Console Wars are mostly dead...

[COKTOE]

RolStoppable said:
The console wars thrive on sore losers and the outcome of the eighth generation hasn't been beneficial for warfare. You'll remember the seventh generation as a lot more intense because Sony was on the losing side and their fanbase has the most trouble to come to grips with defeats. The Nintendo and Xbox camps are more acceptant of lows in the business, so there isn't prolonged resistance to reality. Compare that to the seventh generation where you still have Sony fans to this day who have a hard time to admit that the Wii won and instead come up with reasons how it didn't.

The same reality distortion blends out how it wasn't all sunshine and roses for Sony in the eighth generation. While the PS4 dominated in the home console space, Sony suffered a crushing defeat in the handheld market and made an exit. But eventually the consequences will be realized and people will begin to recognize that the PS5 won't be able to win like the PS4, let alone dominate. When the PS5 launches and starts with an installed base from scratch while Switch has a lead of ~60m units, then launch-aligned comparisons will make people realize that the PS5 has to sell better than the PS4 to even have a shot at beating Switch and winning the generation. Then you have the people who believe that Switch is eighth gen, but for them the problem will be that the PS4's win is in question. So regardless of which generation Switch is put in, Sony fans will have to explain away Nintendo's success and the console wars will be back. We've gone through a long phase of "Switch sales will decline soon, so it will be no threat to Sony's numbers", but with each passing month those people must be getting more worried.

There's also still Microsoft left who can add more spice to the whole thing. A stronger performing Xbox cuts into PS sales, I think that's clear to everyone. Right now is the calm before the storm, but the ninth generation will provide a dramatic shift because we already know a lot about Switch and there can't be an easy win for PS like in the eighth generation.

As for the OP's closing question, the state of VGC is so dire that intense console wars are absolutely needed. More activity means more people, and more people offers the chance that more discussions outside of console wars are created.

I guess we just don't have as much practice as Nintendo fans when it comes to dealing with defeat. You know what they say: "You don't get better at something be not doing it." The scenario simply hasn't manifested itself that often.