DonFerrari said:
Johnw1104 said:
I do think PS4 will outsell the Switch lifetime because the hardware, for one, didn't age quite as fast as the Switch (which will hopefully offer a mid-gen upgrade like the other two).
Mainly, though, it's because they probably had the least competition for a huge portion of their run than any console since the first few years of the Atari VCS in NA. I really can't think of an example where a console had only two competitors, and both competitors absolutely face-planted and botched their entries from the start.
The end result was that the PS4 was simultaneously affordable and the strongest hardware-wise (that almost never happens), not held down by expensive peripherals, was the best system for multiplats, had a strong first party lineup, and was really just the logical choice for almost everyone.
We might not see such a favorable climate for a console to sell well again going forward. I don't think the Switch can ever catch that even if it does sell extremely well.
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PS2 was even less opposed than PS4
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The PS2 had competition, but it was a very good DVD player for its price while also sporting good-but-not-great hardware that allowed them to price it very low, which helped sell the console to the mainstream in a way only the Wii really did otherwise. The two pre-existing rivals didn't have that capability, and the PS2 was already a smash hit by the time Microsoft made their entry into the industry.
That's definitely a good example, though... there was never really a chance that the other consoles would compete given the pricing and DVD capabilities. PS4's circumstances do rather compare, though I'd say the others botched their launches a lot worse in the recent generation.
