Said it before, I’ll say it again: I wish Nintendo would go the way of Sega. Make video games, get outta the hardware game. They make good games, and while briefly I was enamored by the switch, their track record with consoles is hit and miss. I’m tired of buying new systems for Zelda, it’s basically all I play on Nintendo (though, I’m not a big gamer, so probably not most representative example). Give us Nintendo games on PC, Xbox, PlayStation.
Their track record on consoles is hit or miss because they don’t make the same product every generation like Sony and Microsoft. For every Wii and Switch, you get a Wii. U and Virtual Boy. They’re shitty with their IP, but hardware development is literally the best thing they do.
The Switch is fantastic for what it is. Sure, it’s anemic and old, but it’s a creative design that more or less created a whole product category and allows for very creative gameplay.
They did push their luck a bit with BOTW and especially TOTK, regarding performance, sure. But most of the time, you really don’t need incredible processing power to play a Nintendo game. They’re overdue for a Switch 2 (I suspect they planned to release that much earlier but a combination of the pandemic and higher sustained sales than anticipated changed their plans), but I really don’t think most of their consoles can be considered mistakes.
IMO Nintendo brings something different and it’s very much okay that it exists.
What I’m actually doubtful about is Xbox and Sony. Those are just PC-controller combos, made cheap through standardisation, high volumes and loss-leader tactics, essentially. Microsoft and, to a lesser but similar degree, Sony, are the ones I’m not convinced provide the world with much value by making consoles.
Disagree with the consoles bit, with a caveat; their handheld consoles are always the best in the space (gameboy, DS, switch). I’d be up for them focusing on this and releasing their bigger games (i.e. Zelda) on better hardware.
Said it before, I’ll say it again: I wish Nintendo would go the way of Sega. Make video games, get outta the hardware game. They make good games, and while briefly I was enamored by the switch, their track record with consoles is hit and miss. I’m tired of buying new systems for Zelda, it’s basically all I play on Nintendo (though, I’m not a big gamer, so probably not most representative example). Give us Nintendo games on PC, Xbox, PlayStation.
Their track record on consoles is hit or miss because they don’t make the same product every generation like Sony and Microsoft. For every Wii and Switch, you get a Wii. U and Virtual Boy. They’re shitty with their IP, but hardware development is literally the best thing they do.
The Switch is fantastic for what it is. Sure, it’s anemic and old, but it’s a creative design that more or less created a whole product category and allows for very creative gameplay.
They did push their luck a bit with BOTW and especially TOTK, regarding performance, sure. But most of the time, you really don’t need incredible processing power to play a Nintendo game. They’re overdue for a Switch 2 (I suspect they planned to release that much earlier but a combination of the pandemic and higher sustained sales than anticipated changed their plans), but I really don’t think most of their consoles can be considered mistakes.
IMO Nintendo brings something different and it’s very much okay that it exists.
What I’m actually doubtful about is Xbox and Sony. Those are just PC-controller combos, made cheap through standardisation, high volumes and loss-leader tactics, essentially. Microsoft and, to a lesser but similar degree, Sony, are the ones I’m not convinced provide the world with much value by making consoles.
Disagree with the consoles bit, with a caveat; their handheld consoles are always the best in the space (gameboy, DS, switch). I’d be up for them focusing on this and releasing their bigger games (i.e. Zelda) on better hardware.