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Discussion Did Nintendo leave the traditional console market?

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Not entirely, but they certainly contributed to it. Their home consoles systems were on a downward sales trend starting with the SNES (Wii was an anomaly) meanwhile the handhelds kept growing.

#TeamSwitchIsAHandheld
 
I think a hybrid was a natural step since game development is more costly and time consuming a splitting resources isn't ideal. Nintendo still very much competes in the home console market.
 
What? No. Stop. They're just more economical about it since games are their only business, while Sony and Microsoft have many ventures to sustain themselves outside of games.

Hardware that's weaker than the competition doesn't mean leaving the console market. That's just dumb. If that was the case, Nintendo hasn't been in the console business since the 80s
 
Microsoft/Sony are not the reason why Nintendo went for hybrid approach , it was just the natural trends of Nintendo hardware as the result of not being able to support a HD platform + a handheld at the same time anymore . Having something similar to a Handheld is something Nintendo couldn't ignore like Sony has done due to their success with handhelds compared to home consoles, making it a non-portable console would create a big space on the market that Nintendo new console wouldn't be able to fill .

So when they decided to focus on only one console a portable it's what made the most sense because you can make a 'handheld' into a home console but converting a traditional home console into a handheld is a lot harder.

Also I don't understand how Nintendo has left the console market when if you want you can treat a Switch as a home console and never use it as a handheld that's something you can do which you couldn't with handhelds and the price of console and the switch games are those of a home console. Saying that the Switch isn't a console is like saying a laptop/Steam deck isn't a PC.
 
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Declaring home consoles as consoles while arbitrarily stripping handheld consoles from their console status will never stop being funny to me.
 
My personal pet peeve is when thread titles don’t match the poll or OP question lol. But my answer to both of these questions is a strong and definitive no.
 
What? No. Stop. They're just more economical about it since games are their only business, while Sony and Microsoft have many ventures to sustain themselves outside of games.

Hardware that's weaker than the competition doesn't mean leaving the console market. That's just dumb. If that was the case, Nintendo hasn't been in the console business since the 80s

The nes hardware was actually weaker than most of it's contemporary competitors.

Let's just say it was a really good idea it had a weird modular type of design based on being completed by the cart.
 
The current understanding of the console market is as a set of devices that are functionally interchangeable is actually a relatively new paradigm. Architecturally, the PS3 was very different from the Xbox 360, even if it was often capable of similar end products.

As such, I would say that to the consumer Nintendo left the console space with the Wii, but from a technical standpoint the distinction is arbitrary.
 
The nes hardware was actually weaker than most of it's contemporary competitors.

Let's just say it was a really good idea it had a weird modular type of design based on being completed by the cart.
The NES and Game Boy weren't exactly top of the line hardware-wise, even when they first came out.
 
In the span of just one system, Nintendo has people arguing:

It's a home console! No, it's a handheld!

It's a remaster! No, it's a remake!

It's a revision! No, it's a new generation!

And I think that's impressive.
Sorry I'm not cut out for these conversations, I just sass. 😅
 
"Did Nintendo leave the console market?"

Nope. The Switch is a console.

"Did Nintendo leave the [home] console market?"

Still no. As of this moment, when a consumer has an option of purchasing a video game machine that they can play on their television with a controller out of the box, they can choose between the PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, and Switch. They can buy games that are available for all three, and can pick their preferred device. (and by available, I don't refer to the separate home/portable SKUs of some games back then, I mean straight up I can buy DOOM Eternal on PS4 or Switch and can play the same campaign and content). Is that not what the 'market' is?

The Switch happens to be a device designed for both home and portable play, with a performance profile that portable mode can't even access, doesn't mean it isn't neither.
 
In the span of just one system, Nintendo has people arguing:

It's a home console! No, it's a handheld!

It's a remaster! No, it's a remake!

It's a revision! No, it's a new generation!

And I think that's impressive.
Sorry I'm not cut out for these conversations, I just sass. 😅

I never understood the confusion over remastering, even with the bs'ing marketing suits.

We know what the mastering process is, ergo, we know what is, and is not, a remaster.
 
I don't know about you, but i only play my Switch docked....in my home, on my tv...

on tops, last time i check , the Switch is a console.

043c0101141960a5ee6c3c8c1e7226b6.jpg
 
Not really seeing how they left the market at all. They consolidated their product lines and came up with a hybrid. A good portion of its customers likely keep it plugged into their TV and play using the joycons in the box. You can use it as a portable too (personally I’ve never used it as anything but a portable), but seeing as there’s likely millions more people playing Mario, Zelda, Smash, Kirby, Metroid, Mario Kart etc on a Switch on their home cinema system at home than using a PS5 at the moment, it’s a real stretch to say that Nintendo isn’t still part of that space. The definition of ‘traditional home console’ didn’t get narrower just because MS and Sony’s machines have been fairly similar for years, otherwise Nintendo abandoned that back in 2006.

