By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
EricHiggin on 31 July 2017
Edit Thread
Machina said:
EricHiggin said:

Why couldn't "This Generation" be changed to "Present Hardware" and "Last Generation" be changed to "Recent Hardware" or something like that?  The numbers are mostly there for the sake of seeing how well the hardware is selling in totals, or has sold, no? Some kind of identifier could be added to show which hardware falls into which gen, but I don't see that being necessary for the chart itself, is it?

With "PS5 (PS4 ?) and XB2" potentially being released around 2020, do we wait and potentially end up in a scenario where "Switch 2" releases then as well and we go 3-4 years with no Switch sales on the chart at all? I haven't been around long enough to know, but I assume the chart has always been this way, so changing may be difficult for different reasons, but hardware and gens are starting to change as well, so why can't the chart follow this new trend? Keeping the "Recent Hardware" chart would allow people to still quickly and easily compare the Wii U to the "Present Hardware" PS4 and XB1 or Switch for example. 

The way I see it, if generations are so important in the chart, then the "This Generation" tab should only have Switch in it right now, and "Last Generation" should have PS4, XB1, Wii U, 3DS, and Vita in it. Since that's not the case, why not change the gen focus to sales numbers and keep "Recent Hardware" numbers in the charts close by like they are now (Last Gen)?

Maybe I'm out in left field, but not having numbers up for reasons other than not actually having the numbers, doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

So basically swap out WiiU for Switch and rename the chart to recognise the shift away from strict generations? So right now it'd look something like NS 5%, XOne 32%, and PS4 63%. Could work.

The market share graph still implies a generational link by its very nature, but that'd be better than not having any chart at all there. 

Something like that yes, and put Wii U where Wii is now. I don't know what can and can't be done exactly, but if there was a way to make it so gens were still visible in some way that would be even better.

Like maybe in the "Present Hardware" chart, give Switch a certain style border(outline color) around its bar, and give PS4, XB1, 3DS and Vita a different style or border(or the same border but different color) around their bars to signify a different (last) gen. In the "Recent Hardware" chart, you also put that last gen border around the Wii U to signify its the same gen as PS4 and XB1, and you could just leave the PS3, 360, NDS, and PSP with no border, signifying they are of an even older gen.

Or

Maybe change up the bar color scheme. Use colors to signify gens, but use neutral colors for all brands. For example, in the "Present Hardware" chart, make Switch's bar Purple, signifying new gen, make PS4, XB1, 3DS, and Vita Orange, signifying last gen. Then in the "Recent Hardware" chart, you make Wii U Orange as well, signifying its the same gen as PS4 and XB1, and you make PS3, 360, NDS, and PSP yellow, signfiying they are of an even older gen. 

Or

You could keep the color scheme as it is now (or change Nin to red and PS to blue), but instead of adding borders or changing the colors, just make Switch's bar have straight angled lines through it, and PS4, XB1, 3DS, and Vita have wavy lines through their bars. Wii U would also get wavy lines, and the PS3, 360, NDS, and PSP could have no lines.

 

How the borders would look or be colored, or what colors were used for what gens, or what bar markings each gen has assigned to them, could be anything. I am just giving potential examples. I am not sure whether or not this would allow you to put in the proper percentages though. It would be great if Switch said 100%, since it has no competition right now, and leave the rest of the percentages as they are supposed to be, per gen. The bar colors/markings would allow people to know what percentages are to be compared for each gen. If the percentages were wrong due to Switch being tied into this gen because of how the charts are designed, they could be left out to alleviate confusion. Maybe having the precentages show which brand has the most and least marketshare right now, regardless of gen, may be just as good if not better. I'm just throwing idea's out there. If there's a better answer for the percentages, I don't have it.