Nintendo recently announced its new Switch Concierge service, which will help new Switch owners get to know the console and, most importantly, what games to try. It's not just a step-by-step tutorial either, but a virtual one-on-one meeting with a Nintendo representative. It's a nice touch and a great way to really learn about the console by being able to ask questions. The reps can even recommend what to play next based on what you play and which accessories you own. It's a concept other companies should adopt for their gaming platforms.
Obviously, this is a big ask. Even Nintendo doesn't have unlimited resources to get to everyone, and there are waitlists to participate. But it doesn't need to be done the same way everywhere. A simple helpline or chat specifically for using a platform like the PlayStation 5 would go a long way with customers in getting them setup. However, that's not the most important feature; the would be the personal recommendations.
Many gamers today have huge libraries to play through, and while some have their backlogs organized into lists, others struggle to choose what to play next. Undecided, they'll end up scrolling through their library rather than playing anything. Nintendo giving players personalized recommendations based on what they play, what's favorited, most owned/played genres and even accessories owned is a sorely needed feature for any gaming platform.
It wouldn't be possible for every company to offer this level of personalized service, but even Steam has something like this in the form of AI. Every Steam user's main library page has sections called shelves, and one of them is called Play Next. It's a fairly new feature which just came out last year from Steam Labs that creates a recommended list from your library. It works similarly to the Steam Store's Discovery Queue, except it learns from the types of games you played recently and the number of play hours each game has. Like the Discovery Queue, Play Next takes some tweaking and learning to really be useful, and often games with the lowest play times win out, which can be a problem.
Other consoles need a feature like this, and an AI approach like Steam's is only one solution -- and there are ways to improve it. Adding an option to ignore certain recommendations based on a game you didn't enjoy would help improve these recommendations. Being able to get suggestions for a genre that you haven't played recently could also help gamers looking for something different.
A combination of AI and a quiz could also be implemented into platforms. These questions could narrow down games based on their level of action or length. Then, combining that information with an AI looking at previous playtimes, favorites and more could result in personalized recommendations. Between Steam's underrated Play Next and the Nintendo Switch Concierge service, perhaps other companies will take note and create similar features for their audiences.