From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


Nintendo reported that its new Switch 2 sold much more poorly than
expected this holiday season. PS5 sales are on the decline. The XBox
is struggling. Are people turning away from consoles?

Probably not (if only because Betteridge's law of headlines says so!)
but their era of dominance in the gaming market has definitely
declined even as PCs have become more relevant. But it wouldn't
surprise me if it did happen. With the proliferation of powerful
mobile devices, and a computer-in-every-home, the need for dedicated
gaming devices seems almost quaint; sort of the modern equivalent of
having a stand-alone MP3 player. Heck, even TVs are shipping with
gaming capabilities (albeit through streaming services). Having a
console plugged in just to play games seems somewhat superfluous.

And while --as a member of the PC Master Race-- a part of me cheers at
this idea, at the same time I remain wary. After all, what happens to
XBox or PS5 may just happen to /my/ chosen platform as well.
Especially since the ideal for games publishers is to go completely
platform independent and switch completely to streaming, where you
don't own any of your games anymore and they can turn them on and off
(or just raise the price) at their whim. It's not really the ideal
future.

So maybe I better hope that XBox lingers on a bit longer.


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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On 2/5/2026 8:32 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Nintendo reported that its new Switch 2 sold much more poorly than
expected this holiday season. PS5 sales are on the decline. The XBox
is struggling. Are people turning away from consoles?

Probably not (if only because Betteridge's law of headlines says so!)
but their era of dominance in the gaming market has definitely
declined even as PCs have become more relevant. But it wouldn't
surprise me if it did happen. With the proliferation of powerful
mobile devices, and a computer-in-every-home, the need for dedicated
gaming devices seems almost quaint; sort of the modern equivalent of
having a stand-alone MP3 player. Heck, even TVs are shipping with
gaming capabilities (albeit through streaming services). Having a
console plugged in just to play games seems somewhat superfluous.

Probably more tablets. I think part of it is people realizing charging
$20 a month just to be able to play games online is a rip off.

I'm still thinking streaming isn't going to catch on as it's such a
horrible experience, but on the other hand the masses are stupid, and it
took me several months and playing some of the games on both streaming
and local to realize that it's so horrible that I'd rather not play the
games at all.

At least with the now very popular Elden Ring, there's something like
10x as many sales on PC vs. consoles.

Switch 2 doesn't really do anything better/different, and there' all of
one exclusive game so far, which people don't seem to think is as good
as the last one on the switch.

Really PS5 doesn't have much to recommend it either, it seems it's
somewhat in the same situation. Nothing much that's exclusive is really making people want to upgrade from PS4. You're not paying much more for
a PC that's of equal or better without the $20 a month online tax, and emulation of PS4 is getting good.

I'm hearing with the squeezing of the dollar people are starting to hit
the high seas again for entertainment.

And while --as a member of the PC Master Race-- a part of me cheers at
this idea, at the same time I remain wary. After all, what happens to
XBox or PS5 may just happen to /my/ chosen platform as well.
Especially since the ideal for games publishers is to go completely
platform independent and switch completely to streaming, where you
don't own any of your games anymore and they can turn them on and off
(or just raise the price) at their whim. It's not really the ideal
future.
So maybe I better hope that XBox lingers on a bit longer.

Xbox is dead. Nintendo will probably be the last to go. I'm not sure
what they're going to do to get people to buy the next console they come
out with, or if they'll just start selling Nintendo games on mobile.
--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Thu, 5 Feb 2026 10:14:53 -0800, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Justisaur wrote:

Switch 2 doesn't really do anything better/different, and there' all of
one exclusive game so far, which people don't seem to think is as good
as the last one on the switch.

This and this. They had one launch title: Mario Kart World.

...aaaand it is open world Mario Kart. Hey, it worked for Zelda, right?

They also had improved 4k versions of some of their Switch 1 games that
they passed off as launch titles. That's right, you had to *pay* for it.

https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-nintendo-switch-2-edition-upgrade-pack-switch-2/

You can't make this up.

The new Metroid Prime is hinting that it sucks too. And it costs $10 more
on a Switch 2, because... reasons.

Some marketing genius at Nintendo needs to be given a "window office."
These guys are making EPIC* mistakes.
--
Zag

Give me the liberty to know, to think, to believe,
and to utter freely according to conscience, above
all other liberties. ~John Milton

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
*See what I did there? "We exist, so give us your money."
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Thu, 05 Feb 2026 21:52:33 -0600, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
wrote:

On Thu, 5 Feb 2026 10:14:53 -0800, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Justisaur wrote:

Switch 2 doesn't really do anything better/different, and there' all of >>one exclusive game so far, which people don't seem to think is as good
as the last one on the switch.

This and this. They had one launch title: Mario Kart World.
...aaaand it is open world Mario Kart. Hey, it worked for Zelda, right?

Yeah, everything I've read indicates Switch 2 has underperformed. It's
still selling quite well --let's not cry for Nintendo here-- but they
expected it to do much better.

And under ordinary circumstances, it probably would have. Even though
it's (from all I can tell) little more than a hardware refresh of the
original and, as you noted, lacking in release titles, Nintendo fans
are the sort to rush out and buy anything the company chucks out.

But with mobile dominanting the gaming scene, the economic downturn
making consumers a bit more frugal when it comes to luxuries, and the ridiculous uptick in hardware prices, even the Nintendo Effect was of
limited utility.

Of all the consoles manufacturers, I think Nintendo will survive the
longest. They've constructed themselves a little niche that I think
will help them weather the changing tides better than the rest. Their
best games are not available on other platforms, and they've
postitioned themselves as a unique, family-friendly purveyor... even
if their goods actually aren't much different from their competitors.
They're sort of like Disneyland or Apple in how their products are
perceived.

Whether this will be enough to keep them going as streaming and mobile
devices become dominant... I dunno. I see a lot more kids playing on
tablets and phones than ever I see them carrying around a Switch.
Plus, the publishers are much more interested in moving to streaming subscriptions.

But these days the PS5 and Xbox are just overpriced, underpowered and limited-to-games computers, and a lot of people are wondering 'Why not
just play the games on my computer then?' Those devices don't really
stand apart. Nintendo still does.

Some marketing genius at Nintendo needs to be given a "window office."
These guys are making EPIC* mistakes.

I see what you did there, and I approve ;-)

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