The Industry Is Stronger When Nintendo Is Strong, Says Sony's Jim Ryan

What would you call this gen, PSwitch4? _PSW₄?

Nah! I don't know what Microsoft are at. I don't pay much attention to the competition but they seem to be stumbling from one mess to another.

Totally agree. Now Microsoft just need to catch up a bit. The industry is best when everyone is doing well.

This is the kind of respect that Nintendo commands in the gaming industry. You don't often see companies talking up their competitors.

Playstation Switch Vita CONFIRMED!

Meanwhile, we kick Nintendo below the waist with backhanded MH deals, calling the Switch a "side-console (albeit Nintendo seems OK with that, more competitive Nintendo please.)" and denying cross play between the other 2 "big dogs", but please believe our bloated ego and PR words!

@Jacob1092 If their E3 presentation is anything to go by, Microsoft is working its ass of to catch up. Thing is, when you're lagging this far behind a virtually identical competitive console (PS4), it's hard to convince publishers/developers to come on board.

I mean, they showed a huge amount of games, but system selling exclusives? Almost none of those. Microsoft really should start focusing on more in-house development. It's doing wonders for Sony (Spider-Man, God of War, Uncharted, The Last of Us, etc.). Forza, Halo and Gears are simply not enough.

@NewAdvent I do not mind in the slightest that MH is more widely playable, and there's even a rumour https://nintendosoup.com/2017/06/19/rumor-new-monster-hunter-game-now-development-switch/ that they're making a MH Switch game. But I'd rather jump over a spike-encrusted living steel bedded chasm than trust Capcom readily again.

Point is, the Switch can definitely use a co-op experience, and MH would've been PERFECT for this, but Capcom sees themselves sitting on their high-horses and don't want to localize XX for a "quick and dirty" buck. Incredible stupidity.

Also the Switch is the ultimate MH machine, sporting handheld for Japan, and home-console for the West. Capcom not seeing this speaks volumes.

@Aozz101x I'd settle for PlayStation Vita L2&R2 edition. XD

Last night I went to the pub and played SWITCH with my friends ( in the pub - over a Steak and Ice cold Ginger Beers). SWITCH is my man console - I'm playing ARMS today - I look at it and then can't find the answer to the question as to how 4K would improve the game. . .. . .
But I agree - A wide and versatile gaming society is required - Shovelware/Mobile nonsense and Pay2win in console games are my only concerns.

@Grudgebearer have any backhanded deals been confirmed or do they still remain an imageboard-flavoured rumour? Sony doesn't even view Switch as a competition, likely due to still perceiving it as a handheld first and foremost; why would they or Capcom attempt a backhanded deal that could very much get both in trouble with antitrust legislation? Considering that MH is biggest in Japan where PS4 and XBO combined barely outsell Vita alone... I'm puzzled by from what angle such a shady deal would so much as be WORTH it.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE PSwitchBoxX?

Never really tried to condense them, just happy I can own them all, lol. Looking forward to the XBOX XBOX a lot, finally my4K T.V gets to really shine (Most Pro titles run like crap with 4K on, Sony really dropped the ball).

Well, well, well. Sony does their weakest E3 so far and they suddenly get nice about the competition.
Somebody wants to get some of their PR popularity back after not allowing other kids to play in their lawn, it seems.

@nhSnork They get an exclusive in Japan, what would Capcom gain from having it there exclusively? Every multi-plat aims to get as many platforms as possible, due to hitting as many people as possible. But yes there are some leaky bits here, because they leave the West WIDE OPEN to their main competitors, PC and Xbox.

It seems very feasible, however, when you consider the rumours and it stacking up. Right up to the part of XX being a quick job to appease Japan before the actual Switch MH hits. (and even then, it's only a gigantic big ? as to whether it will be localized or not.)

Sorry Jim, but for me it's Switch and a PS4, not the other way round.

I don't think this is a slight or a kiss up to Nintendo, I think what he means is the more mainstream media draw Nintendo has, the more people are drawn into the gaming isle. The question is what they buy when they get there. Frankly I don't think either XB or PS have a sparkling year end coming up, with a lot of tired 3rd party titles again left to dominate because there isn't much else. People may want a Switch and Mario and Zelda, but they may also buy a copy of COD or Battlefront for their other console while they're in the games store.

