• Welcome to ZD Forums! You must create an account and log in to see and participate in the Shoutbox chat on this main index page.

Is It a Three Console Race Any More?

I've always been a nintendo fangurl and in my youth i refused to play anything that wasn't nintendo (and i still prefer to play nintendo regardless) I was there during the war between Sega and Nintendo (back when rivalries were rivalries) and i was there when the n64 ruled the world (for about 3 month with OoT).

I've always seen nintendo as a big player and one of the names you need to mention when deciding to buy a gaming console, but recently while talking to friends, they have said that they no longer see nintendo as being a worthwhile mention. This surprised me since Ninty have done so much and are continuing to do things no other console does, they still lead the charge in innovation despite their last two consoles not being powerhouses.

But Nintendo no seem to be that name on the side where you go for a change, rather than being that name you go to to experience things you cant elsewhere.

A friend said to me; 'I dont think it is a three console race any more, i think its a two console race and nintendo'


What are your opinions on where Nintendo is in the console race?
 

Salem

SICK
Joined
May 18, 2013
Since at least the Gamecube era, Nintendo themselves said they weren't directly competing with Sony and Microsoft. I don't know why, maybe they know it wouldn't be worth their investment to go head to head with sony since they already dominated the 6th generation of consoles so instead they focussed on making game for their own adopters.

I think Nintendo could of made their consoles more powerful to be more "hardcore" like the rest but they simply chose not too.
 
Joined
Apr 10, 2009
Location
Aussieland
Nintendo is not going by the same philosophy of other companies and in the recent years it has become very notorious. Many fail to see, however, that being different doesn't mean to be worse.

The thing is, that tastes have changed and what many people look forward. Lately it all has been about being powerful, latest technology and 'realistic'. Nintendo is not pursuing that instead trying to bring the type of games we know. Even if Nintendo has opened a lot to allow M rated games and different genres that 15 years ago we wouldn't dream of (Bayonetta 2?), people still label their consoles as 'casual' and kiddy, because most of Nintendo games still retain the charms from their SNES era.

I am playing Animal Crossing, I was quite excited for the game and I am quickly getting addicted to it. it is a very simple concept yet it doesn't fail to entertain and let you escape a while from the world. I want Nintendo to not lose that, because I think that kind of games bring a balance and are still well received. PS got Little Big Planet which regardless their looks and objectives is a big hit. Nintendo is selling very well, it has at least two consoles in their top 5 sold consoles.

Nintendo has never been in a race, it is us the players who make a race out of them to justify our decision to like them. To root for 'our team'. We treat it like we have to choose one or another but many of us have more than one console at home and not all from the same family.
 
Joined
May 3, 2013
Location
New England
A friend said to me; 'I dont think it is a three console race any more, i think its a two console race and nintendo'

What are your opinions on where Nintendo is in the console race?

It's a one console race and Nintendo. And I really do not see how Nintendo isn't relevant anymore with the fact they are pushing the boundaries between playing video games and having greater interaction with them.
 

Mercedes

つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Location
In bed
Gender
Female
As I've just said in the other thread basically, I fully agree with that statement. I think whoever said that is correct.

It'll always be Xbox vs PS, that's all it's been since E3 everywhere and that's what it was last generation too. They've got around the same power, will be sharing a lot of multi-platform titles, and have a lot of features. Both have streaming, both have subscription-based online, free games, etc. Much like PC, the Wii U is in it's own little bubble in today's industry. It isn't really an alternative to either other console, it's more an addition. I think many people will have an Xbox or PS4 as their primary console, and the Wii U will be the cheap, secondary console purely for the Ninty exclusives.

So I don't think that statement means we're counting out Nintendo. They're just as viable. But I just think they cater to another market.
 

CynicalSquid

Swag Master General
Joined
Aug 1, 2012
Location
The End
Gender
Apache Helicopter
The console wars really feel like Sony vs Microsoft, an then there's Nintendo doing whatever.

I think the last time Nintendo was in the console race was Gamecube vs Xbox vs PS2.

(Don't quote me on that because I was 4 or 5 when those console were released.)
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
It's a one console race and Nintendo. And I really do not see how Nintendo isn't relevant anymore with the fact they are pushing the boundaries between playing video games and having greater interaction with them.

There's a saying that goes something like this: "the first place winner isn't racing while the challengers are." What that is basically saying is that first place is breezing through things, merely doing their own thing rather than "playing the game" as their contemporaries are doing. They aren't competing, they aren't really even trying because they are in first place. I'd argue that is what Nintendo is doing thanks to the incredible sales of the Wii last gen. First place people merely brush comments off and continue to live in their own little world.

Sony and Micro$hit though, they are still racing against one another as well as Nintendo. M$ still has that Kinect thing for the casual experience. Sony flipped M$ off at E3 to get customer appeal. But they still aren't doing their own thing. They still share many of the same multiplats, they still are competing for "über-realism", they still etc.

I mean, sure, Nintendo should get with the times and adopt POWER. The Wii U really was a generation too late as evidenced by the widespread applause that the PS4 garnered. However, they can still float their own console on first party entries alone, with some menial second-party or even third-party help here and there. Sony and M$ still need to go through securing new toys, new companies, and IPs which could glide to another console at the snap of some mere contract. ;)

So yeah. Nintendo by all means is in 1st place. Nintendo isn't part of the race because they won.
 

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
No. It's a two way console race with Nintendo running it's own marathon, keeping itself in shape in case someone else decides to race it.
 

