Shuhei Yoshida Says Sony Doesn't Really Consider Nintendo As Competition

It's so funny, I watched this interview yesterday where he says he always gets quoted for one small clickbaity thing he says in interviews, and I remember thinking "I bet I'm going to see him quoted tomorrow on NL"
Sure enough, here we are! 😉

Haven't Sony been saying this for years now?

It’s great to have both but this not seen as competition chat from Sony is rubbish.

They both sell game consoles and vast amounts of software and subscriptions etc etc.
it’s not like one is selling cars 🚗

If Nintendo didn’t exist as of tomorrow Sony would pick up extra sales of all the above.
It’s competition and I’m glad it is here.
Sony so full of bull lately.

"Nintendo is family-friendly, games for everyone, and not about technology, it’s more about having fun with friends and family and always have multiple controllers, bundled with the hardware."

Especially with all the hentai games that you can find in eShop

Well, I had switch as first console for years now and sw2 from day one.. i have ps5 too but bought long after switch and I don’t thunk that ps6 will be day one buy for me.

I have both, if I want to play horizon forbidden west, I can and if I want to play mario or zelda, I can. Best of both worlds and both complement the other. Nintendo have been around long before the PlayStation and will still be around when I take a dirt nap, hopefully many years from now.

@KociolekDoSyta Rubish on eshop is one of few things I don’t like on switch.

This was known right? I thought Jim Ryan, Herman Hulst and other Sony people have said thos before?
They see the NS1 (and presumably 2) as something Ps4 and Ps5 owners will own alongside their PlayStation IIRC, not instead of.

That's such a loser thing to say.

I'm always told that Nintendo is, "different," whenever people try to argue that consoles and exclusive games don't sell anymore.

Shuhei Yoshida also mentioned how game journalists took some stuff he said out of context in his previous interviews, like when he said Nintendo lost a bit of its identity with Switch 2 on some podcast, even though he was mostly positive of Nintendo in it.

Context for what he said in this video : Sony does not consider Nintendo competition, not in the sense they think what Nintendo does isn't great. In fact that's quite the opposite. For Sony apparently, Nintendo is quite essential because it helps grow the industry as it targets quite often family and such, and those people (kids and parents) could end up playing on Sony consoles afterward.

There was no ill intent in this statment.

That's not true at all and they know it. Competition is good though, it's what pushes creativity and better games

Sony ain't even Nintendo's competition in Japan. They're the sidekick.

@Oldstalk For Sony apparently, Nintendo is quite essential because it helps grow the industry as it targets quite often family and such, and those people (kids and parents) could end up playing on Sony consoles afterward.

There was no ill intent in this statment.

The fact he assume Nintendo gamers graduate to become PS players is a JOKE. Does he not know anything guess not. The Nintendo base doesn't graduate to PS system. This is the kinda Closed mindset that tells everyone Sony could give a oo787 about gamers in general. These are the statements that tell of Sony Internal Corp. Mindset-these are how they view Nintendo gamers. Doesn't matter if this is his opinion he worked in Sony Corp and you don't think that was their mindset?? Dude, you really need a real life PR to help your interview from putting "Foot-in-Mouth" actions.

Which is apparently why Sony re-adjusted their PS2 sales numbers ...

I just wanna play fun games. It happens that most of the games I find fun come out on Nintendo. No competition at all. I have spent around $1400 on PS5 (boosted by CEs that cost several hundred dollars and that includes the system itself) while switch is probably around $14,000 (I’m likely severely under estimating but don’t wanna think about that lol).

That being said Tech Forward imo doesn’t mean graphics only (Not that they slouch there. Nintendo games pop and have tons of detail. They just aren’t photorealistic). Nintendo has been pretty ambitious with the actual tech under the hood (and with game optimization) so it is always odd when people act like Nintendo just cobbled together tech using a toaster and some legos.

“YOU FOOL!”
-Gilbert Godfrey, Hollywood Squares, 1999

…that’s what I hear Nintendo saying back to Sony anyway.

Sony have been heavily tech focused and Nintendo stepped back from that 20 years ago. Instead focusing on gimmick and low cost entry level experiences. The shift being that AAA games have become so expensive and so sparsely made that the majority of games now fall into the smaller indie bracket and that's allowed Nintendo to place themselves perfectly.

Not sure I worded this well but hopefully it makes sense.

Honestly I don't think Sony has any competition in the console market anymore. Xbox struggles to find any kind of foothold in Japanese markets, and Nintendo continues to do their own thing, and let others follow, same as usual. If anything, Nintendo is competing against handheld PC gaming devices more than they are with Sony. The closest thing Sony has to competing with the Switch 2 is the Portal, which can't be used offline. I don't doubt that Sony is probably thinking about entering the handheld space with an actual system that isn't simply cloud-based, but until then, they reign in the console market that is slowly dying as consoles become more expensive, to the point where you may as well just buy a PC.

