I think it’s more about all platforms now than just dedicated consoles, and not only those that include dedicated hardware (like Steam). I also think there’s more distinction as platforms diverge in their targeted niches. Nintendo has more or less given up on casual gaming (Animal Crossing aside) because it’s dominated by mobile. Sony was closer to Nintendo in the 90s and early 2000s, but the two companies have stopped copying each other as much and have gone in different directions - in fact, Steam is probably the closest thing to Nintendo these days because both have a focus on creativity in their games - the big difference is Nintendo accompanies that with its dedicated hardware features and interfaces while Steam mainly just uses a general PC interface. We also have the VR and AR sectors that will continue to grow - but there still has yet to be a major dominant and defining platform; in other words, it hasn’t had its iPhone, Gameboy, or Atari 2600/NES, (or Steam, if we want to include purely service based platforms) yet.
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