Sony are not wrong and see Nintendo as a potential sidekick in kicking Microsoft like a dead pony

@MrGawain Yeah, Nintendo will likely garner most of the attention this year-end because of Odyssey and its game, publisher, and developer of the year awards.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE PSwitch? So, the Blue Play Coin era? Something like that..?

Dear Sony, in my opinion allowing online cross play between all platforms would make the industry even stronger.

I really don't see the point of owning a Switch now. Most of its games are available on the Wii U and PS4. This will change though for me if/when Virtual Console arrives and when jrpg games start arriving. Especially if I can somehow transfer VC games from my enormous Wii U collection I will buy one on the spot.

To tell the truth from the initial reveal Switch seemed more like a successor to the Vita than the 3DS. It promises, like the Vita, console like experiences everywhere something that the 3DS was incapable (to be fair it was weak even in 2011) while taking a step further that the Wii U where off tv play was only available in one room. Moreover from the initial momentum it may take the spotlight from Vita in japan as far as jrpg games are concerned.

If I am not mistaken though this Wii60 thing no longer holds. PS3 caught up on sales with the 360 and still sells and gets AAA games like Persona 5 while the other platforms have fallen in oblivion years ago. All things considered we should rethink the winner of last gen gaming wise.

@cfgk24
I just wonder how to convince Mobile gamers to try to like Nintendo Switch since most of them has Cheapskate mentality ?

PLEASE READ:
Totally agree! Sony and Microsoft (or whatever they are called) are very similar so Nintendo adds flavour to the gaming scene. Also, I can’t watch the new god of war trailer with my 4 year old son, cos i am a responsible parent (also my wife would kill me) (which is ironic if you think about it) but you should see how totally loving life he is when we got arms (forever not just a test) he loves gaming as much as I did before the world crushed my soul and it is so nice to see that again. I could not have given him that experience on any other device. Nintendo gave my son something I thought had been lost to the ages... a good clean video game! He tells me he is a gamer and will never change his mind. So thank you Nintendo!

@Anti-Matter How about leave them where they belong? Give them some f2p/p2w games and everyone wins

The industry is weak when one dominates like Sony do. 3rd party exclusive games are bad for the industry, paying capcom to keep Monster hunter worlds off the switch is bad for the industry, having a piss poor view on backwards compatibility is bad for the industry and not allowing cross play is bad for the industry.

@Anti-Matter IT's easy! We just need to show them how much fun we're having playing out in Public, cafes, pubs, restaurants, town centres, etc. . .

Then why are they paying companies to keep games off Nintendo?

@Aurumonado They aren't... Capcom just wants to expand the franchise. It's not a conspiracy.

@retribution
Aaah...
Nice to hear your story.
May your son grow up in Clean video games with Nintendo.

Gaming in general is stronger when all three - and now perhaps Atari! - can compete in the same space. Absolute corporate dominance never benefits the consumer.

Witchita, Kansas... nope...
Switchita, Nintendo...

SwitchX Pro?

@Octane Doing it while ditching a good solid Western base is counterproductive at best, and a really D move towards everyone who owns a Nintendo system at worst.

I get them wanting to make a Switch MH game from the ground up to really solidify the base, but we only have rumours to go on, let alone how much time it'd take before it's actually made, or whether or not it even gets localized.

I am ALL for the other platforms getting MH, it only serves to grow the franchise. But not like this.

@Jack_Goetz cross play means you don't need to buy more than one console, how is that better from a business perspective?

@NewAdvent Well, I don't think it'd require a copious amount of effort, really. And I'd love an announcement, just SOMETHING to know that a Switch MH game is coming. It'd alleviate being left in the dust, and make sure Switch players have something to look forward to, instead of being annoyed as all hell for being excluded entirely.

@Grudgebearer That's Capcom's thing though. I wasn't talking about that.

@AlexSora89 Jim Ryan seems to have been channeling both Don Mattrick and Reggie, what with recent comments about backwards compatibility and cross-play.

@BensonUii @Grudgebearer World began development right after 4 was completed (late 2013/early 2014) and they explicitly stated that they went for the top of the line consoles due to wanting to take a huge step forward. Plus, the Switch was still in the concept stage when the project began-- there was no way to port it for a large part of the development.

