I am pretty sure I've made a similar post, but I think this generation will be interesting.Unity just fired a bunch of people. I think expansion is on hold for most places.
I would say it's already a very significant generation. MS and Sony are expanding at unprecedented rates. MS acquiring the biggest third party publisher, Sony acquiring several studios.
But there's a lot of unknowns.
It's hard to say what MS will end up doing this generation. It feels like the current assumption is that they will keep expanding. But maybe that isn't correct. We have had a lot of reports of seriously troubled development with various games. They have a lot of studios that seem to be years away from really being productive. Maybe they will get there, but maybe they won't. Maybe MS will opt to start downsizing again towards the end of the generation. Imagine if in a few years, MS ends up selling Activision to someone.
It's also hard to say how Sony will wind up this generation. Will their live service push be successful? How will they continue to grow through out this generation?
Both companies are very dedicated to growth on a scale they've never done. This generation might not be the craziest from a consumer standpoint, but I think when it comes to the shape of the industry it might be one of the biggest changes it's ever seen.
I've talked before about where I would like to see both companies. I'd like to see MS figure themselves out. There's been a lot of reports of development troubles. Avowed has gone through multiple reboots. Complaints about Fable not having experienced developers working on it.
I know it isn't that abnormal for a game to get delayed, but it seems like MS is having a lot of issues. The next 12 months looks pretty decent, but they've announced so many games that are years away.
I would like Sony to keep expanding, I think something like 30 studios would be a good place for them.
Could see Microsoft cutting some teams, same with Sony. Maybe Bend or London
