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GameSpot: How Nintendo Won The Console War

IbizaPocholo

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


With the Nintendo Switch 2 breaking records left and right, Nintendo has cemented itself has the victor of the console wars. Thanks to numerous game of the year contenders, a reliable business model, and strategic growth in other markets, Nintendo can't lose.
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Sylvester Stallone Facepalm GIF
 
I'm not yet sober enough to write in such threads... I need to wait until evening...
The press warriors win another victory in another article.
 
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Different battlefield, different objectives. You can't win a war you're not part of. Clickbait.
 
I dunno what's with the "winner take all" mentality. Nintendo and Sony are both doing great in the market. I'm trying to think if there is another industry that is quite like this.
 
Yes, Nintendo are killing it on a whole other level compared to the others but Sony are still kicking ass in hardware sales too.

No one has ever come close to Nintendo across hardware and software sales. Number of releases and exclusives each year.
 
If we are just talking about the console space then why is he wrong about the statement that Switch is the better console (+exclusives), while a Sony box purchase can be circumvented by a large audience by simply having a PC/Laptop/Steambox. The strictly "Console" box under your TV war seems to be Nintendo's domain, where Sony/Xbox has changed the rule of engagement and more and more not competing in the console box purchase war.

Don't misunderstand by the console war moniker, the "Gaming War" is for Sony to win but the traditional console box war is primed for a Nintendo victory as there is one less reason to buy PS6 compared to PS4 while same is not true for Nintendo.
 
What Nintendo achieved starting with the Wii is to become the platform for people who like to game but don't want go in too deep and there are a lot of those. For aged gamers like me they are a tent pole of the industry responsible for some of the defining gaming experiences of their childhood (for me personally it was the C64 and Amiga days) so I completely get the passion and love for it. The Nintendo of today for the general audience is Wii Sports and similar games. The Switch just followed in those steps. Yes they still have hard-core games like Zelda but a big chunk of their sells is coming from casuals (even if I don't like the word) gamers. And I don't know if you would call this "winning". Actually it makes me kind of sad to see people settle (except for those who really seek that handheld experience) for the Switch (2) while they are actually craving a somewhat powerful console and exclusive games that really push on the technical side as they were doing on the N64 and Gamecube. I was never a Nintendo fan but those machines had me in awe back in the days.
 
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I think they're positioned to win it this generation.

- Portable or docked
- Cheapest 9th gen system
- Best 1st party
- Will get most 3rd party games and indies

They already outsold everyone last time without reliable 3rd party support. Looks like most stuff is getting ported to Switch 2 now which is actually the first time that's happened since arguably the Gamecube, or even the SNES. Furthermore, graphical advancement has seemingly plateaued so whatever power advantage the stronger systems have will be less pronounced than usual for normies. Most stuff coming out still hasn't really surpassed the best of the PS4 gen, and all that stuff can run on a Switch 2.
 
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They won because their 2 competitors don't compete anymore. Even if their 3 exclusives failed to convince, they're still exclusives, something the other 2 abandonned for shitty GAAS. But hey, at least this situation will allow me to post this gif:

whAzaU8BXr3ztOUR.gif
 
The main takeaway is that the consumers lost the "console war". All platform holders (including Valve) are shit in their own kind of way.
 
Punished Miku said:
I think they're positioned to win it this generation.
- Cheapest 9th gen system
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Sure but when you add the Pro Controller, the games never go on sale even games with more than 5 years are still $50-60 now the new games $70 and $80 and will never go on sale. When you add those it becomes more expensive than a PS5. Also there are specials of the PS5 for $400 which anyone can get for example.
 
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Punished Miku said:
I think they're positioned to win it this generation.

- Portable or docked
- Cheapest 9th gen system
- Best 1st party
- Will get most 3rd party games and indies

They already outsold everyone last time without reliable 3rd party support. Looks like most stuff is getting ported to Switch 2 now which is actually the first time that's happened since arguably the Gamecube, or even the SNES. Furthermore, graphical advancement has seemingly plateaued so whatever power advantage the stronger systems have will be less pronounced than usual for normies. Most stuff coming out still hasn't really surpassed the best of the PS4 gen, and all that stuff can run on a Switch 2.
Click to expand...

The Series S is still cheaper than the Switch 2 even with price hikes. PS5 often goes for cheaper than the Switch 2 aswell. Really, the only place where Switch 2 is the cheapest 9th gen is Japan. Elsewhere, the Switch 2 is the most expensive entry point into a 9th gen ecosystem especially if you want to expand storage and buy Nintendo's games, but that is another topic.

Switch 1 also got plenty of PS3/360 ports throughout it's lifespan. Nowadays most games can run on PS4-spec because people want 60fps performance modes and developers refuse to adapt to heavy ray-tracing for some reason…could work out well for Nintendo for a couple of years.
 
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