Gaming Has Nintendo "won" the console wars?

[Alkatraz2791]

Yeah, I forgot about the game prices themselves. What was it, $80 digital and $90 physical? Video games were already a luxury, but let's be honest, you can do a lot with $500 USD.

Based on estimates, Mario Kart World's main campaign is 4 hours and Donkey Kong Bananza is about 20 hours.

if they do a new xenoblade how much it would cost if a 20 hours game cost 90? 2000? is too much...i will be happy if they hack the switch 2 and everyone download a pirated copy of a game...have fun have becamed a rich hobby only with those prices for nintendo.

 

[ChronosNotashi]

Yeah, I forgot about the game prices themselves. What was it, $80 digital and $90 physical? Video games were already a luxury, but let's be honest, you can do a lot with $500 USD.

Someone hasn't been keeping up with the market and misinformation debunking. No Nintendo game currently in existence is $80 at base (at least, not USD $80). Both the digital and physical versions of Mario Kart World are USD $80, with Donkey Kong Bananza being lower at USD $70 (so current AAA standard). The only game that would arguably be USD $90 on Switch 2 is Breath of the Wild, and that's IF you include the DLC. (And if we decide to include DLC as part of the "full" price...DON'T LOOK AT MONSTER HUNTER WORLD/RISE OR ANY NON-NINTENDO WARRIORS/DEAD OR ALIVE GAME! They make almost all of Nintendo's games look cheap in comparison if DLC is included, even when factoring in bundled DLC discounts.)

As for playtimes, while a main "campaign" could be about 4 hours, remember that we're talking about a game that's ideally meant to be replayed multiple times, especially if you're someone that enjoys racing. 4 hours would only be an accurate estimate if you're one of those kinds of people who only do maybe one or two full races (or just the open world tour missions, which I'll assume your estimate is based on), and then drop the game.

 

[Vixi]

Nintendo sells an experience while Playstation and Xbox sell platforms.

PS5 does tap into experiences a bit though with the games that use the dual sense features and Horizon VR.

 

[Moe87]

Ugh, it is complicated, Microsoft isn't interested in competition with consoles, so they see bigger profits as highest priority. Sony is home console and Nintendo is portable console, so they got a lot of gamers own both consoles.

Microsoft's withdraw from console business is very unlikely and they are no Sega, so it is for gamers who love Microsoft and want to have Xbox console.

and yeah, price for hardware and software are going to up, so it is apparently that companies spread the tariff to make a less impact for American customers, so it do frown a lot of gamers living outside of the US. Also, IT hardware seems getting more expensive, so it could affect the price and other reason is increased profit. The full picture of tariff on game consoles are unclear and they go up and down.

If game console sales get very slow, so they will resort to price cut, so it looks like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are testing the customers until customers call for quit spending and sales go down, so 3 big companies are just like... let cut the price to boost the sale.

 

[Robert Newbie]

Ugh, it is complicated, Microsoft isn't interested in competition with consoles, so they see bigger profits as highest priority. Sony is home console and Nintendo is portable console, so they got a lot of gamers own both consoles.

Microsoft's withdraw from console business is very unlikely and they are no Sega, so it is for gamers who love Microsoft and want to have Xbox console.

and yeah, price for hardware and software are going to up, so it is apparently that companies spread the tariff to make a less impact for American customers, so it do frown a lot of gamers living outside of the US. Also, IT hardware seems getting more expensive, so it could affect the price and other reason is increased profit. The full picture of tariff on game consoles are unclear and they go up and down.

If game console sales get very slow, so they will resort to price cut, so it looks like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are testing the customers until customers call for quit spending and sales go down, so 3 big companies are just like... let cut the price to boost the sale.

Yeah, I think there are parallels between Sega's situation (circa 2001) and Microsoft's current circumstances, but I would argue that Microsoft is in a very different position.

Microsoft has the PC market through Windows. With that in mind, they could even sit out entire console generations and return later on. However, I agree with other users that Microsoft is likely shifting to a luxury brand. The ROG Xbox Ally makes sense, in this mindset.

Now that they're going multiplatform through software and the Xbox Game Pass, I don't see them shifting back as a major console manufacturer. They'd need some kind of advantage, a unique idea that really resonates through all the major markets. (Nintendo had this with the Switch's hybrid capabilities.) At the moment, they've been similar to Sony, allowing franchises to go dormant and producing PC ports of their exclusives.

It all makes me wonder what Sony's intentions are, in the generations ahead. I can see them continuing to make consoles, but I don't see them fighting much for marketshare. They'd need to start really investing in their franchises and produce some solid exclusives. Why they've let the PS5 coast for five years with only (as of this writing) 18 exclusives is disconcerting.