PlayFirst - Wii proves that consoles are on their way out

A portion of a VentureBeat interview with PlayFirst co-found and CEO John Welch…

VB: What is the reason you think consoles might be going out? There is a small opinion that it is in part because the so-called ‘Sony era’ is in many ways over. Would you agree?

JW: I think the biggest proof point in the death of consoles in my thesis is the Wii. The most successful, most difficult to acquire console in this generation is at least a generation old in hardware. The advances are in software and peripherals. Why do you need a box for that? If the real expansion is occurring because of what Nintendo has done, why do we even need a console? The technology could be adapted to run on your average set top box, at least in the next generation of set top boxes. How much would it cost to integrate Wii-like technology into a set top box, if anything even needs to be specialized? What we really need are more standards around the input devices.

The reasoning makes sense to me…I think he’s wrong, but I understand why he is making these statements! Read the full interview here