...I can't be the only one who notices we don't really get the equivalent of Crash shouting at Nintendo of America's HQ or 'Nintendo does what Nintendon't' anymore from official commercials from the console makers anymore. That 'game sharing' thing from the PS4 reveal seems the closest I've seen in a while. 

(I don't know enough if say, Activision and E.A do pot shots like that at each other then or now or what be to say)

Did that just die out for some reason?

Well thats because we grew up past shitty banter

Those attack ads are only really a thing in the US. Something like that wouldn't even be legal in other countries. Companies are global now.

We had them at the start of this gen, particularly from Sony digging into Xbox. We'll probably see another round as the new gen arrives.

EA definitely took shots at Call of Duty in ads when Battlefield 3 came out, and Sony had the "4 > One" thing at the end of commercials, but on the whole, you don't see ads like tat any more.

There are better ways to advertise nowadays.

It probably turns out to be more effective and cheaper to create an account on VGChartz and advertise your games discretely on message boards forums....

I suppose this is subjective. I'm insulted whenever two of the big three, or their fans, don't awknowledge Nintendo. Yes, many buy something else plus Nintendo, but we shouldn't assume there aren't at least a few million that only buy one device.

The consumer base has aged significantly. Sure, there's new blood, but for a long time, a majority of gamers were quite young. When I was a teenager, the odd gamer you'd find in their 30's and 40's played games primarily to lure you into their gingerbread house.

Shills? Shills Everywhere!