Sony's Jim Ryan Reiterates Praise for Nintendo's Resurgence With the Switch

First time I've heard of this guy. As for the Switch being disruptive... It certainly was disruptive to my wallet.

I'm curious to know if Nintendo will release a successor to the 3DS, or just stick with the Switch since it's a hybrid system.

Nintendo never left. They have always been here. And they are here to stay.

Do you think Sony or Microsoft will now attempt a Hybrid System?

Healthy competition is always good. It's nice to see the important people of rival companies giving each other occasional praise.

"Back"? That's cute.

@Kalmaro This is the guy who mentioned "Who would play all these older games"

And "We wont do cross platform play because x. No y. No z."

And "Indies arent as relevant to us now so we dont need to promote them"

He's basically the PR buffoon for Sony. Alarmingly so.

And yeah. Sony Switch incoming I guess. It is inevitable.

@saturn_hero Given the success of PS4 and the arguable failure of Vita, I wouldn't think Sony would try. We haven't seen an Xbox handheld yet either, so I doubt it.

They never left.

@Meaty-cheeky It is an interesting question. My prediction is we'll see a version of the hardware that emphasizes portability (some features like removable joycons, touchscreen etc might be removed) in a smaller form factor and at a lower cost. A 2DS(witch), if you will.

I think it would be enormously popular as well. Something small that can run the games in a bare bones capacity seems very appealing to me, particularly as the library expands into a vast number of RPGs.

"It's great that they're back, it's great to see them doing so well"... so we can make our own hybrid

A Sony hybrid with the ability to play PS4 games would be incredible. Although, with them dominating the industry the way they are, it won't happen.

@KIREEK The problem with this idea that people are throwing around is that you are essentially removing the very essence of what the Nintendo Switch is. You are taking away the whole purpose of the name and idea of a home console you can take on the go and the idea of being able to use the JoyCons as either local multiplayer or potentially make some games unplayable (not that 1 2 Switch is that great but other future games may require them).

@Spanjard Their market share was almost non-existent last gen, they even reported losses for the first time in forever. So in that sense, yes, they're back.

@Spanjard AYYY

@FragRed I don't think that the dock concept/compatibility with the pro controller needs to be compromised necessarily. But good points about lack of compatibility with joy-con dependent games (because of design).

I dont think Sony will release a new portable - the Vita was a disaster for them in that área and burned a lot of goodwill people had.

@Luna_110 It sold just as much as the Wii U and Nintendo didn't give up on home consoles either, kinda... We've had rumours about a Vita 2 for year. I don't think it's likely, but you never know...

@saturn_hero No, Microsoft has said time and time again it will not be creating a handheld console, especially as it's fan base loves raw power over everything else, something a handheld can't quite achieve to the same extent.

Sony I think have given up on handhelds. I'd be surprised if they had even started R&D after the disastrous launch of the Vita. They rely on third party support to push sales of hardware and that never came for the Vita in any meaningful way.

Sony will going down and Nintendo will take over the gaming market.

PS4 Portable incoming, with their new innovative "Play-Cons"...completely different from Nintendo's Joy-Cons gimmick.

I predict the Sony Snap will be out Sept 2018.

@Octane
Yeah, but at least Nintendo spent 4 years trying to support the Wii U. Sony America dropped support, what, 1-2 years in? And it received no games from Sony's main studios.

They could try a new handheld, but again, the studios focused on PS4 wouldn't touch it. And a handheld with PS4 level graphics (if that's possible) would eat its battery faster than the Switch with Zelda.

@Joeynator3000 I thought NVidia basically has the most advanced architecture for a tablet form. Not sure how a PS4 portable could a)exist for an affordable price and b) play blue-ray discs (otherwise you have to buy the game twice for a home / away experience!)

