Former PlayStation boss questions the future of consoles, but not Nintendo’s hardware
As the video game market continues to grow, there is once again talk of the viability of console gaming. in Same interview with EurogamerFormer PlayStation boss Shawn Layden shared his thoughts on the subject.
While he has raised alarms about the entire “Xbox vs. PlayStation” console market and believes it’s important to question the purpose of these systems going forward, what about the future of Nintendo, you don’t seem too worried. As he mentioned, Nintendo now operates within its “Own Private Idaho” framework:
FOR EXAMPLE: Can the console continue to exist long term? Xbox has published to multiple platforms and now rival consoles. Will PlayStation survive in 30 years if it only publishes on its own consoles and PCs? Will Nintendo?
Shawn Layden: “Let’s put Nintendo aside for a moment, because they live in their own Idaho, where the laws of physics apply in many different ways. But between Xbox and PlayStation, the fight between Ali and Frazier… Success Frankly, we have to start interrogating what the purpose of a console exclusive is and whether that can continue to be the case.”
Nintendo’s success is attributed to its adoption of a blue ocean strategy – allowing it to reach new markets and expand its audience through innovation and other factors such as price, rather than focusing on Console arms race as competitors.
After the GameCube generation, Nintendo applied this strategy during the Wii and DS era. The Switch also redefined console gaming with its crossover capabilities, and the Wii U paved the way for this vision.
