And Sony is still complaining about bad sales… I wonder if Microsoft will even bother with another console again. I guess they will pull a SEGA and just start selling games on other consoles.
Sometimes I love to entertain the idea of a timeline in which SEGA never dropped out of the hardware scene and was still a viable 4th option in the console space. It’d be real interesting to see what the gaming landscape would look like today if the Dreamcast had better market performance.
Though, I kinda expect Nintendo to be the next one of the Big Three to stop making hardware, if anybody. I know they’ve got plans for a Switch successor already, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Nintendo decides to either offer themselves up for a merger, or just goes purely software and starts making Marios and Zeldas for Playstation.
The Switch has sold over 140 million units, the third highest selling console of all time, and unlike most every other one out there was turning a profit on every unit instead of being a loss leader. Why would Nintendo think about going software only with those kind of numbers in their pocket?
Nintendo console releases have followed a bit of a pattern over the last ~20 years. They’ll release one and it’ll be great (N64), and then the next one sells poorly (GC), then the next one does great again (Wii), and then the next one flops (WiiU)… The Switch is doing great, so I’m not holding my breath for the Switch 2, unfortunately.
I feel like the executives at Nintendo get too full of themselves whenever they have a successful release, and get sloppy with their next one, only to get slapped by the industry and player base and realize they have to actually try again if they want to win back their base. With Nintendo riding high on the Switch’s success, I’m a bit pessimistic and assuming that their next console is going to sell very poorly. With the new console rumored to be another handheld, it’s very likely that the hardware will be significantly underpowered compared to its competition at the time, which will once again hold Nintendo back from a lot of big AAA releases. And I’m not sure players will put up with Nintendo’s stubbornness for much longer, especially if the next console isn’t another huge hit like the Switch.
While I don’t think it’s likely, I think it’s very plausible that the Switch’s successor may end up being one of the last pieces of hardware Nintendo develops. I just don’t have a lot of faith in Nintendo’s leadership these days to imagine them sticking around the hardware scene for much longer. Their IPs are absolutely priceless, though, so I have no doubt that they’ll continue making “Nintendo” games, but my prediction is that it’ll be for other platforms.
I’m still a Nintendo fanboy at heart, though, so I hope I end up being way wrong.
They also released Gameboy and DS and 3DS, where did they flop?
There are still supply chain issues, or synthetic shortages. So many annoying ‘out of stock’ listings for PS5’s in Canada, and prices are locked at MSRP mostly.
From the article:
Xbox has no plans to abandon hardware, despite what these sales trends may start to suggest.
Xbox has tried very hard to convince you to play their games on anything but the Xbox. Cloud? Sure. PC? Sure. PS5? Sure. Switch? Most definitely.
Of course they have. Consoles are a loss-leading model. They literally lose money every time they sell you a video game console. If you can get somebody in your ecosystem on a separate system, why wouldn’t you?
Then why sell them?
They might stop. The rumor is they are swapping to premium Steam Deck style, Xbox Branded PCs next gen.
They could sell a niches product like that at at profit if they wanted.
Nintendo for example, has always avoided the loss leading model, and makes like $50 off each unit sold. (Those figures were from launch, its Likely more now that production costs have inevitably gone down over time)
From the article:
Xbox has no plans to abandon hardware, despite what these sales trends may start to suggest.
But if we’re talking about console sales, Microsoft has been downplaying its need to sell hardware for years now, pushing the idea that you can experience Xbox anywhere, namely on PC with day and date Game Pass releases, and on other devices through cloud gaming, which remains a niche market. The path to cash has been Game Pass subscriptions, as it’s more valuable to have players paying a monthly/yearly fee that will end up being far more money than a single console would be