For as long as they make a device that can function as a home console and is used as a home console by a large portion of its user base, I’d say they are part of the market, same as they are part of the portable market. I love that people are still trying to define the Switch 5 years later :D
 
I know this an old report but to get an idea of Switch usage handheld only vs both vs docked only we have this Nintendo studio they did during the first year of Switch life: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2017/171031_2e.pdf (go to slide number 8). Almost 20% docked , 30% portable and more than 50% both. The percentages have changed for sure since then just due to the introduction of the Switch Lite and that people preferences change over time but I find it useful to understand than in some form for at least around 70% of the userbase the Switch is a 'home console' .
 
I never understood the confusion over remastering, even with the bs'ing marketing suits.

We know what the mastering process is, ergo, we know what is, and is not, a remaster.
What bothered me was when the developers went into depth about the fact that they started with the same base game, same base code, and then rebuilt some assets they weren't happy with and added new shaders on top to spruce up the presentation, and that due to that they even consider it a remaster, not a new game, and the fans responded with "They're obviously lying because you can take one look at it and tell they re-coded the entire game from scratch!" and then my head goes kablooie
(granted that was when I was on reddit, before I joined this lovely group)

People just seem so hungry to scream "LIAR!!" at literally anyone working in gaming these days.
also fun fact, my phone autocorrected "gaming" to "Hamilton," so that line was really funny for a second.
 
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No. What is traditional console market? Difference between Switch and other consoles are really that Switch doesn't need a TV. There is a high possibility that any future consoles will not be traditional anyway. Will the reason be cloud gaming or some other aspect, you can be sure things are constantly changing. I can play traditional games on Switch. So I don't really see a difference.
 
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Yes, they left the "traditional home console" market with the Switch. The Wii and Wii U were still stationary consoles that played video games, with the closest competitors to them being the current home PlayStation and Xbox consoles, not the PSP. The Switch is a console/handheld hybrid with no close competitor on the market, with the closest thing to it being the Steam Deck. Had Sony continued with the PSP/Vita line, it would not be clear if it is in competition with that line of consoles or the current Xbox and PlayStation home consoles.

As for the question in the OP though, no I don't think Sony or Microsoft really forced it. I think if anything Smartphones ate away at their core audience for handhelds (kids who need something to occupy them on the go) forcing them to also leave the traditional handheld market and roll their console and handheld into one. Other factors include the failure of the Wii U and rising development costs.
 
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Not entirely, but they certainly contributed to it. Their home consoles systems were on a downward sales trend starting with the SNES (Wii was an anomaly) meanwhile the handhelds kept growing.

#TeamSwitchIsAHandheld
#TeamSwitchIsAHandheldAndConsoleDammit

Heh. Gottem.
 
I would say that traditional console market died in the GameCube/PS2/Xbox era, after that only Nintendo makes traditional consoles, which, for me, are products which are only meant to play games. Sony and Microsoft sell glorified computers IMO. Therefore, Sony and Microsoft left that market, Nintendo is the only one which is still there.
 
No. They didn't leave it behind - they evolved it.

Microsoft and Sony were probably among countless contributors to how they got there.
 
HAC, the Switch family product code, stands for Handheld and Console

so, yes

this also suggests that Nintendo does view handhelds and consoles as separate, so apologies to that crowd
...

...Ha!

I was right!

Whoop!
 
HAC, the Switch family product code, stands for Handheld and Console

so, yes

this also suggests that Nintendo does view handhelds and consoles as separate, so apologies to that crowd
Ohhh look at the big Racoon over here with their facts and stuff 😂

(Ok, you win. This time)
 
They didn’t leave the traditional console market, Switch is selling well partly because it’s catering to both home and portable console markets.
 
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You know that the Switch is still a console right? Very much in the same market as PlayStation and Xbox?
 
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I was going to say the same. They left the traditional console market when the Wii released.
That makes no sense since the Wii is still a traditional console regardless of what enthusiasts think.

Also what they re-entered the traditional console market with the WiiU or were still not apart of it?
 
If the Wii and WiiU aren't traditional consoles, the only thing I can think that would set them apart would be the lack of a "normal," Xbox-style controller..?

So if that's the differentiating factor, that means the existence of the Pro Controller solidifies the Switch as a traditional console.

Checkmate, atheists.
 
I can use my Wiimote in my PC, that means that my PC is not a traditional console?

No wait...i can use my xbox and Dualshock controllers in the PC as well, so this means PC IS a traditional console.

I can use my Vita as a PS4 controller, so that means that Vita is a PC traditional.
 
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