If the video game industry had one standard console, it would be quite boring. Console wars provide the competition that drives console manufacturers’ and game developers’ creativity.

Without console wars, developers would have less of a desire to create impressive games. Since there would only be one console, first-party and second-party developers would not have to worry about competing consoles. Since the competition would be nonexistent, in house developers would have nothing to worry about. This would ultimately lead to laziness and lackluster games because a great deal of a console manufacturer’s revenue comes from first-party and second-party games. Another supporting fact to this claim would be a look at the PC gaming world, which is considered a separate entity in video games. Sure, PC gaming has its own share of great games, but it also has a greater amount of less than stunning titles than consoles as well. PC games also thrive on add-ons and expansions of already available games, which proves that creativity in development is less than if there were competing machines.

Innovation and creativity would also lack if there were no console war. If there was one standard console, the time between new consoles would much greater. In the mid 1980’s to mid 1990’s, when Nintendo controlled 90% of the video game market, the Nintendo Entertainment System had a lifespan of more than ten years. Although, this may seem like a good thing, it really was not because maximum performance is usually obtained from a console within three to four years. Although Nintendo revolutionized and revitalized the home gaming industry with the NES, it was unable to bring about new experiences, courtesy of the Super Nintendo, for a great amount of time because of the time between console releases.

Console wars are ultimately beneficial to the home gaming industry because of the competition driven innovation that they bring about. Console wars allow video games to thrive on ideals that make video games great. Excellent gameplay and innovation is really what video games are all about, and console wars cause these features to shine.

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