Nintendo’s comeback with the Switch has been a net positive for the industry. A whole segment of the market, which was otherwise unwatered to, is now thriving, the Switch has led to year-on-year hardware gains for the market, and game sales have gotten a lift thanks to the console’s evergreen titles never leaving sales charts. On the whole, it’s been greatly beneficial for the health of video games as a business and as a medium.
This is something that even the competition recognizes. In an interview with Nikkei (translated by Siliconera), PlayStation Asia boss Hiroyuki Oda noted that the success of the Switch and games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has had an “overall positive influence” on the market.
“I’d say it has had an overall positive influence on the entire games market,” he said. “Gamers want to play various games of various types, so the most important thing is that these people who love games are happy. SIE will play to its strengths by providing games of various genres, including realistic, high-definition games.”
It’s good that he recognizes the benefits that thriving and diverse competition bring to the market. It is also good that he recognizes the strengths of his own company, as he outlines, and that he plans to double down on them. On the whole, with all consoles doing well at the moment, I think video gaming as a medium has never been healthier.