On top of that, the sources who leaked World are saying that a new MH for the Switch has already begun development. And XX is still coming to it in Japan.

Capcom likely doesn't have confidence in the West purchasing a G-rank rerelease (we got 4U but not 4, and 3U came out three years after Tri and on two different consoles). No conspiracy. The 4chan rumor is demonstrably bull.

hold on people...... show me prof they are paying to have monster hunter worlds not on switch! its not on switch for the same reason destiny2 is not on switch..... switch cant run that...... that's not the devs fault

at worst, maybe sony funned Capcom to make a monster hunter game like they did with blood bourne......so then ... Nintendo should fund Capcom to make monster hunter switch

Nintendo-only gamers (me included) were never not rejuvenated and energetic. That was a narrative spun by casuals who know little about gaming and gaming history and who have the other consoles because they have FIFA, COD and the other forgettable titles which get by on cinematic cutscenes in their trailers.

@Grudgebearer

How do you think MH ended-up being "exclusive" to Nintendo's platform in the first place? Some of you lot need to remember Nintendo are a business just like Sony & Microsoft before you go on a hypocrite rant.

True PS4 and Switch for me!

@olrodlegacy "and the other forgettable titles which get by on cinematic cutscenes in their trailers"

If that's all you think PS4 games are then maybe you should delve deeper and look past CoD and Fifa...

@banacheck I love how you don't even bother to properly see the things I've typed before, reading back must be quite hard for you eh?. I am not an advocate for MH being exclusive, heck I applaud MHW for what it is. But you can't feasibly expect me to celebrate the "advance of the franchise" while a sizeable number of people is being left in the dust, many of them (rightfully so) anticipating a MH game for Switch.

I have a PC, a good one. I can play MHW, that isn't the issue. The issue, is that people who can only enjoy it portably, and those who own Nintendo devices overall, are being denied a great co-op experience. And tell me, what good will it do Capcom to ignore these people? It won't fill their coffers up any quicker.

@electrolite77 You sound like the sort of person that's better off on a ranting site where all the fanboys congregate. I like how you're basically faulting a ton of people for simply wanting an uprezzed port that would take nearly no effort on Capcom's part to localize.

When a platform is excluded from a game that fits well on it, there's nobody who wins from that. I was not around at the time when it left Sony devices, I am simply happy to have had the ability to play the games, and I can damn well imagine the Sony people being annoyed as F over it. They get their wants now, but does that mean the cycle of hatred is to continue by Ding over another part of the playerbase?

Might as well bring 10 litres of gasoline and pour it over the "fanboy wars" labelled bonfire, since that's basically what such talk amounts to.

@CrazedCavalier Very well, let's take that as being true then. If we go by Twitter/e-mails, however, then I doubt Capcom can ignore the sizeable amount of people now clamouring for an MH XX localization, and why wouldn't they do it? They could just have Nintendo localize it, and bam, quick and easy money and the people are content until the next comes. (given it even gets released outside of Japan, something I don't trust in anymore)

A strong Nintendo is good for Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo is about 2-4 years ahead of the competition when it comes to innovation. Keep slightly better graphics. When it comes to the Dpad, portable gaming, shoulder buttons, analog sticks, rumble packs, motion gaming, dual screen, hybrid console, and HD rumble, the console industry owes alot to good Nintendo ideas. Sony and Microsoft wish they could have a versatile IP like Mario. They wish they could stop hearing how their new action-adventure puzzler is "Zelda-like", but know without it, the ideas might never have occurred to them.

@electrolite77 Fair enough, I suppose I have misinterpreted what you meant (Since I am also one voicing my discontent.) I'm simply hoping Capom will not leave the Nintendo console owners in the dust, as that'd just be bad conduct in my eyes.

@banacheck What happened was that Monster Hunter Tri switched to the Wii because Capcom said that the development cost of making a game on PlayStation 3 was too high. Then it became a success and we saw years of exclusive Monster Hunter. Up until now of course.

I still think that we are going to see an internationally-released new Monster Hunter game on Switch eventually. Monster Hunter World is more suited towards Western tastes anyway.

