Nintendo was one of the last companies trying to innovate with each console they released. Whilst Xbox & PlayStation simply went the “more power = better” route.
But it feels like Nintendo has caved in, and is just following suite. Are there any gimmicks left to sell consoles? Or is it just gonna be like smart phones, we just upgrade because that’s what we do.
I’m gonna miss the era of Nintendo giving us never before seen technology on the mainstream
Gameboy (Handheld) N64 (Analog Stick) DS (Touch Screen) Wii (Motion Control) Switch (Hybrid Console)
i wrote out a whole big thing and then my phone ate it so here’s the sparknotes: game design, both hardware and software, is a dialogue, with ideas bouncing back and forth between companies. none of your examples exist in a vacuum or were “never before seen,” nintendo just tend to be the ones who strike gold when they try something. with SEGA out of the game and sony and microsoft focusing solely on horsepower, the hardware dialogue has mostly stopped. it took a while to be noticable because consoles start developement way before they’re released, so it’s only catching up with us now. with new (sort of) entrants into gaming hardware like steam and retro handheld manufacturers entering the fray, things will likely get interesting again- but just like how we’re only feeling the drought now, it’ll take a while for existing hardware to catch up with the dialogue
I feel like handheld PCs are a serious threat to Xbox & PS rather than the Switch simply because of Nintendos exclusives. But Handheld PCs offer a far cheaper alternative to entry level PC gaming with tremendous ease of use.