Will there be another video game crash like the one in the 80's?

Video games are mainstream now. There shouldn't be a crash anytime soon. The industry is definitely changing though, games are adopting the "freemium" model more and more, and games on mobile devices are super popular. The modern issue with games is that they cost more and more to produce and take longer and longer to create; and while the end results are often times outstanding, these games are increasingly becoming less common and spread farther apart.

These new consoles will sell, but the problem is, consoles are also almost required to offer services beyond gaming... and Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have to make sure that their consoles can at least provide a few extra services to separate themselves even more. It is these features that have gamers on edge. Many people are skeptical of the Wii U because of the tablet and relative lack of processing power. People are lynching the Xbox One because it has used game restrictions and requires one-a-day internet connection. PS4 doesn't seem to carry the same things that people don't like about Xbox One in terms of DRM and such, but there are those who still question the security of the PlayStation Network.

Also, with modern emphasis on game reviews, the industry is increasingly pushing for quality, and that is a good thing. In the Atari 2600 era, there were so many games that were complete garbage, and nobody knew any better whether to buy them or not... which was a chief reason that we had a crash in the early 1980s. Too many low quality games that flooded the market.

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tl;dr version

To summarize all that jargon... No video game crash because games are better than ever, however in our modern era, gaming has changed a lot, and these new consoles have features that are trying to adapt to that that many people don't appreciate.

I highly doubt there will be a sever crash of the gaming industry. Sure people are saying things about the current generation of systems, but the internet is full of haters in today's age. The Wii U has been out for only 6 months and is lacking in a lot of games, but I feel it will regain momentum once the gaming library catches up. People have been criticizing the XBoxOne and PS4 based on the little info that we have - no one even knows the whole story.

If anything, the rumors going around, expensiveness of games and super defensive angry gamers have been giving the gaming world a dark aura, but if you look at what the games, systems, and companies themselves are doing, there's no end in site.

The future of the industry will depend solely on the final decisions of the companies and the reception the consoles recieve at launch, but I doubt it will be that bad.

The originally VG crash of 1983 was caused by a multitude of reasons. Firstly, there were too many consoles on the market and too many games for the consoles. In addition to this, the growing competition from PCs was troubling the industry. On top of this, Atari (who was leading the market at the time) began to lose control of itself, and it released two very high-profile failures that damaged the reputation of the industry (Pacman and ET: The Game).

In contrast to modern times, the only company that seems to be struggling to keep it's fanbase is Microsoft, but the industry hasn't reached that point yet. Though, given that the Wii-U wasn't as successful as it's predecessor, and the negative reception that the Xbox One is generating, the fear sets in that we may see a VG crash sometime in the future (linked to Sony/Microsoft following the same footsteps as Atari), unless Microsoft and Sony can continue to make successful video games, which they should be able to do seeing that they are both multibillion dollar corporations.

If I had to guess, I'd say that the video game industry will crash during the 9th or 10th generation of gaming, at least before video games are rendered obsolete by virtual reality decades from now.

Who knows. I think gaming is here to stay, but if developers are going to stay in the game, they need to really think about what their consumers really want. Nobody wants all of this DRM stuff. Nobody wants to be told that they can't trade the games that they bought with their own money, or shop around for deals on used games in the gaming community. There are so many gamers out there, and we're all different, different age groups, different backgrounds, different tastes, but I think that one thing we have in common is that most of us want some level of freedom. Freedom to play how we want, when we want. I mean, for most of us it's just a hobby. It's something we do in our spare time. So, it needs to be fun and uncomplicated.

I think one of the mistakes that big business makes time and time again is jerking their consumers around. They see how good their sales were on their old consoles, they see that the gaming industry is strong, and then they make the mistake of thinking that they can slap their name on anything and we consumers will buy it, even if it stinks. But, not all companies will be making those mistakes. The few who do may suffer in sales, but there will always be others ready to take their place.

Anyway, I could go on. But, as someone who's been an avid gamer for as long as I was able hold a controller in my hands, I have to say that I'm not yet impressed by what I've seen of the next gen. And it's a shame. Do I think that it spells doom for gaming in general? No. Maybe for Xbox. :p And as far as Nintendo goes, who knows where they will fall in the mix. The one thing they're doing right is not getting caught up in this anti-used game bullcrap. And, hey, Wii U's sales jumped *875%* on Amazon after Xbox One's reveal, so they're not out of the game yet. ;)

You're joking, eh?

Nintendo's DONE. COOKED. GAME OVER.

They're either going to become a handheld only company, or become a software studio like SEGA.

Like you said yourself, nobody even cares about the Wii-U anymore. [Not like there was too much hype in the first place though...]

N64, Gamecube, Wii, and now Wii-U were all terrible. Only CORE NINTENDO FRANCHISES sold 'em.

Even still it was the GBA [all models] and DS [DSi and XL models in particular] along with Pokemon games that pulled Nintendo's rear out of the fire.

I doubt there will be another crash though; that happened because gaming was in an odd Limbo. Stuck somewhere between the arcade and the home. Now games are already in the home, it's just a matter of which one.

I personally am gonna get a PS4 [2nd or 3rd Gen. No launch models for me.] 1 was better than the N64, 2 better than Xbox, and 3 better than 360. I can only assume this trend will continue and PS4 will be better than Xbox One.

The reason there's not a lot of 'hype' this time around is because people are scared. They don't know exactly how all this BS is gonna pan out, and I don't blame 'em.

EDIT: I didn't mean that N64 - Wii-U had terrible games, in fact all of them have some truly impressive masterpieces.

What I meant was that: Going cartridge over CD cost them developers. Going Mini-Disc over DVD cost them developers. Staying in SD and having an odd gimmicky controller cost them devs, and making the Wii-U even odder and more gimmicky-er has cost them even more developers.

It was a consistent string of missteps and only their handheld sales have kept Nintendo afloat.