Their the same when you think about it ...

See? That´s the problem

They are absolutely NOT the same

delusional.

it's as if you don't know what 'iconic' means. the Playstation sells well because it connects with CURRENT consumers who want shooters and casual games. sales do not automatically mean brand power in all cases, and especially don't always equal longevity in terms of being iconic.

no doubt Sony has done a great job with the Playstation brand and its ability to SELL consoles, but the reality is that there are few things from the Playstation systems and brand that are truly iconic.

do yourself a favor and try to list the number of revolutionary things that Playstation systems presented upon release- you'll have difficulty because things like using CD's for gaming had been done years prior and in the more recent generations their systems have been very similar to some of the competition (namely Xbox)

even in terms of IPs and branding, the Playstation is missing anything particularly iconic. go ahead, name off some 'iconic' Playstation characters or game series- you'll try and then realize that all of the IPs that come to mind are that of third parties that just did exceptionally well on that particular system

  Sony has done a great job with the Playstation in terms of selling units. I was tempted to say 'selling units and making money' but for some reason they've failed to generally make money with their video game division, even during the PS2 era, despite strong sales.

   it's a great product but not iconic. someone up in this thread mentioned Mission Impossible and 007, and I think that's a great parallel. even if the  Mission Impossible movies today were to more relate to consumers and sell more tickets- it doesn't magically make the brand more iconic or relevant to society. its simply how things eb and flow

  in 20 years someone could ask themselves the same question I'd have you ask right now- what comes to mind when you think of "Playstation". a video game system, sure, but beyond that what? there just aren't many iconic qualities in terms of innovations and characters that were strictly from Sony and their Playstation brand

Nintendo on the other hand- 1985 to now- some of the same IPs and characters and older systems of theirs are so engrained in society. Mario is probably second only to Mickey Mouse as being the most well known and valuable character IP on the planet

look at the used market too- Nintendo items, FROM ANY GENERATION, are way more in demand than that of Playstation, even Playstation 1. I think that speaks volumes about how society, young and old, view and appreciate the two brands. People seem to really like Playstation in the now, when they're casual gaming, but as far as longevity goes the brand just does not hold the same attention or appreciation

Moderated - Leadified

They are ... 

To be iconic you HAVE to be popular and to be popular you HAVE to be iconic ... 

They are one and the same ... 

Playstation is more iconic worldwide. It all lies in software, All gens Playstation has massive software sales due to being iconic. The same game on XB1 or PS4 sells more on PS4 (on average). The same game on Nintendo consoles tends to get outsold by Xbox and Playstation.

If all games came out on all consoles with all consoles costing the same, Playstation would win worldwide at this time.

'todays generation'? that's not really the question. across the Earth's population in terms of all ages and all appreciation there is no doubt that Playstation is nowhere near the level of recognization as Nintendo. for gods sake there was a time period in the 80s and 90s alone where practically all video game consoles were just referred to (mistakenly) as 'Nintendos'

     sure, the 10-30 age bracket today probably CURRENTLY is more aware of Playstation simply because they're playing that particular system, but part of a system brand is its games and identity. when those people get older what strictly Playstation characters or concepts do you think are going to stay in their brain? because there aren't a lot of strictly Playstation characters and unique things to stay in ones mind

you realize that all of the software sales are from third parties right? Playstation on its own is just a solidly built console with decent specs, at least in the last few generations

    people are buying the system/brand FOR the games, games which belong to third parties. its the Activision, Konami, Capcom, EA brands that are pulling in buyers, not the Playstation brand as much. I say that because the Playstation brand is pretty much strictly a piece of hardware. Sony doesn't develop that many IP's and series on their own (many people mistake things like Crash Bandicoot or Ratchet and Clank as being Sony IPs which they aren't)

Show anyone a picture of Mario and chances are that person will recognize him, show anyone a picture of Nathan Drake and the only people who will recognize him are gamers

NO

Just because One directon is more popular than The Beatles it doesn´t mean One Direction is more iconic than the beatles, at all.

Thats the point. If given similar specs and pricepoints, a consumer chooses to get the game on Playstation instead of a Nintendo console or Xbox, even if by the smallest margins. So more people identify vvith Playstation as a brand then Nintendo or Xbox.