Analyst predicts Netflix-style streaming as answer to $1,000 PS6

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Okay, so I was reading this analyst’s take, and it’s pretty wild. They think the only way we’re gonna stop seeing game prices skyrocket is if consoles just… disappear. Like, instead of buying a PlayStation or Xbox, we’d just subscribe to a service – think Netflix, but for games. You pay a monthly fee and get access to a whole library of titles, streamed right to your TV or PC. They’re saying that’s the only way to keep gaming affordable in the long run.

Okay, so as a gamer, it’s been hitting my wallet lately. Console prices are going up, and it’s a bummer! Everything from making the games with AI to a shortage of RAM is driving up the costs. Microsoft already raised prices on the Xbox Series X and S, and now Sony just announced the PlayStation 5 is going up too. It’s getting expensive to stay in the game!

This trend probably won’t change anytime soon. The next PlayStation, likely the PlayStation 6, could cost 50% more than the last one, and some models might even reach $1,000. This price increase could prevent many gamers from upgrading to the newest PlayStation or Xbox consoles.

Analyst thinks $1,000 PS6 could mean the end of consoles

According to Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, even after the current hardware shortage ends, the price of video game console components probably won’t decrease. He discussed this in a YouTube video titled “How the AI RAM shortage crisis could kill video game consoles!”

After studying economics for four decades, he explained in the video that prices rarely decrease. Instead, sellers find a price point where customers are willing to pay, even if it’s difficult, rather than stop buying altogether.

Pachter believes console prices will continue to increase until a viable competitor emerges.

He believes console prices will likely continue to rise due to increasing demand for their components, particularly from the growing field of AI. His proposed solution is to move away from consoles altogether and focus on streaming games directly to televisions.

For over a decade, I’ve believed that consoles are gradually becoming less popular. Each new generation will likely be smaller than the last, largely because they’re becoming more expensive.

Microsoft and Sony are both focusing on game streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and PlayStation Portal, letting you play games without needing a console. But these services still have problems, such as occasional lag and a restricted selection of games.

Pachter believes the best way to deal with increasingly expensive gaming hardware is a streaming service, similar to Netflix, that lets you play games directly on your TV – eliminating the need to buy a console.

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2026-04-02 14:21