Random: Xbox Marketing Wanted To "Avoid Calling Switch A Console"

Switch is NOT a gaming console??
Microsoft see the Nintendo Switch like this.

Nintendo's success strategy: Develop lots of great first-party games with iconic characters and release them on unique devices that bring a fresh take on the gaming experience.

Microsoft's success strategy: Buy IP other people created and pretend other consoles don't exist.

'I would also suggest in general we try to avoid calling Switch a console, as it is really a portable gaming device'

so who's gonna be the one to tell them what this does

All this garbage is marketing. Let this be a reminder that it’s all fake wether the companies are being buddies in ads or are verbally ripping each other apart it was all meticulously planned beforehand in order to convince consumers to purchase a product

This two consoles complement each other perfectly, I don't need anything else.

Just give us Rare Replay.

This actually makes perfect sense to me to be honest. This is when they were buying up studios in order to attain console exclusivity. Because some of these studios already had obligations to other consoles, Microsoft wanted to make things as clear as possible that consumers would need an Xbox for future titles from these studios.

However, because of their past relationship with Nintendo being pretty undefined, they wanted to make them an exception while still staying true to their marketing image. "These games are Xbox console exclusive" "But Ori and The Blind Forest came to Switch and you said that was a console exclusive!" "That's because Switch is a portable gaming device, not a console. Completely different."

Really awful side to Microsoft trying to manipulate people's perception of gaming. I don't know if they realise this, but both Microsoft and Sony make plastic boxes that play video games. It's easier to charge people a lot of money if they think they are buying sports cars...

Marketing is always interesting. It’s professional hypnosis. I always love to ask people why they go into the field. I have gotten some interesting answers over time.

Nintendo Entertainment System - Insert cartridge, plug RF RCA/composite video, mono audio on a television set. (a console)
Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Insert cartridge, plug RF RCA/composite/s-video/component video, stereo audio on a television set. (a console)
Nintendo 64 - Insert cartridge, plug composite/s-video video, 5.1 audio on a television set. (a console)
Nintendo GameCube - Insert disc, plug composite/s-video/digital-to-component video, Dolby Pro Logic II audio on a television set. (a console)
Wii - Insert disc, plug composite/component video, Dolby Pro Logic II audio on a television set. (a console)
Wii U - Insert disc, plug composite/component/HDMI video, Linear PCM on a television set. (a console)
Nintendo Switch - Insert cartridge, plug HDMI video, Linear PCM on a television set. (a console)

You get my point.

@GrailUK
Microsoft is in peril.
Their XBOX stuffs getting worse and worse.
The only way to defend themselves to make them superior by belittle their competitor.
Calling Nintendo Switch NOT a console was a manipulation to deceive the customer perception.

Plot twist: handheld gaming consoles are gaming consoles.

(not that switch needs the distinction to be considered a "console.")

It does kinda make since considering there are many games that would come out on the Switch if it was more powerful.

@GrailUK
They went 100% on manipulation and consolidation years ago due to the embarrassment of Xbone. The amount they spend on viral marketing is probably staggering, you should be suspect of anyone you’ve seen trying to claim Switch isn’t a console.

Why is anybody offended by this? Besides, Switch is successful because it’s a hand held. It would have sold a fraction of the amount of units if it wasn’t portable and had the same specs. GBA could be played on your TV too.

3DS is a handheld console and Switch is a hybrid console. Both are portable consoles. Steam Deck is a portable gaming micro PC. All three are portable gaming devices. That's all there is to this terminology. As for marketing tactics, this Mr Greenberg seems to have overlooked the ironically greater appeal of a metroidvania game in portable format. The very reason Microsoft-owned IPs continue to come to Switch is to make some side money on people who wouldn't buy an XBox for these games anyway, simply because their lives and schedules don't quite accommodate a home console or even a tangible amount of PC time.

@WOLF13 it's not offence, just an eyeroll at deliberately feigned ignorance in the field of work. Being handheld is not a trait to oppose to being a console; see my bit of mansplaining above. You know what was a portable gaming device but not a console or PC? Good ol' Game & Watch. And few people can be expected to mistake Switch for it.

