Final Fantasy 16 producer believes 5G will "herald the long-term demise" of games consoles

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Naoki Yoshida thinks 5G's streaming capabilities will attract audiences away from consoles

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Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida has said he believes 5G will move audiences away from traditional games consoles.

Speaking to the Financial Times (astranscribed by VGC), Yoshida stated that 5G would "herald the long-term demise" of traditional games consoles. This is, according to Yoshida, primarily because of the improved streaming speeds associated with the new network system, which will bring about a time where developers can "can transfer images to any device."

Yoshida goes on to state that "players can enjoy a high-quality gaming experience on any device by not being tied to a gaming hardware or TV monitor" thanks to 5G. The director and producer then further adds that the industry is "definitely heading in that direction," and that he doesn't think the spread of COVID-19 has slowed this expansion.

"With home consoles, you need to sit in front of the television . . . and turn on the power and wait for the hardware to start up, so it was a time-consuming entertainment," Yoshida said. "With stay at home, there were more opportunities to turn the switch on."

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.