@Akropolon Totally agree. That's not to say Forza, Halo or Gears are bad games, but if you have a nearly identical console system exclusives are gonna be what makes or breaks you in relation to your direct competition. Nintendo have that massive advantage in that they have no direct competition. If/when they fluff up, it won't be because another company was releasing loads of games that were already available on Switch.

@electrolite77 Now we're on the same page, yeah I would agree with that. But isn't it strange when you think about it? Just an announcement on Switch would've placated people, and prevented them from asking/lobbying for it, but instead, they announce world, and even redirect people towards world: https://twitter.com/monsterhunter/status/875133770369646592

Plus, there's some other things that don't make sense, why would they leave the doors open to PC/Xbox that would probably LOVE this game to come-over and take sales for the PC4 version? The only thing I am sure of would be something Sony has secured, is MHW being exclusive to PS4 in Japan.

I don't think Sony sees Nintendo as competition.... Yet. If the Switch continúes selling like hotcakes, and getting so much attention they are going to change their tune quickly.

@gcunit That would literally make no difference to them

I definitely notice that, and it's a statement that is too difficult for me to disagree with up to this point. During the Wii/PS3/360 gen, I thought it was amazing because not only did it give me one of the best Mario Sports games, my favorite Donkey Kong Country game DKCR, one of the best Kirby games I played RTDL, and plenty other good games, but on the other consoles the PS3 gave me an onslaught of Ratchet & Clank games (not all of them were great, but eh), an actual good Neptunia game (I'm talking about mk2. Victory disappointed me, though haven't played the first), and great indie titles such as Pac-Man Championship Edition DX and Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game. As for Xbox, it has...the third party games I guess and while I truly despise Nuts n Bolts like the third plague, at least Microsoft showed us that they know what Banjo-Kazooie is. This gen wasn't the best, but it did surprise me and made me turn my head to the other consoles as a Nintendo fan.

However, during the Wii U/PS4/XB1, I was very mixed on what that gen brought me. Some games were good, but a fair share of them were disappointments for me and as opposed to the previous gen that made me fondly turn my head from the Wii to PS3, I stuck to the Wii U as the better system for me. Sure, the Wii U had its share of disappointments such as Ultra Smash, amiibo Festival, and a few more, but the good outweighs the bad with Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Maker, Hyrule Warriors, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, Lego City Undercover (it's not exclusive anymore, but eh), Yoshi's Woolly World, etc., not to mention that Nintendo's systems fondly introduced me to the magical world of indie games, with Shovel Knight, Runbow, and The Legend of Dark Witch games being prime examples. While I do have myself a PS4, that system just didn't wow me as much as the PS3 did. The only games that I can think of that I thoroughly enjoyed were Doom 2016, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, and Dragon Quest Builders (and if fortune smiles, Atelier Sophie). The rest of the other I played ranged between okay to whatever for me (Dragon Quest Heroes was good for the first few missions, don't know if I want to finish World of Final Fantasy and Fairy Fencer F while enjoying them, Megadimension Neptunia VII was meh, Ratchet & Clank 2016 was okay, Horizon: Zero Dawn was okay, Song of the Deep was meh, Xenoverse was...decent, Persona 5 was good but didn't wow me as much as TMS#FE, etc.) The only thing Microsoft has for me is Cuphead. That's all. This whole generation, once again, was a mixed bag for me as it didn't really wow me as much with its releases and there was more disappointments here than last gen, which mainly only had Sonic 06 and Duke Nukem Forever for me. No, I'm mainly talking about Ultra Smash, amiibo Festival, Federation Force, Mighty No. 9, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5.

This gen (Switch/PS4 Pro/XB1X), despite just having started, seems to be picking itself up where it tripped with last gen. Bomberman returned to the spotlight (though I hope there are more games in the future), we got a good Tetris game (it was released last gen in Japan, but eh), and the new games are looking to be awesome...somewhat better than what last gen showed me (Super Mario Odyssey, Blade Strangers, Miitopia, Kirby, Mario + Rabbids, Warriors All Stars, Agents of Mayhem, Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy, etc.). It's too early to say whether this gen will be amazing, but for all I know is, I'll find myself enjoy this much more than last gen.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE lol wut.

