3) The Switch Has Hit The Ground Running
After unspectacular sales of Nintendo’s Wii U (for context, even Sony’s PS Vita outsold it), the Japan-based company went back to the drawing board with its tail firmly between its legs and came up with the Switch, a handheld/home console/local multiplayer hybrid. The Switch is a marvellous piece of hardware and one that I’m incredibly enamoured with. It’s gotten off to a fantastic start, becoming the fastest selling Nintendo console in the US. The Switch looks set to be Nintendo’s biggest hit since the Wii and has even managed to catapult the company’s share-price to a seven-year high.
You could argue that the Switch isn’t in direct competition with Microsoft’s Xbox One, but instead ploughs its own unique furrow. The Big N often skews for a younger audience and openly aspires to be a secondary console option for gamers who wish to complement their “primary” Xbox Ones or PS4s. However, in terms of mindshare and sales, they’re still undoubtedly in the mix, jostling with both Sony and Microsoft.
Though Microsoft is the company that seriously needs to whip out a few aces from up its sleeve and show its hand this E3, Nintendo also need to come out guns blazing in order to maximise momentum with their own brand new console hybrid. Suffice it to say, Both Nintendo and Microsoft have a lot to prove at this June’s E3.