Polygon: The Nintendo Switch has become the system people love to love

[Zekkyou]

NintendoPie said:

Zekkyou said:

I get your point, but their gaining then losing 150m customers in 1 generation certainly wasn't typical :p 

It's silly for someone to say those markets can't be tabbed again though. They've not disappeared, just moved. All it would take to bring them "back" is a product that appeals to them. I'm sceptical that the Switch will be that system (so far its success seems about what i'd expect from a combination of Nintendo's traditional home and handheld market appeal), but it's certainly not impossible.

For some reason Sony's losses in that shift aren't discussed much either. Both Nintendo's presence in the home console market and Sony's in the handheld market were effectively wiped out in a single generation, and little of those huge losses translating in gains for their competition. That's pretty nuts.

C'mon, they lost more like 180 million customers. Endless downplaying of Nintendo around here.

On a more serious note, I realize that they did indeed "lose" those customers and I do pretty much agree with everything you said. What I was mainly using that point for, though, is that people use that as a remark to actually downplay success. Just because Nintendo was able to find a blue ocean but couldn't find it another time (because of their piss-poor execution and overall stupidity) doesn't mean that the first time they found it was any less of a major success, which is what people always seem to try to make it be.

Yeah, it being used as a negative against Nintendo has always struck me as silly. They might have eventually lost those customers, but they're the only ones to get them in those numbers in the first place. It lead to them having a generation so successful that it's not unreasonable to think it'll remain the record until past the point the traditional console market dies. Them not sustaining that for a 2nd generation doesn't negate the achievement of the first.

I think it mostly stems from the idea that being a "core" gamer makes you better than a "casual" one. The groups do become progressively more distinct the further from the centre you move, but ultimately Sony, MS, and Nintendo don't care what you are as long as you're buying their stuff :p