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Take-Two CEO Says Consoles Aren't Going Away, But Gaming is Moving Toward PCs (cnbc.com) 41

Posted by msmash from the where-the-wind-is-going dept.
Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, which operates publishing labels including GTA-maker Rockstar Games and 2K, said on Monday that although gaming consoles are not going away, the industry is moving toward PCs in the next decade. From a report: "I think it's moving towards PC and business is moving towards open rather than closed," Zelnick told CNBC's "Squawk Box."

"But if you define console as the property, not the system, then the notion of a very rich game that you engage in for many hours that you play on a big screen -- that's never going away." Zelnick said the current split between console and mobile is about even in the market, but mobile is growing more rapidly than consoles.
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Take-Two CEO Says Consoles Aren't Going Away, But Gaming is Moving Toward PCs More

Take-Two CEO Says Consoles Aren't Going Away, But Gaming is Moving Toward PCs

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  • Future of DRM (Score:4, Insightful)

    by TwistedGreen ( 80055 ) on Monday November 17, 2025 @01:11PM (#65800801)

    Consoles have been PCs for a while now, just locked down, so I'm not sure what this will really mean. Will they try to lock down PCs even further, with more devious rootkits now that Windows 10 is dead and TPM2.0 is mandatory? Or will they embrace Linux and follow Valve's lead by giving players the freedom to actually play the games they paid for? I'm not sure this guy has the answers, but I guess we'll see.

    • The obvious thing to question is the thing he says is gospel... that if not true would mean he and his company are irrelevant.
      • "But if you define console as the property, not the system, then the notion of a very rich game that you engage in for many hours that you play on a big screen -- that's never going away."

      If he's saying this... he is worried that big AAA games are in danger of disappearing.

    • I'm not sure DRM is hugely necessary. So many games do online play now that just getting a pirated copy of something generally isn't as functional. And honestly the LAST thing I'd do in modern times is run executable code from some random torrent site. Media files for audio and/or video sure, but anything executable is a no-go for me.

      I don't know - maybe its because I'm not the broke teenager I once was, but I haven't pirated a game in probably 20 years. If you wait most of them will be $5 or less event

      • How many of those games need to be connected to anything? Unless it's an MMO or a strictly multiplayer FPS, I can do without the online component. It usually only exists to make the experience worse in my opinion. It's also often less functional than online capabilities of prior generation titles which allowed for LAN play or custom servers. Some games still use that model, but they seem like a dying breed.

      • I'm not sure DRM is hugely necessary. So many games do online play now that just getting a pirated copy of something generally isn't as functional

        The "lock down " the OP mentioned is not just to prevent piracy but to prevent cheating in online games.

        And honestly the LAST thing I'd do in modern times is run executable code from some random torrent site

        I agree with this statement, but I don't feel a whole lot more comfortable running the official code either. Some of the anti-cheat technologies are practi

  • Did the master race disappear when I wasn't looking?

  • What data backs up this notion? PC's in the home are becoming even more rare, not more likely, especially not ones that can run AAA games. I definitely don't see it here. The only thing I can ascertain is if he's using "PC" as a way to reference valve's ecosystem without explicitly saying Valve. Is that possibly what he means?

    • General purpose PC's are becoming more rare, but it seems like gaming PC's are starting to account for a larger chunk of the PC population. In general it seems like people who just want to do mundane tasks are largely moving away from full PC to tablets and smartphones, but people who actually want to game are still very much getting PC's to do it on.

      I'm an old fart who still games, but every one of my 3 teenage nieces have asked me to build them a gaming PC because it's a "cool kid" thing to have one.

    • There's a difference between being able to run a AAA game and having 120 FPS 4k with ray tracing and other bells and whistles. The integrated graphics on mainstream Intel and AMD CPUs can run most titles at low settings. The 30 FPS that you may get isn't considered acceptable these days, but back in the day that was something that often required a high-end setup. The integrated graphics are good enough that the low end of the GPU market no longer exists as it did two or even one decade ago. The built-in CPU

      • Except sometimes with kick ass graphics the game jams in tons of effects, which are amazing to view and a hindrance to the gameplay. Seeing reflections on surfaces, rain and other things can really be distracting and a disadvantage when someone else just has bare bone graphics

      • I think it's also significant that the younger generation is coming up on Roblox and Minecraft. They see from the beginning that games with relatively primitive graphics can be fun.

  • Perhaps this is because consoles are luxuries, and with the economy not looking so good, people are not really willing to spend the big bucks, and rather use what they have until things get better.

    It will be interesting to see how MS's next gen console, which doubles as a PC will do. Done right, it may be a money maker.

    • I don't think that's it. Gaming PC's generally cost more than a console, and the "general purpose PC that can also dabble in some gaming" is becoming less common. It seems that people are buying less PC's but those who are still buying them are often buying them for a purpose.

      I think it's that "gaming" (and by that I need AAA high dollar value gaming as opposed to casual cell phone/mobile device gaming) is becoming a little more niche of a hobby. Niche hobbies often have high costs associated with them b

      • the "general purpose PC that can also dabble in some gaming" is becoming less common.

        It was left behind by the technology. When a decent GPU was only 10-20% of the cost of the system, no big deal. Now it's more like 50%.

  • You'll have to pry my controller from my cold dead hands.

  • There's no way some people will be using PCs to game. There are people who just want something convenient. They want to be guaranteed that these accessories and these games will work on this console because you see the branding and compatibility there. They want to know they can go to one company to get support, and not random companies for this part or that driver or some piece of software and trawl forums looking for the right direction on who to contact. They don't want choice paralysis when choosing wha

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Junta ( 36770 )

      The line has muddied, as consoles went USB and console accessories started being PC compatible.