@larryisaman the difference with PSP (at least, to my knowledge) is that its TV connectivity doesn't come with separate controllers for the mode and doesn't provide local multiplayer. Switch covers both bases the way that has long come to be expected from home consoles. At the end of the day, there's really no "primarily x/y" about Switch except for the circumstantial necessity per user. Which is exactly what being a hybrid console is about.

@Fizza It is primarily a handheld though. I could make the same comment about the PSP-2000 with an AV cable but that wouldn’t stop it being a handheld that can be played on a TV.

@larryisaman

It's a matter of opinion. The way I've always looked at my Switch is that's it's primarily a home console that has the option to be used portably.

That's the beauty of it ..... it can be whatever you want it to be.

But honestly I've had my Switch since launch day, other than taking it on holiday with me every year for entertainment on the plane it's spends the rest of it's time docked so for me it's very much a home console 1st and portable device 2nd.

@GrailUK done with PlayStation not getting ripped off no more. Should quite at PS3 hate my PS4 rather buy my games on Nintendo.

Honestly the Switch is a handheld gaming device. But that still makes it a console as well

Its a hybrid console.
Just as you have a portable pc. So is the switch a portable console. (Hybrid) on the go and click in the dock as a home console.

NES home/stationary console
SNES home/stationary console
N64 home/stationary console
GameCube Nintendo home/stationary console
Wii home/stationary console
WiiU home/stationary console

GameBoy portable console
GameBoy Advance portable console
DS portable console
3DS portable console

Switch hybrid home/stationary or portable console

@Bluesaxo I quit after PS2. No way I'm giving money to someone telling me that Killzone 3 demo was an actual game when anyone into gaming could clearly see it wasn't. (Lol, in fact, graphics still haven't gotten any better than that demo hahaha!)

I guess by Mr. Greenberg's logic Microsoft's Surface is not a computer.

I'm old and wise enough to remember when the NES, SNES, and N64 were called "Control Decks"...

Been using Nintendo since NES but I do agree, Switch is not a console. It's a portable gaming device that gets docked. Hence its low powered cpu/gpu, etc. But I don't let that bother me.

Nintendo still holds true to their original NES marketing; They will forever refer to their devices as "systems" rather than consoles.

@larryisaman @TenEighty

my switch stays docked. please explain how it's "primarily a handheld." 🤔

This marketing terminology was used for a few games I can recall, mostly EA I think, about games releasing on "consoles" and "portables" or" handhelds" so this doesn't strike me as anything new other than to see it in writing.

Here's EA announcing the "portable" version of FIFA on Switch in June 2017, along w/ 185 comments who's sentiments will probably be repeated here.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/06/fifa_18_on_switch_to_include_ultimate_team_ea_boasts_of_most_advanced_portable_version

And here's EA flat out calling the Switch a portable device. Not even console, a device.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/11/ea_executive_clarifies_scope_of_nintendo_switch_support_but_is_cautious_of_its_prospects

Remember: Language belongs to us. Don't let the jerks take it from you.

@larryisaman this is how I see it. I have barely used mine in docked mode. I suppose I could get a pro controller, but I don’t like the joy cons unless attached to the system. Let’s be honest here, when compared to even an Xbox One or Ps4 it’s really much mor like a handheld that can be played as a console than vice versa.

I mean, after the Wii U and 3DS, I'll call the Switch a console sometimes, but Microsoft isn't really wrong because I have the same belief it's a device. Microsoft and Sony have consoles since they sit under the TV permanently, the Wii U did the same. The 3DS was the last of the handheld consoles and "portable experiences" too.

Nintendo has built a gaming device that is akin to the iPhone/iPad/Apple TV type environment and it blends the lines very well. It's sole purpose is gaming for now. You can call it a console if you'd like.

Going by the tweet itself and the comments, no one knows how marketing works and you have to be cut throat at the levels game publishers are at.

We should try to avoid calling XBox a console, as it really is a dust catcher in the store shelves.

This is CRAZY common, and not even a very extreme example. If you look at some of the pre-release material that comes out before public showing (ie, designed for executives at game publishers and developers), they try to get buy in for some pretty crazy stuff.

Sony marketing around the PS3 asked people to call the Xbox 360 a "half console" (I think because of it's three SPEs elements vs PS3's six, but I don't completely remember) while calling Nintendo products "interactive toys".

