The Nintendo Switch has marked Nintendo’s remarkable comeback with their fastest selling system yet, as well as one that has frequently topped sales charts worldwide since its launch back in March- however, it seems that Sony is not threatened by the Switch’s remarkable success. In fact, it looks like they view the Switch as a complementary, additive experience and addition to the industry.
Speaking to Bloomberg, PlayStation’s Andrew House noted that it seems as though dedicated handhelds are an unviable market proposition in today’s day and age. We have not seen that as being a huge market opportunity,” House said. “The [PlayStation] Vita experience was that outside of Japan and Asia, there was not a huge demand. The lifestyle shift toward the dominance of smartphones as the single key device that is always with you, was the determining factor.”
According to House, however, the Switch, owing to its unique proposition as a hybrid that can be a console and a handheld, both, is a different strategy than a traditional handheld- which is one of the reasons it has done as well as it has. “The Nintendo device is a hybrid device and that’s a different approach and strategy”, he said.
House went on to note that the Switch’s immense success has not led to a slowdown in PS4 sales at all- which is a remarkable feat for a console that is in its fourth year on the market. This has led him to the conclusion that the Switch is additive to the industry.
“That draws me to the conclusion that they’ve really been additive to the business in the last year or so,” House said. “The folks at Nintendo have their strategy and that’s great. We remain focused around a highly connected gaming experience and also coupled with having a great range of other entertainment experiences so you can reach multiple people on the big screen in the household.”
I do think he is right- as a matter of fact, this is something Sony themselves have noted multiple times before (and also something I have pointed out on multiple occasions). The Switch and the PS4 appear to be complementary devices- there is room for both to thrive.