      Once upon a time, you popped a game cartridge into a purpose built specialty thing with bespoke capabilities to do the things the game companies wanted, with proprietary connectors and instant boot up and what you get is what you have.

      On the PC side, you futzed with config.sys/autoexec.bat to have just the right memory layout, depending on if you needed the maximum conventional memory, ems or xms, and environment

      • A PC is for doing work. not games. I don't want your malware game infecting my computer which has to be locked down by your invasive software to prevent cheating online etc. Consoles can be your domain and limit freedom and be a closed off walled garden. I'm totally ok with that to limiting cheating and make security risks a joke since nothing important is on my console.

        This sound like phones? moving gaming to phones sounds like exactly what they want and it has a wealth of personal information far beyond

        • You can have a PC dedicated to gaming

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tepples ( 727027 )

          Gaming exclusively on modern consoles on grounds that games for Linux or Windows are presumed malware means you'll probably get indie games years late or never. This is because it takes time for an indie developer to build enough of a reputation in the industry to become eligible to buy a devkit for a modern console.

          Unless by consoles, you mean things like the NES and Genesis, which are still getting brand-new indie games decades after Nintendo and Sega stopped supporting them.

  • This is a detail many PC fanbois tend to overlook. And it's the reason consoles are so successful.

    Point in case: I ditched hardcore PC gaming 25 years ago because it was becoming ridiculous with the constant hardware upgrades, fiddling with drivers and the mess that is M$ W1ndows. And I at one time had the most performant gaming PC available that costed roughly 5000$. I'm a computer expert but when even AMD went from one socket type to something like 5 different (Intel was already at roughly 10 different so

  • While also getting that sweet sweet 30% like Valve does.

    I kind of see gaming rapidly becoming unaffordable though. Back in the day it was affordable in America because you would see steep steep discounts on last generation hardware but I'm not really seeing that the same way anymore. I guess games do still get discounted so there is that but when you're looking at having to drop anywhere from $700 to $1,000 for a game console that you're expected to buy again every 5 years that gets tough.

    The develo

    • Nintendo is the only one who gets it. The rest are just greedy corps trying to steal as much as possible: from the workers, from the customers (TIME and money,) and from Nintendo (speaking of Sony's breach of contract which founded their console business; but also their emulators.)

      The COSTS are reasonable except for their subsidized bloated PC consoles... adjusted for inflation, Nintendo is just fine. The problem is the money is all going to the top and people in the 1st world are really starting to feel it

  • But now that I work in front of a PC most of my day, every day, I'd rather sit comfortably on a sofa and feel like I'm not at work. I need an escape.

    • Out of curiosity, what did you game on as a kid? My escape begins when I run the executable, but it has to be a desktop PC, but laptop is ok. Because that's what I grew up with, and associate escape with.

      • All sorts. Diablo 1, 2: LoD, all kinds of MMORPGs, Rayman, Doom, MGS, all Larry games (must-do for an adolescent teenager, of course), Mortal Kombat (pretty much every one that was available out there), Quake, all Tomb Raiders, Fallout (1, 2, 3, Tactics), RollerCoaster Tycoon, Pizza Tycoon, Heroes of Might and Magic 1-4... What else... Gorky 17 was good. Duke Nukem, Neverwinter Nights, Baldur, Painkiller, Serious Sam, Thief... Gothic was epic, too...

        I've just spent 5 minutes going down my mind's memory lane

        • Hahaha I meant if it was console or PC, but yeah pretty good list there :D Go buy a few from GOG and give them a go, worth it. Since you've enjoyed the HoMM games, if you haven't heard, definitely check out fheroes2 [github.io] and HotA [gog.com]

          • I've got over 200 games on GoG already. All the titles that I played when I was a kid but didn't get to fully finish. I'll play them again when I'm retired and I've got nothing else to do. :-)

            Then, I won't be allowed to die unless I complete the whole video game bucket list. A pre-shutdown check. Completed all games? Yes/No? No? Well, you've got to stay around a little bit more.

    • People do have dedicated gaming PC's in their living rooms. Now that every TV is HDMI / Display Port compatible and every modern video card comes with those ports, it's seamless to hook a PC up to any TV.

      • Maybe, but it's not comfortable leaning forward all the time over a keyboard and mouse when your arse is sinking into the sofa.

        • You're aware that they make numerous gamepads, both wireless and wired, that are PC compatible, aren't you?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tepples ( 727027 )

          Many, many PC games can be played with a controller connected to the PC's USB port. Support for HID protocol and XInput protocol is widespread.

  • Consoles used to be significantly cheaper than PCs but prices have crept up whilst PCs stay relatively static. Eg consoles were probably a quarter of the price of a gaming laptop and now they're maybe half. And console games are all online now - gone are the days of squeezing multiple people onto the same screen, sharing the same sofa!

  • I'm hoping this statement means the next GTA will be available for PC at the same time as the console game release. Previous PC releases always trailed a year or two behind the console release because both Microsoft and Sony would pay Rockstar to make them the first exclusive platforms for the game.

  • I don't care what this guy says. He should go play in traffic.

    These guys have mismanaged several games, the only one I really cared about was KSP2. Not allowing developers to talk to the existing team, having zero meaningful targets or decision points, allowing good idea fairies to run the show, and not nailing down an actual working game engine....

    Then closing it down to focus on more profitable items. I get space sim isn't ever going to make as much money as driving the car down the sidewalk and runnin

  • Genuine question.

    We hear in semi annual oscillations about the predicted, imminent "death of the PC for gaming" and "death of the console"... When does this non news stop being interesting?

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