We got some of the same with the PSP material that called it a "portable gaming console" while suggesting the DS series of products were "Hand held toys". At one point a marketing piece "offered" the chance for people to stop being "toy makers" who made games for the DS series and become "game developers" on the PSP.

Hell I remember SEGA pushing for people to call Nintendo systems "static processing units" because they didn't have "blast processing" ... a thing SEGA totally made up.

What's really baffling about this one however is that ... Nintendo also wasn't calling the switch a console. It's marketing material refers to it as a "hybrid system". If not just trying to cause a MS vs. Nintendo fan-boy-off in the comment Nintendolife could have used this example as a pretty insightful peek into how marketing works.

Microsoft didn't want you to call it a console, because they didn't want you to think it "replaced" an Xbox. They wanted people thinking that even if they had a switch, they still needed a PS or Xbox product for high end gaming.

Nintendo didn't want you to call it a console because they didn't want to think you didn't need one if you already had an Xbox or PS product because only the Switch offers it's hybrid gaming solution.

So these two companies where, independently, delivering the same message because they both felt it was in their best interest to do so.

It's also important to note ... BOTH STATEMENTS ARE TRUE.

Microsoft says buy an Xbox over a Swtich because it's more powerful ... which is true.

Nintendo says buy a Switch over an Xbox because you can't take the Xbox on the go ... which is also true.

@Piyo the missus asked me to dust the front room the other day so I picked up my xbox and held it in my hands as I moved around the house. It really makes a good hand held portable dust catcher. You should try it.

Of course now Microsoft are trying to rebrand themselves as a digital platform/store front/Subscription service and ditch the console, so the Switch is now more a console than a XBox.

Sony also talks nonsense about Nintendo consoles because Sony claims that Nintendo consoles are intended for children. Sony and Microsoft are jealous of Nintendo because their consoles are not as popular as Nintendo consoles.

https://gonintendo.com/contents/13506-sony-claims-nintendo-s-younger-audience-doesn-t-care-about-fps-games-switch-couldn-t

It's funny to hear an xbox guy talking about something else being not a console when you consider that xbox hasn't released a console since the 360

@-wc- Because A) if you make a Switch game it has to be playable in portable mode, B) there is literally a Switch model that is strictly handheld. You can play it however you want, if you treat it as a home console then great but when it comes down to it it’s a handheld first and foremost. Not that there’s anything wrong with that anyway. Again, I can use the PSP example- I could keep my PSP hooked up to the TV but would anyone ultimately consider that a home console by the traditional definition? Is the Game Boy Advance a home console because you can play those games strictly on the TV through a Game Boy Player?

@larryisaman but the switch in docked mode isn’t the same as a portable console outputting to TV.

The weird thing is that I never thought of XBox as a console. It is a cloud streaming and download device to play service games. A fancy, expensive temporary solution, until your internet connection can stream the XBox cloud.

I don't understand the point of leaking these said "documents" other than stir some conversation among console fanboys and fangirls (which seems to be effective based on people's reactions, lol)

Microsoft seems desperate to win this console generation

@Bl4ckb100d Your avatar is cracking me up. What show is that?

@Chug_Norris The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, great show!

@progx Some people, like me, have the Switch ALWAYS on the dock. And ONLY use it on the dock.

It's console for me, then?

Also, Oxford dictionary definitions says this about a games console:

"a small electronic device for playing video games"

And the Switch is actually the only console that can actually be called "a small electronic". So, the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X are not consoles by this meaning.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/games-console

@larryisaman

nothing you said supports your argument that its "primarily a handheld." thanks for trying though. 👍

its a hybrid.

is it a handheld? yes.
is it a console? yes.
is it a home gaming system? yes.

by your logic, all games made for the switch also have to be playable in docked mode, so I'm going to go ahead and say its "primarily a home console." 😎

It's a bit silly but yeah cuphead and ori are on it. As is Banjo and goldeneye so yeah fine marketing can call it whatever. Don't really care. Microsoft has been supportive of the switch overall. Sony on other hand refuses cross play.

The switch is a $200 tablet, and I love it! I got an xbox just to play hogwarts legacy cause the switch version was taking too long. Havent touched it since.

