Of course they are a direct competitor. Console wars are all about the exclusives, of which Nintendo has plenty, which has allowed them to stay competitive despite the consistently underpowered hardware the past several generations.
Multiplatform releases are fine, but they're not what sells systems. Totally reasonable to have a Switch for exclusives, and Xbox/PS/PC for multiplats though, since many multiplats just don't get ported to the Switch and the ones that do are usually inferior on the Switch. I'd say PC covers your bases pretty well there so if you have a PC you don't need a PS and you definitely don't need an Xbox but there is still some merit to having a Switch alongside a PC since emulation isn't perfect.
The Switch definitely stands out due to the portability, though. If you care about that, then subjectively the only real competitors to the Switch are the Steam Deck and the like. Since everybody else gave up on handhelds. But it does also compete in the home console market, not just the handheld market. I guess you could say the answer is both yes and no depending on whether you consider the Switch a handheld first or a home console first (something people seem rather torn on)
I personally consider it a home console first (despite the hardware being literally a handheld with TV out and detachable controllers) because that is how developers treat it. The games released for it are largely full, home console quality games, not the slightly simplified/dumbed down and cheaper games you usually expect from a handheld. That type of game is now mainly seen on mobile (but usually with an even bigger focus on simplification and dumbing down)
In the end, it's the games that make the console, not the hardware. The hardware only matters in so far as enabling the games to run, and as long as it can do an adequate job at that, it does what it needs to do.
Seeing as the Switch runs the same type of games as Xbox and PS (even if not always the same exact games due to hardware limitations) and appeals to the same target audience I find it pretty hard to argue against it competing in the same market.
Multiplatform releases are fine, but they're not what sells systems. Totally reasonable to have a Switch for exclusives, and Xbox/PS/PC for multiplats though, since many multiplats just don't get ported to the Switch and the ones that do are usually inferior on the Switch. I'd say PC covers your bases pretty well there so if you have a PC you don't need a PS and you definitely don't need an Xbox but there is still some merit to having a Switch alongside a PC since emulation isn't perfect.
The Switch definitely stands out due to the portability, though. If you care about that, then subjectively the only real competitors to the Switch are the Steam Deck and the like. Since everybody else gave up on handhelds. But it does also compete in the home console market, not just the handheld market. I guess you could say the answer is both yes and no depending on whether you consider the Switch a handheld first or a home console first (something people seem rather torn on)
I personally consider it a home console first (despite the hardware being literally a handheld with TV out and detachable controllers) because that is how developers treat it. The games released for it are largely full, home console quality games, not the slightly simplified/dumbed down and cheaper games you usually expect from a handheld. That type of game is now mainly seen on mobile (but usually with an even bigger focus on simplification and dumbing down)
In the end, it's the games that make the console, not the hardware. The hardware only matters in so far as enabling the games to run, and as long as it can do an adequate job at that, it does what it needs to do.
Seeing as the Switch runs the same type of games as Xbox and PS (even if not always the same exact games due to hardware limitations) and appeals to the same target audience I find it pretty hard to argue against it competing in the same market.
Last edited by The Real Jdbye,
