The end of the console war?
Contents
Three different strategies Nintendo Microsoft Sony Conclusion In recent decades we have seen the three main competing companies in the gaming sector compete with each other to the sound of exclusives, consoles, services and accessories. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are competing for a huge market together, but is there actually reason to think that they are in direct competition with each other? Or if you prefer: does the so-called "console war" still exist between these brands? By analyzing the current situation, we will try to understand how this battle is progressing in the gaming industry and who is actually winning with the strategies implemented by the companies.Three different strategies
While in the past Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo were fighting to grab the same narrow catchment area, proposing a similar offer to their customers, for some years the situation has clearly changed. Thanks to a notable growth of the market with which different needs emerged from consumers, it was possible to dare and focus on new business models. In fact, nowadays it is possible to sell the software digitally, create subscription services and offer video games in streaming on any device connected to the internet.starting from 2017, Nintendo was the first to take another road with the launch of the Nintendo Switch. The console hybrid had a completely different ambitions compared to competitors Playstation 4 and Xbox One. A few months after the launch of the Playstation 5 and the Xbox Series the X instead, we can say with certainty that the strategies adopted by Sony and Microsoft for the next generation of consoles are completely different and aim to conquer the target audience is different. In short, the three companies believe in different philosophies with which to gain the trust of us gamers. In the following we are going to see what plans they have Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo for the future and the resulting evolution of the "console war" in the next few years.
Nintendo
Nintendo has completely abandoned the competition in research and development of more powerful hardware for their console. For years his strength was the market of game machines, portable but had good results with the Nintendo Wii for its different type of interaction. For this reason, they decided to merge the two worlds, creating the console hybrid Nintendo Switch. The move has proved successful, in fact, in just three years, Nintendo has sold over 50 million consoles worldwide, while not being able to compete directly with Microsoft and Sony on the hardware side. Nintendo has taken a different route, making the purchase, Switch, complementary to and not a substitute for a Playstation 4 or Xbox One. Many owners of the console Microsoft or Sony were interested in the Switch because of its diversity, as well as a large park titles of respect. Thanks to his being a console hybrid, and then at the same time usable in both the living portability, has allowed Nintendo to unite the efforts of development and marketing in a single machine. Whereas before developers had to design titles for the portable consoles for the living room, can now focus the work on a platform.This commitment Nintendo has immediately led to great results. After the first year, really exceptional, with the arrival of titles from the likes of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Super Mario Odyssey , Nintendo continued to churn out other games interesting, albeit with a lower frequency. Arrived titles such as Pokémon, Xenoblade Chronicles, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros, and many others, are able to exploit to the maximum the versatility of this console . Day, and the Nintendo Switch enjoy full health, completely ignoring the arrival of the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X which can not and do not want to compete . Nintendo has made its choice and we certainly can't criticize it given the results obtained. We are sure that in the future will continue to support its console hybrid with new masterpieces as the highly anticipated next chapter of the legend of Zelda. In a few years you will feel the need to introduce a new console to increase the performance of the hardware, maintaining it is likely that this hybrid nature . In short, Nintendo is emerging as the winner from his own personal battle, outlining a new philosophy and creating something unique in the market, capable of attracting the attention of many new gamers, and other veterans of the gaming world.
Microsoft
The Redmond company has managed to obtain a good reputation in the videogame market during the generation of the Xbox 360. With the launch of the Xbox One-instead, the interest in the brand has dropped a lot because of marketing decisions are not really helpful. Microsoft in fact has struggled to face the competition with the Playstation 4, something that probably has prompted the company to take another road, just like we did from Nintendo. The arrival of Phil Spencer has marked the start of a new era for the gaming sector of Microsoft. No longer able to bridge the gap with the platform and Sony in terms of sales, have decided to focus on another business model already experienced in other sectors. His name is Xbox Game Pass (or if you prefer just Game Pass ) and is inspired by the work done by Spotify in music and Netflix in the market of films and TV series. The idea is to offer a wide library of games for a fixed price per month, including all of the exclusive produced by Microsoft itself. In addition, the division Xbox wanted to achieve the technological leadership in the field of gaming, having the hands already in the high performance PC world and by offering to the gamers the console more powerful on a hardware level. In this way he differentiated the offerings from the competitor, while remaining in the same market, as stated by Phil Spencer. The powerful hardware will allow gamers to play the best titles, third-party platforms Xbox; the Game Pass instead, offer a considerable library of games at a very convenient price. A comprehensive package rather interesting, that could attract the attention of the paladins of the brand Playstation. Let's not forget the fact of the existence of the Project xCloud , the service of game streaming coming this fall on mobile devices. Through it you won't even need to own a car from the Xbox game to enjoy the park to the titles present in the Game Pass.by Changing the strategy Microsoft has also decided to abandon the classic jumps generational, suggesting a greater continuity in its ecosystem the Xbox . The new Microsoft games coming for the next two years will be available even for owners of the Xbox One and the Xbox One X. in Addition to this there will be the compatibility of all accessories across every game platform, and backwards compatibility is guaranteed on the new hardware output for the next few years.
Now it is evident that Microsoft's interest mainly to increase the number of subscribers to the Game Pass. That they play on PC, console, or streaming not has no importance. This strategy has also created another type of offer, which could also affect the owners of the Nintendo Switch and the Playstation, without having to compete directly with these brands. Microsoft relies greatly on the Game Pass as a business model for the future and hopes to win the attention of gamers, PC, console and mobile with this fabulous service that perfectly complements the offer of the competition.
Sony
Sony after years of experience, investment and marketing is currently dominating the console market. The sales of Playstation 4 are truly exceptional, as well as those of the software in both physical and digital. Sony you are then approaching the next console generation with an approach that is rather "traditional". Having outlined an excellent strategy for the current console, you do not feel at all the necessity of changing the cards on the table in view of the Playstation 5. On the next console in fact, Sony will continue to sell their exclusive at full price (as opposed to Microsoft, who include them directly in the Game Pass), and will point to a sale) the classic the software through the digital store, and the copies retail. Well as the evolution brought by Playstation 5 seems to want to score the classic generational leap with the arrival of the SSD, and the new DualSense, in contrast to the continuity which is so dear to Microsoft.we must Not forget the existence of Playstation Now, a service similar (and therefore competitor) to the Game Pass. Sony, however, seems to not want to promote with the same insistence of Microsoft. If the Game Pass is the future of gaming platforms Xbox, the Now to how you see it today, is no longer a viable option with which to enjoy the Playstation game.
Also in this case, then, we find a very different approach than the competition, albeit old, but certainly well established in this generation of console. Sony seems ready to continue the ride on the crest of the wave with the arrival of Playstation 5, relying on the good design of the console and especially on its development studies.