Hanyou

didn't build that
Nintendo's console is so different than the other ones that I might agree it's no longer a three console race.

That said, my preference for Japanese-developed games and my ability to play games on PC has made Microsoft almost entirely irrelevant to me. Sega used to be my favorite of the bunch (though the N64 is admittedly my favorite console of all time), but Nintendo has that spot now.

Because Nintendo isn't relevant to the predominant market here in the US, I feel irrelevant to that market as a gamer. It sucks.
 

Hanyou

didn't build that
Unless you're running Linux, Micro$oft does have some relevance if you do PC gaming.

That being said, Valve is trying to more towards supporting Linux more, so in the coming years, Linux could represent a serious alternative gaming platform to Windows.

I meant in the console race, of course.

That said, in spite of some favorites (Myst 1-3, Cave Story, Portal 2, Simcity 2000 and 3000, Morrowind), I could live without PC gaming, but I need my Sega and Nintendo systems.

Leaving emulators out of the equation because of the rules.
 

misskitten

Hello Sweetie!
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Location
Norway
I think Nintendo both for better and for worse are in their own league. Sony and Microsoft are primarily battling each other, sometimes trying to snap up some of Nintendo's original ideas and pretending to be creating their own spin on it , like with "Move" (I'm not going to lump Kinnect in there, because it's not copying Wii, it's copying Eye Toy).

The good thing is that Nintendo have pretty solid franchises going for them, games that have and always will be system-sellers, like Super Mario, Zelda and Metroid. Especially Super Mario is a real staple for Nintendo in terms that even non-gamers are familiar with our favourite Italian Plumber. And there is no known compeditor for this particular franchise. Maybe other games try to emulate the formula, but none of them have succeeded in terms of branding themselves a compeditor for the Super Mario franchise. I'm not sure if another gaming company would even want to take on the daunting task of trying to squeeze this very popular franchise off the market or give it real competition.

Zelda is also well-known, maybe not as likely to strike a bell with non-gamers the same way Mario does, but the franchise is pretty stable. Unlike Mario, there are other gaming franchises at least attempting to emulate or compete with Zelda, but the franchise is still going rather strong, having built up a steady fanbase over the last 25+ years.

Nintendo generally is viewed as a children and family type platform. Both because they put time and effort towards providing quality games for kids in an otherwise lacking/patronizing market, and also because the other two companies are more conserned with branding themselves as "hardcore" platforms by primarily promoting their more violent, more realistic-looking games.

Nintendo also distinguishes themselves because they focus more on innovation than power. The market doesn't need three consoles competing on which can show the most realistic type graphics, the market needs consoles that show different qualities and that is what Nintendo keeps going for.

Many before me have said that M$ and Sony are doing a lot of the same, and that is true. It makes very little sense to get both x-box and playstation because apart from their exclusives there's very little difference to how games look, feel and play on them, so you tend to either lean towards one of them depending on which exclusives appeal the most to you. Sure there can be other factors like people going for the PS3 because of the built in blu-ray player, dislike that the PS4 isn't backwards compatible, dislike that XBone is pretty much is looking to destroy the freedom in gaming (online requirements, kinnect always on, restrictions/fees on used games), etc. But mostly you tend to either be a PS or XB fan because you happen to like their exclusives most.

With Nintendo it's more that they tend to go for the opposite of Sony and M$ that makes them the natural other choice. If you are going to have two consoles in your home, you'll choose PS/XB and a Nintendo console, because that combo brings more diversity.
 
Joined
Jul 24, 2011
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
Gender
Male
I don't consider Nintendo part of the console race anymore. Since the Wii at least, they've just been doing they're own thing: trying to innovate how we play games. They're going at their own leisurely pace, and I feel like that's both a good and a troubling thing.

It's good in the sense that they're not forcing stupid gimmicks just because it's the "popular" thing, such as how Microsoft pushed Kinect in our faces.

It's troubling because that means that if they don't have decent 3rd party support, it's almost necessary for any "hardcore" who wants Nintendo games to get one of the other consoles available. Just like how I'll end up with both a Wii U and a PS4.

Forgive me if my wording may be strange, but I don't know how else to describe this.
 

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
It's troubling because that means that if they don't have decent 3rd party support, it's almost necessary for any "hardcore" who wants Nintendo games to get one of the other consoles available.

That's the thing though...a lot of Nintendo fans aren't hardcore gamers. Many of them think they are because they like playing games, but they're not. Casual gamers in general have been horribly misunderstood for a long time. Casual gamers seem to be described as people who mainly play Wii sports and the occasional Angry Birds, etc., but that's not a casual gamer. That's a non-gamer.

Just because someone played a few rounds of Angry Birds or Wii Sports once a month doesn't make them a gamer of any kind, casual or hardcore. Everyone plays SOME video games, but that doesn't make them gamers.
 

JuicieJ

SHOW ME YA MOVES!
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Location
On the midnight Spirit Train going anywhere
Well, with the XBOX ONE's destiny of tanking, I have a strong feeling third party developers are eventually going to be forced to start releasing games for Nintendo again this generation. With how big-budgeted modern AAA games are, there's no way they'll be able to thrive solely on Sony -- I'm aware PC exists, but let's face it, multiplatform games were typically bought on the 360 and PS3 last gen -- so they'll either have to cut back (heh, not likely) or start taking the Wii U seriously, so I'm pretty sure at some point within the next few years, it's going to be a two console race and Micro$oft.

Just throwing that out there.
 

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
In another scenario, Nintendo gets less 3rd party support than ever because they won't allow DRM.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom