Global Hardware 15 December 2018

[DarthMetalliCube]

Damn.. That Smash Bros. effect though..

With regards to a couple of the ongoing squabbles - can I play the Switch as a home console? Then it's a home console. It's also a handheld console. It's literally as simple as this folks. There's such a thing as grey area, it doesn't have to be black and white.

Additionally, yes the Switch is a competitor to the PS4. The Switch is a video game console. The PS4/Xbox One are also video game consoles. Again, simple stuff, people. They even have many of the exact same games.

Sure you could say they are vastly different in certain areas, and that there are segments of the market that Nintendo will reach that Sony simply will not, and vice versa, but I don't know how you can do these mental gymnastics trying to justify how two video game consoles (no matter how different), aren't inevitably going to have at least some overlap in terms of competing for the same market. They compete for the same dollars of largely the same market of people who play video games.

Put it this way - When I decide to invest in Smash Bros Ultimate, that's money out of my pocket that I likely would have been more inclined to spend on, say Assassin's Creed Odyssey for my Xbox One, which I otherwise am going to be waiting a bit for a price drop on that one. When I decide to pick up another Xbox One controller, that causes me to hold off on snagging that extra pair of expensive joycons. And so on.. It also is a competition for my gaming time, as I can only play one console at a time.

I do find it interesting that you only tend to hear these justifications as to how Nintendo is doing a "different thing" when they are outselling the competition. When they are not though, people sure are quick to harp on the fact the non-competing PS4 is outperforming the Switch..

Last edited by DarthMetalliCube - on 08 January 2019