So my last thread went tits up, people were getting hung up on thinking I actually thought PS2 sold because it was a DVD player, but understand people actually think that. Anyway. It's interesting to note why a console sells. People have their own interpretations of it but more often than not they fail to explain all scenarios. For example there are those who say PS4 sold like it did because Xbox One fucked up... is that to say the reverse would be true if PS4 fucked up? No, because PS3 already answers that question. We know that PS has a higher upper limit than Xbox in sales because it appeals in more markets. But why is that? That's another topic i'd say.
On to Nintendo. First of all what stopped the N64 from beating the PS1? Or the Gamecube beating the PS2? I'd argue game formats that stopped them from getting many CD/DVD based titles in those two gens. That one is fairly easy. But then what sold the GBA to so many more people, and why couldn't Gamecube capitalize on that? Was is portability? Was it Pokemon? Did I just answer that question? Maybe I did. It seems core Nintendo home consoles don't do too great in the sales department, yet their portables that generally also have a core audience manage 70 million+ at the low end. Even though the flagship Mario, Zelda, Metroid and Mario Karts often release only on their home consoles (until Switch that is). So isn't it the Nintendo staples that sells Nintendo hardware?
What confuses me is what is driving the sales of the Switch right now? Is it Mario and Zelda? Gamecube had those. N64 had those. Pokemon hasn't released yet but it's already selling par for the course with other Nintendo handhelds. Yet their home consoles go slow (unless it's the Wii). Is it actually portability and the preconcieved knowledge that it will eventually have Pokemon that shifts these things? Of course that's the spark, but it also aquires a library of great games as a result of these sales which also leads to more sales, it could be that too... but their home consoles also have great libraries, better than their handhelds in my opinion.. So I'm confused.
It's not that I think these sales aren't warrented, it's just that I feel their home consoles deserved more love. That and I'm genuinely curious why their handhelds sell more.
