Lawlight said:
1. The PC market back was very much separate from the console market unlike today where there is some overlapping. As you yourself pointed out - the markets were very much separate and not in competition with one another.
2. You said MS can only sell in NA and the UK - well that's 2 of the biggest gaming markets right there. They're much bigger competition than Nintendo has ever faced with the NES.
3. You're giving me an article about why the 3DS wasn't selling in 2011 - a year when less than 15% of mobile users had a smartphone. Compare this to 2015 when 77% of mobile users had a smartphone. There's also a big difference between mobile gaming in 2011 vs now. https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Mobile-Phone-Users-Japan-Upgrade-Smartphones-Finally/1012880 On top of that, you're ignoring the downwards trend of consoles in Japan. The NES is the 2nd highest selling console in Japan with only the PS2 surpassing it. Even th Wii only sold 12.5M there compared to the NES's 19.35M.
Now, let's look at a point that you forgot: Rise of alternative forms of entertainment. During the NES era, you're at home, you're a kid - what's the best way to spend time - video games. Any other distraction back then is still available today. But now: 1. Social media. The average perso spends 116 minutes, almost 2 hours per day, on social media. That's 2 hours that could have been spent on gaming. 2. Streaming services. It's easy to now access thousands of movies/shows to entertain oneself. Average time spent on just Netflix by a subscriber is 1h33min per day. That's more time that could have been spent gaming. 3. And yes, smartphones. Smartphones cut into people's use of a gaming device and it provides multiple ways to spend time. All of the above compete against the PS4 in one way or another as they offer alternative ways to spend time. |
PC gaming wasn't competition in the 80s but now it is? How does that work? Is it because multiplatorm games between PC and consoles didn't exist at the time? If anything that should helps the current generation systems! The NES could only wish to get some PC multiplatform games. The NES had to depend on mostly Japan for its games. Which doesn't have a strong PC market over there.
Sega was a small time company and had 33% of the marketshare. MS is a big time company that casn get like 35% to 40% of the market I believe. The difference between competition is not that significant. Now who is the bigger competion another arguement but I this is not the time nor place. Again I did not take into consideration PC gaming for ether era which again leans into more of help the NES cause.
I posted that link to show that mobile to show that Handheld gaming mostly fell due to dumb decesions not really just to mobile gaming. Mobile gaming could be a cause but that wasn't the point. I was just trying to show that Mobile gaming is not really going to make a decent dent to Home Console sales if they don't effect Handhelds as much. (Again if it does at all. Another argument could be made here if mobile does anything to Handhelds but this is not the time nor the place)
Also the fall of Home Console gaming in Japan could be due to a lot of reasons. In Japan the gaming market is falling in general not just home consoles. Even handelds are not doing as well. They are just doing better. (Home consoles are just hardest hit. )
Also Social Media, Streaming and Smartphones don't really make a big difference compared to the opening of new markets like Eastern Europe. They do not have the same impact as entire populations growing. Can Social Media effect sales? Of course but they are no where near as big as bigger word markets and population growth. More competition in the home console space is a much bigger deal then all three of those things you listed combined. Let alone everything else I mentioned.
Now I am saying PS4 sales are awful due to my reasons above? No, I never said that. I am not even trying to say it is not an accomplishment that for the PS4 to outsell the NES. It is an accomplishment. I am trying to say that PS4 outselling the NES is not really a big of deal because numbers without context is kinda useless. The market conditions between the PS4 are much different than what the NES faced. We are talking about 30 years gap here. Comparing them directly is not going to tell you much. The PS4 has things to face against just like the NES. However the NES just had more things to deal with. I never tried to say the PS4 faces no negative market condtions now.
Now that I think of it there is more circumstances that I missed.
Economy was better in the 80s then it is now. (Big deal!)
Multi console ownership is more of a thing today then in the 80s. (Helps inflates sales a bit)
Multi media functions like Blu-ray and streaming (Old computers ads used to say "Why buy just a gaming system?")
There could be more but I need to think of them.
