard that investing in the Nintendo 3Ds has become popular again – so much so that even the price of that consol has gone up on the secondary market. It’s a sturdy little system that has a massive library of physical games out there – you just have to hunt for them (and game hunting can be fun).
My original 3DS XL still runs like a dream, and I intend to hold on to it forever. Along with all my other Nintendo handhelds!
Sadly, this move towards retro games does mean that those games and systems are also rising in price as folks become more aware that the demand is growing. You won’t find the old fleamarket deals of $5 a game anymore unless you’re really lucky, but you can still have a good time with the retro stuff for a far cheaper cost than more modern consoles. There are a lot of great old games and the libraries of the past that are so large that – face it – there are more games than you’ll probably ever be able to play in a lifetime.
And – the important part – you own the games you buy.
What About Digital PC Games?
Yes, yes. The elephant in the room.
If I’m so anti-digital when it comes to games, how do I stomach my huge library of Steam games that is digital-only? Trust me, back in the day when I first tried Steam as a platform, I had my concerns.
However, I feel like, after my experience with the Steamdeck, Steam OS, and Linux, that there’s a lot of potential here to break away from Windows and a closed gaming environment. Steamdeck – and by extension Steam Machine – opens the doors to gaming PCs that are also hybrid consoles. These systems are extremely mod-able to even play games of other platforms and even support… emulation *whispers*.
And while I don’t have the money to plunk on a Machine right now, if I were forced to purchase new hardware between the lineup of consoles, I would probably choose Steam over Nintendo, Xbox, and Playstation now days. I mean, if everything is going to go digital anyhow, I may as well choose a library that I can play on my gaming machine as well as Steamdeck and Steam Machine… with powerful Linux support.
I also want to toss out there that I have been re-purchasing some games on GOG as well. This is specifically because I download the DRM-free back up files so I can own my digital copy, which I back up to an external hard drive for safe keeping.
Where do you stand in the middle of this sad state of gaming evolution? Are you a console player? Are you a PC gamer? Does any of this change your gaming habits and your future outlook on the next generation of consoles?