It's Sony, they'll make it $600 or something. lol

@FragRed Exactly. All these people in the peanut gallery seem so sure that a cheaper, stripped down veraion of the Switch is right around the corner. I HIGHLY doubt that will happen because then it's no longer a Switch. The whole point of it being a hybrid is so it can stand on its own as one major pillar for them and cover both home and portable crowds without having to change anything.

@Joeynator3000 "599 US Dollars"

@Som64 whatever, lol

@FragRed @mattesdude
Good points fellas, this is one direction Sony and Microsoft are very unlikely to follow. Even if they wanted too, their fan base may not support it well. They wouldn't take that big of a risk. It's the kind of thing that would only work for Nintendo.

Some people say they never left, while I was here shellshocked still by the dark age known as the Wii U era

That's cute and all Jimmy boy, but how about you tell the lads at Atlus to port the PS2 MegaTen games on the PS4?

They ALWAYS neglect to consider the 3DS, don't they? It had million sellers the whole time. That's no chopped liver. Idiots, lol

@BLP_Software isn't that always the case? Everyone dogs Nintendo, then they do something new, then everyone copies it and then they dog Nintendo again for gimmicks.

The only thing that ever stands out to me when stories like this circulate is how Nintendo NEVER has anything nice to say about anyone else in the industry, let alone Sony or MS.

Speaks volumes tbh

I think it's too early to know if the switch will be truly successful. Its still very expensive and the games are too. It may also be selling before it hits the stores in Japan but it's widely available in Australia and barely anyone knows it exists in my experience. My local department stores big W and target each had 7 and 6 on the shelf respectively on Saturday. It's not hard to get one here at the very least.

@KIREEK yeah surely they will have to make that version of the switch as you suggest. I would like one! It might help to permeate the market more outside of Japan too.

@gatorboi352

The reason Sony is nice right now is because they are the top dog with there PS4, but back when the Wii & Xbox 360 were kicking the PS3's behind Sony was talking a lot of smack back then.

@gatorboi352 https://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/nintendo-praises-console-diversity
https://hornface.com/nintendo-praises-microsoft-xbox-live-and-call-of-duty/
https://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/5/4/2999046/shigeru-miyamoto-vita-needs-post-launch-software

You should do fact-checking before posting.

@gatorboi352 It's probably a Japanese thing I guess, in Japan you don't get praise by anyone unless you join them. You ever watch Super Sentai (the Japanese show that inspired the Power Rangers), the newer team that came after always NEVER respect the veterans that came before them. Also I heard that a lot of Japanese sons NEVER had respect for their father or great grandfather despite living in the same roof or of related bloodline, probably had competitive issues. Also a lot of the people that praise Nintendo were people living outside Japan.

Yeah. Sure.

Now go to pay another software house to not port a game on the switch, because your company is scared!

I miss the 90s when there was legitimate hatred between the competition. It's not an accident that the 16-bit generation, when the competition was at its fiercest, was the golden age for this industry. The fake nice acts by people like Phil Spencer, Shu Yoshida, Jim Ryan, etc, just annoys me. That's one thing I give Reggie, he never talks about the competition unless absolutely forced too. He's focused on his company and his company alone, the way it should be.

@NinNin But if people have to fact check first they can't simply blurt out their impulsive, emotionally-driven negative rhetoric, and then they'll have nothing to say. Wait, that sounds pretty great, actually.

I think Nintendo will surprise us with hardware during the 2018 holidays. A smaller cheaper Switch seems to follow 3DS trends but knowing Nintendo they will do the opposite for the sake of breaking trends. I can't wait to see what they come up with... Metroid VR, please.

What does he mean by disruptive?

@Heavyarms55 I think he means disrupting industry trends. Nintendo would probably use the word innovative instead.

@saturn_hero I don't think they will go hybrid because the ARM RISC architecture is a bit different from the x86 architecture unless the market demand shifts toward emphasizing interface specs over computational specs. Perhaps other manufacturers will join the party, though.

@NinChocolate Yeah. Especially considering the Xbox1 is really unlikely to reach even close to 70 million units sold while the 3ds will reach that number.

too bad the consumers are still female dogging about it in any way possible

e.g. underpowered, no 4K, doesn't hit the 500 games mark, ect...

