I reckon it was in the early 2000’s, when I first got my hands on a Game Boy; it was all the rage back then.
I am pretty sure I still have it lying around somewhere in the closet.
It was the Game Boy, which helped Nintendo to make their name around the world. Unfortunately, inability to replicate Game Boy’s success and fame left the company as nothing more than a bystander in the console market warfare for decades; until the Switch arrived.
As Sony and Microsoft upped their game with the likes of PlayStation and Xbox; Nintendo was struggling to stay alive. The DS, 3D and even the Wii were nothing more than a hit and a miss. Everyone thought Nintendo was done for. It was then,In 2017, nearly 28 years after Nintendo introduce the Game Boy to the world, that Nintendo got their mojo back. The Nintendo Switch arrived, and for many, it was the true spiritual successor to the Game Boy.
The New Golden Age of Hand-Held Consoles
Right after the smartphone revolution kicked off, the market for gaming on the go became larger and larger. Sadly, smartphone games were no were close to the AAA games you’d see on a console or a PC. Neither Sony nor Microsoft wanted to exploit the segment that was laying right in front of them. However, Nintendo finally got their cards right and captured this niche but vast market. A win here, not only secured the future for the company; but a tighter grip on the future of portable gaming market.
Nintendo Switch was a blessing for gamers who wanted to play AAA standard games on the go.
Albeit having a slighter lower visual details compared to its PC counterpart, the ability to play games such as Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Fortnite and the upcoming Witcher 3; should be a delight for the gamers who are constantly on the move.
Nintendo Dominating the Console Market
While Sony’s PS4 is still king of the hill, but Nintendo isn’t far behind. But, surprisingly enough, it’s Microsoft’s Xbox One who is having a hard time trying to fend off its rivals. With Nintendo owning the 2nd largest piece of the console market pie, it only indicates the increasing demand for AAA games on hand held devices. Which might bring Nintendo a much bigger proportion of the market, as we move forward into the future. At the same-time, this should be a signal for adaptation for other console makers; otherwise, they might regret it later on.
Nintendo Switch Lite Makes The Switch More Affordable For Most, But It Should Have Been Cheaper?
The recently announced Switch Lite is nearly 200 USD, around 100 USD lesser than it’s older brother. With more and more games being available on the platform along side the Nintendo exclusives, owning a switch is nothing more than a delight these days.
But, for a country like Bangladesh, where an estimated 5,000 people own the hand held device; a price range close to the PS4 makes the Switch a less desirable product to own. For Nintendo to truly gain dominance in all parts of the world, it must release a Switch that is around the sub-150 USD price range.