Anyone acting all indignant about this needs to calm down. It was part of a legal strategy, and also who cares.

@Olmectron I primarily play mine portably. As I mentioned before, to me, I agree with Microsoft’s interpretation of the Switch. You can call it a console if you want, I believe I said that too. Getting bent out of a shape and supplying a dictionary definition shows you’re a bit unhappy with my opinion.

Things like Labo. The Korg app (yes, the DS and 3DS had it too). Showed its flexibility as a full device.

Lol I always knew people didn't like the Xbox, but the reasons for it are some of the silliest things I've ever seen.

@Bl4ckb100d You cant tell a guy that it's a great show and then forget about... perhaps one of the worst arcs in the history of media that wasted 8 weeks of people's real time... Ah I hated endless 8 so much I thought I was going crazy

@jbreez00 When I first watched it I thought endless 8 was genius, but now I always skip that part every time I watch it again. Also the movie gets me every time.

I mean it's not the PS Portal as a companion device. Sure Nintendo consoles can be 'secondary' consoles while for others their primary or only consoles they need then other platforms. All fair.

But I mean a label or not it does have some value in marketing or goals the devices set out to do, it's intended to play games, it's not a plug and plug, it's not a toy it's a game console, a portable one, a handheld, hybrid sure but is a Zodiac for a PDA/game console? That's a hybrid. It's not a console/gaming handheld only hybrid but a hybrid.

Same with Ngage/Xperia Play for gaming phones. All device these days in some form are hybrids of goals and hardware use cases. Phones have cameras why not a dedicated camera.

What's the difference then goals/marketing and intended purpose. Not to write documents in MS Word on a Switch that's for sure. It's not a production device so what is it?

Is a PS2 a CD/DVD player for music/movies/PC with Linux kit or Yasbasic or games console because it has multiple purposes? Even if Nintendo isn't Sony/Microsoft console competing directly. While the 3DS/Vita were.

I can play games with a TV remote peripheral if I want doesn't make it a Blu-ray player.

Were the Tapwave Zodiac and Gizmondo competing with the DS/PSP or were they other PDAs then? They had features for them, Tapwave were Palm staff so....... but the goals/marketing made it clear it's a handheld gaming console against the GBA with games and additional apps like a PDA. The PSP was the walkman of the 21st century so is it a media player with games even if gaming layout? Was the CD-i a computer/entertainment system then a gaming console it had encloypedias and other more app software but could play games of many types.

The Switch isn't a Plug and Play to the tv with built in games. So as something with a physical/digital storefront, it has many accessories, it isn't built for using a web browser to use Google Docs/Word Online is it? Game controllers that detach (even if the Lenovo PC handheld can do that now) as a unique feature for the time, has media apps, an account system and more I think that's a modern console in definition isn't it?

Is Windows a gaming OS or a multi-purpose OS?

Is Nintendo a competitor not in the same way as Sony directly as Nintendo does their own thing but if PCs aren't the same competition as consoles and different audience, phones the same was then what are gaming handhelds anymore?

The labels can be whatever doesn't change what other people will see and remember them as for a title/continue to. Regardless of if it doesn't play MP3s people will still say an MP3 player, Google as the most popular search engine to 'Google' something.

Or Pocket PCs and PDAs existed with Windows on them. Or handheld PCs exist. GPD and other companies did their devices in odd form factors after the downfall of Pocket PCs (while tablet climbed in relevance) before the Aya Neo, Steam Deck and more popularised them as like with anything a big company name will push the idea.

Or handheld consoles like the Nomad/PSP had cables or docks to the TV? The PSP/Gizmondo and Tapwave Zodiac were all media gaming consoles and the latter two had PDA features in them. Like the Ngage as a gaming phone, the Xperia Play also, the Gamecom also had some non-gaming apps on it. Is the Gameboy a computer with a Workboy peripheral/software?

If 100 million people were asking for compelling games, a gimmick to make it stand out then a box under your entertainment center (then remote play with wifi capable devices) then I think the Switch is a console/handheld console with a goal of 'gaming' not web browsing or using Microsoft Office on it last I checked even if I could totally use Word Online or Google Docs on my Wii U/3DS web browser if I wanted to.