@MegaTen
I tried to avoid doing the whole fanboy thing (I liked a lot of games of both consoles) but yeah, there was definitely more to argue over back then.

They've been here with the 3DS this whole time...

@TubbaBlubba Ah, well that's a good thing in my book. PS4 and Xbone are almost the exact same product. I am glad Nintendo is stirring the pot.

@Phazon last warning with the profanity...

@Octane The Wii U's market share, maybe. The 3DS was the best-selling system in the market during much of that time, so no, Nintendo didn't go anywhere.

@gatorboi352 It's true that it does speak volumes, but that's not even remotely a bad thing, because it's a direct representation of Nintendo's rejection of the same old boring trends that Sony and Microsoft follow with their hardware. Why would Nintendo praise them for things they strongly dislike themselves? "You know, we sure are glad to see Sony and Microsoft keep churning out near-identical iterations of the same console over and over in perpetuity, along with games that never really change in any way except graphical fidelity." Yeah, Nintendo should totally say that.

@BAN Except that Nintendo DOES do those exact same things. You going to try and convince me mario games haven't been the same with graphical upgrades? Mario kart games? Zelda games? I'm not saying it's a bad thing, as the gameplay formulas are solid, but don't even try to pretend that nintendo is exempt from upgrading visuals and slapping a "new" in front of a game to sell at retail.

@RedMageLanakyn No. That's literally my entire point: Nintendo changes more than just the graphics in their games. That doesn't mean that there aren't similarities in the various entries in given franchises, because that's kind of the whole point of a franchise. But if you can't actually think of the ways a series like Mario has changed across the multiple hardware generations that it's been iterated on, then this discussion is just going to be too much work for me and I don't want to give myself the migraine that would surely come with trying to get you on track.

Also, I can't take this exchange seriously if you think the New Super Mario Bros. series (that's obviously what you're referring to with your "new" comment) is a good starting point for this conversation. The parity between it and other/older Mario games is the one and only reason that the "New" series has for existing. They intentionally made it that way. Hence the "New" label. It's a new game built with the formula of Super Mario Bros. Get it? They're not trying to pass those games off as offering an abundance of innovation. They billed them as a modern take on the original formula. Please tell me you're aware of all this.

@RedMageLanakyn My condescending tone? Hmmmm.....

"You going to try and convince me mario games haven't been the same with graphical upgrades? Mario kart games? Zelda games?... don't even try to pretend that nintendo is exempt from upgrading visuals and slapping a "new" in front of a game to sell at retail."

I don't think a Sony Switch is as inevitable as people are making out.
1. It's impossible for a tablet the size of the switch to have as much power as a PS4. This means it couldn't play the same games unless they were displayed terribly (like in PC low graphics mode). This means it would have to be a separate console like the Vita and not share the PS4 library.
2. Switch contains the most up to date mobile hardware out, meaning the Sony Switch wouldn't look any better.
3. They utterly failed and got burned on the Vita, which graphically/quality wise was sort of the switch of it's time - but without everything that makes the switch attractive admittedly.
4. They would be launching against the Switch which is doing massively well and has a huge amount of first party games on the way. Sony would have to support theirs alongside PS4 which means this would not be possible. Not to mention it would be nearly an identical hardware proposition.

All in all it seems a pretty idiot thing to do.

The only way they could do it is release in several years when mobile hardware has improved to the point it can graphically match the PS4, so they can make it have one shared library. But if this is the case the Switch will have been out for several years, have a large library, and probably even a revision. The Sony Switch would be dead in the water regardless.

All this is without saying, Sony currently have number 1 in the industry anyway and massive market share, and even if everything I say above is wrong and they can make a success of it, it is not really worth the effort and cost involved of invading Nintendo's market share, at all.

Makes me wonder if PS5 might take a similar form factor to Switch...?