@OldGamer999
does make me curious if that rumoured sony handheld ends up being true since that would put them directly on nintendos turf of having a dedicated handheld console (as opposed to a handheld PC which the other handhelds seem to be more of)

and tbh i would welcome that since not only would it mean more choice when it comes to handheld consoles but yeah, competition is always good, i mean look at the situation with the xbox one and PS4, the competition aspect felt like a big part of microsoft back peddling on the whole "always online, mandatory kinect" aspect of xbox one which as a whole felt like a big improvement. (plus felt like gaming as a whole dodged a bullet)

So Sony doesn’t count Nintendo as competition—just the company that keeps eating their lunch in Japan and setting sales records worldwide. Seems like a convenient definition of “competition.”

I can see where he's coming from, with that view point.

@KociolekDoSyta Yeah but those aren't made by Nintendo.

Every time Nintendo is selling tons of consoles Sony says this kind of crap. They might want to reconsider that stance, either way the big N is killing it right now and the Switch 2 is an exciting piece of hardware

@sethfranum He didn't assume anything. He said "Could." It's a possibility. And several of my cousins started off playing Nintendo or Sega, and chose to go with Xbox and Sony as they got older. So it's not a stretch. People are allowed to like what they like without your approval, believe it or not.

@Vapeguy Sony not saying anything. He doesn’t work for Sony anymore, and his last few years with Sony wasn’t in a prominent position. He was locked away in the basement somewhere…

@Tempestryke Iterate means "ToneDeaf". That the Alice in Wonderland story but that's not the whole story. He clearly said Nintendo is Kids console and when they become Adult go XBox/PS system. What part of that is showing disrespect already? As pointed out from Nintendo's own age chart usage none of those went to Xbox/PS or become those console. These are imaginary figures he is using but provide nothing to backup those claims. That's the part he is "ToneDeaf" he is using corporates speak opinion as misinformation. That isn't isolated to just him it's a Sony Corp Mindset this is why they never saw Nintendo smacking them upside the head.

Oh look, the old "Nintendo is for Kids" line they trot out when they get scared of Nintendo competition.

I hope Sony doesn't share this view internally in 2025, because it would be a large mistake. I think that the first gen Switch was a major disruptor that people aren't fully appreciating quite yet. Switch 2 is going to be an unstoppable beast.

Well I mean, I sold my PS5 to help fund my Switch 2 purchase. So there is some competition going on, whether they like it or not

There is room for 2 consoles
I don't think Nintendo and Sony need to worry 😁

I own a Xbox, PS5, Switch, PC, and various other gaming consoles and such. I see no reason to care if any one of them competes or not with another. It all boils down to which one I want to play which game on at any given time.

LOL. Don't know what world Yoshida is living in but Nintendo won Japan, there is no "versus" about it.

Sony is scared of Nintendo for reasons anyone can guess. When you try to pigeon whole a Switch console as Kid game that tells you they are afraid of Switch Console. Nintendo doesn't do that but Sony plays that game. So you have to ask what are they afraid of from Nintendo? What console people play or use isn't in the interview it's the Mindset or Closed Mindset that will never see Nintendo coming like all AAA now clamoring to come to Switch 2 after seeing CyberPunk 2077 challenge PS5 this is what scares Sony. That a underpowered (ops-overpowered Switch 2) can play with the so called "Adult" systems now they refused to admit they have healthy competition.

I have both Nintendo and PlayStation games so there is NO competition in my gaming place.
Instead, they are complementing each other.
Every games I bought and play from Nintendo and PlayStation are the rainbows that give me different gaming experiences.

In the beginning with the SNES CD sure, but nowadays in competition, I mean hardware wise for power level sure but other peripheral type use cases, how are they not?

In terms of people's first console, a family console, their different direction or just cheaper then the competition sure.

But Nintendo isn't just covering a demographic thing, Sony/Microsoft clearly make for all types, not just oh kids/adults it's people into all sorts of other things. To market share quantify that sure it doesn't appear on charts but even still.

In terms of Xbox where it's Japan where it's less known due to Microsoft's decisions/marketing issues or how they don't appeal to the Japanese, or doesn't even exist in other countries where Sony/Nintendo offer then yeah no doubt.

Sony has their audience/tech focus differences but they are still consoles. So his context or not you can see it many ways what he means as being factors, and misunderstand it. I'll take the misunderstand side as his point is clear but also eh I don't know they are more then just the clear points he is making there.

If everything is power no wonder devs/pubs are boring people, & we get boring consoles/games with dumb mentality behind it.

Just cut VR & all the other projects & make them as boring as possible Sony why don't you. XD

I know every tech/peripheral idea both have done and give mention of them firsts or how they used them. Failed consoles or successful ones.

But Sony/Microsoft staff former or current say things just makes me laugh. It's their fault they made me give up on their garbage current strategy to move to Nintendo primarily and go retro or keep the PS4/Xbox One around for other uses. I'm not upgrading to their garbage consoles. They haven;'t given me a single game, peripheral or OS reason to want to use them. I don't even have to buy them and I refuse to buy myself or touch the ones I have access to from others around me. Make a decent system/games and I'll use it.

I don't think Switch 1 or 2 are perfect but they were more appealing even for my issues with them. I prefer the Wii U even.

If were talking audience too. Uh what kid besides pushing part parental controls is buying a Switch for adult audience games Sony doesn't allow on their platform while others they do?

