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curl-6 on 01 October 2018
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DélioPT said:
curl-6 said:

Satire aside, taking on MS and Sony directly simply is not an option for Nintendo. That would be like vultures trying to compete with lions for the apex predator role on the savanna. They don't have the means to do so, their only viable path to success is to occupy a different niche. When they distinguish themselves from the competition, as with the DS, Wii, and Switch, that's when they thrive.

This idea that Nintendo can be a third juggernaut in the battle of the traditional consoles is a pipe dream that people need to let go.

Given the current state, no, i don't think Nintendo can take Sony and MS head-on.

But they have the means to actually try, they just decided they don't want to.
And i'm not speaking about coming out with a 400$ console full of bells and whistles. I'm talking about the most important aspect of change: games!

Apart from the Wii franchises, how many franchises has Nintendo made that directly appeal to the Sony and MS consumer? Splatoon? Where's the Uncharteds, Halos, Destiny's, etc, etc.?
If Nintendo can't present those games as exclusives + Nintendo franchises it will be really hard for them actually change anything structurally.

To be honest, there's two moves that have gone in the way of said change: marketing to young aduls and above and making serious efforts to bring online titles like Fortnite, Arena of Valor, etc.
To be honest, again, i don't think they have been given enough credit for those changes, specially the latter.

To me, Nintendo needs to take some more serious steps for anything to change in the long term. It's not really a pipedream, it's a work in progress.

I don't deny that diversifying their lineup would be nice, but I'm really not seeing the next PS/Xbox as being a significant threat to Switch, for the same reason lions aren't driving vultures or hyenas to extinction, they occupy different ecological niches.

People buy PS/Xbox to play AAA third party blockbusters, but they buy Switch primarily for the flexibility/convenience of it's "play at home and on the go" premise and for the first party exclusives. That's why, as you say, PS4/Xbone sales were not affected much by Switch's arrival, because they're not in direct competition. PS5/Nextbox will similarly not be in direct competition, because those systems will take over the same niche PS4/Xbone currently fill.

Last edited by curl-6 - on 01 October 2018