If Microsoft is stumbling, Nintendo must be in straight free fall.

I love the false rhetoric this gen around Xbox. Even being slayed by PlayStation, they still managed to double the sales of the Wii U in a years less time all while being a non factor in an entire market (Japan).

Go away Sony, no one likes you, and here I thought I could play some multiplayer with my sister who owns a PS4, lol nope not anymore.

@SLlGEACH_ElRE A lot of Nintendo fans like to deflect the last 5-6 years off onto Microsoft, like they're somehow in the same position (or worse) than they are. It's not that MS is failing so hard, but rather Sony is simply killing it in comparison. PS4 is flirting with 'Wii like' success.

@Joeynator3000 See comment #65. That's not me.

This person has completely copied my username and avatar. Well almost, instead of capital "I"'s they've used lower case "L"'s to try and fool people. This isn't the first time someone has done this. It's probably the same person as before, I can't imagine there's many crazy obsessed people out there. They're trying to pass themselves off as me and people don't notice the difference. Click on their name and you'll see that they only joined today. There are too many people that have an unhealthy obsession with what I write.

@gatorboi352 That's not me. Read my comment above.

Not much I can do about it....

@SLIGEACH_EIRE oh no, not saying it was you. I was just speaking in general.

"Sony has previously stated that it expects gamers to purchase a PS4 and a Switch "

True in my case.

@Jacob1092 I wouldn't say the "industry" is at it's best when everyone is doing "well", which I guess you would consider an evenly split market share? In that case, the industry as a whole would be in the same spot. Though, from a consumers perspective, having a couple (or more) choices is always a good thing. It's just kind of the nature of the beast, someone is going to lose out. I can't think of a generation where there were more than 2 companies that were extremely successful.

@Grudgebearer I couldn't agree more with you.

I won't blame Sony for this MH mess, unless someone can show proof it was their doing, but I do find Capcom's actions baffling. It feels like they're deliberately insulting a big chunk of the MH fanbase.

I was very much looking forward to playing MH on the Switch. Why do they not announce anything about MH on Switch for the West?

I'm all for growing the fanbase of the franchise, but pissing off a big chunk of your existing fanbase seems a strange way to go about it. Would it have been that hard to develop a Switch version of MH World? I'm pretty sure it would've been the version that would sell the most, so from a business perspective I just don't get it.

The least they could do is make a statement about MH on Switch! But they just say "We're focused on MH World for PS4/Xbox1 for a western audience", effectively alienating the huge Japanese fanbase, as well as the Nintendo MH fanbase in the west. Personally, I just can't see MH World being successful under these circumstances, but will that mean the end of the franchise then?

ok, rant over.

I'm the freak with the XSwitch One combo lol 😁

@electrolite77 Perhaps not that silly, but it does make you wonder why they're still in business....

@tedko The annoying part, is that Japan does get XX, it's just us Nintendo users in the West that get the broom and are asked to leave so to speak.

Prime question is: for what? I can't see XX costing Capcom any palpable effort to localize, with people saying it's nearly translated and is but an uprezzed 3DS port. So it's all on Capcom for holding it back. And if they don't care to localize it, then I'd ask for an explanation, since I'm not one to take "no now buy world" as an explanation. If they say their working on an MH for Switch, and XX would detract from that fine, or if they don't want to localize that we can ask Nintendo instead.

But they give us absolutely nothing to work with, so people just ask for MH XX to be localized, until either Capcom sees fit to get off their high horse and explain things to us consumers, or they localize XX.

@CrazedCavalier
What do you mean by "channeling"? I don't think Sony is backpedaling on backwards compatibility and cross-play anytime soon, and there's no denying their sales being twice as many as Microsoft's are playing a big part in their decision.

