Currently Online 
Soundwave said:
We'll see who's right. Nintendo's sales numbers speak for themselves, and they're not the ones going multiplatform anywhere, if anything they're even scaling back the concession they made about 10 years ago to make smartphone games because those games haven't matched the success they have found with the Switch. Once the Switch 2 generation is done, IMO no one in the history of the business is ever going to see that much console volume in two back to back generations (PS1 + PS2 is going down). Their big franchises in many cases are also having record breaking sales ... Zelda has never been bigger than it is now. Mario Kart has never been bigger than it is now. Smash Brothers has never been bigger than it is now. Animal Crossing has never been as big as it is now. 3D Mario on Switch is bigger than its ever been. Pokemon is quite at absolute peak, but it's up from even the DS era. |
DS sold 154 million, 3DS sold 76 million, Wii sold 101 million, so Nintendo at it's peak mobile + console combined is about 216 million.
Nintendo didn't increase the market with the Switch. Switch is just about to overtake the DS... Taking off the blue ocean from the Wii, 153 million Switch is about the core Nintendo mobile + console base.
It is/was a very smart move to consolidate console and mobile business in one, towards the mobile side as that's where the stability is/was. But indeed sales numbers speak for themselves, the handheld crowd is the main supporter of the Switch. Vita was the only competitor before at 14 million, now all likely gone to Switch, while Steam Dock sits at 4 million.
And Nintendo DS has big sellers before, 30 million on New Super Mario Bros for example, just edging out Super Mario Odyssey on Switch.
The only platform really still growing is mobile phones...
Very crude measurement, 2009 about 37 billion Handheld+console combined
2020 about 33 billion for console + Switch.
Even without inflation adjustment the market for console+handheld has shrunk. Hence only the Switch now in that space with some PC handhelds on the side.
Home console sales are shrinking as well tracking behind ps4+XOne. PS5 is tracking behind PS4 as well.
The Wii isn't show there, ps3+360+Wii blows ps5+series out of the water, WiiU still puts the p4+XOne further out of reach.
Yeah combining your 2 revenue stream makes for one bigger revenue stream, however the sum is not greater than its parts. Mobile is still growing however.
MS does the same thing, combining their console user base with PC user base to boast about engagement numbers going up. Sony has to release on PC as well as they don't have anything to combine to prop up numbers.
This is Nentendo's assessment in 2023
https://www.start.io/blog/nintendo-target-market-segmentation-marketing-strategy-main-competitors-statistics/
Kinda supports the theory that the new generation isn't engaging as much with Switch, or traditional video games in general.
