Consoles unlikely to be ousted in next two years - IDC

Disc-based consoles still have at least a few more years in them, according to a new report from International Data Corporation.

In a new forecast, as reported by GamesIndustry, IDC predicted that packaged game shipments will decline by about 3% per year through 2016 thanks to digital spending increases.

Despite this, the report said that although 2011 and 2012 were tough years for the industry, the new console cycle, beginning with the Wii U, is likely to reinvigorate it.

"Historical norms strongly imply that game disc revenue will stop bleeding in 2013 and rise substantively in 2014," it concluded.

The IDC acknowledged that the traditional console business is "in a state of flux" as it now has to accomodate non-gaming services and features while managing the digital revolution.

"At the same time, it doesn't appear that alternative platforms - set-top boxes from cable companies, Web-connected smart TVs, and so on - are positioned to materially disrupt the trajectory of the 'big 3' console OEMs in 2013 or 2014. Discs will remain the console game revenue mainstay for years to come," the firm said.

Pat, on the other hand, thinks we may be living in the end of days.