@Mart1ndo
Of course, that's another - nasty - way of reading it: if "even Nintendo" is strong, there's no doubt everyone is doing well. A stealth insult, if you will.
That said, I don't know if you're also a Sony fan or primarily a Sony fan, but that "with good reason" doesn't make that much sense to me. Yes, I love my PSP and all, but there's no denying that the whole "for the players" slogan flew a fair bit over Sony's heads once the cash came in. As much of a fantastic console the PS4 might be, their stance on backwards compatibility is disgusting, their paid online only lets players keep a game for that month before going all the way back to the PlayStation Store, there's no cross-play, and this year's E3 was mostly VR, remakes, reboots and generally games with a "2018/2019" release date, if not TBA.
Between all that and the fact that Sony flat-out abandoned the handheld market, I see no reason to support them for the time being; hopefully the Switch will sell enough to make the next PS or the next Xbox hybrid consoles as well - that aside, for now I'll gladly keep my Wii U, my 3DS, my Xbox One (which is way more pro-consumer, regardless of exclusives, in terms of sales and online service freebies) and leave the square-circle-triangle-cross stuff to my PS1, PS2 and PSP. I might get a Vita eventually but only after I get my hands on a Switch.

@Mart1ndo
I didn't say you were nasty, but rather, I was surprised by how much of a backhanded compliment Jim Ryan's statement was. My goodness.

That said, well, yeah, that's why I still have an Xbox 360 in my house - to play Sonic Generations. I just wish all of my games could come to Xbox One as soon as possible so I can take my Xbox 360 elsewhere (such as my old mountain home).
Not everyone can have PS4 and PS3, though, and it's something Sony needs to realise as soon as possible. @AlexOlney put it best in his comment on the "no cross-play" article: "The year is 2017, Nintendo is progressive and Sony isn't - what happened?", which kinds of sums up everyone's feelings about that stance.
What I'm saying is that while PS4 might be a great environment, it's still a bad one when it comes to pro-consumerism.

@roadrunner343 I don't nessecarily mean the market share is split three ways, just more that the quality of their output is strong. By this standard Xbox aren't doing well at the minute because the games they've been putting out are either also on another system or, in terms of exclusives, they're just a bit "meh". There's no reason for Xbox not to be putting out quality content, they're just not doing to the same standard as PS or Switch. There's nothing wrong with being in second place, or even third, so long as your output is of a high quality. I suppose I am definitely saying this from the perspective of a consumer though, so I totally take your point about someone always losing out to competition.

"The industry is stronger when Nintendo is strong", no poo? Really?

@Jacob1092 That's fair. It's hard to come at it from a consumer perspective, for me anyway. If I were to judge the Wii U against it's contemporaries based on quality of content alone, I would pick the Wii U. But of course, we know that the Wii U was far from the most successful console. So there's a lot of opinion involved when judging based on something as objective as quality of software.

Though, I definitely understand your point, and I agree with you fully that having 3 companies put out quality systems/software, even if one does much more poorly like the Wii U, is great for consumers.

@electrolite77 "Being better than the Wii U isn't a measure of success."

That's kind of my point though. The same folks defending Wii U are the ones throwing stones at the XBox situation.

However I do agree that the XB1, in comparison to the 360, is a disappointment sales wise.

@roadrunner343 Yeah, see I absolutely loved my Wii U, but in terms of Nintendo putting out good stuff, I found things like AC Amiibo Festival towards the end of its life insulting frankly. This is the trouble though, Xbox seems to be going through the same issue as Wii U as their version exclusive must haves are way to few and far between, even if they are really good. It's not enough, from my perspective at least, to say that the console is doing well. But you're right, quality of content is super subjective, so it would be easy enough for two people to have completely different opinions about the quality of a given company's output. But that's why discussions are so much fun

What's REALLY killing M$ right now is the fact that 90% of their games are on PC and they have virtually NO exclusives! Xbox One X? HA! Just get a PC for crying out loud!

@Jacob1092 Yeah, there were a few stinkers. In addition to Animal Crossing, I also found Mario Tennis and Mario Party 10 to be huge letdowns. Mario Tennis was fun for local multiplayer, but that's about all it had to offer.

@electrolite77 I suppose it depends on what you mean by defend. I always thought, and will always think, that the Wii U had a better software library. There's no denying it was a terrible failure, but I think that mainly comes down to a terribly ugly tablet and horrible marketing. I think with a revised console, a different name, and better marketing, it could have been more successful. At least, like you mentioned, they addressed those shortcomings and brought us the Switch, so I can't complain too much.

