8 Terrifying Facts & Predictions About The Future Of Gaming

5. Fact: Turning PlayStation/Xbox/Nintendo Into Apps

An "all-streaming, all-access content model" is what Microsoft was attempting back at the beginning of this generation. All the talk of owning the "digital rights" for each title, eliminating pre-orders or trading, checking in with an online database every 24 hours to maintain authentication? It was a misstep in the execution, sure, but think about how many digital games you now own the license for.

Exactly.

As you've likely noticed this generation, there's a "cross-pollination" of ownership. Many PS3 games are also playable on PS Vita and PS4, or vice versa. Likewise, 360 titles or Xbox Live Arcade releases are listed as playable on Xbox One, all with one purchase of a license for each game, accessible anywhere.

Like how owning a movie on your Amazon or iTunes account lets you watch it anywhere you can find a connection, games are striving to do the same.

The likes of PlayStation Now, Game Pass or Nintendo Switch Online consolidating past Nintendo memberships into one service? It points to a future where we access archives of content from all sorts of past systems for a regular fee.

Don't get me wrong, companies like Nintendo should've been offering their catalogues for YEARS, but taken with the idea of tethering a bluetooth controller to your Smart TV or streaming through your phone, it does create a world where we think of "PlayStation", "Xbox" and "Nintendo" the same way as Netflix or NowTV.