Considering how incapable they've been since 2012 of coming up with good console names, I'm not surprised they desperately tried to muck with the Switch definition. I'm saying this as someone who likes Xbox, even with their seventy billion mile long list of flaws that seems to grow by the day.

They’re not wrong, at its heart it’s a handheld.

@larryisaman Your arguments are poor and makes no sense in this discussion. Depending on the user the Switch can be a primary home console or a primary a handheld, or both. (Also it is the GameCube itself that makes the Gameboy games be able to play on a TV smh...)

I believe you need to rethink on what you are saying. Because it makes no sense at all.

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

If Microsoft needs to call it a portable gaming device to feel better about porting games to it, I'm happy to call it a portable gaming device.

If they insult the Switch to justify putting more "XBox console exclusive" games on it, insult away! Perfect Dark remaster, here we come!

While they're at it, Rare Replay, Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo: The Element of Power, Lost Odyssey, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection remastered for the Nintendo Switch cons- I mean portable would be nice.

Switch IS a home console! (...and my primary one, at that.)

Nothing makes people pick a side like 4+ year old emails.

On the flipside, I refuse to call anything portable unless it comes with a handle… the GameCube is the epitome of true portability

@IceEarthGuard I think I have wasted entirely too much of my time debating this pointless topic and I regret that. All I will say is I’m right and you’re wrong

@progx I sincerely don't care what companies said about other companies.

I genuinely googled for "games console" definition, and that was the first one I got.

I couldn't care less about what a company calls anoter company's product.

It was just interesting to find such definition and post it back here.

And to play games, you need a plastic moulding with buttons.

Microsoft: The NeoGeo AES is not a console, it’s just a tiny arcade cabinet without a screen!!! 😅

@Fizza
Microsoft = it’s a portable gaming device holder or charger.
😎

Does that mean Microsoft has the 3rd best selling console out of only 2?

Microsoft has been in denial about its competition for far too long.

Microsoft needs to look up the definition of "console".

The GameBoy is a console.

@larryisaman You are serious going the "You're wrong and I am right" route?

Well I can do that too. You are wrong and I am right...

Gonna say it again, your arguments are so poor and makes no sense... and you need to really rethink on your opinion.

The Switch can primarily do both, the consoles that are meant to be handhelds (psp, ps vita, 3ds, Gameboy) only are just only primarily handhelds... So of course no one will call these handhelds as "home consoles" even if you set it up to be played on a TV...

I don't know how you can't understand this. Your argument only works on the Nintendo Switch Lite... Not the OLED or original Switch...

@IceEarthGuard My word is final and I am correct good day sir

This is quite ironic seeing how this same company wants to acquire Nintendo. Projecting your own inferiority, much?

Microsoft has had one successful console (360) because Sony's hubris got in the way. They suck. #VivaLaNintendo

Rather do better games in-house they rather have "foot-in-mouth" talk. They don't define what a console is since they don't own the word "console".

@Fizza that is a large plastic box with a small HDMI dongle inside.

This is just an excuse for Microsoft to continue putting their games on the Switch, because by saying "they are not a home console", they can swe them as partners and not competitors.

Unfortunately this is just a ploy, Microsoft wants to buy Nintendo and Unfortunately, unless the Japanese government steps in to put laws in place to stop hostile takeovers, it's very likely to happen.

If Microsoft were a country, it's market cap as a business is around 2 Trillion. So its GDP would literally be higher than Canada. This is a business we're talking about.

The reality is, Microsoft could buy Sony, Nintendo and ALLL the game studios that make games for them too, Microsoft could literally swallow the entire industry whole with hostile takeovers. This isn't likely to happen as it would destroy their reputation and kill gaming worse than what happened in the 80s. But the fact they COULD do this, should actually scare us all.

Little do Microsoft realise that Nintendo has survived a lot of competition.
Atari
Sega
Panasonic
Philips
Coleco
Pc engine

And I’m sure a few others, have all left the console market at some point. Could easily happen to Microsoft.

As a Nintendo player only, I do not care at all about other gaming "consoles".

"The [full game title] game," drives me up the wall. No one talks about game titles like that, it's weird and robotic.