@electrolite77 Wouldn't dream of defending it commercially, but it did have some seriously good games. Not counting the HD Zelda's, Hyrule Warriors, Smash Bros, Splatoon, Pikmin 3 and Mario Kart were worth buying the console for me. I know others really enjoyed the New Super Mario Bros games and Bayonetta 2. This also doesn't include the goodies on the eShop. I'm sure there were others.

*Edit; I put Pikmin 4 instead of 3. You can tell what I really would like to see on the Switch

After Sony's recent statement regarding crossplay, I take everything they say with a pinch of salt, really.
There are probably some sinister intentions behind this statement too...

@electrolite77 i disagree that MS and Nintendo are even remotely in the same situation. MS is way closer to Sony from a relevance standpoint than anything Nintendo is doing. Nintendo has essentially be relegated to the quirky odd ball 3rd wheel of a console and company. Almost anyone with a Switch also owns a 'core' platform.

Nintendo used to be what Sony is today. The end all, one stop shop.

It also creates COMMUNICATION but you lads refuses to allow us cross platform!

@electrolite77

"They've never even won a generation, and their best-selling machine got rinsed by the Wii."

They sold 80+ million when Wii sold 100 million. Hardly being "rinsed".

But yeah, we pretty much agree on all other aspects of your last comment. For me, the quirky Nintendo has led me to my first non-Nintendo purchase ever in the Xbox 1, after holding onto hope and (previous) fanboy faith that they'd one day return to being a one stop shop type of console. It helped me realize that it wasn't the hardware or company I was backing, but the experiences. What Sony and MS are offering from an experience standpoint is exactly why they lead Nintendo, and Ninty is busy playing catch up in people's minds. Switch is a good start, but unless you really like playing games on the go, then there's not much else of a draw. For instance, as anecdotal as it may be, everyone I know with a Switch has either stopped playing it entirely after Zelda, or just the one off occasional MK8 match.

So if 7th gen was the Wii60 era, and the 8th gen was the PSXBox era, then is the 9th (or 8.5+9th gen?) the PSwitch era?

@gatorboi352 End all one stop shops are VERY dangerous to the industry. It was bad when it was Atari, it was bad when it was Nintendo, and it's becoming bad if it really does become Sony if XBox tanks.

XBox's position is quite a bit worse than Nintendos has been. In addition to being "a Playstation for people who loathe Sony Corp, but with less games", there's the little problem that they're hemorrhaging cash, massively defecit spent at the start of the XBox program, never closed the debt gap, therefore have never made money and have lost quite a bit of money. I really doubt 1X is helping that situation with it's liquid cooled mini-super-box. "Relevance" matters to Youtubers and Tweeters. "Relevence" matters to business so long as it produces profits or expands their market reach. Otherwise money is all that matters. WiiU was not relevant, but still managed to make very marginal money, while 3DS was relevant and made a lot of money (and continues to.) XBox has been relevant but has managed to lose money. For a "fan" XBox is in a better situation. For a business, their situation couldn't really get much worse.

Now people will compare MICROSOFT itself vs Nintendo, and of course that's a far bigger, far more profitable company. But the XBox division is not Microsoft, and the investors/board have been agitated with XBox for years, wishing to jettison or scuttle it. It's eating their Android royalty profits. It's eating their sales figures for Surface. It's damaging more important Microsoft properties, and not really yielding an important market in return. If 1X doesn't take off and XBox wants a new R&D budget, you can bet the calls to divest will start up again. And unlike when the One launched, Ballmer isn't there to protect it.

They COULD go radical, go with a hybrid tablet console, ignore Sony and take on Switch, pull it into the Surface family as a superpowered hybrid for primo money (expect more Porches on stage), that wold help them "vertically synergize" the organization in a way the rest of MS could embrace. If Switch goes big and PS doubles down on min-PC-boxes for cheap, MS could go "Premium Switch" with an $700 hybrid gaming console (Surface Pro starts at $800, Surface Book at $1300) I could see that possible future for them, if only to save face within the organization.

But, yeah, don't confuse market relevence with XBox being in a good place. They're not. Which is unfortunate because I don't want to see Sony achieve monopolistic dominance over that market segment.

@NEStalgia Android royalty profits? Huh?