Exactly. Kids/family console, Sony/Microsoft are idiots as usual.

Are they catering to different teen/adult audiences yes, they are.

Many of us adults may want to play family friendly games not because they are family friendly but quality comes from them, or even the Vita ports or PS4 ecchi games Sony says no to. Or many others on Steam even.

I bought up a Vita, Wii U, 3DS, Switch for a reason, because Sony/Microsoft were offering nothing of worth. So I keep my PS4/Xbox One as bonuses.

Sony/Microsoft can cater to whatever they want of audiences they pushed away over the years, or even committee type audiences but the rest of us went to Nintendo not just for it being a family friendly games console with cough quality games Sony hasn't provided to the same way of treating their IPs.

Part 2:
Gimmicks with the hardware/software use that yes Sony/Microsoft have offered theirs but differently, and with however much effort or care to remove them over time, or even other adult IPs Sony/Microsoft won't offer as they don't suit their standards so told those devs to get stuffed.

I don't own a single mainstream Nintendo Switch game (will at some point but not right away, so I am more an anomaly Switch player) only niche 1st party and 3rd party, all for teens/adults, so if they want to say Switch is a kids console, by all means. I own many kid friendly games and reviewed a few for platinum coins. Doesn't mean I don't primarily use it for teen/adult games same as PS/Xbox platforms mix of kid friendly and teen/adult games as well.

That and when Nintendo's IPs have more gameplay interesting ideas and Sony's and Microsoft's bore me to death and are too story focused and boring gameplay wise for me so I gave up on Ratchet or GT series potential being not garbage let alone others, XD That's on them for their current strategies. I can use whatever device for any audience of games I want.

We don't see Sony offering a handheld besides Portal to play it safe and see the potential (no dual screen either) or cater enough to Vita/PSVR2, only just enough. Wii U Nintendo still even if not the best enough support to it at least. Sony moves on too quickly and we just eat up what we can get on them.

Looks like the current climate in the games industry hasn't changed. It'll probably stay that way till further notice unless there's a serious shake up.

Ok, you have neither a Switch 2 or a PS5. You have enough money for either one but not both. You have to choose one. That's called competition.

They have a different casual audience which makes up the majority of there sales so yeah I understand this

Wow. This is some very high level cope from Sony. Let’s be clear, it’s not that Sony doesn’t consider Nintendo as competition, it’s that Sony CAN’T compete with Nintendo! This is psychological, Mr Yoshida admitted it himself. Would you want to constantly look at graphs where your company was always trailing or trending behind? That is a morale killer. He said Sony has almost less than 10% of the Japanese market share. It’s so much easier to pick on a target like Xbox, it’s almost non existent in Japan as Yoshida said himself. This is a massive compliment and show of respect to Nintendo. It’s also Sony totally ignoring Nintendo just to feel better about themselves 😆

@Rainz 100%

I think this means "primary" competition or rival. He also elaborated that Nintendo is better at getting kids into video games such that they eventually become Sony or Microsoft customers. So some of this take might mean that they weren't antagonistic towards Nintendo, recognizing their own dependence. Kids growing up on mobile games and Minecraft might grow up to be PC gamers. So Nintendo helps slot kids into the console lane which benefits MS and Sony.

However, a lot of the industry is recognizing the lucrative middle. Nintendo is now touting power, Sony is acknowledging the importance of family games like Astro Bot, and Microsoft now has the cheapest current console. And MS and Sony kinda sorta have handhelds now. There's about to be a red ocean again.

It only made sense to talk about console power and to leave Nintendo out of the conversation when the Wii came out though during that generation Nintendo obliterated Microsoft and Sony in sales.

When you talk about sales and income it also doesn't make any sense, it's almost like Sony moved the goalpost just because they don't sell as well as Nintendo again.

Both conversations can be true where each is leading the mindshare of the console #1 platform but at the end of the day Nintendo currently sells more than PlayStation. That is what matters anyways to investors and Nintendo makes more exclusives (than any other platform) so that also matters to some consumers.

Really all this means PlayStation is using this strategy to make the most money they can which is admirable.

That man and Kit and Krysta are always being quoted by gaming journalists trying to provoke our inner fan boy I guess. Nintendo’s above it, that’s why we don’t engage.
All it took for me to realize that was to buy a Xbox Series X, or as I prefer to call it: An xXx_BoX_Series XXX_xXx, and play halo infinite. They verbatim talk about the 360 like it was yesterday, they’re very busy chanting “Halo 3 Halo 3” like a Gregorian monk. Meanwhile their console just looks dumb, like it’s a box, made for cavemen. You like shootey-shoot? Want every game w/ gun? Here you go you stupid frat bro.
What does Sony have of actual substance? Neglectful father Viking edition? Cave girl robot dinosaur? Spider-Man, for some reason? Yes to single player RPG’s, just not those RPG’s. Not to mention their hardware just looks ridiculous, like a guy popping his collar before he goes to the clerb in like the 1980’s.
It pains me to take their “arguments” seriously, they sound like the most utterly unemployed you can possible be. Who on earth actually feels insecure about game console they own? Is this middle-school?