Endymion said:
Comparing Sony (to be more precise PlayStation) and Nintendo is very tricky. Both are console manufacturer but how they operate to achieve success in the game business is totally different. In the case of PlayStation, dominance is achieved by positioning the PlayStation consoles as the main platform where people can play third-party software (yes, there is Xbox which follow a similar strategy but Xbox is competitive only in US, UK and a few other smaller markets). The main challenge for PlayStation future is the arise of new game delivery platforms that can successfully replace PlayStation as the preferable platform where people consume third-party software (on the behalf of being more convenient or cheaper and delivering the same hugely popular third-party games). In the case of Nintendo, dominance is achieve by introducing out of the field concepts that needs to be attractive for a large audience and that are proved by Nintendo's first-party software. The challenge for Nintendo future is to prove they can deliver new unique concepts that successfully attract people in the face of industry's trend of constant consolidation and commoditization. This natural difference is reflected on the various achievements For instance PlayStation will usually have the upper hand in term of total software sales (and software revenue) because their whole strategy is based on third-party software instead Nintendo will usually have the upper hand in term of total first-party software sales because their whole strategy is based on the strength of their in-house software. Sony, with PlayStation, achieved Nintendo-like profits thanks to the rise of digital sales. The rise of digital sales was THE game changer of the last decade and Nintendo will benefit from it too though more slowly than the competition (they are well behind Sony and Microsoft in that regard). In fact digital sales are the reason why I think Nintendo might achieve DS/Wii like profits despite it's impossible for Switch to sell 58M in a year like it happened in fiscal year ending March 2010 when both Wii and DS peaked. |
You completely overlook Sony's own studios and their first party offerings. And that, my friend, has made a key difference against Microsoft who have been heavily criticized for lack of exclusives(they are addressing it now by building up their own studios, as we know). Third party is the big bulk that brings the most money, but first party is the proposition of why this platform over the other similar one. Sony's exclusives might not pull Nintendo numbers, but they're nothing to scoff at, especially considering that they are up against practically every game out there, whereas Nintendo has a narrower library to offer.
