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Kyuu on 16 May 2026
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curl-6 said:
Kyuu said:

It doesn't matter. If Switch had no portability, it wouldn't have been the giant success that it was. The Switch being a hybrid is an objective advantage that, unlike Sony, Nintendo could capitalize on due to their strong presence and software in the handheld space.

Vita failed because it didn't have compelling software, and Sony's main playerbase is on home consoles, contrasting Nintendo.

Sony and Nintendo play to their strengths. Now that it's possible to release a "reasonably priced" portable version of the PS6, Sony is going for it. Because there are no longer significant downsides to having more hardware options and tapping into the portable market, seeing as how scalable games are.

The claim that Switch faced no competition on the portable front isn't true at all though, as cheap/free portable gaming being available on a device everyone already owns is massive competition to any portable console trying to make it big in the post-smartphone era. 3DS sold less than half of the DS due to this, and mobile has only grown in strength since then.

Switch faced an uphill battle on both the console and portable fronts, squeezed on both sides by formidible and well entrenched alternatives.

My claim was that it didn't have a direct competition in the handheld space. Emphasis on "direct". Do you disagree with this? If mobile phones are indeed direct competition, then the Switch is a massive failure in terms of marketshare and other metrics. But no, this just isn't how it works. Mobile gaming and console/PC gaming for the most part appeal to different demographics looking for different things.

Nintendo is unique in that it still offers "console gaming" on the go. Mobile phones don't provide the experience of a dedicated handheld or home console yet (but they did inherit some DS/PSP indie style games and built on them, therefore limiting Switch and dedicated handhelds' growth potential to an extent). Other home consoles aren't portable yet.

Accessing both handheld and home console crowds with one platform is a selling point that Sony would love to have, but it wasn't feasible for them in the past.

Without portability, the Switch would have sold less. If Vita were an affordable "PS4 portable" then the PS4 would've sold more. This is just common sense regardless of what or who we deem competition.