Look, any way people try to slice it, Sony And MS will continue to trade blows for the #1 and #2 spots each generation, with Nintendo "getting in where they fit in" because that's the position they've put themselves in (and their fans have put themselves in, largely).

I get it, Nintendo's riding a nice little wave of Switch success at the moment, but let's not kid ourselves here folks. I know, even on a Nintendo blog.

@gatorboi352 Investors tend to not like seeing red. And XBox has been very veeeery red, off the bottom of the chart, since the start. So to keep the investors from sharpening their pitchforks and lighting their Minecraft torches demanding the immediate closure of XBox, they've been "profit sharing" their royalties they receive for the Android OS (yes, it's Google's product, but Microsoft gets royalties for contributions they made, after a court ruling)....which are big....by moving a portion of Android royalties to the XBox column so the losses look a bit less massive. Investors know this of course, but it triggers less knee jerk reactions not seeing the red line spike off the bottom of the page. Meanwhile, XBox sales have been....er...slow? So slow they don't actually talk about how slow. Or show numbers at all. We can only estimate at their sales in fact. They've taken to reporting numbers for "hardware and devices" as a single line item. I.E. XBox1/1S/1X, Surface, Surface Pro, Surface Book, keyboards, mice, and BT audio adapters all reported as a single consolidated round number to hide the very unimpressive numbers at XBox (and that they don't justify the budget allocated the division) by smearing Surface all over it.

Most of that is just to try to salvage investor opinion. They want that division gone. They wanted it gone years ago. Nadella wants it gone. I do have serious doubts that the future of XBox involves Microsoft parentage. Maybe Valve would buy it (doubt they could afford it) , maybe EA would buy it, maybe Apple would buy it. Samsung? Who knows. While Playstation is the backbone of Sony Corp now, XBox is the unwanted derpy dog at Microsoft that the owners really really want to find a "farm" to leave it at, so long as they can tell the customers he's happier there, it's a better place.

The current competition between MS and Sony isn't a competition. It's MS spending ridiculous money to fail to catch up to Playstation. MS has to think differently, much like Nintendo, and go a different direction if they actually want XBox to survive. Playstation is the king of Playstation. Sega failed at direct competition, and MS isn't doing much better (they just have a deeper pocketed parent that's been issuing allowances so far, grudgingly.) The only reason the 360 was such a success was because Sony bungled the PS3's first half of its life badly. Sony defeated Sony that round (I suspect they'll create another opportunity around PS5 though.)

Again, I'd RATHER those two be able to trade blows. It'll make both platforms better. But a KO punch will come eventually, and it won't be pleasant for any gamers.

On a business level, Nintendo, even when it has failed, has actually turned a profit. WiiU didn't lose money (think about that a moment.) They had operating losses a few years, but that was also Switch R&D and HQ construction expenses, along with bulking up their production staff. Meanwhile XBox has lost lots of money (across the 3 gens, the bulk of it was the first gen) despite outselling WiiU many times over.

That's the part where people complain about low Nintendo sales but they keep laughing all the way to the bank. "Fans" look for high sales. Businesses look for high profits. The two don't always relate the way you expect. Phil Spencer has been very kind to WiiU over the years, publicly, and defended its sales, even. For good reason. It was actually making more money than his product. He wasn't looking at it as a fan but as someone looking at the viability of the business models and seeing where someone else's failure was still yielding better results than his success. I like Phil. He's pretty open and honest about the goings on in the industry.

That's neither an anti-XBox or pro-Nintendo commentary...it's just where the chips are lining up. And Phil knows where they are. Interestingly his current strategy seems to be to play very nice with Nintendo....no doubt to gang up on Sony like a pack of wolves, MS and Nintendo from opposite ends....which is not a bad strategy at all. It could be an interesting few years of Nintendo-XBox cooperating and striking deals with Sony out in the cold.

In ARMS terms, since I'm in that sort of mood, Sony is currently the Hedlock in the arena.

@Mart1ndo
Seems like a plan. Problem is, that's gonna take an awful lot of time.

@Mart1ndo
Don't even get me started on backlogs: having Shovel Knight on no less than three platforms (Xbox One, Wii U, 3DS) and only playing it on a handheld knowing I'll have to do it again later on consoles is just the tip of the iceberg.